sonyacurti

Julie,
Thanks for the movie update.
I love it when you guys tell of your favorite movies.
We just recently rented Holes.
My son liked it - I need to put it in again to say what I think.
I was up and down too much LOL........... ca you relate ?
Anyhow, so far
1. A home of our own
2. Rabbit proof fence
3. Holes
any others ????????????????????
Sonya

Tia Leschke

>
>Thanks for the movie update.
>I love it when you guys tell of your favorite movies.
>We just recently rented Holes.
>My son liked it - I need to put it in again to say what I think.
>I was up and down too much LOL........... ca you relate ?
>Anyhow, so far
>1. A home of our own
>2. Rabbit proof fence
>3. Holes
>any others ????????????????????
>Sonya

I can't remember whether it was recommended here or someplace else, but we
watched Looking for Richard the other night. It undid a lot of the damage
that school had done to my interest in Shakespeare. Lars didn't watch it,
but he did comment that, "Aren't there some other ones like that?" Are there?
There were two trailers on it, one for the diCapricio version of Romeo and
Juliet and one called Paradise Road, about a group of women who were
Japanese prisoners during WWII. I've ordered both of them from the library,
so we'll see.
Tia

pam sorooshian

Ballroom Dancing.

-pam


On Oct 30, 2003, at 8:06 AM, Tia Leschke wrote:

>> any others ????????????????????

Tia Leschke

>Ballroom Dancing.

What's it about? (besides dancing)
Tia

jrossedd

--- In [email protected], Tia Leschke
<leschke@s...> wrote:
>
> >Ballroom Dancing.
>
> What's it about? (besides dancing)
> Tia


Its Power of Story imo - it's about refusing to be cowed by
veterans (and their toadies)who throw their reputation around and
insist they are your leaders, and in control of defining your
community.

It's about doing something differently just because YOU are
different, and trusting and believing in that, instead of trying
to "overcome" it. Or getting scared and selling out.

It's also about parents who did the best they could, but had to make
their own compromises along the way and weren't omniscient. In this
movie there is always hope, not of wealth or power or happily ever
afer, but of finding oneself and following one's passion.

kayb85

Is that the exact title? I looked it up at netflix and got this, but
I'm thinking this isn't what you're talking about:

Catch the fever of the International Ballroom Dancing Championships,
filmed in 1991 at the Grand Prix Unitrading Ostrova. This showcase of
skill and choreography features two professional world champion
pairs -- Donnie Burns and Gaynor Fairweather and Marcus and Karen
Hilton -- performing some world-class dance steps, including the
waltz, the tango, the slowfox, the quickstep and a number of latin
combinations.
Starring: Donnie Burns, Gaynor Fairweather, More
Director: Not Available
Category: Special Interest
Format: Full Screen, More
Language: English

Sheila

--- In [email protected], "jrossedd"
<jrossedd@a...> wrote:
> --- In [email protected], Tia Leschke
> <leschke@s...> wrote:
> >
> > >Ballroom Dancing.
> >
> > What's it about? (besides dancing)
> > Tia
>
>
> Its Power of Story imo - it's about refusing to be cowed by
> veterans (and their toadies)who throw their reputation around and
> insist they are your leaders, and in control of defining your
> community.
>
> It's about doing something differently just because YOU are
> different, and trusting and believing in that, instead of trying
> to "overcome" it. Or getting scared and selling out.
>
> It's also about parents who did the best they could, but had to
make
> their own compromises along the way and weren't omniscient. In this
> movie there is always hope, not of wealth or power or happily ever
> afer, but of finding oneself and following one's passion.

Liz in AZ

I'm guessing this is Strictly Ballroom (which I highly recommend).

Liz
--- In [email protected], "kayb85" <sheran@p...>
wrote:
> Is that the exact title?
[...]
> Sheila
>
> --- In [email protected], "jrossedd"
> <jrossedd@a...> wrote:
> > --- In [email protected], Tia Leschke
> > <leschke@s...> wrote:
> > >
> > > >Ballroom Dancing.
> > >
> > > What's it about? (besides dancing)
> > > Tia
> >
> >
> > Its Power of Story imo - it's about refusing to be cowed by
> > veterans (and their toadies)who throw their reputation around and
> > insist they are your leaders, and in control of defining your
> > community.
> >
> > It's about doing something differently just because YOU are
> > different, and trusting and believing in that, instead of trying
> > to "overcome" it. Or getting scared and selling out.
> >
> > It's also about parents who did the best they could, but had to
> make
> > their own compromises along the way and weren't omniscient. In
this
> > movie there is always hope, not of wealth or power or happily
ever
> > afer, but of finding oneself and following one's passion.

jrossedd

Funny you should ask! <g> I thought it was, but this is what I
actually was responding to:

"Strictly Ballroom"
Review by John J. Puccio
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/StrictlyBallroom-1045568/


Most audiences are probably more familiar with the name Baz Lurhmann
from his second and third films, "Romeo + Juliet" and "Moulin Rouge,"
than from his 1992 directorial debut, "Strictly Ballroom." Yet when
one compares the three films, it is the first that takes the honors.
Still, you have to admire Lurhmann as a man who takes chances.
In "Romeo + Juliet" he updated Shakespeare's Verona to Southern
California and traded in the Bard's swords for automatic weapons.
In "Moulin Rouge!" he took a grand opera plot and turned it on its
head with modern pop tunes and outrageous costumes. They were daring
risks that paid off for some viewers and turned off others, like me.

But "Strictly Ballroom" shows all the signs of these films to come
without resort to the gimmickry of the later efforts. For
me, "Ballroom" remains Luhrmann's best all-around movie to date.

The film is a romantic musical-comedy set in the milieu of Australian
ballroom dance competitions. At first it takes the mock-documentary
approach of a "Spinal Tap," "Waiting for Guffman," or "Best in Show"
and goes for easy lampooning. Luhrmann, who cowrote the story and
screenplay, pokes fun at the over-serious self-importance of the
dance competitors, the nastiness and backbiting, the fierceness of
the competitions, and the irregularities of the judging. Elaborate
hairstyles and whimsical hairpieces get particularly cheeky, humorous
treatment. But as the story goes on, it loses track of this satiric
core and develops into a warmhearted, Cinderella-style romance, with
an ending that will leave you cheering. For once, I appreciated a
film's divergence from its initial focus.

Paul Mercurio stars as a young dance competitor, Scott Hastings, a
fellow raised to be a champion. He and his parents, Doug and Shirley
(Barry Otto and Pat Thomson), former dance competitors themselves,
have high aspirations for Scott's winning the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix
Championships, apparently the World Series/Super Bowl of ballroom
dance contests.

But Scott wants to be his own man, so to speak, and amplify his own
flashy dance steps, something his parents and the Australian Dance
Federation won't allow. In fact, Scott gets so fancy with his
improvisational moves that his partner leaves him in despair. What to
do? He reluctantly picks up a beginning dancer, Fran (Tara Morice),
who shows promise; but she's a plain-looking girl, downright
unattractive and clumsy by dancing-contest standards. Nevertheless,
Scott gives her a chance with him, they develop a Spanish dance
routine, and, of course, the unsightly bud eventually blossoms.

It's easy to see how "Moulin Rouge" evolved from this film,
especially in the music, the glitz, the glamour, the romance, the off-
kilter humor, and the fanciful sets, even to a rooftop romp.

Then, too, the complications are similar in nature. In "Strictly
Ballroom" the dance contests are built up as the biggest things since
the World Olympics, and politics dominate everything from the dance
steps to the participants' choice of partners. The story's
antagonist, Barry Fife (Bill Hunter), is ceaselessly trying to
manipulate things, from the affairs of the Dance Federation to
everyone involved in it, a veritable Machiavelli of the mambo. Well,
the tango, actually, but mambo is more alliterative. And besides the
tango, there's the waltz and a bit of flamenco. There's music for
everyone. The plot is predictable, to be sure, but it's fun to follow
along, anyway.

Mercurio and Morice are easygoing, likable young people, and
eventually everybody gets involved in the spirit of the dancing, even
Fran's parents.





--- In [email protected], "kayb85" <sheran@p...>
wrote:
> Is that the exact title? I looked it up at netflix and got this,
but
> I'm thinking this isn't what you're talking about:
>
> Catch the fever of the International Ballroom Dancing
Championships,
> filmed in 1991 at the Grand Prix Unitrading Ostrova. This showcase
of
> skill and choreography features two professional world champion
> pairs --

[email protected]

In a message dated 10/30/03 8:28:55 AM, jcurtielectric@... writes:

<< We just recently rented Holes.

My son liked it - I need to put it in again to say what I think. >>

I think I remember hearing Holes was written by a kid/teen. I might have it
mixed up with something else.

Holly and I watched it. She had more fun than I did. I wanted it to be more
realistic, which is in itself unrealistic. <g> And I wanted it to make SOME
geological sense, which it did not. Neither the lake drying up in that
short a time (with the town deep instead of just sitting there drying out) nor
water on a butte makes any sense whatsoever, so having grown up in the desert, it
grated on my sensibilities.

But the geology of Tolkien's middle earth bugs me too, and standing INSIDE an
unmelted mountain next to a pool of lava, well... maybe I need a
mini-lobotomy in the geological awareness part of my brain.

Sandra

[email protected]

In a message dated 10/30/03 1:07:42 PM, jrossedd@... writes:

<< In "Romeo + Juliet" he updated Shakespeare's Verona to Southern

California and traded in the Bard's swords for automatic weapons. >>

The guy who played Mercutio in that Romeo & Juliet is in the new Matrix movie
(the second one) and he's really good (in both roles).

Sandra

Tia Leschke

>
>
><< We just recently rented Holes.
>
>My son liked it - I need to put it in again to say what I think. >>
>
>I think I remember hearing Holes was written by a kid/teen. I might have it
>mixed up with something else.

Nope. Louis Sachar. He's written a number of books for kids or teens.


>Holly and I watched it. She had more fun than I did. I wanted it to be more
>realistic, which is in itself unrealistic. <g> And I wanted it to make SOME
>geological sense, which it did not. Neither the lake drying up in that
>short a time (with the town deep instead of just sitting there drying out)
>nor
>water on a butte makes any sense whatsoever, so having grown up in the
>desert, it
>grated on my sensibilities.

None of that bothered me in the book, but it might in the movie. It'll be
while before I can watch it. The library has 72 holds on it.
Tia

Mary

I rented the movie Holes for Joseph thinking he might like it because of
what I had heard. It was here forever without him watching it. When he
finally did, he loved it and Sierra did too. They probably watched it 3-4
times in two days. After that many times on, I got to see all of it too. I
liked it also, but not as much as they did.


Mary B.
http://www.homeschoolingtshirts.com

[email protected]

In a message dated 10/30/2003 10:28:50 AM Eastern Standard Time,
jcurtielectric@... writes:
Anyhow, so far
1. A home of our own
2. Rabbit proof fence
3. Holes
any others ????????????????????
Sonya
Two I consider "unschooling" movies,

1. The Secret of Roan Inish
2. The Way West (not many people have heard of this, has Gabriel Byrne in
it, it's about Irish Gypsies and a legendary horse, really cute)
(both Irish movies, LOVE them)

and one of my favorites (though not necessarily an unschooing movie)

3. Waking Ned Divine

Nancy B. in WV


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Betsy

**2. The Way West (not many people have heard of this, has Gabriel
Byrne in
it, it's about Irish Gypsies and a legendary horse, really cute)
(both Irish movies, LOVE them)**

I think the title is not quite right. Into the West?

Betsy

Jon and Rue Kream

>>Two I consider "unschooling" movies,

1. The Secret of Roan Inish


Hi Nancy - Is there anything in that movie that would upset a sensitive
viewer? Rowan, who's six, gets very upset if a character goes through any
kind of emotional trauma, and I've been trying to find someone who's seen it
who I could ask. Thanks ~Rue


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

pam sorooshian

Sorry - I meant "Strictly Ballroom" -- here is Roger Ebert's review:

STRICTLY BALLROOM


----------

Date of publication: 02/26/1993

By Roger Ebert
The plot of "Strictly Ballroom" is as old as the hills, but the
characters in the movie seem to come from another planet. Surely nobody
in Australia dresses like this, talks like this, takes ballroom dancing
as seriously as this? They do? The true weirdness of the movie comes
when we begin to realize the director didn't make everything up; only
real life could possibly have inspired a world this bizarre.

The movie, which crosses Astaire and Rodgers with Mickey and Judy and
adds a dash of Spinal Tap, is a comedy posing as a docudrama about
competitive ballroom dancing in Australia. Everyone in the movie takes
the sport, or art, with deadly seriousness, and their world revolves
around the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Amateur Championships (which, despite
its grand name, seems to be a local event). Like synchronized swimming
(the most hilarious event in Olympics history), competitive ballroom
dancing is essentially lighthearted fun spoiled by lead-footed rules.

The film's hero is Scott (Paul Mercurio), a pleasant young man with a
mad light in his eyes, who, according to the pseudodocumentary that
opens the film, was born to win the Pan-Pacific. But then he
jeopardizes his chances by recklessly ignoring the rules, and forcing
his partner to join him in a dance routine that was (gasp!) spontaneous
and improvised.

His partner is enraged, and leaves him. His mother, a former
championship dancer, is beside herself. The estimable Barry Fife (Bill
Hunter), the autocratic czar of ballroom contests, is deeply offended.
Only the good-hearted Fran (Tara Morice) believes in him, and offers to
become his partner. This is despite her lack of experience, her general
ungainliness, and her homely appearance. Familiar with the great
tradition of come-from-behind movies, however, we somehow suspect that
if she ever takes off those glasses, and does something with her hair .
. .

"Strictly Ballroom" was directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann, who,
according to the movie's press materials, has been fascinated with the
insular world of Australian competitive ballroom dancing since he was a
youth. The story, by Luhrmann and various collaborators, was first
staged as an amateur production 10 years ago, and has been through many
incarnations leading up to this film, which is so tightly packed with
characters and situations that it seems, in its own way, as obsessed as
the dancers themselves.

Luhrmann, like many first-time directors, is intoxicated with the
possibilities of the camera. He uses too many wide-angle shots, in
which the characters look like blowfish mugging for the lens, and too
many story lines, until we worry we may have lost track of something,
but what works is an exuberance that cannot be faked. As Scott and Fran
prepare for the Pan-Pacifics, as Barry Fife struggles to retain his
stranglehold on competitive dancing, as Scott discovers that his meek
and silent father was once a Pan-Pacific contender, the movie hurtles
toward a conclusion sanctified by "Saturday Night Fever" and so many
other movies we could hold a trivia contest just by naming them.

What's best about the movie is the sense of madness and mania running
just beneath its surface. In one sense, the characters care about
nothing but ballroom dancing. They eat, drink and sleep it, and talk of
nothing else. Their costumes alone are a tip-off that they've had no
contact with the real world for years. Yet in another sense, ballroom
dancing is simply the strategy they use to hold the world at bay. They
are profoundly frightened of change, and have created an insular little
world, with rigid rules and traditions; here they can be in control, as
the larger world goes haywire. Scott's attempt to introduce anarchy -
and new dance steps - into their tiny enclave is all the funnier
because he, too, cares about nothing but dancing. He doesn't even want
to be a rebel. But it's in his blood.


<http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1993/02/844215.html>

-pam


National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.



On Oct 30, 2003, at 10:52 AM, Tia Leschke wrote:

>
>> Ballroom Dancing.
>
> What's it about? (besides dancing)
> Tia
>
>
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

pam sorooshian

On Oct 30, 2003, at 3:34 PM, CelticFrau@... wrote:

>
> 2. The Way West (not many people have heard of this, has Gabriel
> Byrne in
> it, it's about Irish Gypsies and a legendary horse, really cute)
> (both Irish movies, LOVE them)

I think it is "Into the West" and, yes, it is very very good - sweet
and funny. My whole family really liked it and I think we'll put it on
our netflix queue and watch it again one of these days.

-pam

pam sorooshian

I think it would be upsetting, Rue. It is unsettling to me.

-pam


National Home Education Network
<www.NHEN.org>
Serving the entire homeschooling community since 1999
through information, networking and public relations.
On Oct 30, 2003, at 3:58 PM, Jon and Rue Kream wrote:

> Hi Nancy - Is there anything in that movie that would upset a sensitive
> viewer? Rowan, who's six, gets very upset if a character goes
> through any
> kind of emotional trauma, and I've been trying to find someone who's
> seen it
> who I could ask. Thanks ~Rue

Robyn Coburn

I'm surprised that Ebert found the plot too complicated. Or that he
complained about stylized camera work that was so evidently deliberate
and planned. A tidbit about the film is that the actor portraying Fran's
father was the Spanish National flamenco champion or some similar title.
His dancing is cool. The film is full of some of the grand actors of
their generation in Australia. I once designed costumes for a play with
Pat Thomson. She was a wonderful raconteur and world traveler,
entertaining all of us during rehearsals, as well as really good in the
show. Paul Mercurio is the son of a well known (Australian) character
actor Gus Mercurio. When I was working wardrobe on "La Cage aux Folles"
in Sydney in the early eighties, it was rumored that Paul had been
slated to take over the part of the son (the "juvenile" as it is called
in musical theater), which was played by Gerry Sont (an old friend of
mine from high school, now a soap star in Australia). It didn't happen
at the time, although the dancing required for that particular character
was incidental, unlike the Cagelles, who had some pretty big and fancy
dancing.

Robyn Coburn





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Lisa M. Cottrell Bentley

> 1. The Secret of Roan Inish
>
> Hi Nancy - Is there anything in that movie that would upset a sensitive
> viewer? Rowan, who's six, gets very upset if a character goes through
any
> kind of emotional trauma, and I've been trying to find someone who's seen
it
> who I could ask. Thanks ~Rue

You can check:
http://www.screenit.com
http://www.kids-in-mind.com

These sites don't have a wide variety of movies, but they are fairly
accurate about content. Neither site has the movie you are concerned with.

This site:
http://www.family-movie-review.com
has vague reviews without specifics about language, violence, content, etc.
It has this movie, but doesn't say anything about emotional trauma. From
the general story line though, I personally would not be interested in
watching it (sounds way too sad).

-Lisa in AZ

[email protected]

In a message dated 10/30/2003 7:43:52 PM Eastern Standard Time,
ecsamhill@... writes:
I think the title is not quite right. Into the West?
You're right Betsy! I went to check the video to make sure after I sent the
email and got sidetracked!! Thanks.

Nancy B. in WV


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

In a message dated 10/30/2003 8:16:21 PM Eastern Standard Time,
skreams@... writes:
Hi Nancy - Is there anything in that movie that would upset a sensitive
viewer? Rowan, who's six, gets very upset if a character goes through any
kind of emotional trauma, and I've been trying to find someone who's seen it
who I could ask. Thanks ~Rue
It may. I don't want to give it away, but it has the legend of the selkie in
it (Irish/Scottish story of woman/man who can turn from a seal into a human
and back again) so someone in the story has to deal with this happening. Also,
there's a scene where a child is washed out to sea (it turns out good later
though) that is particularly sad/scary. Maybe not the best for a sensitive
young one.

Nancy B. in WV


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

kayb85

I wonder how many subscribers to this list recently put that into
their netflix que. Because I just did and was told there would be a
short wait(no big deal because it's 51 on my list! lol) But I smiled
when I thought that, because it's such an old movie so there's a good
chance that they will be shipping out that movie from one unschooling
house to another for quite awhile. :)

Sheila

> I think it is "Into the West" and, yes, it is very very good -
sweet
> and funny. My whole family really liked it and I think we'll put it
on
> our netflix queue and watch it again one of these days.
>
> -pam