Rating: Summary: The Best of the Best Review: This has got to be my all time favorite movie. It is the classic story of a white not quite spoiled teen-age girl whose parents are divorced. Sara (Stiles) is a ballet dancer. Her dream was to be "the prima ballerina." While she is trying out for the world famous dace school Julliard, her mother is rushing to see her audition. Sara messes up the audition while her mother dies in a car crash. Sara is positively devastated and holds herself responsible. Sara is forced to move in with her clueless musician father, played by Terry Kinney. She moves into a black neighborhood and attends a black school. After her new friends (one of which becomes a main character called Chenille who is played by Kerry Washington) see her show off in gym they invite her to a local dance club called Steps. After acquiring a fake ID and convincing Derek (Sean Patrick Tomas), Chenille's brother that she can dance his style, hip hop. Derek invites her to dance, but she is obviously lost, while Niki, Derek's ex-girlfriend, shows off her flawless moves. Derek offers to teach Sara how to dance. When she accepts sparks fly, but not just between Sara and Derek, but between Niki and Derek too. Nobody wants Sara and Derek to be together especially not Malaka, Derek's best friend. While Derek tries to decide what he wants to do, Sara goes after her old dance dreams. Although there is a lot of dancing there is the controversy of thug life, drive-bys, and explosions.
Rating: Summary: Don't Save the Last Dance for Later Review: The 2001 movie Save the Last Dance, starring Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas, is probably one of the better films I have viewed this past year. It is not your typical teenager flick where superficiality is at the core of the film. Instead of focusing solely on the drama of relationships, this romantic drama genre film deals with more mature issues. Director Thomas Carter weaves several serious themes throughout the plot, including grief and guilt, interracial relationships, and urban violence. One thing about romance genre films is that they are generally predictable, but Save the Last Dance offers several surprising plot twists. The film begins with Sara (Julia Stiles) on a train headed for Chicago to live with her estranged musician dad, Roy (Terry Kinney), after her mother's tragic death. Sarah was an aspiring ballet dancer, and incidentally was auditioning for the Julliard School of Dance when her mother died in a car accident on the way to the audition. Sara arrives in Chicago and is forced to live a completely different lifestyle in the inner city in her father's shoddy apartment. She attends a predominantly African American high school, where she immediately befriends Chenille (Kerry Washington), a single teenage mother. In her first English class, she gets into a debate with Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas), and initially dislikes him for his "know it all" attitude. It turns out that Derek is Chenille's brother, which is an unexpected coincidence. Surprisingly, Sara adjusts to living in an African American culture quite quickly with the help of her new friends. Sara and Derek are both presented as smart, talented individuals with their own belief systems. They are much more complex characters than I was anticipating in this film, thanks to Stiles' and Thomas' standout performances. Sara begins to take an interest in Derek when he asks her to dance at the ever-popular Steps Club. Eventually Derek becomes her hip-hop dance mentor, and that is when their relationship blossoms. Incidentally, their relationship marks the beginning of the problems for both characters. As the film's title suggests, dancing is key to the movie because that is how many of the relationships are formed. Most of the important conflicts take place during those scenes as well. Nevertheless, the dancing in some of the scenes was not very impressive. Good dance moves should appear natural and flow along well, but much of the dancing in this film did not live up to this expectation. Much of the dance choreography appeared rough and unnatural. The end of the film was the only part that was predictable, but the fun part really lies in getting there. The lighting in the scenes was dim most of the time, which added to making the film more serious in tone, and therefore more realistic. Furthermore, the film was paced perfectly; at no time did I feel like it was dragging on. All of the cast members displayed decent acting and characterization, with the exception of Roy (Terry Kinney). Roy's character was not very developed, but his character had the potential to be quite interesting because of his inner city lifestyle. Overall, I would give this movie a four star rating. If you have an interest in dance, romance, or serious drama, this film is worth seeing. Even if you are not interested in any of these topics, one can appreciate the good acting displayed by the main characters. After viewing the film, I felt the urge to get up and dance, and that is precisely what I did.
Rating: Summary: We're Dancing Review: I'm a dancer at heart, I always have been and always will. I got this movie with high expectations, and was never disapointed. Sara is at a dance tryout waiting for her mother to come. She was upset at her mother, and when her mother was on her way, she got in a car crash and died. Sara was sent away from her friends into a strangers house. The stranger was her dad, but the two had grown apart tremendously. The house that her dad lived in wasn't quite a house; a small shack in a predominatly black neighborhood. Sara arrives at school to see she is the outcast in the crowd. Everyone is of mixed heritage, and here Sara is white as a ghost. She meets a girl who has a baby of her own. Sara meets Derek and their relationship starts off rocky towards each other. They have some debates in class, both brilliant individuals. They settle down and Derek starts Sara dancing again. He trains her hour after hour, and she learns to loosen up and dance with her soul. She takes her wrapped up point shoes and puts them back on feeling the vibe and energy of dance. Through the work outs, the two fall in love. Derek takes her to a ballet showing her what she could do in a couple years. Sara tries out for Juliard at the end, and the judges are far by impressed and accept her on the spot. The movie is forever touching and will get you out of your seat to dance.
Rating: Summary: great film Review: THis film was well done. The actors in this movie were great and the dance scences were cool and the music was hot. This movie is worth owning and you wont be dissapointed. YOu can watch it over and over and will not be tired of it.
Rating: Summary: Dynamic Dance Duo Review: Save the Last Dance (2001), starring Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas, is more than your average teen movie. This romantic drama deals with grief, guilt, interracial relationships, violence, and inner conflicts. While most romantic dramas are extremely predictable, Director Thomas Carter II does a wonderful job with plot twists. The movie begins with Sara Johnson (Julia Stiles) on a train headed for Chicago to live with her estranged father, Roy (Terry Kinney). Sara begins to have flash backs on the train, and soon we find out that Sara was an aspiring ballet dancer, and while auditioning for the Julliard School of Dance, her mother was killed in a tragic car accident on her way to the audition. Grief and guilt cause Sara to hang up her ballerina shoes. Sara arrives in Chicago and is forced to live a completely different life style than she is accustomed to. She attends a predominantly African American high school on Chicago's rough South Side. In her first English class, she gets into a debate with Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas), and immediately dislikes him because of his attitude. Sara feels out of place until she befriends Chenille (Kerry Washington), a single teenage mother. It turns out that Derek is Chenille's brother, which is totally unexpected by Sara and the viewing audience. Sara quickly adjusts to living in an African American culture with the help of her new friends. Sara begins to take an interest in Derek when he asks her to dance at a popular hip hop club. As Derek begins to coach her on hip hop dancing, an interracial relationship begins, and so do the social problems. Dancing is the key to this movie because that is how most of the relationships develop. Most of the conflicts take place during the dancing scenes as well. Overall, I rated this film a four star rating. I was expecting another teen movie, and instead I got so much more out of it. If you are interested in a serious drama that touches on a plethora of topics this film is worth viewing.
Rating: Summary: Follow Your Dreams Review: After the accidental death of her mother, Sara Johnson's (Julia Stiles) dreams of becoming a professional ballerina are decimated and she is forced to move from her quiet Vermont town to her father's ghetto apartment on the south side of Chicago. But when she meets Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas), a popular black student with a passion for hip hop and a future brighter than his troubled past, her repressed ambition and sorrow are released through a revitalized interest in the cathartic and expressive power of dance. Overall, this wasn't a bad movie. I wouldn't rush out to rent it but it was alright.
Rating: Summary: as long as i have females in my life...... Review: ....ill be dragged into snorefests like this.lets be honest for a minute and look at who is giving this movie a review above 1 or 2 stars......women and children.within those reviews,youll find''Da Bomb,Off Da Hook''or any number of palsy-esque cliches.that alone should gauge the worth of this nonsense.the things us guys put up with for the girls we love.........sigh
Rating: Summary: Pretty Good. Review: Okay, Save the Last Dance was a good movie. It didn't really live up to my expectations, but it was still entertaining. I pretty much just wanted to see it because it had something to do with Julliard (I'm a musician) The dancing was cool and the movie was inspiring, but I think the best part is the very end--Sara's dance. I could probably watch it again, but chances are, I'd just watch the end.
Rating: Summary: poor movie Review: This movie contained an utterly boring plot which was only matched by the poor acting.
Rating: Summary: Save The Last Dance Review: SAVE THE LAST DANCE Save the last dance is a different type of dance-romance film that is fitted for all ages. It is an inspiring film that captures the interest of most teenagers. For some reason, it helps them to understand more about the conflicts of life and reminds them that unexpected things really happen in one's life that can change one's simple life into a bit more complicated one. The film is about Sara Johnson (Julia Stiles), a simple white American teenager that is determined to get into Julliard, a top-notch ballet school. She dreams of becoming a ballet dancer and auditions into Julliard; unfortunately, her mother dies in a fatal car accident because of rushing into Sara's unsuccessful audition. Because of her mother's death, Sara blames herself and quits ballet. She then moves to Chicago where his once-caring father (Terry Kinney) lives. To continue her studies, Sara has to go to an all black high school and there is where she meets Chenille (Kerry Washington), a fun and loving teen-age mother. At first, Sara hated going in that school because of this guy named Derek (Sean Patrick Thomas) whom she debates with at an English class. This guy happens to be Chenille's brother. Later, Sara begins to make friends with Derek because of his sister Chenille. Derek helps introduce Sara to a hip-hop club called steps, where he is a natural dance floor talent. The two became good friends and begin practicing dance together, with Derek showing hip hop moves. Conflict arises when the two starts to have a close relationship with one another. There is the pressure of everyone criticizing Derek and Sara because of the difference in their skin color. But because of their strong faith and love with each other, they continue their lives together. Sara continues her dream of becoming a ballet dancer and successfully joins the Julliard School of ballet with the help and encouragement of Derek and with the support of her father. Then on, everything goes right and the film ends up happily.
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