Sarah's Movie Review of "Whale Rider"!
Topic: Sarah's Labors
Whale Rider
By Sarah

?There was no happiness when I was born,? states Pai, the main character in the movie Whale Rider, a beautiful film about the Maori people of New Zealand. The movie opens with the birth of twins to Pourourangi and his wife. Pourourangi is next in line to rule the Maori people, although he is indifferent to his role. All hope then for a new leader is pinned on the birth of his children. Sadly tragedy strikes when soon after the birth, Pourourangi?s wife and son die, leaving only Pourourangi and his infant daughter. Pourourangi, unable to cope with his grief, leaves New Zealand, but first he names his daughter Pai after Paikea the whale rider. Paikea is said to have lead the Maori to New Zealand on the backs of whales thousands of years ago.

We are then introduced to Pourourangi?s father and the chief, Koro Apirana. Koro is angered by his grandchild?s name, which he considers an insult, and the fact that she is a girl. Before the birth of his granddaughter, Koro had convinced himself that his grandchild would be a prophet, a whale rider like Paikea who would lead the Maori out of their steady decline. However her gender alone led Koro to believe that he would be the last tribal leader of his line.

As the movie moves forward, Pai is ten years old and is being raised by Koro and his wife. Koro has not accepted Pai as his heir but has grudgingly included her as part of the family. Pai is a sad, intelligent girl who is extremely interested in her culture. She desperately wants her grandfather to notice her. Pai is constantly doing things to gain Koro?s trust and love only to be admonished for messing things up. Koro?s refusal to pay her any attention is too much for Pai. On Pourourangi?s next visit Pai is decides to go back to Germany with him, though she returns without having ever left the island. When Pai comes back she finds Koro even more stiff and distant then before. In the short time that Pai was gone, Koro realizes that he is getting older, and renews his zeal to find an heir. Since Pourourangi is gone Koro decides to set up a school for the boys of the tribe; to teach them their ancient ways. Secretly Pai listens in on the lessons which consist of chants, legends and the handling of ancient weapons. Pai is caught multiple times but she keeps coming back no matter how angry Koro is. Regardless of what happens Pai is calm and defiant, convinced that this is what she is meant to do. She is determined to gain her grandfather?s respect and love.

Through Pai?s search for acceptance she becomes a role model to all; helping people of the tribe with their own problems. Pai?s enthusiasm and love for her ancient culture leads the people to embrace their Maori heritage which they had been putting aside for more twenty-first century values.

Whale Rider is an amazing movie because it is not just a story of Pai?s love for her grandfather but also the story of the needs and struggles of the entire tribe. Though Whale Rider leaves you feeling good it is not a cheesy, happy-go-lucky movie with the good guy living happily ever after. Despite the fact that the movie is part fantasy all the struggles are extremely real even when the movie dips into the imaginary.

Harper's take on the movie
Topic: Harper's Writing
Cheaper By The Dozen.
By Harper.
When I sat down to watch the movie Cheaper by the Dozen I was expecting something like the book Cheaper by the Dozen that I enjoyed reading a few years ago. I was prepared for the fact that it would be somewhat different, since it was clearly a modern version. I had even braced myself for the occasional, out of place, ditzy comments about the mall that I knew would be sprinkled in since Hillary Duff was involved. But I wasn?t prepared for what I saw.

The movie tells the story of Tom and Kate Baker and their twelve kids. The family moves from the country to the city so that Tom can take his dream job as a football coach for his old school. As the parents' attention is drawn away from their kids by their jobs, total chaos ensues at home. And chaos pretty much reigns for the rest of the film? an aspect of the movie that had me yearning for a quiet session of yoga in a soothing lavender tinted room or perhaps just a cold compress for my head.

The Baker?s hectic lifestyle wasn?t anything like the regimented Gilbreth family whose story is recounted in the book Cheaper by the Dozen. The children have completely different names, ages, genders, and personalities. The parents in the movie weren?t exactly the rotund, efficiency expert father and the industrial engineer mother that I expected from the book. In short: the movie and the book share nothing in common other than their titles and the number of children involved.

However, to be fair, I should let the movie stand on its own. After all, the film is clearly not a failed attempt at replicating the book but rather a whole new story. In its favor, the movie was entertaining for a lazy summer afternoon. The continual bedlam was comical at times. With twelve kids to work with, the scriptwriter had plenty of opportunities to create fantastical schemes and plots, many of which I enjoyed watching. But while it was amusing to watch their ridiculous antics unfold, it didn?t really pull me into the story. I wasn?t engrossed in the lives of the characters. It wasn?t one of those movies that keep floating around in your head all week. Why not? Well, here are a few of the reasons why it will never reach my favorite movies list.

My first issue with the movie is a small thing, but something that really grates on my nerves. Sprinkled throughout the movie were ?Disney moments?. You can be positive that you have correctly identified a Disney moment if it feels like it would be appropriate for Barney to walk onto the set at any moment and burst forth with his ?happy family? theme song. One such moment occurs when the Bakers found their lost child, Mark, at the train station. They all gathered around him in a circle and the camera panned around giving almost every family member a five second slot to say their own catchy phrase. Everyone expressed essentially identical sentiments; while little Mark was gone they had realized that they could never live without him. And it isn?t that I disagree with the morals of the movie. After all who can argue with love, loyalty and strong family bonds? But when presented in an overly sappy manner (twelve times over) the power of the moral is definitely lessened.

Another problem I had with the movie was its constant frantic pace. Maybe this is just a realistic impression of what a family with twelve kids would be like day to day. But, I think they purposely accentuated it. Just when I was getting involved in the story, the movie would suddenly shift to action-packed scenes with toast flying, frogs hopping, and dishes shattering. All accompanied by the latest hit pop song at high volume. But highlighting frantic action and pop music comes at a cost: namely character development. Many of the characters were shells of common stereotypes with little depth to their personalities.

My biggest issue with the movie was predictability. The surprise twists that captivate your imagination in other movies were missing in this one. There was never a suspense-filled moment in which I was on the edge of my seat nervous about what was coming. No, on the contrary, after they set the scene at the start of the movie the outline of the plot laid itself out as clearly as the lime green spots on Barney?s back. And like these spots, the movie is bright, loud, and bold with no reserves or subtleties hidden for later discovery.

Now, I don?t mean to discourage anyone from ever watching this movie. If you looking for something silly, lighthearted and comedic, Cheaper by the Dozen could be a good choice for you. Just don?t ask me to come with you? I will be busy meditating in my lavender tinted room.