Sean-Penn Movie Reviews

Now, if you're going for a thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat or if you're seeking a mystery that's plot-driven and all about the clues, then MYSTIC RIVER is definitely not going to satisfy you. I went to see it because the cast that director Clint Eastwood assembled is incredible, and the story is motivated by character-rooted actions and decisions.

Still, I was underwhelmed by MYSTIC RIVER.

Sean Penn is absolutely brilliant playing a neighborhood ex-con who becomes a successful businessman, yet he cannot escape his past when his daughter is brutally murdered. It's a role that seems like the sort of part Penn has played well before, yet there are layers to his character that are fascinating to watch. Still, at the same time, his character Jimmy never really surprised me with any of his actions. I saw where the film was pretty much going from its opening moments, and it went exactly in that direction.

Tim Robbins, playing an adult survivor of a childhood abduction and molestation, does incredibly well at creating a suspicious yet sympathetic character. He, though, is also saddled with a plot contrivance that was brought in from the book, where he doesn't share crucial information at a point when you would expect him to, even when he can. That's an incredibly frustrating thing to watch in any film, where you feel that the characters are withholding information merely to service the film's plot.

Kevin Bacon, playing the third lead character, has far less to do in the film. He's saddled with a strangely-filmed subplot involving his wife, who calls on the phone throughout the film but doesn't speak and whose face is never shown. His character, as well, isn't as well-rounded as the other leads.

In supporting roles, the amazing Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden play the spouses of men caught up in a bizarre murder mystery. Linney's closing speech at the end of the film is so good that I wished the film had more moments with her in them. Harden's final scene is compelling and heartbreaking.

All in all, I thought MYSTIC RIVER was an incredibly acted, flawed mystery film.

Directed by double Academy Award winner Clint Eastwood (Best Director and Best Picture, "Unforgiven" (1992)) from a screenplay by Brian Helgeland ("L.A. Confidential"), based on a bestseller by ace mystery writer Dennis Lehane, and starring such respected, actorly heavyweights as Sean Penn ("I Am Sam"), Tim Robbins ("Mission to Mars"), Kevin Bacon ("Flatliners"), Laurence Fishburne (The "Matrix" films), Marcia Gay Harden ("Meet Joe Black"), and Laura Linney ("The Mothman Prophecies"), "Mystic River" has as unimpeachable a pedigree as any American studio film in history. And though it may not quite be the masterpiece that the early buzz suggests, it certainly makes the most of the tremendous talents at its disposal. A mournful meditation on revenge and guilt, "Mystic River" is perhaps Eastwood's most mature and moving examination yet of what has always been his great subject: the peculiarly American juxtaposition of vigilante violence and official justice.

The film flows from two linked moments of violence, which, in turn, beget other violence -- one moment that pulls three childhood friends apart and another, 30 years later, that brings them back together. "Mystic River" opens in the '70s (the period established by a transistor radio broadcasting a Red Sox game with Luis Tirant on the mound), in a working-class neighborhood, as three boys play street hockey. There's Dave, who seems a little slow, Jimmy, a reckless kid who wants to steal a neighborhood car for joyriding, and Sean, a cautious kid who frowns on Jimmy's plan. Finding a slab of sidewalk where the concrete is still wet, the boys begin writing their names only to be confronted by two older men posing as cops, who take Dave away in the back of their car, where he is kept for several days and sexually abused before escaping. Flashing forward to the same neighborhood decades later, Dave (Robbins) is an introverted husband and father who doesn't seem to have quite recovered from his childhood ordeal. Jimmy (Penn) is an ex-con who runs a corner grocery store in the neighborhood but is still crime-connected. And Sean (Bacon) is now a Boston homicide detective, an outsider in the old neighborhood, working his beat with an astute African-American partner named Whitey (Fishburne). Jimmy and Dave are still friends -- Jimmy's ice-queen wife Annabeth (Linney) is a cousin of Dave's warm but (understandibly) skittish wife Celeste (Harden) -- but all three friends are brought together when Jimmy's 19 year-old daughter Katie (Emmy Rossum) turns up missing, and later dead, on the same night that Dave returns home late covered in someone else's blood. A distraught Jimmy, not waiting for the legal system to work, has a couple of his neighborhood goons out looking for the killer, while Sean is assigned to work the case. (The parallel police and underworld investigations might be a nod to Fritz Lang's serial-killer masterpiece 'M', which would only be a beginning to the debt "Mystic River" owes to Lang's artful police procedurals.) As Sean and Whitey investigate the case, dual clues point strongly to two suspects: Dave, one of the last people to see Katie alive, and a neighborhood boy whom she had been dating.

By acclimation, "Mystic River" is Clint Eastwood's finest film since 1992's Oscar-winner "Unforgiven", and you'll find no argument here. A handsome, old-fashioned film, it's so stately, so measured, and so elegant that it acts as a formal rebuke to most other contemporary studio takes on this kind of material. "Mystic River" is a mystery spiked with deep emotion and considerable gravitas. It has a tremendous feel for its location, for this almost tribal old-school neighborhood on the brink of gentrification. It's marked by a tight vocabulary of formal elements -- sure crosscutting and sweeping pans over the film's title waterway. Most of all, it seems intentionally driven by a vast series of doubles and rhymes: two wives, two mute witnesses, two murders, two investigations, two friends whose lives go in opposite directions, two heartbreaking shots -- 30 years apart -- of Dave in the backseat of a car being taken away. And this matches the film's series of actorly one-on-one confrontations: Dave and Celeste, Dave and Jimmy, Celeste and Jimmy, Jimmy and Sean, Jimmy and Annabeth. But Eastwood's precise, conservative direction makes room for occasional visual flourishes, such as the operatic matching aerial shots that show Katie's bloodied, beaten body, found in a park, and nearby Jimmy howling as he's held back by a phalanx of cops.

As one might expect, "Mystic River" is as much an actor's film as it is a director's. Its performances are uniformly excellent, with Sean Penn's and Tim Robbins' showy turns perhaps bested by Marcia Gay Harden, whose doting but doubtful wife is perhaps the film's most tragic figure. "Mystic River" isn't perfect. Laura Linney's underwritten part makes Annabeth's sinister, ruthless late transformation seem awkward and abrupt, and sometimes Eastwood reaches a little too much for effect (or for the Oscar) when the generally understated music swells more than necessary. But these are just quibbles.

"I'm gonna find him. I'm gonna find him before the police do and I'm gonna kill him," Jimmy says as he stands over Katie's lifeless body. His insistence on keeping that promise is the source of Eastwood's most effective critique yet of American vigilante justice. "Mystic River" ends with a patriotic neighborhood parade, all the film's major characters in the crowd. It looks welcoming and friendly, but for one character it's a moment of horror and loss that brings "Mystic River" full circle. In conclusion, a powerful cast and superb direction by Clint Eastwood makes this story of violence and justice an unforgettable one. A DVD must-own when released!

One of my movie predictors is the trailer. In short: LONG trailer=bad movie. Short trailer=good movie. Try it out yourself and you'll see that it bears out most of the time. Think about the movies you've gone to and realized that ALL of the best lines/scenes were shown during the advertisements for the movie... [Also, if you're renting a video and the previews are all for movies that aren't good, the one you're getting ready to watch is a stinker too!] Anyway, the trailers for Mystic River were short, vague-ish, and slick. I KNEW this would be a good film and I wasn't disappointed.

The acting is simply magnificent. There is NOT a bad performance here to be seen. The plot is solid, full of undercurrents, implications, and moral questions. There are some interesting twists here and details that really make you sit up straighter as you try to puzzle them out.

I won't spoil anything in this film for you and other reviews have discussed the premise, etc. But, I will add that the characters show elements of people YOU know all throughout the film. You catch glimpses of behavior you see in the people you know and love... things you've maybe never noticed before now. You find yourself trying to imagine yourself in the shoes of this character and then that one... What would I do? What would I think? How would I feel?

This is a film you watch ACTIVELY. This is not the film you sit through passively as it washes over you--although there is a time and place for those types of films. This is a film that you questioning, trying to sort out your own opinions and feelings. Very nicely done. A Solid Film.

Films that depict the life struggles of persons with mental or physical disabilities almost automatically tug on the heartstrings of any sensitive viewer. I AM SAM does no less, and it does so with the masterful talents of Sean Penn and Michelle Pfieffer and an amazingly talented little girl named Dakota Fanning (she has deep, incandescent blue eyes that evoke a talent far beyond her years).

Sean Penn stars as Sam, a mentally-challenged Starbucks clerk who excitedly clings to the role of father when the homeless woman he gets pregnant skips out on him. Somehow (the movie never tells), he manages to display the skills to bring Lucy up to seven years old (when the narrative of the film swings into full play).

The incredibly lovely Michelle Pfieffer does an admirable job pouring life into a vastly underwritten role. As a jetset lawyer, she's torn between her job, her role as a wife, and her role as a mother ... all of which she, arguably, is failing at. However, Ms. Pfeiffer manages to give her character, Rita Harrison, a sense of reality and a sense of history that lifts an otherwise secondary role into a more interesting person, one that the viewer wants to get to know. Sadly, the scenes of development with her husband and her son were either never written, never filmed, or left on the cutting room floor.

Dakota Fanning, as Lucy, is simply marvelous. A true talent in the making, she manages to steal every scene she's in without a touch of mirth to her performance.

Laura Dern pops up in the obligatory cameo-sized role, and, when her mother-wannabe sentiments forces her to face the bittersweet reality of choosing between breaks, the viewer feels her pain.

All in all, I AM SAM is not a great picture, as it feels more like a big budget Lifetime or perhaps HBO-cable movie, but it's passable entertainment with some acting heavyweights showing their stuff.

I Am Sam is one of the best films I've seen in a long, long time.

Sean Penn has certainly come a long way in his acting career from surfer dude Jeff Spicolli in (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) to the incredibly powerful performance he gives as a mentally challenged father who fights for the custody of his daughter Lucy.

I Am Sam will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you realize that the best thing you can do for any child as a parent is show them love and affection. Michelle Pfieffer's character, as Penn's lawyer, goes through a transformation in the film. She begins as a cold hearted, money hungry woman who seems to care about nothing but her job and herself. However after meeting sam she is transformed into a caring, loving human being.

If you want a great movie, with a great story, a lot of emotion and Academy Award worth acting then you MUST SEE I Am Sam. If your the emotional type may I suggest you get your box of tissues ready because you'll need them.

Dakota Fanning is brilliant in this film, her follow-up to her successful debut in "Harry Potter and The The". She is a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dreary and dull world. Too bad nine-year-olds cannot be President-I'd vote for her in a heartbeat! Is it possible that she is a visitor from another planet? Is she a living Powerpuff Girl? All I know is I dug her ripping guitar solo at the "Concert For George" during "It's A Small World"-Lindsay Lohan, eat your heart out! And so what if she recently lost her two front teeth? Now we know what to get her for Christmas! Dakota is God!

UltraLord has spoken!

Films that depict the life struggles of persons with mental or physical disabilities almost automatically tug on the heartstrings of any sensitive viewer. I AM SAM does no less, and it does so with the masterful talents of Sean Penn and Michelle Pfieffer and an amazingly talented little girl named Dakota Fanning (she has deep, incandescent blue eyes that evoke a talent far beyond her years).

Sean Penn stars as Sam, a mentally-challenged Starbucks clerk who excitedly clings to the role of father when the homeless woman he gets pregnant skips out on him. Somehow (the movie never tells), he manages to display the skills to bring Lucy up to seven years old (when the narrative of the film swings into full play).

The incredibly lovely Michelle Pfieffer does an admirable job pouring life into a vastly underwritten role. As a jetset lawyer, she's torn between her job, her role as a wife, and her role as a mother ... all of which she, arguably, is failing at. However, Ms. Pfeiffer manages to give her character, Rita Harrison, a sense of reality and a sense of history that lifts an otherwise secondary role into a more interesting person, one that the viewer wants to get to know. Sadly, the scenes of development with her husband and her son were either never written, never filmed, or left on the cutting room floor.

Dakota Fanning, as Lucy, is simply marvelous. A true talent in the making, she manages to steal every scene she's in without a touch of mirth to her performance.

Laura Dern pops up in the obligatory cameo-sized role, and, when her mother-wannabe sentiments forces her to face the bittersweet reality of choosing between breaks, the viewer feels her pain.

All in all, I AM SAM is not a great picture, as it feels more like a big budget Lifetime or perhaps HBO-cable movie, but it's passable entertainment with some acting heavyweights showing their stuff.

I Am Sam is one of the best films I've seen in a long, long time.

Sean Penn has certainly come a long way in his acting career from surfer dude Jeff Spicolli in (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) to the incredibly powerful performance he gives as a mentally challenged father who fights for the custody of his daughter Lucy.

I Am Sam will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you realize that the best thing you can do for any child as a parent is show them love and affection. Michelle Pfieffer's character, as Penn's lawyer, goes through a transformation in the film. She begins as a cold hearted, money hungry woman who seems to care about nothing but her job and herself. However after meeting sam she is transformed into a caring, loving human being.

If you want a great movie, with a great story, a lot of emotion and Academy Award worth acting then you MUST SEE I Am Sam. If your the emotional type may I suggest you get your box of tissues ready because you'll need them.

Dakota Fanning is brilliant in this film, her follow-up to her successful debut in "Harry Potter and The The". She is a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dreary and dull world. Too bad nine-year-olds cannot be President-I'd vote for her in a heartbeat! Is it possible that she is a visitor from another planet? Is she a living Powerpuff Girl? All I know is I dug her ripping guitar solo at the "Concert For George" during "It's A Small World"-Lindsay Lohan, eat your heart out! And so what if she recently lost her two front teeth? Now we know what to get her for Christmas! Dakota is God!

UltraLord has spoken!

Every so often a film comes along where the music alone is worth the ticket. This is such a film. This is an intriguing character study about a fictional jazz guitarist in the 1930's named Emmet Ray (Sean Penn). Woody Allen, who wrote and directed the film, cleverly uses an autobiographical documentary format, and anyone who is unfamiliar with jazz or didn't know in advance, might easily believe this was a true story. That is a testimonial to Allen's skills, because despite the fact that Ray was a rogue and a degenerate, the whole story seemed extremely believable.

Ray was renowned as the second greatest jazz guitarist in the world, behind a European gypsy named Django Reinhardt. Ray had a deep seated insecurity about being number two, and both times he saw Reinhardt play, he passed out. We follow his meandering life as a musician, pimp and carouser with occasional side trips to watch trains and shoot rats. Unlike most of Allen's films, this one wasn't peppered with stiletto humor and irony. There were some funny bits, but this was mostly a serious character study. Although Ray wasn't an endearing character, he certainly was a fascinating one. That along with the fabulous music made this film work nicely.

I also enjoyed the way Allen shot this film. He gave it a nice old look. The indoor scenes were shot with an amber filter and the entire film had a very soft focus to it. There were lots of good period props and costumes that brought the thirties alive.

I'm not normally a big fan of Sean Penn, but he did a terrific job in the lead role. Penn is not a versatile actor, but he is excellent in certain types of roles. He is adroit at roles that involve gritty, visceral characters with raw and crude emotions. In this regard, he was perfectly cast for this part. The only minor criticism I had was that his guitar fingering was not particularly realistic. Otherwise it was masterful work. His Oscar nomination was well deserved.

This is the second film this month where I've had a chance to see Samantha Morton. I enjoyed her work in 'Dreaming of Joseph Lees' and again here as Hattie. Since Hattie is a mute, Morton didn't have a single line, but she had a pivotal role and a lot of screen time. Morton had to do all her acting with her facial expressions and body language and she was fantastic. I have seen numerous actors who have conveyed less with twenty minutes of dialogue than she did with a single look. She has a very wholesome and amiable quality about her, very genuine and sincere. She seems to be a very promising young talent and I am eager to see her next role.

This film is a must see for anyone who loves jazz and the character study ain't bad either. I rate it an 8/10.

Whether it's the quirky antics of Emmett Ray (Penn) or the wonderfully, understated affection of Hattie (Morton), this movie manages to strike a chord with a host of movie audiences. The story, about the second-greatest guitar player in the world and his tragic life as a musician/womanizer, is made even more interesting by the biographical method that Allen uses to unfold the story. What is particularly interesting about this approach is to note how every person sounds almost magical when talked about by fans and others-to witness their (often) destructive lives is something far different. Additionally, Allen's humor penetrates the film, but it is not distracting. In fact, in most places, it serves to make the "storytelling" style of the film more enjoyable to watch.

Samantha Morton's performance as Hattie (a mute lover of Emmett's) is absolutely superb. I find myself leaning forward towards the screen, as if expecting her to speak at any moment. Morton manages to leap along just fine without any dialogue; her performance is believable and is truly one of the most endearing aspects of the film. One feels for Emmett's loss and tragedy, but it is nothing compared to the emotion one feels for Hattie's character.

A fan of Woody Allen will certainly enjoy this film and those that have given up on Allen in recent years will find this film to be a nice change. Great acting, a charming story, and a modern day tragedy. All of this plus some great jazz and guitar playing make this film worth a look.

A Woody Allen masterpiece and although I love Woody Allen, I don't say that about all his movies. I was especially impressed with the acting and the complex characters presented in the film. Sean Penn plays Emmet Ray, an incredibly talented Jazz guitarist who is every bit aware of it (annoyingly so) and uses every opportunity to boast about how he is one of the best guitarists in the world, second only to the great Django Reinhart. Yet, this fact seems to be one that haunts him constantly and keeps him insecure and vulnerable despite all the fronts he puts up. His love life is also one to ponder. Ray is a brutish, uncaring, and unfaithful lover to every woman he has ever known. He does not change his ways much, even after he meets the right woman, Hattie, played by Samantha Morton. Hattie is a mute girl which seems to be right up Ray's alley, since she never questions or challenges him as his other girlfriend's had. Hattie's sweetness and unwavering devotion to Ray ironically are not really perceived as signs of weakness but rather almost elevate Hattie to somewhat of a modern-day heroine who, through her love, is able to transform the ways of Ray to make him want to be a better man.

Wrapped in a package of 80s marijuana schtick and sexy teenage actresses, is a serious message in this film. Jennifer Jason Leigh's character goes through some serious life-altering things in this film. She learns some hard lessons and we feel for her as she does them. But, that is easily lost while you focus on Spiccoli and his antics, or Jennifer's brother and his struggles.

At the heart of the movie is a warm cautionary tale marketed wisely as a sexy romp.

When the trailer for FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH was being previewed before the feature film in the theatre I was in, an elderly couple behind me(elderly..they were probably only in their early 40's..but this was way back in 1982 when I barely got out of high school..)the husband stated to his wife "Remind me NOT to watch this movie!". This is because the preview showed mostly clips of Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli character. This was a little misleading because the movie wasn't all about Spicoli. This was a dead-on representation of high school life at that point of history of the early 1980's. The movie is episodic focusing on various character's ups and downs during the course of one school year. Some thought provoking real life situations and some comedic situations a little exagerated. However, the movie is honest in its depiction of teen high schoolers. Good cast of future stars such as Judge Reinhold, Nicholas Cage, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anthony Edwards, Pheobe Cates,Eric Stoltz,Forest Whitaker, and of course..Sean Penn. Also, some veteran character actors such as Vincent Schiavelli (GHOST, TOMORROW NEVER DIES) and of course Ray Walston as Mr. Hand. Written by Cameron Crowe (JERRY MCGUIRE, ALMOST FAMOUS). Note: Classic line -(after counselor tells Brad Hamilton/Judge Reinhold that the "fun" is over because he's about to graduate) "Over? I'm still waiting for the fun to begin!"

Fast Times At Ridgemont High is a monumental film for a lot of people. I was 3 or 4 when it came out, but this film would still work and ring true to people my age in this modern day and time. That's why this film is completely timeless. The premise is pretty simple. It's about a bunch of high school kids in the early 80's dealing with everyday life, which includes girls, boys, sex, drugs, sex, and, oh, did I mention sex?. After watching this hilarious and downright touching film, you wonder why Phoebe Cates isn't a bigger star. Her famous scene(not for children)is classic and the fantasy of every red blooded American male in the country. Sean Penn gives one of comedy's most memorable characters as stoner Jeff Spicolli. He is brilliant in this film. There has not been another teen/school movie like this that is as special or classic. There have been a few that came close. The rest of the cast is great: Judge Reinhold, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Forrest Whitaker, Ray Walston. This is a great film. A true comedy classic!.

Wrapped in a package of 80s marijuana schtick and sexy teenage actresses, is a serious message in this film. Jennifer Jason Leigh's character goes through some serious life-altering things in this film. She learns some hard lessons and we feel for her as she does them. But, that is easily lost while you focus on Spiccoli and his antics, or Jennifer's brother and his struggles.

At the heart of the movie is a warm cautionary tale marketed wisely as a sexy romp.

When the trailer for FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH was being previewed before the feature film in the theatre I was in, an elderly couple behind me(elderly..they were probably only in their early 40's..but this was way back in 1982 when I barely got out of high school..)the husband stated to his wife "Remind me NOT to watch this movie!". This is because the preview showed mostly clips of Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli character. This was a little misleading because the movie wasn't all about Spicoli. This was a dead-on representation of high school life at that point of history of the early 1980's. The movie is episodic focusing on various character's ups and downs during the course of one school year. Some thought provoking real life situations and some comedic situations a little exagerated. However, the movie is honest in its depiction of teen high schoolers. Good cast of future stars such as Judge Reinhold, Nicholas Cage, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anthony Edwards, Pheobe Cates,Eric Stoltz,Forest Whitaker, and of course..Sean Penn. Also, some veteran character actors such as Vincent Schiavelli (GHOST, TOMORROW NEVER DIES) and of course Ray Walston as Mr. Hand. Written by Cameron Crowe (JERRY MCGUIRE, ALMOST FAMOUS). Note: Classic line -(after counselor tells Brad Hamilton/Judge Reinhold that the "fun" is over because he's about to graduate) "Over? I'm still waiting for the fun to begin!"

Fast Times At Ridgemont High is a monumental film for a lot of people. I was 3 or 4 when it came out, but this film would still work and ring true to people my age in this modern day and time. That's why this film is completely timeless. The premise is pretty simple. It's about a bunch of high school kids in the early 80's dealing with everyday life, which includes girls, boys, sex, drugs, sex, and, oh, did I mention sex?. After watching this hilarious and downright touching film, you wonder why Phoebe Cates isn't a bigger star. Her famous scene(not for children)is classic and the fantasy of every red blooded American male in the country. Sean Penn gives one of comedy's most memorable characters as stoner Jeff Spicolli. He is brilliant in this film. There has not been another teen/school movie like this that is as special or classic. There have been a few that came close. The rest of the cast is great: Judge Reinhold, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Forrest Whitaker, Ray Walston. This is a great film. A true comedy classic!.

Wrapped in a package of 80s marijuana schtick and sexy teenage actresses, is a serious message in this film. Jennifer Jason Leigh's character goes through some serious life-altering things in this film. She learns some hard lessons and we feel for her as she does them. But, that is easily lost while you focus on Spiccoli and his antics, or Jennifer's brother and his struggles.

At the heart of the movie is a warm cautionary tale marketed wisely as a sexy romp.

When the trailer for FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH was being previewed before the feature film in the theatre I was in, an elderly couple behind me(elderly..they were probably only in their early 40's..but this was way back in 1982 when I barely got out of high school..)the husband stated to his wife "Remind me NOT to watch this movie!". This is because the preview showed mostly clips of Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli character. This was a little misleading because the movie wasn't all about Spicoli. This was a dead-on representation of high school life at that point of history of the early 1980's. The movie is episodic focusing on various character's ups and downs during the course of one school year. Some thought provoking real life situations and some comedic situations a little exagerated. However, the movie is honest in its depiction of teen high schoolers. Good cast of future stars such as Judge Reinhold, Nicholas Cage, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anthony Edwards, Pheobe Cates,Eric Stoltz,Forest Whitaker, and of course..Sean Penn. Also, some veteran character actors such as Vincent Schiavelli (GHOST, TOMORROW NEVER DIES) and of course Ray Walston as Mr. Hand. Written by Cameron Crowe (JERRY MCGUIRE, ALMOST FAMOUS). Note: Classic line -(after counselor tells Brad Hamilton/Judge Reinhold that the "fun" is over because he's about to graduate) "Over? I'm still waiting for the fun to begin!"

Fast Times At Ridgemont High is a monumental film for a lot of people. I was 3 or 4 when it came out, but this film would still work and ring true to people my age in this modern day and time. That's why this film is completely timeless. The premise is pretty simple. It's about a bunch of high school kids in the early 80's dealing with everyday life, which includes girls, boys, sex, drugs, sex, and, oh, did I mention sex?. After watching this hilarious and downright touching film, you wonder why Phoebe Cates isn't a bigger star. Her famous scene(not for children)is classic and the fantasy of every red blooded American male in the country. Sean Penn gives one of comedy's most memorable characters as stoner Jeff Spicolli. He is brilliant in this film. There has not been another teen/school movie like this that is as special or classic. There have been a few that came close. The rest of the cast is great: Judge Reinhold, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Forrest Whitaker, Ray Walston. This is a great film. A true comedy classic!.

The story line is good, but im not going to bore you with what its about as all the reviews seem to tell you. If you want to know what its like then read this review!
First let me start by saying if your a Johnny Depp fan and thats the only reason you want to watch this, dont bother, he only gets like 10 minutes of screen time somewhere near the end.
I liked the idea of this film but there were just too many problems with it that made it very hard to like.
Firstly the narrator has such a strong accent and doesnt open his mouth at all when he speaks that its almost impossible to hear or interpret what is being said. I, like many other people I know who have seen this film, was forced to watch it with subtitles. Dont get me wrong im not "dissing" subtitles, but i just didnt excpect it and its so fustrating.I dont mean to complain and be negative, because I like to try and be optimistic about films, but this is clearly a big problem.
Secondly there are so many pointless scenes which just have no relation to the story and after a while it just gets really boring and confusing.
Also some scenes are quite disturbing so not for the faint hearted!

Based on the memoirs of the late gay Cuban poet/author Reinaldo Arenas, "Before Night Falls" is a lengthy, depressing, yet brutally realistic film on the life Arenas before, during, and after the Cuban Revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power. Starting with his childhood in rural Holguin, Cuba, the film covers every aspect of Arenas' upbringing, his attraction to men, and his run-ins with revolutionary agents as he became one of the island nation's most prominent writers.

Arenas, portrayed excellently by Spanish actor Javier Bardem, sees his life change dramatically, first from what he believes will become a promising age of development after the ruthless Batista regime is toppled by Castro's forces, to later a life of living in fear and hiding as he is blacklisted due to his writings and homosexuality by the new regime's ideological police.

As the film progresses, we see how Arenas deals with the repression of the regime in it's early days, and his persecution for his writings, many that were smuggled out of Cuba by French sympathizers of Arenas's work. Later arrested for a crime that he didn't commit, Arenas finds himself a fugitive living in Cuba, until he is arrested and sent to a Cuban prison before his eventual departure from the island in the Mariel Boatlift of the late 1970's

The film, which is one of the most powerful pieces of filmmaking I have seen in recent years, was directed with style and respect by Julian Schnabel. The film, which is a pioneer to the sense of the many visuals of the male anatomy/body used to illustrate this story of growing up gay in Castro's Cuba might disturb some people who are not accustomed in seeing this on the silver screen and/or gay sexuality. However, this shouldn't be a reason in not seeing this film.

Many excellent actors lend their talent to this, most notably Johnny Depp ("Edward Scissorhands") in a dual role as a prison manager and as a drag queen entertainer at the prison. Also contributing his immense talent is Sean Penn ("U-Turn") in a small role as a wagon driver who picks up a young Arenas on his way to fight in the Revolution. Also many fans of Latin telenovelas will recognize Cuban actor Francisco Gattorno ("Strawberry and Chocolate") in a rare English-language role as a French sympathizer who helps Arenas get his work published abroad in France.

Simply one of the best films of 2000, this is a must-see film for anyone interested in Cuba, it's people, or human rights. While many might see the Castro regime as a very repressive one, in fact the previous Batista regime was equally as ruthless with homosexuals, especially those in Cuba's high society. In the past decade, Castro has allowed greater freedom for homosexuals, so much that the Cuban government funded the Academy-Award nominated for Best Foreign Film, "Strawberry & Chocolate") back in the early 1990's.

One of the best films of 2000! I highly recommend it.

Julian Schnabel's astounding growth as a filmmaker is fully in evidence in this spectacular work. "Basquiat" was, well, interesting but, let's face it, the title character was really not someone you felt like rooting for. In contrast "Before Night Falls" is light-years ahead of it in terms of narrative, character development and vision.

And Schnabel's #1 triumph is in chossing Javier Bardem to play Reinaldo Arenas. This role was an amazing stretch for Bardem. He essentially needed to learn two languages to play Arenas: Cuban-accented Spanish & Cuban-accented English. A background tip on Bardem: Go rent "Live Flesh" (a.k.a. "Carne Tremula"). Watch him in that movie and note the amazing contrast in...*everything* between these two roles. This, my friends, is acting. If anyone besides Bardem walks away with tonight's (3/25/2001) Oscar for Best Actor, it'll be a crime.

As a good complement to the film, I strongly recommend that you read Phillip Weiss' piece about Schnabel in the 03/25/2001 New York Times Sunday Magazine. Schnabel is the very definition of a larger-than-life character. In the Independent Spirit Film awards yesterday, Bardem said of Schnabel "I've never met anyone like you, my friend. Your heart is as big as your body...and that's very big." A very touching and well-deserved tribute to a man of uncompromising drive and vision.

Based on the best-selling novel by Janet Fitch, "White Oleander" provides a fascinating portrait of a heartbroken, wounded soul trying, against seemingly insurmountable odds, to overcome the many adversities fate seems determined to throw in her way. Astrid Magnussen is a hopeful, loving, all around "good kid" who just happens to be surrounded by a world full of hurting, dysfunctional adults. And none fits that description more than her very own mother, a beautiful and successful photographer who is sentenced to 35 years in prison after she poisons her unfaithful boyfriend (with the white oleander that gives the film its title). Left to the equally dysfunctional foster care system, Astrid is sent to live with one troubled "family" after another while her mother, fearing she will lose her hold on Astrid, seeks for ways to sabotage her daughter's happiness from behind bars.

Much of the criticism leveled against this film has revolved around the perceived episodic nature of the screenplay. The charge seems to be that, just as we are becoming interested in a particular milieu or set of characters, the story drops them and moves on to a new place and a new group of people. I couldn't disagree more. If anything, the freeform looseness of the script lends the film an air of greater believability, a more lifelike quality than it would otherwise have had had the story been more conventionally "plotted out." The use of such a structure shows that the storytellers are far more concerned with exploring the characters than with merely delivering a neatly tied-up and packaged narrative. This is fully Astrid's story, and the "episodic nature" of the tale brings to it the quality of an epic journey, as we join this one young woman in her search for love and meaning in a world tragically devoid of both those qualities. As Astrid, Alison Lohman delivers one of the outstanding performances of recent years, a true career breakthrough for this talented actress. She has been asked to do nothing less than carry this entire film - she is never off screen for a moment - and she proves herself more than equal to the task. Her luminous face functions as a sort of beacon, lighting our way through the labyrinth of her character's life. In her every move and gesture, Lohman embodies the hurt and confusion that define the character - yet through it all she allows us to sense the innate goodness and hope for something better that keep the protagonist from becoming just another passive victim of circumstances beyond her control.

The film also does a fine job with the character of Astrid's mother. The screenplay by Mary Agnes Donoghue does not find it necessary to "explain" Ingrid in rationalistic terms. Indeed, Ingrid remains pretty much an enigma from beginning to end. By not spelling out what exactly the demons are that drive this woman - if they are indeed demons at all - the film heightens the sense of moral imbalance so essential to Astrid's story. Astrid can't understand her mother, and neither can we. Is she mentally ill? Is she inherently "evil"? Such questions are never answered - and neither should they be, for answers to such questions would violate the morally ambiguous spirit of the world these characters inhabit. Like the white oleander of the film's title, Ingrid embodies that quality of "deadly beauty" that so often defines the evil we encounter in this life - and against which we seem to have so few defenses.

Director Peter Kosminsky employs a number of impressive techniques to help draw the viewer into the story. By remaining so obsessively focused on the face of Astrid, he allows us to identify fully with all she is going through. He also gives the film an offbeat, otherworldly quality by making such naturalistic elements as the wind, the ocean and the nighttime sky key players in the drama. They provide a strong impressionistic background for the story's action, helping to create a world whose moral terrain is at times very unreal and very disturbing. Thomas Newman's haunting score aids immeasurably in this respect.

If for no other reason, "White Oleander" deserves to be seen for its uniformly outstanding performances. In addition to the brilliant Ms. Lohman, we have Michelle Pfieffer giving what may be the performance of her career in this (for her) atypical portrait of a sinister woman. She makes us feel both disgust and pity for this lost soul who for whatever reason is clearly unable to provide the proper moral guidance for the daughter she so obviously loves. Renee Zellweger brings warmth and just the right touch of vulnerability to her portrait of the foster mother with whom Astrid forges a strong, caring relationship. Cole Hauser is excellent as the handsome older guardian who seduces Astrid and helps to precipitate a family crisis in the process. And Robin Wright Penn and Patrick Fugit round out this nigh unto flawless cast.

If you appreciate movies that have the courage to wander off the beaten path and to map out a course all their own, "White Oleander" should most assuredly fit the bill. And based on her work here, Alison Lohman seems destined for greatness.

About a Mother(played by Michelle Pfeiffer) who murders her boyfriend because he's cheating on her, her daughter Astrid(played by Alison Lohman) is forced to foster parents because her father left her mother when she was only 6 months old. She 1st meets this couple, mother is played by Robin-Wright Penn, & her boyfriend is Ray, fairly sweet guy who stops his girlfriend from murdering Astrid. She's takin to a foster place, where a bunch of kids rummage, Patrick Fugit plays her love interest, she meets him at this place, but she receives another couple looking for foster kids, the wife, Claire Richards(played fantastically by Renee Zellweger), very loving & sensitive woman, & the husband who is gone alot, divorces her, Astrid's mother, after she meets Claire, poisins Claire, & Astrid wakes up the next morning to find Claire lying right beside her, dead. Astrid's mother finally decides to do what's right & confesses in court, she's sentenced for life, while Astrid stays with her love.

This movie is well-thought & well-developped. Great acting, especially from Renee Zellweger, I've never loved a character as much as hers in this one, she is a fantastic actress, incredible work & Michelle Pfeiffer as the mother who is evil with a weak side, she portrays the character very well. As for the main character, Alison Lohman isn't a bad choice, but she wasn't incredibly remarkable either. Great movie, recommended, slow but very moving.

we all know that the book-to-movie process is indeed a difficult one and most film makers worry too often they'll be criticized severely for not following the author's intended themes. i can thankfully say that the makers of white oleander did try very hard to follow the themes and patterns of janet fitch's remarkable novel and i wasn't disappointed. in fact, i hope michelle pfieffer recieves atleast an oscar nomination for her performance here. white oleander is the story of a woman (played by michelle pfieffer) so heated up with jealousy that she plots to kill her love interest. after the love interest turns up dead, astrid is picked up by children's services and we follow her from foster home to home throughout the course of the film. from struggles with spiritual issues to blossoming womanhood, we see our protagonist's innocence shed like a snake's skin and we watch her magnificent change. through all the abuse and hardship she finds along her path, she also manages to encounter love and learn some of the hard lessons of life. i was nearly blown away by the performances of alison lohman and michelle pfieffer. i also believe robin wright-penn and renee zellweger were both effective in their roles although we don't get to spend too much time with them. however, i still think they could've included more story from the book as i don't think it's possible to squeeze a 445 pg novel into a 1hr. and 49 min. motion picture. aside from that, white oleander is probably one of the few films made these days which remains quite faithful to the book. if you haven't read the book yet, pick up a copy soon. if you have read the book and loved it, see the film.

About a Mother(played by Michelle Pfeiffer) who murders her boyfriend because he's cheating on her, her daughter Astrid(played by Alison Lohman) is forced to foster parents because her father left her mother when she was only 6 months old. She 1st meets this couple, mother is played by Robin-Wright Penn, & her boyfriend is Ray, fairly sweet guy who stops his girlfriend from murdering Astrid. She's takin to a foster place, where a bunch of kids rummage, Patrick Fugit plays her love interest, she meets him at this place, but she receives another couple looking for foster kids, the wife, Claire Richards(played fantastically by Renee Zellweger), very loving & sensitive woman, & the husband who is gone alot, divorces her, Astrid's mother, after she meets Claire, poisins Claire, & Astrid wakes up the next morning to find Claire lying right beside her, dead. Astrid's mother finally decides to do what's right & confesses in court, she's sentenced for life, while Astrid stays with her love.

This movie is well-thought & well-developped. Great acting, especially from Renee Zellweger, I've never loved a character as much as hers in this one, she is a fantastic actress, incredible work & Michelle Pfeiffer as the mother who is evil with a weak side, she portrays the character very well. As for the main character, Alison Lohman isn't a bad choice, but she wasn't incredibly remarkable either. Great movie, recommended, slow but very moving.

That almost never happens. BUT, i watched the film first. While the novel ends more realistically, the film's ending made me comfortable. Pfieffer is tremendous. Alison Lohman is a true talent. Even Zellweger--who doesn't usually impress me--hits her mark here. Robin--Sean;s wife--does a terrific job! She steals the film. I like the implications here, the things not spelled out. Nicely done.

This is a very good film, that a lot of people can enjoy, be careful it's a little bit sad but Alison Lohman and Michelle Pfeiffer are so great, nothing else to say.