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Reviews
Christine (1983)
my favorite screen actress: Christine.
This was one of the first Stephen King movies I ever saw. I went to it in the theater when I was 18. Such a beautiful car, and with a trait that all drivers could appreciate: she can repair herself. It was on the way home, riding my bike down a darkened street, that my imagination was kicked into high gear. Coming down the other side of the street towards me was a car with it's high beam headlights on. Two round headlights on each side. It wasn't a 58 fury, but didn't really linger to find out if it was related to Christine either. Let's just say, that bicycle never travelled that fast home before or after! But what a beautiful car.
The Wonderful World of Disney: The Miracle Worker (2000)
my childhood favorite, redone just in time
When i was about seven years old, I read a fascinating book, unusual for me considering I wasn't really much for reading books (and still aren't). I read this one several times, mostly for the story but also for two very secret codes that no one else knew. I learned them to the extent that throughout my schooling, I could use either one of them quite proficiently. One of the codes was Braille, the other was the Manual Alphabet. The name of the book was "the story of Helen Keller". It also gave me a lifetime of wanting to learn the entire American Sign Language. It would take fifteen years after first reading the book, but I would eventually learn some of this amazing language.
Now we jump to a time two years ago. My boss at the time, a truck driver and breeder of Great Danes, knowing I was very much an animal lover, asked if I'd be interested in taking a deaf female great dane he'd rescued from another breeder. The four month old puppy, a beautiful version of the coloring known as Harlequin, needed patience and extensive training. After several weeks working with her virtually every free moment, I was going to do something I'd never once considered: I was going to give up on another living creature. I wasn't getting through. Nothing was working. I was getting truly frustrated because she didn't seem to be catching on. I was seriously considering sending her back to my boss, who would find her another home. Maybe I and Evony weren't supposed to connect... I told my mom of this plan, and she, the one who taught me my love of animals, asked me to give the puppy just a little while longer.
It was while I was sitting in the living room shortly after that, checking the schedule of the satellite TV that I noticed the title "the miracle worker". Very familiar to the story of Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller (favorite book, remember), I switched it over to the movie. I watched it, taping it at the same time, then sat there a long time afterward. One idea of the movie stayed with me: If Annie Sullivan gave up, she was Helen Keller's last chance. Helen would be sent to an insane asylum (a common practise at the time for severely/multiple handicapped people). If, throughout the conflict, she had let go of that little hand, Helen Keller would have been just another sightless, soundless face in an asylum, instead of a leader and inspiration to all. Annie was the only one who saw intelligence behind those sightless eyes. She just had to get through to it. I looked at Evony, the puppy I had considered naming Helen or Keller, in honor of Helen Keller, and knew I couldn't give up and let go of that little hand...
Evony is now a two and a half year old, happy, healthy (36 inches at the shoulder, 150 pounds!) dog. Without any knowledge of signals used by dog trainers, I taught her American Sign Language. Her vocabulary is now sixteen signed commands. She adores anyone she meets, favorite is the kids who are fascinated by this giant white dog. When they ask if they can pet her, I request that they approach from the front so she can see them, because she can't hear. Then their fascination grows: a deaf dog. Adults are amazed that this huge dog, the personification of affection, understands American Sign Language. My answer is the same: "She's very intelligent. Just took some patience..." Do I see myself as a male Annie Sullivan, teaching a canine Helen Keller to lead the world? No. Her mission is to teach everyone to get along, and that they should all stop and pet large white dogs whenever possible. She does prove, however, what is possible when you're inspired. What a mistake I may have made, if not for this movie airing when it did.
At First Sight (1999)
don't really go for love stories but
i've never really went for the gushy movies (boy meets girl, boy...er...whatever girl, boy marries girl) but this is the second one that was tolerable. other one was "50 first dates". this one shows what happens when the guy's girlfriend likes the guy who's blind, but wants him 'perfect'. translate:unblind. if i may leave the subject of the movie for a minute, i adopted a deaf great dane puppy two years ago, an act that many told me was not a good idea. terms of "untrainable" and such were offered (my reaction is i hope they never have the blessing of a handicapped kid!!). she was rescued from a breeder and a fate we can all just imagine. because i know more sign language than signals used by dog trainers, i taught her sign language. she is now two and a half years old, full grown, and basically a happy healthy dog who adores everyone. the fact that she can't hear these people does not affect her. i have had some suggest that surgery may "repair" her hearing. fact is, why?? to disorient her? so i have the challenge of training her again? to make them feel better because she's "complete"? why put her though this discomfort for something that may not work? this movie brings this to light. if the person (or pet) is adjusted to what the rest of us may see as a handicap, why try to fix it? the main character in this, expertly played by val kilmer (note: i'm not a raving fan of his, but becoming one), used to his blindness, is turned into a seeing person who crashes into things because he's not used to using his eyes. he could see his surroundings before, without the burden of vision. the blind people i've known embarrass me with they way they negotiate through a crowd. makes me wonder who the handicapped one is... all in all, a movie that tells us it's okay to be different, and it's okay to accept others who can see with their ears and fingers, or listen with their eyes. find your favorite blind person, or deaf dog, and go for a walk. you'll never believe what you're missing.
50 First Dates (2004)
prefer action movies but...
first i have to say, I'm a guy. give me mindless violence, car chases, and explosions, and i'm going to be happy with any movie. i don't normally go for a "romantic" movie of any kind, even with drew barrymore in it, although she is an impressive talent, and definitely not hard to watch in any movie. but this one is, well, different.
what gets me with a lot of romance movies is that, all that happens is romance, and it gets really. really stupid after awhile (geez, you guys, get a room!!). the other thing is that, everyone overcomes the adversity (often what brought them together in the first place) and they live sappily...i mean...happily ever after. if they don't, it's a tragedy, and everyone leaves all weepy eyed over them. 50 first dates does neither of these things.
first, the adversity of drew barrymore's character surviving a serious accident, which her father blames himself for, leaving her with brain injuries that, by the diagnosis of the doctor, are not going to be repairable (as opposed to most of the movies "it's possible", and they do recover). this proves mostly that, if the person isn't going to recover and become perfect again in the other movies, the romance is over. this movie, right from the start, tells you she isn't going to recover, a fact that adam sandler's character doesn't seem to be bothered by. he remains by her side, despite the fact that she doesn't know who he is at the start of every day. his handling of this situation is not only insightful, but down right inspirational (and totally comedic in many cases).
it has the romance, but doesn't base the entire movie on it. for the guys, it even has the violent scene, as she protects her "unknown" boyfriend from his attacker "ula", beating him with a baseball bat while chasing him across the field. it shows the seriousness of the injury, as she watches a video of newspaper clippings telling her what she's lost, but also gives you rib-cracking comedy when, upon waking up in the morning and finding a "stanger" in bed with her, she proceeds to knock him unconscious, prompting her brother's comment of "maybe i can't kick your *** but my sister can".
if more romantic movies were like this, i'd like more romantic movies. it doesn't end as a tragedy, because it isn't. but she doesn't end as perfect either, showing that, in his eyes, she is perfect, and that's what mattered. telling us that it's okay to see the one we care for, and overlook the imperfections. a message movie that doesn't harp on it, or make you feel sorry for her. i can handle that.all in all, a movie i could watch again and again.