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Sliding Doors, a review by Antares

Sliding Doors





Year: 1998
Film Studio: Paramount Pictures, Miramax Films, Mirage Productions
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Length: 99 Min.

Director
Peter Howitt (1957)

Writing
Peter Howitt (1957)...Writer

Producer
Helen Booth
Philippa Braithwaite
Guy East
William Horberg
Sydney Pollack (1934)
Sandy Poustie
Nigel Sinclair
David Wisnievitz

Cinematographer
Remi Adefarasin (1948)

Music
David Hirschfelder (1960)...Composer

Stars
Gwyneth Paltrow (1972) as Helen Quilley
John Hannah (1962) as James Hammerton
John Lynch (1961) as Gerry
Jeanne Tripplehorn (1963) as Lydia
Zara Turner as Anna
Douglas McFerran as Russell
Paul Brightwell as Clive
Nina Young (1966) as Claudia

ReviewSliding DoorsRatings Criterion4 Stars - Historically important film, considered a classic.

(From Sliding Doors (1998) on February 1st, 2010)

Terra Sonāmbula, a review by Danae Cassandra

Where We Are:  Mozambique
wikipedia

What We Watched:


Overview:
In the midst of Mozambique's devastating civil war, Muidinga, an orphaned refugee, wanders the countryside in search of his mother.  His only companion is an elderly storyteller, and the only guide to finding his mother is a dead man's diary.  Together the storyteller and diary lead him on a magical, and sometimes macabre, journey across war-torn landscapes to find the family he lost.  Based on Mia Coutou's acclaimed Portuguese novel of the same name, Teresa Prata's transporting drama underscores the power of imagination in surviving, and ultimately overcoming, the catastrophe of war.

My Thoughts:
I'm a bit overwhelmed as to what to say.  This is a powerful film.  It has a lot to say about the effect of ongoing war on civilian populations, on the madness of madness of inter-tribal conflict and prejudice.  When the shopkeeper says that the kind of men he likes are those of "no color," it really resonates to conflict around the globe, not just Mozambique.

This is another low-budget film with amateur actors, but the two leads, Nick Laura Teresa as Muidinga and Aladino Jasse as Tuahir, are really good in their roles.  Jasse really brings Tuahir to life.  I was especially struck by the scene where he recalls life before the war, when he worked for the railroad, and how he brings that to life for Muidinga. 

This is, in part, magical realism, and as such can be read in multiple ways.  Tuahir and Muidinga journey in circles, ever-returning to the burned-out bus they first settle in.  Later the bus moves while they remain in it.  It is left to the viewer whether you believe in the magic, or it is simply their hallucination as the events of their lives overwhelm them.  Just as you are left to decide whether the story of Kindzu that Muidinga reads from the journal has happened as Muidinga reads it, or is it something that Muidinga is embellishing or making up.  The ending is equally ambiguous, letting the viewer end the story themselves.

This is a very compelling film, well made despite its budgetary limitations, but given the subject matter not for the tender-hearted.  There's also one scene that would offend most of my friends - - so let me also say that it's not for the easily offended.  It's a scene that could have been left out, but also makes sense in context.  Your mileage may vary, but that scene made me decide I could never show this great film to several of my closest friends and why I didn't rate the film higher.  Otherwise, recommended.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall:  3.5/5

(From Around the World in 86 Movies on February 18th, 2013)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Title: Veronica Mars: Season Two
Year: 2005
Director:
Rating: FSK-16
Length: 882 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Surround, French: Dolby Digital Surround, German: Dolby Digital Surround, Hungarian: Dolby Digital Surround, Italian: Dolby Digital Surround, Spanish: Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:


Plot:MarsAwards:

American Film Institute Awards	2005	Won	TV Programs of the Year
Saturn	2004	Nominated	Best Actress - Television Series	Kristin Bell
Saturn	2005	Won	Best Actress in a Television Series	Kristen Bell
Saturn	2006	Nominated	Best Actress in a Television Series	Kristen Bell
Saturn	2005	Nominated	Best Network Television Series
Saturn	2006	Nominated	Best Network Television Series
Teen Choice Awards	2005	Nominated	Choice TV Breakout Performance - Female	Kristen Bell
Teen Choice Awards	2005	Nominated	Choice TV Breakout Show
Teen Choice Awards	2006	Nominated	TV - Choice Actress: Drama/Action Adventure	Kristen Bell
Teen Choice Awards	2006	Nominated	TV - Choice Parental Unit	Enrico Colantoni
Teen Choice Awards	2006	Nominated	TV - Choice Sidekick	Percy Daggs

Extras:
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Outtakes

I didn't enjoy this season as much as the first one. If I would have watched it when it originally aired, I probably would have given up on the show.
In my season 1 review I said, that I was hoping it to be Logan who was at the door. Now it turned out that he was, but I didn't like the way they handled it. Through flashbacks we learn, that Veronica and Logan were a couple throughout the summer but broke up when he became an asshole again. I didn't like this. Season 1 was about him first being a little bit nasty, but growing closer to Veronica throughout the season and at the end of the season him being a likable character.
But then they start out this season with him being a bigger asshole than ever before. It just ruins the character development of the first season.
I am glad to see more of Mac, my favorite supporting character. But sadly they didn't pick up the storyline of her family life from season 1.
This season's mystery was mostly uninteresting to me, but it was nicely wrapped up at the end.

#	Episode	Rating
01	Normal Is the Watchword
02	Driver Ed
03	Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang
04	Green-Eyed Monster
05	Blast from the Past
06	Rat Saw God
07	Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner
08	Ahoy, Mateys!
09	My Mother, the Fiend
10	One Angry Veronica
11	Donut Run
12	Rashard and Wallace Go to White Castle
13	Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough
14	Versatile Toppings
15	The Quick and the Wed
16	The Rapes of Graff
17	Plan B
18	I Am God
19	Nevermind the Buttocks
20	Look Who's Stalking
21	Happy Go Lucky
22	Not Pictured

(From Tom's Random Reviews on December 19th, 2009)