Soul Surfer- I enjoyed this a lot. Even if it got preachy with the religious stuff at some times (I think this is actually how the Hamilton family is, so it's acceptable). The film has a great fast paced feel during the surfing sequences from disney director Sean McNamara that gives me a 'Slumdog Million/Bollywood' feel. Also, the guy uses nice digital editing techniques and odd filming angles to remove actress AnnaSophia Robb's arm to better display the lost arm of her real life counterpart for this film, Bethany Hamilton, so that's always interesting to watch. It's a surfing film, but it is also a film about picking yourself up from problems when you face them. It's about finding new perspective when you are having a hard time dealing with something. With that in mind, AnnaSophia Robb does a great job performing the good and the bad that came with her character's arm loss. This is a true story with a message, and the film preaches that she lost her arm in order to embrace the world even more than she does with two arms. It's quite beautiful, even if at some times it can feel a little forced. Also, Lorraine Nicholson, Jack Nicholson's daughter, does a good job playing Alana Blanchard, the at first frightened friend, from witnessing the incident, and eventually (actually early on, I mean, she is not a complicated character most of the time, but she does have a good friendship chemistry with Robb) the supporting friend.
Bad Taste- Peter Jackson's first feature is just as fun and brilliant as any of his others ('Dead Alive' being the most similar). I thought it wouldn't be so great, since it's years before 'Alive' but I think it has just as much ambition. Even Peter Jackson has a role, two actually, as the odd and kind of insane head case of Derek and as the villain alien zombie guy, Robert. It's great. He's hilarious. Also, there is plenty of gore and action that helps the movie feel more than just an outdoors filming adventure by some 20-somethings. It's all in good fun. There is good makeup and the aliens are odd but cool creations. I hope Jackson comes back to horror comedy at some point in his career because it seems to me that nobody can do bloody visual gags in quite the same way as Jackson. All I have left to view is his second film, 'Meet the Feebles' and even though the film sounds like an odd Bakshi/muppets/Avenue Q thing, I'm more excited for it, knowing that his first film was great.
- Jeff Bassin
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