"Schwarzenegger even pays homage to Al Pacino's famous tango (in Scent of a Woman), when he takes the floor with a beautiful art deal (Tia Carrere). And his escape from this estate is brilliantly staged--the way Schwarzenegger handles two vicious dogs is particularly funny."

MY COMMENT: I agree. (-0)

"I am not a champion of imposing political correctness in the arts, but the portrayal of Muslims in True Lies is borderline racist. Islamic religion is used as a convenient symbol of evil. And the heavies, who are all Arabs, play stereotypical characters--Harry's nemesis, Aziz, is depicted as a renegade Islamic terrorist.

True Lies could be accused of sexism as well, particularly in the scene where Jamie Lee Curtis, who's suspected of carrying an adulterous affair, is humiliatingly asked to perform a sexy number in front of her husband, who's in disguise. This sexist portrayal surprised me, for Cameron was the first filmmaker to use actresses (Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2) as strong action heroines."

MY COMMENT: Important points (-0)

"But after an hour and a half of comedy and mostly overproduced action, the final segment of the movie, which is replete with special effects, turns gory--and silly."

MY COMMENT: This quot. is meant in negative spirit but it was why I LIKED the film. Nothing wrong with this opinion, though. No deduction. (-0)

While I graded the movie as higher than a "C", there is nothing detractable from this thorough review.

10/10

An interesting quoted description:
"In addition, the lovable lummox (Schwarzenegger) speaks six languages fluently (English doesn't seem to be one of them) and scopes fabulous femmes fatales, though all the while remaining faithful to his mousy missis (Jamie Lee Curtis) back in the Washington 'burbs."

MY COMMENT: Funny, but she also insults A.S's English later in the review, which becomes too mean. He is easy enough to understand in a movie where dialogue isn't all that important. (-1)

2/3 correct:
"a weird hybrid of action juggernaut, buddy cop caper and reactionary soft-core pornography."

MY COMMENT: Since when has suggestive dancing in lingerie been soft core porn? (-1)

OVERALL IMPORTANT
She gives away the "hotel" scene with A.S. ad JLC, which apparently was what she thought was "sick" about this movie. (-3)

Her quabbles are usually valid. No further deductions.

5/10

Rated PG for surprising sexual mentions and for scary animation sequences.

It's nice that this movie sticks to the old-fashioned cartoon PG definition in which there can be scary sequences but we know the hero won't die. Sure, the littlest of kids may need to hide their eyes when they see an oversized sea otter's mouth with a scowling expression, but the PG works

about the experience, right Jen?


I WILL EDIT THIS REVIEW! JUST A ROUGH DRAFT FOR NOW!


Rated PG-13 for LOUD ANGRY ARGUING, Jennifer Aniston's blurry stunt double, dirty talk that most middle schoolers have heard and that doesn't phase or surprise a college student at all.

BREAKUP

break¡Eup  /ˈbreɪkˌʌp/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[breyk-uhp] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

¡Vnoun 1.disintegration; disruption; dispersal. 2.the ending of a personal, esp. a romantic, relationship. 3.(in Alaska and Canada) a.the melting and loosening of ice in rivers and harbors during the early spring. b.the first day on which such ice is soft or dispersed enough to permit ships to use the waterways. 4.Informal. an act or instance of being convulsed with laughter. 5.temporary distortion in a televised picture.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Whaddya need for a breakup? First, A startup!

1. Jen and Vince meet at a baseball game. Vince insists Jen gets a hot dog and then insists she goes out with him to bar. In the meantime, he makes fun of the guy she's at the game with because he's wearing plaid shorts.

Comment: Forced activity and persistence are bad. Making fun of other people will get some people to like you, but making fun of others can easily come back to haunt you.

After the startup, whaddya need? A relationship!

2. Opening credits. Photo montage: Jen and Vince exchange Christmas gifts. They snuggle at a beach. They kiss repeatedly.


Every other photo is of their kissing. Is that the spotlight event of relationships? Kissing?

Then comes the breakup!

3a. Minor stressors. Vince playing video games and watching TV instead of cleaning up and doing dishes.

This could


3b. Pulling back. Stepping away, but hope of return. Misunderstandings.

Jen thinks that saying it's over will make things all better and make him


3c. Major stressors.

After misunderstandings, come major stressors and strong negative feelings. Some material not appropriate for kids under 13. I wish that

3d. Attempts for resolution (optional)

3e. (_?_)





Defs 1-3,5: In order for there to be a breakup, something needs to be there in the first place. Glaciers and ice, a clear TV screen, an established personal relationship.



Criticism: (BOO!)

Contains a scene in Jen's bedroom in which she tells him to walk out the door/ leave her alone. Vince continues talking. Comes closer. She holds her level of staying calm.

Bad message to guys!

Here's why: If a girl tells you to leave her alone or leave the room, you must leave, or else anything further you do can potentially get you in trouble. If you continue to talk or stay there or do anything to INTENSIFY the situation, the girl will become nervous, DEFINITELY less calm than she was a moment ago.

Mood of the movie

Disgruntling I had heard there are arguments throughout the film. There was one scene that continue maybe 3-5 minutes of constant arguing between the 2 leads. It may have been shorter, but because it was so powerful it seemed like a long time. There was loud music in the early stage of the movie, and the arguing in the middle was the loudest and most uncomfortably noisy segment. After that scene it was toned down and the music was lighter. The scene of intense argument is IMPORTANT and deserves to be included, because in most breakups there is a scene of such intensity.

Humorous! A comedy works well when the established characters are well-based normal people and funny things happen to them. This movie contains many side characters who wander in and out but aren't critical to the storyline. Some are quirky and hilarious. Some try to be quirky and aren't and they seem more like the average human someone would meet in everyday life. The audience of college aged students broke up many times during this film.

Problem with Vince Vaughn's character

These 2 kinds of guys girls don't like:
1. Guys who are obstinate and won't help, have things 100% their way, don't care.
2. Guys who are always bending over backwards for them, have things 0% their way, CARE WAY TOO MUCH.

Vince Vaughn is both of these guys at some point in the movie.

Defs 1-3,5: In order for there to be a breakup, something needs to be there in the first place. Glaciers and ice, a clear TV screen, an established personal relationship.


"I thought that what we had would never end. But now it's too late for my heart to mend. Though what we had was good, I've got to make this understood..." Keep on Walkin' by CeCe Peniston.

A juicy movie for film critics-- experienced and novice all the like. I suggest you read the careful, delving review of Roger Ebert first, and then I'll add my comments.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050714/REVIEWS/50708002/1023

Ebert: "Toward the end, the movie goes gooey."

MY COMMENTS:
We see this scenario all too often. Guy falls in love with girl. THEN...
1. Guy tells girl how he feels.
2. Guy follows girl around.
3. Guy wants to talk with girl to express his feelings. etc.

Then the girl eats it up! She's all for it, and she ends up in his arms and in love with him and they're together. It sends the message to guys that being persistent and mopey-dopey and acting dependent is what it takes to win the girl over.

NO! A guy can't help falling in love, but for starters, he should do the opposite of 1,2, and 3 as a strategy for reciprocity.

Ebert: "He (Sack, the bad guy) has the charisma of a knife".

As well as being hateful, evil, and not funny, Sack is also made too smart for the movie. He calls his buddy to get the inside scoop on these 2 guys who he thinks are full of it. This implies that there will be a discovery to disclose the identities of Vaughn and Wilson.

Consider the following possibilities
1. Sack finds out their stories are made up and breaks the news while Wilson and Vaughn are still there, leading to a confrontation, confession, and then a breach of trust between the two guys and all the cleary family. After this breach of trust, the Cleary family would not accept Wilson and Vaughn as suitors for two of the Cleary sisters.

2. Wilson and Vaughn have left the island, and shortly afterwards the Sack tells the cLeary family about the sham. The news would make it impossible for Wilson to make amends with the family.

3. Wilson and Vaughn leave the island. Sack doesn't find out about the sham until a long period afterwards. In the meantime, Wilson and Vaughn attempt to become the men they said they were and adopt new lifestyles. Perhaps come to the realization to move beyond wedding crashing and learn how to sail, start up the business they had claimed to own etc. Then if faced with Sack's claim that Owen and Wilson are fakes, Owen and Wilson would have a fighting chance to defend themselves and reasonably impress the Cleary family.

...



To be continued...