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Edward Scissorhands  nf    We had missed this classic 1990 film so we put in on our Netflix list. It is a fairytale like none that we have ever seen or  heard before. Edward (Johnny Depp) is boy who was born with no hands  was brought up in an old mansion on the hill by his inventor father (Vincent Price) who outfitted him with scissor hands and died before he could invent and attach  real ones  for him. The Avon lady, (you know the one who knocks on doors to sell cosmetics) played by Diane Wiest, takes him home to her typical 1950s suburbia house down the hill from the mansion where she lives with her husband (Alan Arkin), son and daughter (Winonna Ryder) We come to realize that Edward’s handicap is also a wonderful talent as he can sculpt hedges, women’s hair and do lots of other things with his scissor hands. Hence, we are being taught something about differences in people and certainly they are not always what they seem to be. Fairytales often have a special love story, a villain and unexpected but understandable endings and this one doesn’t disappoint. This whole story originated in the mind of a young Tim Burton, who when he grew up, co–wrote the story as well as co-produced and directed  the film. Johnny Depp is  quite remarkable, in that he hardly speaks in the film but he conveys so much. Ryder also shows great  emotion and feelingwith her facial  expressions and Diane Wiest absolutely inhabits the Avon lady. The music by Danny Elfman sets the underlying haunting mood of the film, We certainly think it was still  worth seeing 23 years after it was made (1990)

****

Argo-sp

If you are old enough to remember the Iran hostage crisis of the late 1970s or are a student of history of such events , this movie will remind you of those turbulent times in vivid detail. On the other hand you just have to recall the horrific details of a short a time ago when our embassy in Libya was stormed and the US ambassador was murdered, to get into the mind set to appreciate this movie. In fact, even if you knew nothing about recent or past history you could very easily get caught up in this exciting, suspenseful, thrilling, heart pounding movie. When the movie audience cheers and claps for joy at certain parts of the film you realize that they are feeling tension that is  is being built up and released. This film stars Ben Affleck as Tony Mendez a CIA agent, who actually in real life was was awarded a secret medal by that agency (everything is a secret in the CIA) for what he did which was depicted in this movie. The task he took on was to try to sneak out of revolutionary Iran,  6 Americans who had fled to the Canadian embassy and were hiding there,  when the Iranians had stormed  their embassy and made hostages of the other Americans . The plan revolved around the making a fake movie which was to be produced and directed by Hollywood mogul types  played respectively by John Goodman and Alan Arkin. This gave the movie a comic relief and a little spoof of Hollywood. This real movie Argo which had the same name as the fake movie, was directed by the star of it, Ben Affleck who also co-produced it with George Clooney and Grant Heslov.  Well deserved credit for this movie should also go to the screen writer Chris Terrio and award winniing editor William Goldenbery, Director of Photography Rodrigo Prieto and music by Alexandre Desplat. The realism that was achieved with this reenactment of those dramatic days was shown at the end of the film as  part of the credits. Photographs torn from the newspapers of that time were put side by side on the screen with still images from  this film and many were nearly identical. This included  a photo of people climbing over the fence and into the embassy grounds, a man being hanged in the street as well as the real faces on the passports of many of the characters. This film may not surprise you but you will come with a away  with a reminder of how easy it can be to become swept away with a thrilling Hollywood  movie.(2012)

* * * *
Sunshine Cleaning – rm – We had to miss this movie when it was screened in our film course and we are very glad that we caught up with it. It stars Amy Adams, Emily Blount and Alan Arkin who all turn in outstanding performances. It is a quirky, sweet, very well done movie. The premise is that a single mother figures out that her previous skills in the cleaning business can be put to good use in cleaning up crime scenes. It is about hope, perseverance and family dynamics. Definitely worth seeing. 2008