SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER

SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER - 1993

RATED - PG for thematic elements. VERY family friendly for ages 7+.

RATINGS - 106 Amazon (5/5), 336,733 Netflix (3.8/5), 12,330 IMDB (7.5/10), Roger Ebert (4/4).

STARRING - Max Pomeranc, Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburne

AWARDS - 1994 Academy Award nomination for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY plus 4 other nominations and 5 wins.

THEMES - Relationships, gifts, winning.

STORY - The film is based on the true story of Josh Waitzkin and his family. What happens when a sportswriter, who has just given his son a new baseball glove for his 7th birthday, discovers that his son prefers chess over baseball. He not only prefers it but he is a child prodigy. He could be another Bobby Fischer. Unfortunately, as we see in flashbacks of Fischer's career throughout the film, being a genius and world champion did not necessarily make you a human success story. The question is: are genius and success as a human being mutually exclusive? Can you be a child prodigy and a 'normal' child? The film does a great job of exploring that question as we see the family struggle with first, Josh's gifts, and then, how to best use the incredible talent he has for visualizing the game of chess. As Josh says to one of his opponents during a match, 'It's over. You just don't know it yet." Genius sees things the rest of us mortals do not. The acting is superb, the cinematography, especially of the chess tournaments, is amazing, and the degree to which the film addresses the question of genius versus having a life is sometimes heartbreaking. A film that will challenge you and inspire you. You don't need to be a chess fan or even know anything about the game to enjoy this one. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/29/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, ROGER EBERT (Excellent Review)

COOL RUNNINGS

COOL RUNNINGS - 1993

RATED - PG for mild language & brief violence. VERY family friendly for children 8+.

RATINGS - 84 Amazon (5/5), 481,379 Netflix (3.7/5), 20,178 IMDB (6.5/10).

STARRING - John Candy & friends.

THEMES - Follow your dream, justice, relationships.

STORY - Based on the true story of the 1988 Jamaica Olympic bobsled team. How much of the details of the film are actual facts is unknown but it is true that Jamaica did send a four man bobsled team to the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. This is the funny and inspiring story of how it came about, how they got there and what happened once they arrived. I'm not always a big John Candy fan but I think you'll like him in this film. More than just a comedy - I start laughing when I hear Jamaica, Olympic and bobsled all in the same sentence - this is a film about a world class athlete who loses his chance to compete in the Summer Olympics and is determined to get to the Olympics no matter how. What happens when he and John Candy, a former Olympic Gold Medalist in bobsledding for the USA, who is a down and out bookie living in Jamaica, get together is pure fun and magic. While there is no easy way to learn bobsledding in Jamaica, it won't be for lack of trying if they don't. This is the kind of film that Walt Disney built its reputation on. An upbeat soundtrack of Reggae music adds to the film as well as the great scenery. A fun evening for the whole family. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/29/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, ROGER EBERT

THE COLOR OF PARADISE

THE COLOR OF PARADISE - 1999

RATED - PG for mature themes. VERY family friendly.

RATINGS - 75 Amazon (5/5), 75,077 Netflix (3.8/5), 2,955 IMDB (7.7/10), Roger Ebert (4/4)

AWARDS - 10 wins and 8 nominations at various film festivals.

THEMES - Relationships, reconciliation, physical handicaps.

STORY - From the producer of the ACADEMY AWARD nominee, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN, Majid Majidi, comes this sequel, THE COLOR OF PARADISE. Described as 'Stunningly beautiful. A gem." by Stephen Holden of the New York Times. Winner of the BEST PICTURE at the 1999 Montreal Film Festival and other awards internationally, this is a story about an 8 year old blind boy and his relationship with his widowed father. It grabs your heart immediately as the boarding school for blind children in Tehran, where Mohammad attends, is ending for summer vacation. Mohammad is the only child left after all the other parents have picked up their children. He is sitting alone on a bench and hears a baby bird fall out of its nest and chirping on the ground. He also hears a cat nearby. He manages to shoo the cat away and find the baby bird and climb the tree and return it to its nest. Welcome to the world of the blind. His father finally arrives and wants to leave him there. We meet a poor, hard working man from a rural village who has lost his wife and is trying to raise his other two daughters and make a living as best he can. He also wants to remarry and considers Mohammad to be an obstacle to finding a wife. The rest is a wonderful human interest story. The scenery is outstanding. Iran is really a beautiful country in many areas. Many emotions come to the surface during the film. It is a film you can easily watch with children who are mature enough to understand the themes. It is worth watching just to better understand the handicap of being a blind child. If you've seen CHILDREN OF HEAVEN, you know what's in store. Rated PG for mature themes, there is no offensive language or material of any kind. YOU WILL BE DOING YOURSELF A FAVOR BY PUTTING THIS AT THE TOP OF YOUR LIST. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/22/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, TRAILER, ROGER EBERT

PASSING GLORY

PASSING GLORY - 1999 (TV)

RATED - Not rated but probably PG for language and thematic elements.

RATINGS - 4 Amazon (5/5), 1,489 Netflix (3.4/5), 143 IMDB (6.6/10).

STARRING - Andre Braugher, Rip Torn, Ruby Dee, Sean Squire

AWARDS - Nominated for the HUMANITAS PRIZE in 1999.

THEMES - Relationships, justice, racial discrimination, reconciliation.

STORY - This made for TV movie is based on a true story. It's 1965 in New Orleans and St. Augustine's Catholic High School (boys) does an admirable job of educating young men from the black community and preparing them for life ..... in the black community. They know their place and their limitations. They were turned down by a vote of 185-11 to be a member of the Louisiana State High School Athletic Association so they must continue to compete against other black schools. They have never played a white school in their history. They can only wonder how their championship teams would compete against the white champions. This is all about to change when Father Verrett, a black priest from Baltimore is transferred to St. Augustine. He grew up in New Orleans but has tasted freedom in the North. He doesn't have the patience to be passive while the white community decides the fate of the black community. Father Verrett turns the school, students and parents into an activist community that is willing to take on the system, albeit pretty reluctantly, having already experienced the retaliation of some whites. The film builds to a climax of the first ever racially mixed high school basketball game in New Orleans. Another terrific film about the struggle of black Americans for the equal rights guaranteed to all citizens but at that time only available if you had the correct skin color. The acting is excellent and the screenplay was written by an actual member of the 1965 team, veteran actor Harold Sylvester. Magic Johnson was an executive producer. An overlooked TNT gem. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/22/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB

CONSPIRACY

CONSPIRACY - 2001

RATED - R for language. Not the worst I've heard but take it seriously.

RATINGS - 113 Amazon (4.5/5), 62,678 (3.6/5), 4,997 (7.8/10)

AWARDS - Many awards & nominations including Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody. AWARDS

THEMES - Evil, pure and simple.

STORY - This film is another relatively unknown HBO made for TV gem. It is based on the minutes of an actual meeting in 1942 of Nazi Department Heads. All the notes were to have been destroyed but one copy survived. This was a meeting convened by Adolf Eichmann in a suburban mansion outside Berlin. The agenda: what to do about the Jewish storage problem. With the Nazi war machine devouring the German treasury, they had to make a decision about all the Jews in work camps that were becoming very expensive to maintain. Until this point, there had been no overall German plan for dealing with the 'Jewish problem'. This meeting determined the fate of millions of Jewish citizens. The film does not try to sensationalize or over dramatize this event. In many ways, it comes across as a corporate board of directors meeting or cabinet level meeting for government. Evil can be so cold and calculating and seemingly rational. This is a reminder that evil does not always or often come in frenzied, worked up packages but often through the distorted worldview of 'normal' people like all of us. A well done, tightly scripted movie with excellent performances by the cast that will give you chills when you consider the ramifications of one hour of time with these 15 men. The setting (basically one room) and intensity remind me of 12 ANGRY MEN. Watch a piece of history that changed our world forever. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/14/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB

CRY FREEDOM

CRY FREEDOM - 1987

RATED - PG for mild language and violence. Violence is not graphic except one mob scene where innocent women & children are shown being shot in back as fleeing. Not overly graphic by today's standards but not for younger children.

RATINGS - 47 Amazon (4.5/5), 110,533 Netflix (3.9/5), 4,187 IMDB (7.3/10).

STARRING - Denzel Washington, Kevin Kline, Penelope Wilson, directed by Richard Attenborough.

AWARDS - 1988 OSCAR nominations for BEST MUSICAL SONG, BEST MUSICAL SCORE, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (Washington), 1988 BAFTA nominations for BEST FILM, BEST DIRECTION, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, BEST EDITING, BEST SCORE, 1988 GOLDEN GLOBE nominations for BEST MOTION PICTURE, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST ACTOR BEST ORIGINAL SCORE.

THEMES - Justice, friendship, racial discrimination, racial reconciliation.

STORY - Based on a true story and book by the same name the film starts out in 1975 in South Africa with the police raiding a black township and destroying almost the entire village along with killing and wounding many residents. Donald Woods, a liberal newspaper editor, captures some of the photos of the raid and publishes them along with a piece about Steve Biko, the black activist leader, accusing him of reverse racism. A black woman medical doctor manages to get thru to Woods and challenges him to personally meet Biko and see if he is really racist. Woods accepts the challenge and begins a friendship between two unlikely people in apartheid South Africa. Both men eventually must put their lives and families' lives at risk in the cause of overturning apartheid. Another one of several outstanding films portraying the struggle of blacks in South Africa for the freedom and dignity so many of us took for granted. The cinematography and music are outstanding along with Denzel Washington. Can be viewed by the whole family except younger children. Enjoy! Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/14/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB & TRAILER

THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY

THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY - 1978

RATED - PG for some language and adult themes.

RATINGS - 50 Amazon (4/5), 79,364 Netflix (3.6/5), 2,554 IMDB (7.2/10).

STARRING - Gary Busey (Holly), Don Stroud & Charles Martin Smith.

AWARDS - 1979 Oscar for BEST SCORE ADAPTATION as well as nominations for BEST ACTOR and BEST SOUND. 1979 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.

STORY - This film is the story of the life of Rock N' Roll legend Buddy Holly who was tragically killed in a private airplane crash at the age of 22, leaving behind his wife and unborn child. Gary Busey does a great job of playing Holly and even does his own singing as does Charles Martin Smith, the group's other singer. There are 12 of Holly's greatest hits sung during the film. I understand the film takes some liberty with the facts but for the most part gives an accurate overall picture of the short but amazing career of Buddy Holly. If you haven't experienced the music and culture of the 50's, or you want to relive some of those days, this is a fun and entertaining option. At one point Holly & The Crickets are invited to perform at the Apollo Theater in New York, an all black entertainment format. The promoter only heard the music and assumed they were black. He was a big hit. Lots of fun and good music from the 50's. The film dwells on Holly's life, only briefly referring to the plane crash at the end. Holly has been called 'the single most influential creative force in early rock and roll music', influencing the music of the Beatles, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and others. Was in the first group of inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They still celebrate his memory in Clear Lake every February 3rd, the site of his last concert before taking off for Moorhead, MN on the fateful night in 1959. Enjoy. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 03/07/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, THE BUDDY HOLLY COLLECTION, WIKIPEDIA

THE ISLAND ON BIRD STREET

THE ISLAND ON BIRD STREET - 1997

RATED - PG-13 for violence. Not graphic. Family approved by the Dove Foundation.

RATINGS - 5 Amazon (4.5/5), 8,169 Netflix (3.7/5), 518 IMDB (7.1/10).

AWARDS - Numerous wins and nominations including 3 Emmy Awards.

THEMES - Relationships, justice, discrimination.

STORY - Based on a true story during WWII in Warsaw, Poland, it is the survival of an eleven year old Jewish boy separated from his father and uncle who are taken to work camps, from which no one returns. He has three things to sustain him: his pet white mouse, Snow; the book Robinson Crusoe; the promise of his father that he will return. The Nazis regularly patrol the bombed out buildings in the ghetto looking for stray Jews who may have escaped their clutches. It's survival in its most basic form. This overlooked film tells the amazing story of the imagination and wits of this 11 year old as lives day to day trying to survive against all odds. Ala Robinson Crusoe, he establishes a loft for himself in a bombed out building and uses every instinct he has to stay alive and not get captured. A fascinating story and well done film. Great camera work and editing. The many twists and turns in the story will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. Strong performance by Jordan Kiziuk as the 11 year old Alex.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB, THE BOOK