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Freedom Writers, a review by Eric

Freedom Writers


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What a good movie.  This is the perfect example of what I was saying before.  I started watching it knowing absolutely nothing about it and I was fascinated all along, only to discover at the end that it's a true story.

Freedom Writers is the story of a new teacher who takes charge of a class of young black and latino people involved in gangs and violence.  Once she realize that the school doesn't really care about educating them because the directors think there's nothing to get from them, she decides to do something herself and takes on extra jobs to buy them books and take them on trips to museum and other places.

I really enjoyed Hilary Swank's performance in this movie.  We're use to seeing her in weird and special characters (Million Dollar Baby, The story of the necklace, The Gift, etc) but rarely in the role of a normal person.  She's very good in this movie and her performance alone was worth watching it.

I think everyone should see this movie.


My score:


(From Eric's DVD watching. on October 5th, 2008)

Unknown, a review by DJ Doena

(german title: Unknown Identity)

Actors:
Liam Neeson
January Jones (Mad Men)
Bruno Ganz (Der Untergang / Downfall)
Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds)
Frank Langella (Masters of the Universe, Dave)

Plot:
Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) and his wife (Jones) arrive in Berlin to attend a bio-tech conference. He has to return to the airport because he left a briefcase there and his cab has a crash. When he wakes up in the hospital four days later he's not Dr. Harris anymore. Someone else is Dr. Harris and even his wife doesn't recognize him anymore. What the hell is going on?

My opinion:
I watched this in the theatre (german dubbing) yesterday. I liked that the whole picture took place in my hometown (Berlin) and that it actually was Berlin (and not just a canadian stand-in ). I found it amusing that in the dubbed version the only person speaking with an accent was Gina (Kruger) - a german actress.

When I first saw the character played by Bruno Ganz (I never saw Downfall and didn't recognize him) I immediately said "I bet he was with the Stasi" (former east-german secret service) and I was proven right that very minute. What I also liked about this character was that he pointed out that the whole plot didn't make much sense - until the reveal.

The Germans were a bit "too german" sometimes, like when Dr. Harris had to ID himself just to get into the conference room, even though he was on the guest list. The same thing with the cheap hotel just to keep him from getting a place to sleep. And the nurse: "Gretchen Erfurt". Seriously?

When I saw Langella I also instantly knew that he was the baddie. Except for Superman Returns (Perry White) I can't remember him not playing a baddie (He was Skeletor AND Nixon!!!).

The plot reveal had his ups and downs, for example
The other big plot holes I noticed where these:

I found Jones' character in general rather useless, which is kind of the same way I feel about her Mad Men character Betty Draper.

Everything considered it was an OK movie which I will watch on DVD again, mainly to watch it in english and check how they did the whole english/german mix.

And for us Germans: The doctor is Stockinger from Kommisar Rex.

(From Unknown on April 2nd, 2011)

Ghost Whisperer Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

1. PILOT
Melinda is haunted by the spirit of a restless soldier who died 30 years ago in Vietnam. She helps the veteran and his living son find closure.

My Thoughts:
The episode that started it all... the one that had me hooked on this show from the first time it aired. I liked that this one was about helping a fallen soldier.  It makes your patriotic side care about the show as well. I thought this episode really set what this show was to be about very well. I also like that even though this is a series that is more of a drama then anything... they still can make it eerie. This is a show about ghosts and that does have a scary side to it. And I felt they did a good job at balancing the two.

2. THE CROSSING
A boy, killed in a train accident, gets Melinda to find and convince the boy's mother that it was not her fault.

My Thoughts:
Another really good episode. This one don't really have any eerie feeling to it what so ever... but it does deal with the death of a very young boy. A 6yr. old. So this episode really leans much more on the drama side of the series. In this episode we also meet Jim's (Melinda's husband) mother.

3. GHOST, INTERRUPTED
Following her twin sister's death, a young girl's strange behavior gets her placed in a psychiatric facility. Melinda discovers the girl's dead twin is haunting her and must help the sisters reconcile.

My Thoughts:
Not only is the main storyline really good... the side story on this one is excellent. it deals with Melinda remembering when she was young and what she went through when she lost her grandmother. Her grandmother could also see ghosts... and taught Melinda all she knows about them.

4. MENDED HEARTS


My Thoughts:
This is a good... but somewhat standard episode. It is my least favorite on the first disc. But that is not to say I didn't enjoy it because I did. I just found this story not of the same caliber as the first 3. I found the ghost of the nurse that helped Melinda in the hospital pretty eerie... so it was good to see that back a little.

(From Ghost Whisperer Marathon on July 31st, 2008)