State of Play
Rating: B/3 – Like the Informant! I had a hard time getting drawn into this film. Russell Crowe does a good job as a journalist, but he’s kind of an unbelievable character in that he’s up against all kinds of trained people trying to keep the Senator from falling, and his only weapon he wields is a pen. Maybe this is symbolic because a sub theme of the movie is the difficulty the newspaper industry is having with online news sources, and the juxtaposition of Crowe and these renegades underscores it.
The Informant!
Rating: B/3 – The Informant! did a good job of showing the consequences of lying and trying to cover up the lies as they become discovered. If you try to cover things up, things don’t get better or disappear. A right action doesn’t always make-up for a wrong action, especially if that right action is by no means a restitution of the wrong doing.
Back to Top | Comments Off
Everybody’s Fine
Rating: A/4 – Frank knew he didn’t have the most exciting professional life and hoped and “knew” that each of his kids could be whatever they (he) wanted them to be. Because of this attitude, his kids (and wife) only told him what he was willing to listen to (never any bad news, everybody was always fine). The visit he makes to each child is very eye-opening and you learn right along side him how his link to his family is starting to fall apart. The trip turned out to be more for him than for his children, though ultimately it did bring them all together again.
Chicago
At first glance I was rather leery of what this movie would portray. I had already walked out of Moulin Rouge, and this didn’t seem like it would be terribly different. What changed my mind about seeing this was Orson Scott Card’s short reviews of the movie. The reasons for this not getting a higher moral rating from us is that it is not a show for young kids; the themes presented are for a more mature audience. Be aware that there is some language, sexuality, and a lot of revealing clothing presented in the movie (and no ClearPlay filter available at the date of this posting, and I’m not sure how they could create one without mutilating the musical numbers in the film). This content, however, adds to the overall message of the movie; and by the end it is quite clear that this film is a commentary on our social and legal system, not a promotion of murder, sex, and greed.
All Quiet on the Western Front
This movie could be summed up quite well in one statement: “War is Hell”. I haven’t seen too many anti-war films, and though I believe war is necessary in some instances (almost never in provoking, but primarily in defending) this film did a very good job of portraying the terrors of war. Having never been [...]
Friendly Persuasion
Rating: 5 Luke This is a very nice, easy-going movie. To some it might be a little slow, but I enjoyed the time I was given to enjoy each scene completely without being jerked from one place to the next as some frenzied directors like to do. I felt very good after watching this movie. [...]