Elizaduck Blather

Attack

For anybody who things house sparrows (AKA English sparrows) are cute....this bird is attacking what it thinks is a bluebird egg. From http://www.wap.atfreeweb.com/bluebirds/roost2.html

The End

Far too often, a could-be-great film is spoiled by the ending. Sometimes it seems tacked on or doesn't fit--this is especially evident in movies like Broadcast News and Fatal Attraction, where I think they screened it and viewers didn't like the original ending, so they pasted on something different that was more palatable. I much prefer the planned end to Fatal Attraction where the evil temptress commits suicide and frames adulterer Michael Douglas for it, versus the the Halloween-type ending where she jumps out of a bathtub after you think she's dead. In Broadcast News, the ending tries to wrap everything up to a neat little package, and falls flat. It should have ended with frustrated, confused Holly Hunter leaving alone in the taxi.

Sometimes The End is not tightly edited and drags on far too long, as if the director/editor got tired or lazy. A good example is High and Low (see review) where a hellish sequence of dancing and drug addicts lasts 10 times longer than needed for the intended effect. Sometimes it leaves you hanging and you say "THAT's it?? It's over?" (e.g., Alpine Fire) - almost like the director didn't know how to end it but got sick of the film or ran out of money.

Sometimes the end is left indefinite, as if the writer is a coward and didn't want to disappoint the audience, so you get to decide for yourself what happens (e.g., Vanilla Sky). Sometimes the director seems so full of himself and his lovely work that he is not able/doesn't know when to call it quits (e.g., Speilberg's AI.) Other times, the desire to make it all work out (the proverbial Hollywood Happy Ending) robs the movie of its drama and it ends up in a predictable can.

A great ending fits, is as tightly edited as the rest of the film, doesn't necessarily answer all questions (like real life), and is powerful. My favorite endings: Body Heat and Memento (unpredictable, provocative and punchy) and Casablanca (where even the actors didn't know how it would end, filling the movie with real suspense.)

Lagaan (2001)

A movie that is 225 minutes long better have a LOT of redeeming qualities. My spouse found this Indian film (about a cricket game wager in the 1890's--if they won, the ag tax, or "lagaan" would be waived for 3 years - if they lost, it would be tripled) entertaining. I found it tiresome: the predictable plot, the caricatures of the evil English invaders, the weeping and gnashing of teeth and melodramatic acting, the interiminable cricket game, and long song/dance sequences where the music (although it was pretty good) all sounded the same. The lead (an Indian hearthrob who wore a sleeveless vest which often blew open to reveal his bod - snore) also challenged the caste system by inviting an untouchable to play on the team, which I found totally unbelievable. 1 star.