The Door in the Floor, Splendor in the Grass, Hell House, Catwoman, & Children of a Lesser God

The Door in the Floor was really depressing. Well, it's like a John Irving novel that doesn't actually have the final happy ending. Mainly because it's only of the first third of the book. I didn't even realise that the book was about the daughter until I read up on it. Still, it was very good and Kim Basinger and Jeff Bridges were excellent. Just a little depressing for me.

Splendor in the Grass has a very attractive Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood. Just made me pretty happy that most people aren't quite that repressed now. Another depressing movie. Also somewhat suprised at how much they showed of Natalie Wood. Clearly the Hays Code office forgot to censor the movie.

Hell House was another depressing movie. But mainly because there are a bunch of seriously misguided people out there who think that they're the only ones who are right. And that everyone else is going to burn in hellfire for ever and ever. The people there who were trying to figure out the evil things that they were trying to convince people to avoid just goes to show that they don't understand anything. They lead sheltered lives without any actual contact with these sinners they're trying to convert. Admittedly the "other side" in the movie was a bunch of foul-mouthed idiots, but seeing the visitors' reactions to the rooms was painful. Are there that many people who believe that Ru-486 will lead to a painful and bloody abortion? Are there that many people who believe that raves lead to rapes? And who thinks that the internet will lead to adultery and spousal abuse? In the end, the movie is frustrating for me, because it comes so close to damning these "religious" types, except that I actually liked a lot of them. Certainly not the leaders, most of whom were attention whores. But the others were mainly misguided people, who would have been normal if you avoided the religion or politics potholes in conversation. That's what's most scary to me.

Catwoman was crap. Nothing remotely redeeming. Maybe if I actually liked Halle Berry at all, I might have enjoyed her in skimpy clothes. And the CGI was some of the worst in an allegedly big budget film in years.

Children of a Lesser God has a very good performance from both Marlee Matlin and William Hurt and was well done. But it never really overcomes the problem of being a movie about a man and a woman, one has a serious problem, overcoming the problem. Plus, this had some horrible 80s music.