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by Bethany Steichen and Scott Trenda
Stand and Deliver (1988)
Starring:
Edward James Olmos (Selena, Blade Runner)
Lou Diamond Phillips (Courage Under Fire, Brokedown Palace)
Andy Garcia (Ocean's Eleven, Hero, The Godfather Part III)
Directed by: Ramon Menendez (Money for Nothing)
Synopsis: Based on a true story, Jaime Escalante begins teaching math at an inner-city Los Angeles high school. Initially, the students have trouble with simple addition, but Jaime encourages them, challenges them and eventually feeds them AP calculus. The class takes the AP test, which every student passes, but the testing board doubts the scores because they're almost perfect.
Bethany's Rating: 2 out of 4
First of all, this movie isn't bad per se—if you are interested in math and Spanish, you should definitely see it. But chances are if you've been in math and Spanish classes, you've also already seen it. The story line is extremely predictable even though there really aren't other movies made along these lines, but fortunately the dialogue holds the movie together pretty well. On the down side, the scripting isn't memorable or lasting in any way, and the whole thing doesn't wear well. I've grown steadily less impressed with this movie each successive time I've watched it, starting in my eighth grade geometry class. In sum, it's worth a look if you've always pined for a film with a math hero in it, but I wouldn't put it in my video collection either.
Scott's Rating: 3 out of 4
I love this movie! Although I saw it twice in high school (both times in Spanish class), I bought the DVD because it was $7 and watch it all the time now. Stand and Deliver has a quality of remaining enjoyable even as background entertainment. I know I'm a little biased because I'm a math major, but the acting is well done despite the rather standard script and stereotypical situations. Even though I know the film isn't brilliant beyond a standard true-story-of-overcoming-social-status Hollywood movie, the production makes this drawback very easy to overlook.
Startup.com (2001)
Starring:
Kaleil Isaza Tuzman
Tom Herman
Directed by: Chris Hegedus (Depeche Mode 101, Woodstock Diary), Jehane Noujaim (Down from the Mountain, Only the Strong Survive)
Synopsis: As its name implies, this film is a documentary of the rise and fall of one dot-com business. Kaleil Tuzman and Tom Herman, friends since high school, toss around ideas for Internet businesses until finally settling on govWorks.com. Although the exact services provided were not stated, it was implied that simple traffic violations or tickets could be taken care of online by using their software. After deciding on a business and name, the two face challenges of finding sponsorship, competing with dozens of other start-up companies, meeting facility needs for a growing employee base, and trying to run a business while keeping their friendship intact.
Bethany's Rating: 1 out of 4
I found myself very distanced from this movie: The characters were not engaging, and much of the action seems to take place on cell phones. Attempts were made to draw the audience into the lives of the two dot-commers by showing Tuzman's girlfriends, Herman's daughter and mother, and shots of social settings, but they remained just attempts because these scenes came out of nowhere. The depiction of the harsh, cut-throat politics required to survive in Silicon Valley and the strain on working friendships were good but could not outweigh the slowness and distance of presentation. Overall, I left this movie with only the knowledge that it is my right to apply for a fishing license from home at 3:15 a.m.
Scott's Rating: 4 out of 4
I found myself very surprised by this movie. I had heard very little about it, and it did not initially strike me as a documentary. I thought it showed a good case study of friendship vs. business, and the effects of our rapidly changing economy. As I saw the possibilities of success for govWorks.com diminishing despite company enthusiasm and personal ambition, I felt sorry for the founders. Although Tuzman's actions seem harsh and Herman's responses seem contrary to their initial friendship, the reasoning behind their actions is evident, so the only antagonist is the situation the world put them in. This perfectly sets up the circumstances for an enjoyable movie, and the execution is done almost to perfection as well. If I were to change anything, I would have either enhanced or completely removed the score, and perhaps increased the pace. Other than that, it's a great movie.
A.I. (2001)
Starring:
Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense, Pay it Forward)
Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Gattaca)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report)
Synopsis: For over 20 years, Stanley Kubrick planned and developed the story for A.I., but he died in 1999 before it could be completed. Steven Spielberg took over and finished the project. In the far future, the world's polar ice caps have melted, technology has improved to godlike proportions, and humanoid robots have taken the place of humans in many banal positions of society. David (Osment) is a new protocol, a child robot programmed solely to love unconditionally. A family (whose son has been cryogenically frozen-to await the cure to his rare disease) buys David to take his place. However, the son miraculously recovers and returns to his family and new "sibling" David. Problems arise, and the family decides to return David for destruction. David is only programmed to love that specific family, so he goes on a mythical journey a la Pinocchio to find the Blue Fairy who will turn him into a real boy so he can return to his family.
Bethany's Rating: 2 out of 4
The concept is thought provoking and scary, not surprisingly for a Kubrick movie, but it suffers from several disconnects. The family's decision to keep David—and their natural son's reaction to him—are joltingly one-dimensional. But Osment and Law mimic a robotic humanity wonderfully and easily. Graphics and animation in this film are also done very well, including my favorite character Teddy—the super Teddy Ruxpin toy of the future. Another strong point is the juxtaposition of emotions and images of both people and machines. Unfortunately, this movie is a half-hour too long. A logical stopping point wraps up all the loose ends, but the end credits do not follow. Instead, a complete mood shift takes place, destroying the rest of the movie. The final scenes were some of the film's largest faults.
Scott's Rating: 1 out of 4
I will echo every other critic here and say that the styles of the two directors involved in creating this movie did not mesh well at all. Each is fantastic in his own right, but each has his own quirks. Kubrick likes to fashion dynamic characters who can sustain a film on their own, without the help of many extraneous characters. Spielberg likes to create universes inside his movies with dependable characters who react logically to their situations. Combine the two, and you have a discontinuous movie with a range of characters who do not work well together. Also, Kubrick's films tend to end on a contemplative note, not allowing an easy definition of the film. Spielberg's films tend to end with complete, satisfying Hollywood endings. Spielberg tried to pay homage to the late Kubrick and included both styles in the actual ending of A.I; it turned out horribly. The movie would have been a lot better if it had ended about half an hour earlier or if it had skipped one part of it. The one saving grace of the movie was the talented Osment. But all in all, this movie did not work well for me.
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Starring:
Gene Wilder (Blazing Saddles, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
Peter Boyle (Monster's Ball, Taxi Driver)
Directed by: Mel Brooks (Blazing Saddles, The Producers)
Synopsis: Dr. Fredrick Frankenstein (Wilder), an American medical specialist, inherits his grandfather's famous Transylvanian castle. While at first disgusted by his ancestor's infamy, he gradually becomes obsessed with the notion of recreating life and building a superhuman.
Bethany's Rating: 2 out of 4
This movie is a classic Mel Brooks film—but an early and perhaps not so polished version nonetheless. Several of the jokes and gags were refined and reused to better effect in later films, like Blazing Saddles and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Despite this flaw, Wilder is a comic genius, and the small cast pulls everything together to make this more than just a run-of-the-mill Frankenstein spoof. It's very playful, except for one scene: The monster's rape of Frankenstein's fiancée is an extremely tacky and inappropriate forum for cheap laughs. Outside of a few such poorly thought-out jokes, it is a true Brooks film.
Scott's Rating: 2 out of 4
I didn't dislike the movie, but I felt that good ideas could only go so far without good execution. Many of the parts of the movie made me laugh hysterically ("Blücher!"), but others were simply overdone and extremely cumbersome. I like Brooks more in his silly, inane ideas ("Springtime for Hitler" from The Producers) which make you laugh by being funny and at the same time make you giggle by being silly. Many scenes made me groan rather than laugh. I don't like to groan. Well thought, Mel, but not well done.
