nathan000000 Reviews

Oscar (1991)

Who'd have thought Sly could be so hilarious?

[27 November 2003]

I am very selective about the movies I buy for my personal library, and this one passed. The whole movie takes place between 8:30 a.m. and 12:00 noon, and the twists and complications never stop. It's packed with memorable one-liners and hilarious images: former hit-men being butlers and making fruit salad, a linguist (Tim Curry) whose unsolicited grammar corrections keep getting misunderstood, the melodramatic daughter (Marisa Tomei) of a gangster named after a cheese.

Few movies carry this many successive gut laughs. It's quite an ab workout. It's also comparitively clean—five or six swear words and some allusions to premarital pregnancy and activities. I highly recommend it.

The Emmett Smith Story (1979)

Relatively well-done, inspiring short film

[8/10 · 22 September 2003]

This movie is kind of like taking one of those short stories in "Chicken Soup for the Soul" and making it into a film. As with most student films, it suffers a bit from less-than-perfect writing and directing, but I was actually impressed with the two lead characters. They were the best actors in the film, and so deserved and received the most screen time. Both did a great job. The story itself is inspiring, especially given the fact that it's true. I'd recommend the film to parents, teachers, or coaches who wanted to teach their kids a lesson about determination and goal-setting.