Change Your Image
solaraine
Reviews
Angels in America (2003)
This miniseries was a confusing mass of stereotypes
The only way I can discern how this miniseries got such an overall high rating must be that predominantly gays are commenting on it.
I have had gay friends and teachers and have no problem with their lifestyle, but this film does nothing for their struggles IMO. It seems mostly focused on homosexual struggles sprinkled with Jewish and Mormon themes mixed in just not to make it too much biased towards gay rights (?).
I failed to see the real point of the movie. The angel's prophecies were ludicrous, especially looking back to when the film was written in the '80's projecting forward to the new millennium. Didn't happen. =) Even though this film won golden globe awards (gay directors/actors/audience???), I felt Emma Thompson's acting ability was far over-suited to the childish dialog they made her recite. Besides, her wings kept flapping very oddly and badly done. Part of it was meant to be comedic, but the mix was very badly done.
When the film was made, I'm sure that it exposed issues with AIDS that were considered surprising. And especially, it was some of the first real portrayals of homosexual men making love on a mainstream screen, which was especially daring then, and even a bit now. But we know a whole lot more now about AIDS and homosexuals than ever before, so the subject these days isn't so striking.
I would not recommend this film to anyone unless they enjoy the soft porn between men making out. The stereotypes seemed a bit insulting if you asked me. They almost seem to portray most gay men as transvestites, which if I were a gay man, I'd find insulting to be lumped in that stereotype.
Perhaps too many controversial issues were brought into it all at the same time. The film seemed to be wanting to get people to watch it over the shock value instead of portraying real stories from real peoples' lives.
Beautiful Dreamers (1990)
Rare look at one man's power to change mental health
The rating is only a 5 because it's a movie that could have used better acting and direction (or at least music!). However, for the achievements of Walt Whitman, it deserves a 10. A previous poster calls the movie cheesy, however, I think it's a simple case of not seeing the forest for the trees. The film makers were apparently more interested in getting the story out there than to have a Hollywood shiny feature film. And for this, I applaud them - the fact it is non-mainstream reflects the life of Whitman as well. This film is more documentary than for the sake of acting. To be fascinated with a story such as this, when you rarely hear of these types of stories that shape current day mental health, is the most important thing. I found it a highly enjoyable look at history.