American Beauty

American Beauty [Region 2]
$18.99
American Beauty is a movie about the life of an average American family (however, in this case it absolutely does not make any sense: it could be an American family, or a British family, or a Russian family, or some other family). This film is about problems which every member of this family has. The plot of the movie is plain and certainly common. Speaking frankly, the beginning of the movie produces enough dreary feelings. You may think it is the regular tearful story about a stupid husband, a stinker wife, their daughter who suffers of solitude and incomprehension, and also about their neighbors: a slight crazy guy who sells drugs and peers through a his video camera, and about his father, an ex-colonel who so extremely hates homosexuals that you begin to suspect him in his latent homosexuality. Of course, the movie shows exactly that. But it is not made like other soupy stories. It does not want to make you cry. It only tells you about lives of simply miserable people; it tells you what they feel, what they dream about and finally what happens to them.
Do you know why the movie Straw Dogs with Dustin Hoffman is really scary? It is not the violence of the ending when bookworm Hoffman kills everyone. The movie is scary because there is no right or wrong. And all this blood bath happened not because some bad guy decided to commit evil, while some good would stop him. It just happened through a series of coincidences. That is scary because in real life it happens like that. BAD GUY comes rarely. More often MISERABLE comes who in return makes miserable out of you.
Similar to Straw Dogs, there is no right and wrong in American Beauty. And Lester (Kevin Spacy) is not a stupid perverted dolt, but middle class man who has not achieved a lot and who could not establish a proper family where he could find love, understanding and support. And his wife Caroline (Annete Benning) is not a bitch or whore. She is just a woman who is trying to crawl on to the surface but she cannot. Their daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is not an evil bestial who dreams to kill her parents. She is just a little girl who suffers from misunderstanding and who is very lonely.
What is a person life like if shower masturbation in the morning is the best thing that will happen to him during the day? If he wanted to be strong and cheerful, but became weak and miserable. The center of the movie is the moment that, no matter how strange it seems, corresponds American Beauty to Fight Club. That is when Lester is trying to break free from the gray reality that surrounds him. In Fight Club the main hero finds relief in communicating with terminally sick people and then gains pleasure from bloody street brawls. Lester did not go so far. He just left his well paid job and started working in McDonalds, began to exercise and use drugs. The idea is that Lester broke free. He ceased being afraid of his bitching wife. He realized that there is no point in straggling for a job you do not like. Because you can be the happiest fast-food worker or the unhappiest vice-director of some office. And when Lester broke free, he felt good. He even starts to look better.
But, unfortunately such a state is not permanent. It is like remission before the impeding end. And the end arrives. Basically, the movie starts from it. Lester dies. We do not know who killed him. It can be anyone. Daughter Jane who cannot stand him and who is ashamed that her father is trying to hit on her classmate. Wife Caroline who hates her husband and thinks of him as a slug and a loser. Jane's boyfriend (who is jealous that Lester did not hit on him), Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley), whom Jane is asking to kill her father. Ricky's father who is crazy about patriotism and fascism and thinks that Ricky has a sexual relationship with Lester. Everyone has reasons to kill Lester. Even Lester himself. Because all of a sudden he thinks it is too good for him to live. Why not die when you feel best? Why die when you suffer? But Ricky delivers more ideas to the movie: sex, lies, and video. He records a girl he likes, while other things get on to his line of sight. Ricky is the only one person who sees a beauty in an empty bag dancing in the wind. So, it is not considers that he becomes as the final hero of the movie.
The movie is made perfect in all means. From the point of plot (the writer Alan Ball won an Oscar for the original screenplay), and from the point of the director and actors. But first at all, this movie is great because it is about us. About all us, whoever we are -- Americans, Russians, children, adults, psychos. This movie breaks all stereotypes. The naughtiest girl in the school Angela shows up a virgin, the loving family is a joke; a homophobe hides his true orientation. It looks so usual, like routine. Fates of different people merge in one crazy ball and everyone is looking for his/her beauty.
p.s. sorry if I have mistakes(I am Russian))

American Beauty
$11.98
American Beauty being Grateful Dead's 5th studio album and their 1970 album is verily an amazing record with great lyrics to go. Allmusic and Robert Chritgau both gave it high marks (5/5 and A-) and I agree with this assessment. The booklet is unfortunately very sparse and contains no lyrics but one does get a list of what instruments they play on the album. We also get liner notes that talk about history of the Grateful Dead up to that point. 5/5.

Almost Famous
$12.99
May become THE film about 70's rock. Follows the story of a young rock music reporter (based on Crowe's real-life experiences). Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDomand, and the always-entertaining Philipp Seymour-Hoffmann are a first-rate cast that bring the 70's heyday of heavy rock to life in a moving, emotional story that successfully encapsulates the mythology of the rock star life. The 'Director's Cut' includes more footage of the band's "tour" and is the version that should have been released in theatres. This is a wonderful movie that tanked at the box office; hopefully over the years more people will see it and appreciate it for what it is: Cameron Crowe's affectionale and nostalgic tribute to 1970's rock music.

American Beauty [Region 2]
$8.99
American Beauty is a movie about the life of an average American family (however, in this case it absolutely does not make any sense: it could be an American family, or a British family, or a Russian family, or some other family). This film is about problems which every member of this family has. The plot of the movie is plain and certainly common. Speaking frankly, the beginning of the movie produces enough dreary feelings. You may think it is the regular tearful story about a stupid husband, a stinker wife, their daughter who suffers of solitude and incomprehension, and also about their neighbors: a slight crazy guy who sells drugs and peers through a his video camera, and about his father, an ex-colonel who so extremely hates homosexuals that you begin to suspect him in his latent homosexuality. Of course, the movie shows exactly that. But it is not made like other soupy stories. It does not want to make you cry. It only tells you about lives of simply miserable people; it tells you what they feel, what they dream about and finally what happens to them.
Do you know why the movie Straw Dogs with Dustin Hoffman is really scary? It is not the violence of the ending when bookworm Hoffman kills everyone. The movie is scary because there is no right or wrong. And all this blood bath happened not because some bad guy decided to commit evil, while some good would stop him. It just happened through a series of coincidences. That is scary because in real life it happens like that. BAD GUY comes rarely. More often MISERABLE comes who in return makes miserable out of you.
Similar to Straw Dogs, there is no right and wrong in American Beauty. And Lester (Kevin Spacy) is not a stupid perverted dolt, but middle class man who has not achieved a lot and who could not establish a proper family where he could find love, understanding and support. And his wife Caroline (Annete Benning) is not a bitch or whore. She is just a woman who is trying to crawl on to the surface but she cannot. Their daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is not an evil bestial who dreams to kill her parents. She is just a little girl who suffers from misunderstanding and who is very lonely.
What is a person life like if shower masturbation in the morning is the best thing that will happen to him during the day? If he wanted to be strong and cheerful, but became weak and miserable. The center of the movie is the moment that, no matter how strange it seems, corresponds American Beauty to Fight Club. That is when Lester is trying to break free from the gray reality that surrounds him. In Fight Club the main hero finds relief in communicating with terminally sick people and then gains pleasure from bloody street brawls. Lester did not go so far. He just left his well paid job and started working in McDonalds, began to exercise and use drugs. The idea is that Lester broke free. He ceased being afraid of his bitching wife. He realized that there is no point in straggling for a job you do not like. Because you can be the happiest fast-food worker or the unhappiest vice-director of some office. And when Lester broke free, he felt good. He even starts to look better.
But, unfortunately such a state is not permanent. It is like remission before the impeding end. And the end arrives. Basically, the movie starts from it. Lester dies. We do not know who killed him. It can be anyone. Daughter Jane who cannot stand him and who is ashamed that her father is trying to hit on her classmate. Wife Caroline who hates her husband and thinks of him as a slug and a loser. Jane's boyfriend (who is jealous that Lester did not hit on him), Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley), whom Jane is asking to kill her father. Ricky's father who is crazy about patriotism and fascism and thinks that Ricky has a sexual relationship with Lester. Everyone has reasons to kill Lester. Even Lester himself. Because all of a sudden he thinks it is too good for him to live. Why not die when you feel best? Why die when you suffer? But Ricky delivers more ideas to the movie: sex, lies, and video. He records a girl he likes, while other things get on to his line of sight. Ricky is the only one person who sees a beauty in an empty bag dancing in the wind. So, it is not considers that he becomes as the final hero of the movie.
The movie is made perfect in all means. From the point of plot (the writer Alan Ball won an Oscar for the original screenplay), and from the point of the director and actors. But first at all, this movie is great because it is about us. About all us, whoever we are -- Americans, Russians, children, adults, psychos. This movie breaks all stereotypes. The naughtiest girl in the school Angela shows up a virgin, the loving family is a joke; a homophobe hides his true orientation. It looks so usual, like routine. Fates of different people merge in one crazy ball and everyone is looking for his/her beauty.
p.s. sorry if I have mistakes(I am Russian))