Movie Reviews. Because I can.

Chocolat (2000)

I enjoyed this movie, but it was nevertheless an American film trying to be French. The actors all had pseudo-French accents (except Depp who, I think, was supposed to be Irish), and it attempted to catch the joie de vivre French charm. It had its moments, like the young priest in the garden singing "Hound Dog." But the end was terribly predictable.

The cinematography was pleasing, and the pictures of chocolate-making delectable.

The movie is set during Lent and opens in a Church. The message: goodness is about inclusion rather than exclusion. God doesn't give a damn whether or not you eat chocolate, but he could potentially care about your decency to other people. Yes, it's a predictable lesson. But lots of people still haven't caught on.

Storm Center (1956)

This movie is not available on DVD or VHS. I saw it with a bunch of librarians because it's about...a librarian. Alicia Hull (Bette Davis) has run a small public library for decades, and everyone loves her until she refuses to take a book called "The Communist Dream" off the shelf. The town, at a time of rampant McCarthyism, turns on her.

The film itself was supressed for several and only released at the ebb of the era. Yes, it's predictable. Yes, it's melodramatic. But it presents a much-lacking positive image of a librarian, and, for you fellow liberals out there, it has frightening similarities to the current atmosphere. Some of my favorite quotes (as well as I can remember them).

The Bad Guy: "We are in a war now, whether it's hot, cold, or lukewarm, and I don't care if some people get hurt for us to win it."
The Good Guy: "You're talking just like them. The great thing about democracy is that everybody cares if a stubborn old lady gets hurt."


The Repentant Assistant Librarian: "I'd rather crawl into a hole than marry an up-and-coming politician."