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Practical Magic

Get the Bird; Get the Book

Practical Magic, what isn't appealing about this movie? Even the title itself is alluring as the house featured in this film. Practical Magic is one of those movies that has the right amount of Hollywood blended in with a touch of realism. The plots and subplots are both interesting and Sally and Gillian Owens are just a joy to watch. The movie starts off in a small town back in the early settlements of colonial America. Where we see a pretty woman about to be hung. It's quickly revealed that she is a witch who wasn't afraid to use her powers once in a while. Scared yet daring the woman named “Maria” steps off the scaffold, her rope mysteriously snaps as her feet touch the ground. Her penetrating stare startles the villagers as they take off running. Ooh, so the beginning isn't so original but the movie becomes more enticing by the minute.

We soon find out that Maria in her anger and disappointment of being left alone to raise her child put a curse upon herself. Which carried through her family line, for all her daughters to experience. Anyone to love an “Owens” woman would soon find themselves well, dead. We soon fast forward to a family enjoying a days out on the beach, which one can only presume was some time in the 70's. The curse strikes again and we see two young girls walk up to a grand house. Where we finally see the narrators, AKA- the aunts. Aunt Frances (Stockard Channing) and Aunt Jet (Diane Wiest). They take in there nieces with loving arms and explain to them the situation they're living in and talk about the curse that has haunted their family for ages. We later see a woman raving mad as she comes seeking the aunts help in the middle of the night. She's obsessed with a man and wants a love spell done, making him leave his wife and to love only her. The aunts warn her of her choice but ultimately, cast the spell, leaving Sally and Gillian with difference in opinion about love.

Time soon passes and Sally (Sandra Bullock) who's matured faster is more cautious and shy about love and life in general. While Gillian (Nicole Kidman) is free, open, and more than ready to move on with her love life and life in general. Gillian is ready to leave the house with a new boyfriend but before she leaves she makes a blood oath with her sister Sally, promising to always return and be there for her in their time of need. With a loving embrace Gillian climbs down the balcony and runs off into the night. Sally on the other hand is having more difficulty at finding love and also misses her sister dearly. The aunts who seemed a bit tired of Sally's lack of ambition in the dating department see a spark between her and a local man, a delivery truck worker. Who I'd like to mention looks a lot like the man the woman was begging to get, years back when they were children. Coincidence? I think he's the offspring of that most likely disaster. I don't know. Sorry got sidetracked there for a moment, carrying on. Sally's gardening in the afternoon when suddenly a loud bell rings. Sally, mesmerized, stops what she's doing and high tails it out of her aunts yard and right into the arms of the stranger.

Oh Oh! We soon see that Sally has reared two daughter of her own. One red haired, Kylie and one brunette, Antonia, just like her and her sister Gillian. It seems the Owens sisterhood lives on. Sally isn't the only one who's happy, Gillian is living out her promiscuous bliss and are both seemingly  happy in the department of men. Of course the Owens women have a curse and the sound of the “Deathwatch Beetle” comes warning Sally one morning. Leaving her in a tirade of tearing up her beautiful wooden floor to try to get to that sucker. Sadly her husband doesn't make it and once again, bitter, alone, and depressed she has returned to her aunts home. Where she has set a standard of “normalcy” hoping that her daughters won't live through the same abuse her and her sister did so long ago.

Practical Magic is one of those films that you'll either love or just think it's “Ehh” okay. I have yet met a person who plain out hates the film regardless of how different the film's adaptation is from the book written by Alice Hoffman. The film is definitely entertaining to the say the least. Sally and Gillian provide a good sisterly feeling. Bullock, Kidman, Channing, and Wiest have great chemistry on screen. The movie is not perfect, it does deliver in the homey, country, magical feeling though. So if you're in the mood for on screen magic along with a wallop or drama, and a zest of romance, then this movie is for you. 

Title: Practical Magic

Length: 104 min

Ratings:PG-13

Year: 1998

Director: Griffin Dunne

Starring:Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidnam, Stockard Channing, Dianne West, Aidan Quinn

Over All Score: A-  It's worth the watch. 

Entertaining: A- It's even paced, magic is everywhere in this movie and rarely has a dull moment.

Cinematography:B+ The sets and the setting of this movie is just plainly appealing to the eye it does a great job of creating atmosphere.

Storyline: B + Entertaining, and original enough to keep you watching.

Acting: B+ Acting from the main cast is done well, they are a few minor “goofs” which you may or may not catch.

A Solid variety of music, has a good line up in the soundtrack department and a memorable score. 

Bless Me, Ultima

Bless Me, Ultima

A look into of a Curandera and a young boy.

    

Ultima's Familar

Bless Me, Ultima is a movie that's been long over due in a sense that it has brought another aspect of magick and witchcraft into film world and with an interesting storyline at that. It's based off the book by Rudolfo A. Anaya. The movie is a narration and it focuses around a young boy named Antonio Márez (Luke Ganalon), who's six years old. He spies on his parents who talk about an elderly woman named Ultima (Miriam Colon) who's coming to live with them. Though he doesn't know who she is he's somewhat excited of the idea of Ultima staying with them.

After a strange dream, Antonio soon discovers that Ultima was his mother's Midwife and that she's a Curandera. Okay I'm going to stop here and give you a explanation of (Curanderismo is the practice of folk medicine, a healing art heavily influenced by the knowledge and ancient religions of indigenous peoples. Curanderismo is associated with the treatment of both physical and supernatural illnesses. When Spanish Catholics arrived in the New World, they regarded curanderismo as a form of witchcraft and often killed those who practiced it. However, over the course of time, the intermixing between Spaniards and native people produced a mixed religious culture. ) (Spark Notes) Okay carrying on. Antonio who's fortunate to have a large loving family and parents tries to live up to both is Mother's dreams of being a Priest by studying the bible and being a farmer like his father. Though deep down Antonio wants to be a Curandero just like Ultima. Antonio is fascinated by Ultima's kindness and craft.

The story continues as Antonio goes to school and meets his blond hair friend named Florence (an Atheist), goes to Sunday School, and helps his family with the farm. Something bad soon happens with another villager's son and becomes gravely ill. Ultima soon travels out to comfort and cure him. She soon discovers that the young man had wondered around at night to search for a few missing cows and walked into three young women, the daughters of Tenorio (Castulo Guerra) performing dark witchcraft, in another nearby town in El Puerto. Soon after the young man became ill. Ultima prepares herself to cure the young man and gives a warning to Tenorio to tell his daughters to release the curse or they will regret it. Insulted by this request Tenorio laughs it off and threatens if anything happens to his daughters that he will come and kill Ultima himself. Ultima soon returns to the young man and cures him and buries the strange black thing the young man coughed up at the site the daughters had did the spell. A while after the father who had thanked her for saving his sons life soon shuns Ultima as if she had nothing for him. Antonio soon realizes that the church and most of his village Las Pasturas and El Puerto frown upon Ultima's craft. Meanwhile Ultima makes three wax dolls and binds the young women so they can longer harm anyone again. However a few days after one of the wax dolls melts and Antonio and Ultima become worried.

Bless Me, Ultima is one of those films that has a lot to offer and makes the viewer think and question life as we see through the eyes of a young, wise, and intelligent you boy. With great acting, great scenery, and

great authenticity of WWII time period and Hispanic culture in the US. This movie is not like any other movies about witchcraft. There is no special effects in it. It's one of the realest interpretation of how magick and superstition works. I highly recommend people to watch and give it a shot. It might be a little harder to connect or understand some scenes if your do know something about Spanish nor the culture. Though all in all the movie is well done and fresh.

Title: Bless Me, Ultima

Length: 106 min

Ratings:PG-13

Year: 2013

Director: Carl Franklin

Starring: Luke Ganalon, Miriam Colon, Castulo Guerra, Joaquín Cosio

Over All Score: A+ Refreshing and Accurately Cultural.

Entertaining: B+ It's a bit high considering the film is mostly a drama. Viewers of the Hispanic or Latino culture will enjoy and understand the movie more.

Cinematography: A Has outstanding scenery of New Mexico's landscape.

Storyline: A+ Original and well thought out has a bit of everything in the story to balance the darker side of the drama out. Another magical flick without crazy special effects.

Acting: A The choice of casting down to their acting were down pact. The only thing is that there Spanish is very clear.

Music: C There was nothing special about the music. The score was decent though since this is a drama no musical soundtrack is available.