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nema_jhurry
Reviews
The Iron Lady (2011)
A story that does not really live up to its title...
I am from an island that was a British colony until 1968. I still remember the first time I learned about Margaret Thatcher. I was in 7th grade when our English teacher told us about how she was one of the few women to have been prime minister, and how she was known as the "Iron Lady", because of her strength in making tough decisions for her country despite being faced with opposition from her own party. Later on, Margaret Thatcher actually paid a visit to my school and we got to listen to her speech.
When I walked into the theater to watch the movie "The Iron Lady", I had quite different expectations from what I saw. I thought that the movie would be more of an examination of Thatcher's beginnings as a politician and her years in office as prime minister.I thought I would get to see her in action, learn what factors drove her to have the courage not to budge in the face of adversity. Having heard so much about this incredible lady and having seen and heard her in person, I was expecting "Iron Lady" to be a demonstration of the very qualities that afforded her her nickname.
I would not say that the movie does a bad job of portraying all of the above, but rather that the portrayal of Thatcher in "Iron Lady" falls short of impressing, upon the audience, the core and strength of her character. Thatcher's character in the movie does not come off as the tough lady I was expecting to see, but focuses more on her weaknesses. The portrayal of Thatcher as the "Iron Lady" is least helped by the fact that the movie was dominated by scenes of her old age, declining memory, physical weaknesses and possible dementia, some aspects of which were described as inaccurate by one of her aids. The movie just glanced over her early years in politics. One day she was a grocer's daughter, the next, she was already elected MP. I would have liked to see a more detailed depiction of how she struggles, as a young woman, to gain the respect, confidence and trust of a country run mostly by male politicians, but instead, I was subjected to saddening scenes of her declining mind and body as an older person.
However, needless to say, I thought Meryl Streep did an excellent job acting her part, whether it was as the young Thatcher or as the older one. Meryl Streep's performance overrides almost everything that the movie lacks in terms of substance. I would definitely recommend this movie to others, much rather for them to be able to appreciate such intelligent and impeccable acting than for them to obtain an education about the life of Margaret Thatcher.
The Tree of Life (2011)
One of the most pointless movies I've ever seen
After seeing this movie, I sincerely cannot comprehend all the hype and the excellent reviews that it has attracted. The only way I can explain such good reviews is that whoever wrote them have either been generously paid to do so or were high on dope while doing so. This was the first time ever I have felt so angry about wasting my time and money watching a bad movie. The only reason the movie may have attracted so much attention is the fact that Brad Pitt and Sean Penn were acting in it. However, I felt that their talents were completely wasted on one of the most pointless and most boring movies I've ever seen.
Usually, I can sit through a bad movie, but this one bored me immensely within the first 10 min. I still do not understand what the director was trying to portray with the shots of volcanoes, planets, dinosaurs (terrible animation versions) and jellyfish (??). Half of those shots appeared to be borrowed from the Planet Earth series, except portrayed in an incomprehensible and boring manner. There was not a single instance that kept my attention and interest. I was especially irritated by the fact that the movie had a very strong religious streak, which the "good" reviews did not mention. The entire movie was a bunch of disconnected, pointless scenes thrown together, and the ending was especially annoying, with everybody in the family ending up in 'heaven'. I would compare the movie to those useless pieces of contemporary art that depict a monochromatic shape in the middle of a canvas, and attempt to convince us that there is some deeper bullshit meaning to it. I am particularly angry at all the reviewers that rated this movie so well. This movie is a total rip-off!