Reviews
Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Best of them all!
For me, as with many other reviewers, no other story of Jesus has done it better. I used to watch this every year even before becoming born again because it resonated in my spirit. To this day when I think upon Jesus I envision Him looking like Robert Powell for that is how much he affected me with his performance. I have introduced my husband to the mini-series and tonight we are going to watch the second part. I have another reason to be thankful to the producers of the show: my mother used to watch it for years because Ian Holm (Zerah) was one of her absolute favorite actors. As a result, she would watch the events leading up to the crucifixion once or twice a year for twenty years before she died. Although she would not permit me to witness to her of Christ, the Lord was witnessing to her through the show. God has shown me that she got saved shortly before she died on September 11, 2001 in the World Trade Center and that her watching this show over and over again was not sheep happenstance. God is awesome and so is this show. Can't wait to watch part two tonight.
American Playhouse: A Raisin in the Sun (1989)
My favorite version of this story
I just finished watching the latest version of Raisin in the Sun and while I enjoyed it, I cannot help but compare it not to the Sidney Poitier version but the Danny Glover/Esther Rolle rendition from the late 1980's. I was waiting with baited breath for the scene in which Walter Lee has lost all the money and his mama explodes about how his father worked himself to death to give them that money. Rashad and Combs were certainly good but nothing compares to the fireworks between Esther Rolle and Glover. You could feel the anger welling up in Rolle until her whole body was shaking from the inside while Glover is beside himself with grief, shame, and disappointment. That scene was so explosive that I'm surprised the plates didn't fly off the table. I just introduced my husband to this wonderful story but would love to show him the Glover and/or Poitier versions.
Queen Sized (2008)
Three times is the charm
I can't believe I'm watching this three nights in a row but something about it just keeps drawing me back. Being a former geek, especially in grammar and junior high school, I can really relate to Nikki's character. I too would have preferred invisibility over non-stop attention but of the negative kind. I can also relate to coming out of dorkdom but still acting and feeling like a victim, wondering if everyone still perceived me that way. I can't say that I don't still carry my own Annie Potts figure around in my mind at times and found that to be one of the most interesting aspect of the show. The acting, especially by Ms. Blonsky, was uniformly excellent and I found Fabian Moreno to be quite interesting and not hard on the eyes. I also liked that Nikki's character proved to have flaws of her own and that she allowed her fifteen minutes of fame to go to her head. Also interesting was that her competition for homecoming queen proved to be quite nice. I would certainly recommend this movie to anyone looking for something meaningful.