The Negotiator

How do you feel when you show children, teens and young adults a "good guy, bad guy" movie and the good guy wins in the end?

When I was younger, I was more idealistic and believed in "doing the right thing".

Today? I advise my young charges to be smart, to be realistic and to live in the real world.

Am I being cynical or jaded? Maybe a bit.

The world is not sunshine and rainbows and I feel that we should not be condescending towards young people by insisting that it is.

I am optimistic and I still believe that there are good people around...I just think that we should also be smart and not mess with the rotten apples.

Anyway, Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey are dynamite in this gripping movie about a corrupted police force where "a hostage negotiator who, after being framed for murder, tries to clear his name by taking people hostage."

"The Negotiator" is Samuel L. Jackson and he is one of the top negotiators, Lt. Danny Roman, in hostage cases but he ironically holds people hostage when he is framed for murder.

Another negotiator, Lt. Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey) is brought in to negotiate with the negotiator!

The movie involves a lot of dialogue, which may be boring to kids, but it's a great movie to watch with the family on Friday night.

I remember watching it with the kids and they had so many questions about what's going on!

I also find that the movie is useful to teach children about what to do in the case of a hostage situation.

Although the movie is about betrayal and corruption...I made the decision not to delve too much on the topic of the police pension fund.

I still believe in sunshine and rainbows, remember? ;-)

Mona Lisa Smile

Synopsis: In 1953, free-spirited Berkeley graduate Katherine Watson accepts a position as a teacher at Wellesley College, a women-only school where she finds students who are torn between their thirst for intellectual freedom and the repressive mores of the early 1950s.

A Revolution Studios film, written by Larry Konner & Mark Rosenthal, directed by Mike Newell, starring Julia Roberts, Marcia Gay Harden, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, & Maggie Gyllenhaal

As much as I love books, I find that suitable movies communicate and educate audiences much more than a lecture or a tutorial ever could.

With an all-star cast like Julia Roberts, Marcia Gay Harden, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie and Gyllenhaal, the movie is not as inspiring as Dead Poets Society...

The movie is supposed to be about female students at the prestigious Wellesley College "who are torn between their thirst for intellectual freedom and the repressive mores of the early 1950s".

Seriously, I enjoyed the movie for the beautiful cast and costumes and I think my freshmen class of Chinese students were captivated by the mainstream US college culture...

They enjoyed the story and could relate their mothers' experiences with some of the characters' experiences and plights.

One of the best parts of the movie (for me) is when Marcia Gay Hayden chooses to get married and raise a family although Julia Roberts feels that she should pursue her postgraduate degree. Personally, I felt a bit disappointed when her loving fiance felt that her place is still in the home (this movie is set in the 1950s) but I thought that Hayden's role was that of a strong woman who feels that being a housewife is her worthy pursuit in life - not Julia Roberts' ultra feminist stance for intellectual pursuits.

In any case, I was left wondering why the book or movie is titled "Mona Lisa Smile" because other than the art history professor, I could not see any logical linkages between Mona Lisa and the women's experiences in the movie.