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FORMAT: Movie
TITLE: Freedom Writers
ACTORS: Hilary Swank, Imelda Staunton, Mario
01. Wow, Hilary Swank is a really good actor. She definitely connected with the audience; her and Eva were particularly excellent in that regard. (Especially at the beginning--anyone who knows me personally is well aware that everyone has problems pronouncing my name, too!)
02. It took me awhile to realize who Margaret Campbell (the overbearing principal's assistant) was, but once I recognized her as Imelda Staunton and started watching her more closely, I definitely became more excited about seeing her in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She's going to be so perfect for the role, it's ridiculous.
03. Gruwell's speech about the Nazis and Hitler was amazing. Swank delivered it spot on; it really did make you think! But the saddest part about it all was the students admitting that they didn't know what the Holocaust was. I really hope this lack of education has changed since the early 1990s, because God only knows how many other schools there were similar to Gruwell's. *frowns*
04. I loved, loved, loved the white kid. I couldn't help but feel bad for him--he was so convinced that he was going to be killed! "I can't go back there alone!" And LOL at how when they were doing the line game, everyone but him kept stepping on the line for things like having the new Snoop Dogg album or seeing Boyz n the Hood. I laughed even harder when he was the first person on the line when she asked whether anyone knew where to get drugs.
05. I think I need to get the Freedom Writers book--it'd be interesting to see how much of the lines were taken from the text. I've seen it in stores, but I've always thought it was a movie novelization, rather than diary entries of actual people.
06. It's too bad that Gruwell's marriage fell through. =( I wonder if she ever got back together with him? The guy who plays him (Patrick Dempsey from Grey's Anatomy; no wonder I thought he looked familiar!) did a great job. As much as you're supposed to think, "Wow, this guy's such a jerk for not caring about the students," I could definitely see where he was coming from and I felt bad for him.
07. The kids themselves were really good actors. Eva, in particular, was excellent, but as I've said, the white guy (Ben) was hilarious. I also liked Marcus (at least, I think that was his name; the one whose mother kicked him out when he became part of a gang). He was so sweet!
08. Overall, this was a great movie. Hilary Swank and the rest of the cast did an amazing job; I also liked that the movie didn't trivialize gang violence. Freedom Writers was a much darker portrayal of life out in the streets than, say, Step Up or Take the Lead. (Yes, I realize those are both dancing movies, but they had inner city settings.) I'd definitely recommend it for anyone who's interested in that subject, as well as the story of Erin Gruwell.
TITLE: Freedom Writers
ACTORS: Hilary Swank, Imelda Staunton, Mario
01. Wow, Hilary Swank is a really good actor. She definitely connected with the audience; her and Eva were particularly excellent in that regard. (Especially at the beginning--anyone who knows me personally is well aware that everyone has problems pronouncing my name, too!)
02. It took me awhile to realize who Margaret Campbell (the overbearing principal's assistant) was, but once I recognized her as Imelda Staunton and started watching her more closely, I definitely became more excited about seeing her in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She's going to be so perfect for the role, it's ridiculous.
03. Gruwell's speech about the Nazis and Hitler was amazing. Swank delivered it spot on; it really did make you think! But the saddest part about it all was the students admitting that they didn't know what the Holocaust was. I really hope this lack of education has changed since the early 1990s, because God only knows how many other schools there were similar to Gruwell's. *frowns*
04. I loved, loved, loved the white kid. I couldn't help but feel bad for him--he was so convinced that he was going to be killed! "I can't go back there alone!" And LOL at how when they were doing the line game, everyone but him kept stepping on the line for things like having the new Snoop Dogg album or seeing Boyz n the Hood. I laughed even harder when he was the first person on the line when she asked whether anyone knew where to get drugs.
05. I think I need to get the Freedom Writers book--it'd be interesting to see how much of the lines were taken from the text. I've seen it in stores, but I've always thought it was a movie novelization, rather than diary entries of actual people.
06. It's too bad that Gruwell's marriage fell through. =( I wonder if she ever got back together with him? The guy who plays him (Patrick Dempsey from Grey's Anatomy; no wonder I thought he looked familiar!) did a great job. As much as you're supposed to think, "Wow, this guy's such a jerk for not caring about the students," I could definitely see where he was coming from and I felt bad for him.
07. The kids themselves were really good actors. Eva, in particular, was excellent, but as I've said, the white guy (Ben) was hilarious. I also liked Marcus (at least, I think that was his name; the one whose mother kicked him out when he became part of a gang). He was so sweet!
08. Overall, this was a great movie. Hilary Swank and the rest of the cast did an amazing job; I also liked that the movie didn't trivialize gang violence. Freedom Writers was a much darker portrayal of life out in the streets than, say, Step Up or Take the Lead. (Yes, I realize those are both dancing movies, but they had inner city settings.) I'd definitely recommend it for anyone who's interested in that subject, as well as the story of Erin Gruwell.
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