the whale rider [A]

moviemcpeake snippet: Another film I had to see the minute it opened. This year, I have not been disappointed in any of the films I have made a "date" with on its opening night . "Whale Rider" was such a powerful, simple story. The story takes place in a small village on the beautiful coast of New Zealand. It centers on the Maori tribe as the current Chief is patiently awaiting the birth of the tribes new leader, his Grandson. Twins are born, but the boy and his mother die, leaving the Chief without his heir and his son grief stricken at the loss of his wife. The son names his daughter Paikea, after the first descendant of the Maori tribe and against the wish of his father, the current Chief.

The story then focuses on the girl's love for her Grandfather and the Grandfather's grief about the future of the tribe. He begins to train all the boys of the village to find his new leader. Pai is left out of all ritual trainings since she is a girl. She finds other ways to learn the ways of the Maori tribe but none matters to her Grandfather because he cannot see past her gender. The story is never lost in side twist and turns. It moves along slowly but you never fall out of its trance. Keisha Castle-Hughes (Pai) grabs you with her eyes that continually say more than the words she speaks. Her emotional tribal singing can be felt inside as you wonder to yourself, would I have been as brave as her?

The story angers you and tears at you. It makes you cheer. It is more than a "girl power" film. It is feminism, leadership, self-belief, reliance, family, change, and much more. I can't think of a better role model and story for today's young girls to follow. To help them see the leader inside of themselves. To let ALL children know that their voice is never small and that they can make a difference in their world. Because I am always hoping to find meaning in the storyline, because I am always hoping more time is spent on characters and words instead of special-effects, because I found what I was looking for on Friday night, I cannot give this film anything less than an A.

recommendation: own this one and share it with future generations.

the hours [A+]

moviemcpeake snippet: So, I finally gave a movie an A+. I was a little leery about handing out the + part. But I realized that this is a once in a life time movie. I had high expectations. I felt like a giddy little school girl waiting for the movie to start and when it ended I did not want to move, I did not want to speak, I just wanted to soak it all in.

I read the book...well part of it anyway. It was not easy to see how these women came together. So before seeing the movie I knew the general feeling and storyline that involved three women, starting with Virginia Woolf. These women, all from different times and different generations, found each other and the film captured their will to live and their strength through it all.

The story itself and the screenplay adaptation deserve a huge nod, but what makes you understand the pain, the frustrations, and what it was like to be these women, was the acting. Oh, the incredible acting. Nicole Kidman lost herself in Virginia Woolf. She is not Kidman playing the influential writer, she is the influential writer. She read Woolf, lived Woolf, and became Woolf to the point that you would not have ever known it was Kidman. Julianne Moore. Her name deserves to be in a sentence, alone. She brought it all together as the most tortured soul of the film. She made it seem so simple, so pure. You anguished with her, you were caught off guard by her, you felt for her. And the infamous Meryl Streep. She just wanted to plan the perfect party - Mrs. Dalloway. This film was full of small roles that had large meanings. The supporting cast was incredible and helped piece together why these women loved they way they did.

This film made me feel like I had this little light inside of me. That we all have this light. And we forget sometimes to turn it on. We forget to live, to love, to laugh. These three women triumphed even when others thought they failed. These women all supported each other even though their character is not aware of the other women. It is a story all about the surface that magically forced me inside, that made me think about how these women came to be. What death and life mean and how different the answers can be from one person to the next. It is a film about the pains of life and how one survives the pain. "The Hours", is a powerful story told by powerful actors. For me, the hours went by too fast. I enjoyed the world they invited me into, longing already to be part of again.

recommendation: own it. pull it out once a year and be inspired and amazed.