chadport

A+++ We need more films like this!!! Brilliant! Probably the most memorable film for me from this past year. This totally should have been an Oscar nominee...what happened? While the concept of following the winning kids in a national spelling bee is not new (see Spellbound-2002/also brilliant and a true-to-life documentary), director Doug Atchison brings such an amazing level of heart-and-soul to Akeelah and The Bee, that I have not witnessed in a movie in a long long long time. Although the "triumphing over all-odds" is a familiar plot, viewers will not be disappointed with the absolutely AMAZING DEPTH & DELIVERY of this story in the exceedingly capable hands of Keke Palmer (Akeelah), Laurence Fishburne (Dr. Larabee), and Angela Bassett (Tanya). I also really loved the excellent performance by J.R. Villareal who plays Javier and is an absolutely hysterical quick-study (not to mention well beyond his years). Keke Palmer and Villareal both deserve recognition for their incredible/exceedingly mature acting skills in this film-I hope we will be seeing a lot more from these very young/very sharp actors in years to come. Fishburne and Bassett are stunning as always! Also, I am a lover of words and I must admit, I learned some great new vocab words from this excellent little gem of a film (and Keke Palmer certainly knows how to put those words together for full effect, i.e. when she quickly snaps back at a cranky Laurence Fishuburne that she certainly does not need any help from a "DICTATORIAL, TRUCULENT, SUPERCILIOUS gardener"). A film which you can both love and learn as well as heartily laugh from...what more could you ask of a movie? There are so many great things to say about this film....JUST SEE IT/It's soul will stay with you for the rest of your life!!!

If ever a film deserved a DVD release, it is this small overlooked gem! Set in a small Scandanavian North Dakota farming community in the early 19th century, the film portrays the dignity of a tightly knit/culturally rich community of family farmers attempting to fight back/resist losing their farms (and indeed the community itself) to the insidious powers of unregulated banking, undercut prices/profit usurpation, and distant corporate takeovers from businesses that have no investment/interest in the survival of the rich tapestry that forms the basis of this community and the unbroken spirits of the strong-willed individuals that compose it. Within this superstructure of plot, we get a very unique glimpse into the Scandanavian language, character, customs, culture, family traditions, songs, and stories whose collective strength permitted this strong-willed/"no-nonsense" group of people to transplant their entire lives and families from the old-country to the new and eek out a way of life (indeed) survive the harsh conditions of frontier life on the Great Northern Plains of North America. As if that wasn't enough, the beautifully artistic camera work was purposefully shot in black-and-white, whose vivid contrasts of light and shadow very effectively conveys the sharp oppositions of this world and its characters as a superior means of etching its metaphors into our consciousness. People familiar with Luchino Visconti's 1948 masterpiece, "La Terra Trema" will find the themes and neorealistic approach here to be very similar and equivalent to the strength of a Visconti, Rossellini, or DeSica film. In fact, (on that note) this film very deservedly won the Camera D'Or award at the Cannes Film Festival. And yet most people have never even heard of it? Why?!?!?!...this is TRULY A LANDMARK in American independent film and American cultural legacy!!! PLEASE RELEASE THIS GEM ON DVD FOR THE WORLD TO SEE!!! Thank You.

Best television series ever for the 80's was "St. Elsewhere", best TV series for the 90's was "Northern Exposure" and best series for the millenium/00's is without a doubt, "The Soprano's". Is it any wonder that the underlying genius for writing credits in all three of these series comes from some of the same interconnected/co-influenced writing sources. But in the case of both St Elsewhere and Northern Exposure the primary writing sources that brought both of these wonderfully intelligent/original/GREAT FULLY Developed/HUMANELY REAL CHARACTERS and genuinely heartfelt (without being sappy) scripts to life were Joshua Brand and John Falsey. We are getting Northern Exposure GRADUALLY (too slow if you ask me) released out on DVD-so where is Saint Elsewhere? With such an award-winning show starring the then very young/unheard of Denzel Washington (truly the magnificent performance that launched his career) and other GREATS like Howie Mandel, William Daniels, Ed Begley Jr., Norman Loyd, Ed Flanders, (and who could ever forget the endearingly annoying character of Mrs. Huffnagel!!! I AM SHOCKED AND DISMAYED THAT A DVD RELEASE FOR THIS WONDERFUL SHOW HAS BEEN OVERLOOKED FOR SO LONG!!! PLEASE RELEASE ON DVD ASAP!!!