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Sarafina!, a review by KinkyCyborg

Sarafina!



Title:Sarafina!
Year: 1992
Director: Darrell Roodt
Rating: PG-13
Length: 0 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Whoopie Goldberg
John Kani
Leleti Khumalo
Miriam Makeba
Tertius Meintjes

Plot:
Soweto, South Africa. A new world is opening up for a group of young black students, whose extraordinary teacher, Mary, defies the authorities and dares to teach her students truths not found in approved textbooks.

For one pupil in particular, young Sarafina, the forbidden curriculum will have a far-reaching impact in her life.

A brilliant educator, Mary inspires her students to take pride in their heritage and themselves. She also urges them to search for the truth and stand up for their individual rights.

Extras:
Scene Access


Apartheid the musical. 

Ugh... how I struggled through this movie. I've seen many movies that have dealt with the injustice and atrocities in South Africa during the incarceration of Nelson Mandela but this adds no new perspectives and quite frankly I found most of the musical bits to be a distraction. The songs sung by the children in their own native tongues with the subtitled translations were quite beautiful but I found the english songs done to a hybrid hip hop/Bollywood type of choreography to be very tacky.

The inclusion of Whoopi Goldberg did little to help this movie and her performance came across as a bit self serving, attaching herself to a cause or movement. The musical magic from her Sister Act flicks was nowhere to be found in this one.

I'm sure this was an artistic interpretation of Apartheid but to me it comes across as mocking. 

KC


Rating:

(From KinkyCyborg's Random Reviews 2010 on January 9th, 2011)

Night on the Galactic Railroad, a review by Danae Cassandra

Night on the Galactic Railroad (Ginga Tetsudou no Yoru)
Year of Release: 1985
Directed By: Gizaburo Sugii
Starring: Mayumi Tanaka, Chika Sakamoto
Genre: Drama, Fantasy

Overview:
Once upon a time, there was a young boy named Giovanni, whose life was filled with hardship. He toiled late into the night, caring for his ill mother, and he was scorned by the other children. But Giovanni's life is about to change. As he gazes into the starry sky, a mysterious galactic train appears! Giovanni is about to embark on a magical adventure through the Milky Way!

My Thoughts:
This is a beautiful, traditional hand-drawn animated film.  It's a film that rewards patience and contemplation, a film of quiet moments, friendship, and philosophy rather than action and adventure.  It is definitely not for those with a short attention span.  Some might say that it's not for children ... even though it's a children's film.  I'd disagree, because I think we don't give kids enough credit  either for being able to sit still or for grasping tough concepts.  This is a film about death, and as such it has a lot to say about life.  Highly recommended as a masterpiece of anime, but it's a slow, sad, beautiful film, so be prepared for that.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 4/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on December 5th, 2015)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Home Improvement


Pilot
After Jill explicitly tells Tim not to touch the dishwasher, he breaks it in an attempt to make it more powerful; more of a "man's" dishwasher. Jill has a job interview, but she doesn't get it and when Tim tries to comfort her, he only makes matters worse. After talking to Wilson, Tim tries again and succeeds.

My Thoughts:
This has always been a sitcom I enjoyed. Though I do admit that the first episode wasn't as good as many episodes that followed. Some reason I still only have the first season of this show. One of these days I need to continue on this series.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on February 8th, 2010)