jmatrixrenegade
Joined Feb 2000
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jmatrixrenegade's rating
This is a superior film about some "lost children" of Sudan, victims of the war-torn country, who ultimately come to settle in the U.S.
The film's first third or so is an extended flashback to the three main young men whose stories the film focuses on losing their parents and becoming refugees. A girl is involved here too that has some importance to the plot but has a lesser role. A fourth character that plays an important role to the motivations of one of the three as well. The title is a type of spoiler in that respect.
I have no real knowledge of the particulars here but this portion of the film seems realistic and adds a p.o.v. and setting that is quite original to what we usually see in American cinema. Reese Witherspoon gets top billing here (she plays a somewhat cynical employment agency counselor) but gets limited playing time. She might be seen as a stand-in for many average viewers here who don't know this story of these men and believes there is not much she personally can do.
The middle portion of the film has the three young men adapting to living in the Mid-West while still having personal demons and concerns to handle -- one feels a special responsibility as a leader, one is strongly religious and a third is more laid back but has his own anger issues regarding his situation. I think the film is a bit too abrupt here -- a lot is covered in a short time -- but it is overall impressive. Reese Witherspoon's character is a bit of a caricature, but overall she does okay.
The last third involves a surprise and a trip back + the aforementioned twist/spoiler. This too was handled well. Overall, it was a very good though probably not great film though many probably will be very impressed by it. I was left wanting to know a bit more about some of these characters. There is material for more to be sure.
The film's first third or so is an extended flashback to the three main young men whose stories the film focuses on losing their parents and becoming refugees. A girl is involved here too that has some importance to the plot but has a lesser role. A fourth character that plays an important role to the motivations of one of the three as well. The title is a type of spoiler in that respect.
I have no real knowledge of the particulars here but this portion of the film seems realistic and adds a p.o.v. and setting that is quite original to what we usually see in American cinema. Reese Witherspoon gets top billing here (she plays a somewhat cynical employment agency counselor) but gets limited playing time. She might be seen as a stand-in for many average viewers here who don't know this story of these men and believes there is not much she personally can do.
The middle portion of the film has the three young men adapting to living in the Mid-West while still having personal demons and concerns to handle -- one feels a special responsibility as a leader, one is strongly religious and a third is more laid back but has his own anger issues regarding his situation. I think the film is a bit too abrupt here -- a lot is covered in a short time -- but it is overall impressive. Reese Witherspoon's character is a bit of a caricature, but overall she does okay.
The last third involves a surprise and a trip back + the aforementioned twist/spoiler. This too was handled well. Overall, it was a very good though probably not great film though many probably will be very impressed by it. I was left wanting to know a bit more about some of these characters. There is material for more to be sure.
There are some episodes that are hilarious, a few that are weaker. But, as a whole, this is an excellent show that can be enjoyed even after multiple viewers. Thus, it is a great syndicated show.
The show is about a long term married couple, a couple just engaged as the show begins and a single sex crazed character played by David Spade. Each episode tends to have two or perhaps three subplots involving each of these characters. After two seasons, Spade got an Indian-American assistant who is a bit of a prig. The married couple eventually have a lesbian (Sara Rue) as a surrogate, who becomes a familiar face. One of the crew from "Reno 911" also sometimes shows up as an unpleasant friend of wife who amusingly for a short time is married to Spade. For one season, the husband has a gay friend, which later is forgotten about.
The show is well written and has a lot of funny situations, now and then rather off color in nature. One flaw is that later in the series less is found for the two female characters to do, especially "Jen," while her fiancée becomes a bit too stupid. Sara Rue fills the void here somewhat, but it would be nicer if the show had more of a female p.o.v. at times. As a whole, the female characters do have many moments.
The show is not a classic but there is a reason why it stuck around for seven years. It is in fact a mini-classic for fans.
The show is about a long term married couple, a couple just engaged as the show begins and a single sex crazed character played by David Spade. Each episode tends to have two or perhaps three subplots involving each of these characters. After two seasons, Spade got an Indian-American assistant who is a bit of a prig. The married couple eventually have a lesbian (Sara Rue) as a surrogate, who becomes a familiar face. One of the crew from "Reno 911" also sometimes shows up as an unpleasant friend of wife who amusingly for a short time is married to Spade. For one season, the husband has a gay friend, which later is forgotten about.
The show is well written and has a lot of funny situations, now and then rather off color in nature. One flaw is that later in the series less is found for the two female characters to do, especially "Jen," while her fiancée becomes a bit too stupid. Sara Rue fills the void here somewhat, but it would be nicer if the show had more of a female p.o.v. at times. As a whole, the female characters do have many moments.
The show is not a classic but there is a reason why it stuck around for seven years. It is in fact a mini-classic for fans.
This show is about two lesbians, one a police officer with a teen son from a previous marriage, one a vice principal. To get a sense of things upfront, note that one is white, the other black. This show is full of that sort of thing -- it covers a lot of ground, has a lot of subplots and issues to cover. Each episode is likely to have multiple subplots.
Anyway, the couple (in the first season, we learn how they met & so forth) eventually adopted a pair of twins (Hispanic) whose mother is a drug addict (the father is missing - at least for now!). The show starts with Steph and Lena taking in -- for just a little while surely! -- a troubled teen as a foster child. BTW, the name of one of the women is Stephanie Foster. So, foster parents/Foster -- thus the title. Well, Callie sticks around & turns out she has a brother, each with issues.
A lot of issues on this show, and up to a point, it was fun as well as dramatically enjoyable. I think it fell off for whatever reason after the first set of ten episodes. The show's original plots started to get tiresome and the new ones not as interesting. And, by the third set of episodes, it got too repetitive, melodramatic and tiresome. I still liked the characters in various ways. They weren't use correctly.
The first ten episodes were at times "10" worthy & overall deserve a high rating. The show dropped off and the average rating would be much lower. The show got to be too much & I stopped watching it regularly. Sad.
Anyway, the couple (in the first season, we learn how they met & so forth) eventually adopted a pair of twins (Hispanic) whose mother is a drug addict (the father is missing - at least for now!). The show starts with Steph and Lena taking in -- for just a little while surely! -- a troubled teen as a foster child. BTW, the name of one of the women is Stephanie Foster. So, foster parents/Foster -- thus the title. Well, Callie sticks around & turns out she has a brother, each with issues.
A lot of issues on this show, and up to a point, it was fun as well as dramatically enjoyable. I think it fell off for whatever reason after the first set of ten episodes. The show's original plots started to get tiresome and the new ones not as interesting. And, by the third set of episodes, it got too repetitive, melodramatic and tiresome. I still liked the characters in various ways. They weren't use correctly.
The first ten episodes were at times "10" worthy & overall deserve a high rating. The show dropped off and the average rating would be much lower. The show got to be too much & I stopped watching it regularly. Sad.