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Castaway

Review by Hillary Williams.

Tom Hanks plays Chuck, a fast paced manager for FedEX who is the sole survivor of a plane crash washing him up onto the shore of a deserted, tropical island along with a few FedEx boxes. Of course, Chuck finds himself
learning to live off the natural resources but nice was the struggle for "always the professional," Chuck, to open the private boxes in the hope for convenience items. And sweet is the character he creates out of a ball with added facial features and a name to give Chuck someone to "bounce" ideas with. For the writer, William Broyles Jr., to have come up with an inanimate object for Chuck was clever and really beautiful. That as crazy as talking to a ball would seen, it keeps him sane. And we very well could have been bored as coconuts with Chuck deserted 4 years talking to himself. As he eventually is able to handcraft a return home, he is reunited with former love, Kelly, played by Helen Hunt and friends only to find how he can't go back and yet we see the strength of his character and the change in him that leads to a bit contrived but symbolic and enlightened ending.

Wonderful scenic direction by Robert Zemekis. A great role for Hanks whom had to loose a terrible amount of weight during shooting and yet will gain a nomination. Helen Hunt does not translate as well onto a big screen for me but I did not enjoy it the lesser. FedEx has gotta love that!

Finding Forrester

Review by Hillary Williams

A new face for film is the young actor Jamal Wallace whom at 16 is making his acting debut in the fable story of a gifted, black highschool student being acknowledged for his writing and basketball skills affording him entrance into a school that would never have been a possibility considering what side of the tracks he is from. And whom gets him on the right track is a meeting, by chance, with a reclusive writer, played my Sean Connery. With their secret meetings each are tested to overcome what society dictates and then what weighs us down. The social issues abound on the basketball court as well for Jamal as he fights for his place. The script is not just "dribble," it is sweet and sensitive and in the end you will not feel preached too but will have enjoyed the relationship and the thought that perhaps the story might lead to a better understanding of the rules of our social game that should be broken. No stretch for Sean Connery but WOW to the first timer, Robert Brown (XVII).

Traffic

Review by Hillary Williams

Traffic is one of this years best, most powerful movies. Careful crafted direction by Steven Soderbergh. He is able to get in your face and show you raw and ugly with artistic wizardry.

We are led into the seedy world of drug trafficking coming out of Mexico. Writer Simon Moore gives us so many good characters, each with weakness and deniel.Giving us a gripping story with the underlying moan of the savage nature drugs is on our youth's culture. The performances were good but best was Erika Christensen playing the teenage daughter of a drug trafficking Judge, Michael Douglas, who gets caught up in the addiction. And Benicio Del Toro that played the undercover Mexican drug officer. even his facial expressions are powerful. How in repose he looks to have had such a tough life and yet when he smiles he lights up the screen, Either way, great screen presence! Michael Douglas and real life wife, Catherine Zeta Jones, are caught up in the web of drugs and lies but personal stories are different and only cross. Catherine was pregnant with their child and her size/condition added to her manipulative character. The only weakness was Dennis Quaid. A small part but I want to ask why? Why did they leave it in? Why not have called "cut" and reshoot? Why did he not make other choices for the character? Traffic is brilliant film but painfully truthful to the real problem that is not going away.

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