A review of "Joshua" and a few other things...

Wow, things have been busy lately!

I turned seventeen on June 3rd, and shortly after I got my liscense! I also just got off of the first day of my first job at a supermarker. Finally, I might actually have some money! (Not to mention, a way to get around.)

I have been really worried about all of this lately, so I haven't had to time to blog every day or every-other-day like I said. Hopefully I'll be able to achieve that goal!

By the way, the e-mail address that you see on here (lotrrox04@insightbb.com) is actually my old e-mail address. It no longer works, so don't expect to get through to me that way. My new e-mail address is:

bowiefan1@gmail.com

Please, no spamming! If you have a comment, question, concern, or you just have a band that you would like me to hear, a movie that you would like me to see, a book that you would like me to read, or if you just want to talk about something, you can get ahold of me very easily there. I'm open to about anything!

I've seen a couple of movies lately. One of them is "Joshua" (which I will post a review of on this post) and the other was "The Strangers" (which I will try to review as soon as possible).

Speaking of which, here is my review for "Joshua." It's a fairly new film, and it's out on DVD.

"Joshua":

"Joshua" is just one of those films that seeps through you like liquid seeping through wood. It takes a while (because it all happens slowly do the density of the wood), but when it does, the wood swells to irregular proportions. This is exactly what happens to "Joshua"; certain points may touch you or horrify you, but overall you remain unpenetrated until it all seeps through. When I finished "Joshua" just a few nights ago, I was totally unsure about the film. Over the last few days, I have had mixed emotions as I though about the film. Now, I feel that the film has its major flaws-- all films do. The flaws in "Joshua" are more obvious, though.

The ways that his parents deal with him aren't beliveable. Rather than confronting "Joshua" about his problems, his father seems to go crazy. The way that the psychologist deals with Joshua is also unrealistic. How many kids would draw a picture illustrating abuse during the first visit from their shrinks? I could be wrong about this, but how many child psychologists travel to their patients' homes? I also didn't like when Joshua's father started to sneak pornography while his wife was drugged out. I could see possible affairs, maybe even private viewings, but not blatantly watching porn in you office!

The acting, overall, was stellar. I can't think of one horrible actor in the film. The little guy who played Joshua is probably the most memorable, though. His role was very believable and scary.

One of the other big problems (or maybe it could be looked at as an positive characteristic) was the plot overall. Unnatural things happen over the course of the film, but the mood itself doesn't ever pick up during one of these strange incidents. The viewer also never knows whether Joshua did any of this (though they have reasonable evidence that he did). So, at the end, Joshua is either a misunderstood and falsely accused child or he is a psychopath in the making, a boy without control over his psychological impulses. I'm still not sure whether I like this or not, but it is an interesting attribute of the film. It leaves the viewer with something at the end which is, after all, the main point of any ending. The ending itself is the most memorable point of the film. Strangely enough, I was touched by Joshua. The ending made me want to cry or even reach out to this potential killer.