Steel Magnolias is a movie about the lives of six southern women and the drama that unfolds during a difficult period in their lives. As you can probably guess, there are tears, laughter and drama galore. The move is set in Chinquapin Parish, a small southern town in rural Louisiana. During the opening credits it draws you into the peaceful small town charm: beautiful homes, lush landscapes, blooming trees, shrubs and people lounging on their front porch. A young woman walks across a town that appears to be pulled straight from a Norman Rockwell painting, then gunshots! It’s the wedding day and there can be no birds pooping on the reception. You just got on the roller coaster; hang on! This movie will bring about every emotion you have I’ve introduced you to Shelby and M’Lynn already; now let me introduce you to Clairee Belcher, played by Olympia Dukakis. Clairee is a wealthy widow of the former mayor of Chinquapin Parish, is a refined southern lady and lover of gossip. Truvy Jones, played by Dolly Parton, is a small town “glamour technician”, gossip and reader of “Southern Hair Magazine”. She believes that “there is no such thing as natural beauty”. Many of the scenes in this movie take place in her beauty shop. Anelle Dupuy, played by Daryl Hannah, is a young woman straight out of beauty school and trying to start over in a new town after her husband mysteriously disappears, along with most of her belongings. Last but not least, we have Ouiser Boudreaux, played by Shirley MacLaine. She is abrasive, eccentric, rude and “richer than God”. She also happens to be my favorite character in the movie. The chemistry between these great actresses is what makes this movie one of the best, if not the best I’ve ever seen. When they are all together, it is movie magic! The dialogue and emotions that are so perfectly portrayed by all, will only leave you wanting more. Some of the gossip sessions are very dramatic and will bring you to tears, but some are so funny you’ll want to pee your pants. As Truvy states in the movie, “laughter through tears is my favorite emotion” and this movie delivers
She was as “stubborn as a rusted hinge” (27). Grace is “skinny to begin with” (40). Grandma is another character. She appears to be “a pretty terrible mother” and “mean” that “she wasn’t worth a speck of love” (9). Lacey is a “longed-legged, graceful” ballerina (35).
Mississippi Damned is a fictional film based upon real life situations. Is it centered on a small urban town in Mississippi that has experienced issues from generations to generations. The film centers around three families who live in close proximity of each other. All three women are sisters who are either married or dating with live in boyfriends. There are also three young children who grow up with these families and are subject to experiences far beyond their years.
Mississippi serves as a catalyst for the realization of what it is truly like to be a Negro in 1959. Once in the state of Mississippi, Griffin witnesses extreme racial tension, that he does not fully expect. It is on the bus ride into Mississippi that Griffin first experiences true racial cruelty from a resident of Mississippi.
The play is about a young woman, Catherine who had been taking care of her father during his last years of life. Anne Heche plays Catherine. Prior to this play, I have never seen Anne Heche in any acting performance. I have to say she did an outstanding job in her portrayal of Catherine. She did a fantastic job of immediately drawing you into Catherine’s world. She aptly portrays the characteristics of a girl who never got a chance to grow up and the slight madness of the genius she inherited from her father. One can easily feel sad for her because after all she gave up all her dreams to take care of her ailing father. Anne Heche plays Catherine so well that it easy for you to fall in love with Catherine and desire only good things for her.
The movie shows the Hoover family a typical American dysfunctional family who are all at different stages of their lives. Each member of the family has their own odd quirk. The family includes Richard, the father, who gives motivational speeches on “The Steps to Being Successful” which is completely ironic because his motivational book is failing, the grandpa who is addicted to heroin, Dwayne, the son, who is slightly depressed and refuses to speak, Sheryl, the mother/wife, who is just trying to keep it all together for everyone and Frank, the uncle, had a failed suicide attempt. Abby, the daughter just landed a spot at the Little Miss Sunshine beauty contest. The whole family decides to pack up their van and take a road trip
The novel begins with the protagonist, April Wheeler, portraying Gabrielle in an amateur-theatre production of the play, The Petrified Forest. The play ends up being a total disaster and leaves April devastated, leaving her disconnected from Frank, her husband, and her neighbors, Milly and Shep Campbell afterwards. The play, The Petrified Forest, is a disastrous love story of a man who decides to have himself die to keep the women he loves out of a life of misery. In the end of The Petrified Forest, Gabrielle is able to escape from her horrible lifestyle and fulfill her dreams; April was never able to do that.
Forrest Gump and the Blind Side both have strong characters, inspirational moments, and incredible hardships. The movies show two very smart people who are misunderstood by many.
The film "Garden State" is an eccentric drama; in addition, a romance comedy, with a slew of complex, innate cast of characters, each deeply entrenched in profound emotional and psychological scars, ascending from the regrets of their past. The film is a reflection, on rediscovering yourself after years of goalless ambiguity. Writer/Director Zach Braff, stars as the films’ chief character, Andrew Largeman. In James Berardinelli’s movie review, he said: “Garden State is one of those movies that fails to stay with the viewer for an extended period of time. It 's a forgettable film featuring a throw-away story with unmemorable characters and unremarkable performances.” I must disagree; although "Garden State" can be a tad somber, moody and too subtle for many viewers. Yet, the film is fantastically intriguing, by arousing viewers thoughts, and stimulating ones emotions, and that 's exactly what draws viewers in. Since the storyline requires viewers to dig deeper into the subtle undertones and symbolisms
The setting for this film and the particular scene is vital to bringing the story into focus. The story is of a black man who is fighting for his own life and not going to prison for the killing of two white men who had raped his 10 year old daughter. The director Joel Schumacher and the author John Grisham revisit the small town of Canton Mississippi in order to shoot this film. This element brings a reality and a visual to the audience of where the actual events took place. This builds the drama in the story. The courtroom scenes are shot at the actual courthouse in Canton (Arrington 1996). Originally the filming location chosen was to be in Oxford. Fortunately the filming was to take place during football season and all the hotels were full. Another setback was the courthouse lawn in Oxford was too small, therefore the traffic would also have to be rerouted for up to 15 days and this posed a problem as well. The Canton location was a better choice for originality of the story (Arrington 1996).
Fortuitously, the movie has turned out to be one of the best motion pictures of the year. Once again, Clint Eastwood surprises us all with his work as a film director. He gives the audience a chance to consider life from another viewpoint. The movie makes one think about what he or she has achieved in life and Maggie shows us that it is never too late to have a dream fulfilled. After all, this is why we are actually born and live to fulfill our dreams.
Misery the movie is about a famous author Paul Sheldon (played by James Caan) who is known for a series of award winning novels called Misery. To get inspiration for his books Paul Sheldon has ritual of visiting the Colorado mountains to complete his novels. Sheldon visited the mountains and in due time finishes his novel. In a haste to get back to his daily routines, Sheldon travels down the mountain unknowingly heading directly into a severe winter storm. While driving he ends up crashing and becoming seriously injured in the process. Thankfully and somewhat regretfully former nurse Anne Wilkes (Kathy Bates) Saves him. Anne bring him to her nearby home, on an isolated farm away from town to nurse Paul back to health. Anne is
The film is portrayed in the past and present scenario setting. It is based on a young couple’s love and passion for one another, but are unexpectedly separated due to the disapproval of the teen girl parents and the social differences in their life. At the start of the movie, it displays a nursing home style setting with an elderly man named Duke (James Garner), reading to an elderly woman named Mrs. Hamilton (Gena Rowlands), whose memory is inevitably deteriorating. The story he reads to her is a love story about two teenagers named Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling), that met in the 1940’s at a carnival in Seabrook Island, South Carolina. The two teens are from different cultural lifestyles,
It is really hard for me to choose only three films out of my favorites. After a thorough selection, the three winners of my favorite films are Forrest Gump (1994), Memento (2000) and Shutter Island (2010).
“Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get” (Zemeckis, Forrest Gump). The Academy Award Winner for Best Picture star Tom Hanks portrays the good-hearted but everlasting challenged man that deals with vast life changing dramatic problems, Forrest Gump. The drama-filled romantic comedy was directed by Robert Zemeckis and screenplay written by Eric Roth. In the film, Zemeckis illustrates Forrest as a guy that describes several messages from life lessons on love to the responsibility of ethics. A portion of the viewers may find Forrest Gump as a trivial movie while others pose a question as such: What makes Forrest Gump such a memorable human? From the moment Forrest Gump arrived on the scene of the
From Cowboys and Indians to the United States Cavalry. That’s right, I’m talking about western movies, these movies have it all. Out of all the famous westerns that just about everybody knows, the one that stands out has John Wayne and Montgomery Clift as the two main characters. John Wayne starred in plenty of movies during his acting career, but the best one John Wayne starred in was Red River this movie is also known as The River is Red both were released on September 17, 1948; although most people don’t think of John Wayne as the fatherly type, but reading this just might change their minds.