Over Dramatizing
Added 10/14/2009
I suppose some people love a drama, for them this is a 10 star movie. But to me when I buy a movie by Harrison Ford I expect top notch acting and a script that Hollywood money can afford and the right knowledge of how to make it all happen. The end result is supposed to leave me feeling highly entertained and look forward to watching it again some day, because after all thats why I bought it, not rented or borrowed it from a local library. In the case of this movie I wish I had gotten it for free from the Library instead of wasting my money on it. Its all drama, all tear jerking drama. I wanted to be entertained, not dramatized! After viewing it I put it in the "to sell" pile, not on the shelf. Like I said, if its a drama you want, then buy it, but if you want more than to cry constantly for the constant onslaught of crap that happens to nice people, then go ahead and buy it. personally I prefer an uplifting movie or pure entertainment, whether action, sci-fi, true story, ect. anything but non stop tear jerking gut wrenching drama. I might as well watch a video of the day we buried my beloved Mother! Meaning simply: you dont need a movie to remind you of some things, you just don't!!! so I give 2 stars, only reason I dont give it just one star is because Harrison Ford does act well, but there's just no story, its all just a bunch of situations designed to give you grief! All clumped together to pretend its a movie, which it isnt. You need a great story to make a great movie, not just dramatic situations one after the next! Sheesh!! They should have thrown the whole thing out, sorry, but I really do feel that way, and I know a good movie when I see it! I've tried to be as accurate, honest and fair as I could be on this review. If you really do like this kind of movie, please buy my copy, its for sale.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Involving, Bittersweet Stories of Illegal Immigrants...
Added 10/6/2009
Let me say, from the beginning, that I admire Wayne Kramer's remarkable "Crossing Over", as a sincere attempt to humanize the real problem of illegal immigration in the United States, and to remind us that many nationalities are a part of the situation, with some immigrants, in our country nearly all their lives, fulfilling all of the obligations of American citizens, except for actually being citizens. For those who see every person illegally here as either enjoying a 'free ride' on law-abiding citizens, or plotting acts of terrorism, I hope this film will open their eyes to the bigger picture.
Saying this, I have to admit that the film isn't entirely successful; in telling so many stories, Kramer is forced to nearly stereotype some characters, and tie up too neatly some of the subplots. While this doesn't hurt the more important plot elements, it does lessen the film's credibility, somewhat. And in only portraying sympathetic immigrants, it does paint an occasionally unflattering picture of the our immigration services, which isn't entirely fair; this is a problem of epic proportions, and the agents trying to enforce the law are not villains with personal agendas, they are simply doing the job they were hired to do.
The multiple storylines involve a veteran agent (Harrison Ford, who was never better), searching to find a young mother he helped deport, to reunite her with her son; a young British atheist (Jim Sturgess), forced to return to his Jewish roots to stay in country on religious grounds; an outspoken Islamic girl (Summer Bishil), threatening her whole family's future by simply saying in a classroom that the 9/11 terrorists had a reason for resorting to violence; a Korean boy (Justin Chon) endangering his family, by gang pressure to join in an armed robbery; an Islamic family, whose son (Cliff Curtis) is Ford's partner, overreacting to their daughter's relationship with a married non-believer; a successful lawyer (Ashley Judd) hoping to adopt an orphaned African child; and her Immigration Department husband (Ray Liotta, in one of his less-likable roles), 'buying' an young Australian actress (Alice Eve) and her favors, in exchange for a new green card. While the stories have interconnecting characters, they are not locked as firmly together as "Crash", and other recent multi-story films, and the Judd subplot gets a bit shortchanged, while the Liotta one occasionally seems little more than an excuse to repeatedly show Eve's exquisite nude body. There are, however, powerful moments in the other storylines, that help offset this.
"Crossing Over" is not perfect, but it is an important film...and should be seen, more than once.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
a sad movie about California, the land of the illegal alien
Added 10/4/2009
What I like about this movie is that it points out that not just latins/ Mexicans
are coming across the southern International border. An Islamic girl
writes a report about suicide bombers and is deported when it is found that both she
and her parents are illegal.
A beautiful Australian girl makes a deal with a government official
of a sexual favors sort to get a green card. A singer -song writer
finds his Jewish roots in order to stay in the country.
Life and death on the streets of LA where groups from everywhere in the world
have joined in a gold rush to come to the promised land of the USA!
There is a perversion of the land of the free here...
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Great Movie
Added 8/17/2009
This movie is really great. Everyone will enjoy it. It is really awesome.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Makes you realize .................
Added 8/7/2009
This movie makes you realize how badly the United States needs to adopt a ZERO TOLERANCE "shoot on sight" POLICY to stop illegal immigration (aka.. Passive Invasion) and quit playing around with this issue.
There should be ONE AND ONLY ONE process by which people (from anywhere) apply for entry into the USA that is FIRM BUT FAIR TO ALL.
Outside of that single process, no other form of entry should be allowed .......... Period.
This film seemed to have the intention and goal of making you feel sympathetic, but instead it was simply an annoying reminder of how soft and stupid we have become in this Western Society when it comes to creating Firm and Fair laws, and then enforcing them without fail.
Now everything is an exception to the rule and slop prevails.
An infuriating film that gets the blood boiling !
4 out of 8 people found this helpful.
|
Jessica Biel Naked
Added 11/3/2009
I like watching Jessica Biel naked. But Jessica it's Go Go not... cry cry. Forrest Whitaker irritated the excrement out of me. Jessica Biel is not a good actress but the story with her and Ray Liotta was semi interesting. But still this movie blows... except for Jessica Biel stripping and being naked, something that most hollywood actress's who play strippers can't seem to figure out (strippers take their clothes off).
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
it took a heroic effort to finish it...
Added 10/24/2009
yeah, so...i did want to see how it turned out but the ending was mostly so @#@# cliche... it's not the increduality of the stripper hooking up with the nerd mortician but just everything else so predictable. there was some potential. but it didn't pan out...about 1/2 way through the film i was tracking how much time was left and using my utmost personal control to not Fast Forward to the end.
that movie plot technic, very-loosely-interrelated collage of stories that make up a single film...it's worn thin already. eg, forest whitaker never meets jessica biel in the film but they both related to the mortician at different times--but did the mortician (being the only mortician in the film) get the boys body? the tranny's body?
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
A Dark L.A. Love Story, Not For All Tastes...
Added 10/8/2009
Writer/Director Timothy Linh Bui, in the 'Making Of' Special Feature for "Powder Blue", explains that he intended to tell an 'L.A.' story, of people out of the mainstream, living in the darker corners, and he succeeds, but in choosing this path, his visions of love, redemption, and hope may seem more depressing than inspirational, and the film won't please some viewers. Add to this the publicity value of seeing Jessica Biel strip (she does have a topless scene), and Patrick Swayze, in his last big screen appearance (in a supporting role), which have overshadowed the story, itself, and you have a worthy, if moody film, that really never had the chance it deserved to stand on it's own merits.
The film consists of multiple love stories, but each of the loves has been crushed, leaving a void. Convict Ray Liotta, released from prison after 25 years, with terminal cancer, is rewarded by the mob boss he took the rap for (Kris Kristofferson), but his wife is long dead, and she had told their daughter (Jessica Biel) he'd died, years before. Biel's young son is in an irreversable coma, and she is forced to work as a stripper for sleazy club owner Patrick Swayze, to pay for the hospital expenses. Her only joy is her dog...who runs away, and is hit by the car of a young, guileless mortician (Eddie Redmayne). He has spent his entire life helping others, only to discover his father had only left him debts, and he is about to lose everything. And in the major plotline, an ex-priest (Forest Whitaker), whose wife was killed on their wedding day, has decided God is punishing him for leaving His service...and as his faith prevents him from committing suicide, he is searching for somebody to kill him, and put him out of his grief...
Not the most cheerful of scenarios, for anyone in this group!
The stories are all involving, but dark, and the resolutions are not all simple and upbeat. Healing, Linh Bui points out, is never simple, and is an ongoing process, often moving in directions you wouldn't anticipate.
The cast is uniformly excellent, particularly Whitaker, whose performance is Oscar-worthy, and Liotta, in one of his most subdued portrayals in recent years. Watch for Lisa Kudrow, in a supporting role, as well; she is a beacon of happiness amidst all the gloom!
If you enjoy films that challenge, and aren't geared to the lowest common denominator of viewer, "Powder Blue" may be just the film you're looking for.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
