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Well. Two movies this weekend. Was not disappointed.
Gattaca was recommended in a reddit thread of "underrated movies." It was made for $36M and grossed (in theaters) $13M. Oops. It was nominated for several awards from various organizations. It won a few. For a movie released in 1997, it had the feel of science fiction from 30 years earlier, but I tend to think that was on purpose. The science was pretty good by today's standards and very good by our understanding of DNA in the late 90s. My biggest issue with the film was is pacing. It was deliberate and plodding for most of the running length. I suspect this explains the box office dollars.
Story line is good. A relatively fresh look at what the future could look like. Obviously, this kind of future has been written about hundreds of times with many variations of genetic manipulation, but this one spent its time talking about the future of individuals if their particular set of genes isn't perfect. The ramifications of having our sequence known is a problem medical ethicists are struggling with today. We are at the bleeding edge of genetic manipulation which is also raising concerns on some corners.
A fabulous cast. Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Ernest Borgnine, and Alan Arkin are the ones who stand out for me. And I really like them all in general.
It is a tiny bit preachy. There were moments in the film when I rolled my eyes at the directness of moralizing.
Still. We gave it a three and reddit was right. It is underrated by a long shot.
The other movie, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, was on our list because of Maggie Smith. I love to watch her and I hadn't seen anything of her where she wasn't playing an old lady. Here she is playing a woman in her 40s. And playing the part beautifully. She won an Oscar for this movie and well she should. A few other actors stand out, too. I can't say who without alerting a new viewer to watch particular characters. The story unfolds a bit predictably but has wonderful moments of "not what it seems." Some characters are very well played but are stereotypes for Maggie Smith to play against. It really is her movie from beginning to end.
This movie came out in 1969 but was based on a book from 1961. The world changed dramatically in that decade! It was also a play in the UK and on Broadway. Won awards in both places. It really is a very, very good story. We old folks will find a connection with movie that folks born after 1970 probably won't find. Even though it is set in Edinburgh in the 1930s, it is unmistakably a product of the 1960s.
It is a prize fight between rationalism and romanticism with all sides stuck in their view about what is proper. Jean Brodie at one ridiculous end of the spectrum and the head mistress at the other end. I found myself shifting back and forth from those points of view -- somewhere in the middle being pulled back and forth like a rag doll between two dogs. I never cheered for the Head Mistress, but I did want to put breaks on Brodie for most of the movie.
This got a solid 4 (mostly because movies of the 60s don't deserve better. :). I recommend it highly and it is a must see movie for Maggie Smith fans.
Gattaca was recommended in a reddit thread of "underrated movies." It was made for $36M and grossed (in theaters) $13M. Oops. It was nominated for several awards from various organizations. It won a few. For a movie released in 1997, it had the feel of science fiction from 30 years earlier, but I tend to think that was on purpose. The science was pretty good by today's standards and very good by our understanding of DNA in the late 90s. My biggest issue with the film was is pacing. It was deliberate and plodding for most of the running length. I suspect this explains the box office dollars.
Story line is good. A relatively fresh look at what the future could look like. Obviously, this kind of future has been written about hundreds of times with many variations of genetic manipulation, but this one spent its time talking about the future of individuals if their particular set of genes isn't perfect. The ramifications of having our sequence known is a problem medical ethicists are struggling with today. We are at the bleeding edge of genetic manipulation which is also raising concerns on some corners.
A fabulous cast. Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Ernest Borgnine, and Alan Arkin are the ones who stand out for me. And I really like them all in general.
It is a tiny bit preachy. There were moments in the film when I rolled my eyes at the directness of moralizing.
Still. We gave it a three and reddit was right. It is underrated by a long shot.
The other movie, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, was on our list because of Maggie Smith. I love to watch her and I hadn't seen anything of her where she wasn't playing an old lady. Here she is playing a woman in her 40s. And playing the part beautifully. She won an Oscar for this movie and well she should. A few other actors stand out, too. I can't say who without alerting a new viewer to watch particular characters. The story unfolds a bit predictably but has wonderful moments of "not what it seems." Some characters are very well played but are stereotypes for Maggie Smith to play against. It really is her movie from beginning to end.
This movie came out in 1969 but was based on a book from 1961. The world changed dramatically in that decade! It was also a play in the UK and on Broadway. Won awards in both places. It really is a very, very good story. We old folks will find a connection with movie that folks born after 1970 probably won't find. Even though it is set in Edinburgh in the 1930s, it is unmistakably a product of the 1960s.
It is a prize fight between rationalism and romanticism with all sides stuck in their view about what is proper. Jean Brodie at one ridiculous end of the spectrum and the head mistress at the other end. I found myself shifting back and forth from those points of view -- somewhere in the middle being pulled back and forth like a rag doll between two dogs. I never cheered for the Head Mistress, but I did want to put breaks on Brodie for most of the movie.
This got a solid 4 (mostly because movies of the 60s don't deserve better. :). I recommend it highly and it is a must see movie for Maggie Smith fans.
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