June Movie Club Notes

I must apologize for the lapse in posting on this site. There is no excuse, I'm just lazy. But the vitality which has been exhibited by movie club members over the past five years deserves to be recorded. We've changed a lot over the past five and one-half years but the enthusiasm for film has remained.

The choices for June were The Visitor selected by Kathi and 3:10 to Yuma chosen by Harold.

I'll start with The Visitor which Kathi said she found while looking for another movie. She thought it sounded interesting and hoped that everyone would enjoy it. We all did. The lowest rating this film earned from the group was a B and that is a rousing success in Harlem Movie Club terms.

Ron gave the movie its B saying that he found it slow to start and a little too long. Puma admitted that there are few films she doesn't like but she particularly enjoyed the multiculturalness of the film and felt it was "very real' and "not contrived". She thought the slowness of the film helped give the viewer a chance to see and appreciate the way the main character (Walter) handled the stresses he felt. John felt that it was the "type of film that shows the reason people make films". All agreed that the characters were portrayed in a way that really made you care about them and that the movie was realistic and easy to relate to.

The ratings for The Visitor are as follows:

India B+

Lori A-

Nero B+

Kathi A

Zanetta A-

Ron B

Puma A+

Stephanie A

Zorah B+

Carl A

Mona A

David A

John A

Harold A-

Hope A

Patrice A

Gwen A-

Rita B

Tonique A

In contrast to The Visitor, 3:10 to Yuma was a real disappointment, although the grades it received weren't extraordinarily bad. Harold selected the film because, based on what he had heard of the western, he thought it would be much more interesting. David thought the movie was "cliched, corny, boring and irrelevant". "But for Russell Crowe, I would have given the movie an F", he said.

Puma, true to herself, gave the film an A+. Once again she saw the film in mythological terms. She also likes anything with Russell Crowe. Stephaine liked that Crowe's character was redeemed in the end by his relationship with Don Evans, the character portrayed by Christian Bale.

3:10 to Yuma grades:

India B

Lori B

Nero B

Kathi B-

Zanetta C

Ron B

Puma A

Stephanie B-

Carl C

Mona C

David C-

John C

Harold B-

Hope B

Patrice B

Gwen B-