Change Your Image
taxeff
Reviews
Kids for Cash (2013)
Some Balance
I concur with the Judge on this. Not guilty of cash for kids.
It appears from this documentary that there were no ongoing payments for keeping the facilities full. The Judge had a reputation of sending juveniles down (prior to the decision to close the original facility).
Guilty of bribery and corruption yes. Guilty of robbing the juveniles of their right to representation, but that was not on the charge sheet.
The judge does describe an incident in his youth where he said his father clobbered him for attempting to steal a car. Would you rather get punched in the mouth or be sent to lock-up? That is what I would like to ask that creep.
The problem lies with the system. Two million children arrested each year; 95% are for non violent crimes. This reflects the adult prison population in the USA which has the highest rate of incarceration in the world and more prisoners than the rest of the world combined.
Many of these prisons are privately owned slave plantations. The justice system is corrupted by prison for profit.
The parole system ensures a rapid recycling of ex cons back into the system and more profits for prison owners (like Bill Gates)
The USA is a corrupted violent society. It's collapse is imminent.
The facts at the end of the documentary are a sad indictment of the US and it's propensity to violence
Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
Beautiful Cars, Nothing Else
Character development none. We are introduced to Stanley (Colin Firth) in a grotesque version of "blackface in Chinese" in the decadent pre Nazi Berlin in a scene that goes on a little too long. Why this was relevant is beyond me. If we want prestige or gravitas, show him doing his show before the crowned heads in a major capital, not in a saloon in the most licentious city on earth.
Thereafter Stanley never seems to let up on an aggressive harsh tone, and acting out of place with his rank in what was then known as "society". I think Colin Firth is capable of (slightly) more nuanced performances than this. Woody Allen missed a trick here.
The romantic lead; Whatshername, uninterested, unconvincing, unappealing who looked like she had oversized matt green contact lenses.
She purportedly plays a character who by definition may or may not have been educated before and during the First World War. However, her hair, costume and deportment spoke of a standardised 21st century American school girl on her way to the mall. (I exaggerate to make my point)
There is no credible tension or conflict between the leads nor any emotional contact with the cinema goer and they didn't make us laugh either. So, instead of a standard rom-com, we are hit (according to reviewers here)with the "deep question" that was so "deep" it left a bump on my head. What do you expect from a Director/Writer from a country where many consider atheism and atheists to be to be evil. Whatever Woody was saying he said it with a hammer.
The ultimate answer arrives after a predictable mishap, after which the cynic embraces the fraud and they flick the switch on an unconvincing romance. Then they sail off into the sunset with nary a laugh for the audience during the running time.
The only positive outcome in this movie was that they were both working class, so that, when they predictably divorced one day (so unconvincing they were, and divorce was DIFFICULT in those days) that none of them would be unduly enriched by marrying into somebody else's wealth. No losers.
Beautiful scenery,and detailed interior sets were good. But the best was the vintage handmade (not mass produced) cars. I think some of the vehicular treasure on view post dated the period of the story but who cares?
Woody should watch Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Ernest" and compare to see how much better he should have done with this slack potboiler.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Dreadful crock
This movie earned rave reviews for one reason only, salacious interest in a twelve year old prostitute. A gratuitous detail, why did she have to be twelve?
Travis Bickel played by de Niro elicits no sympathy or credibility at any point.
Witness his lame dialogue at chatting up the Cybil Shepard character on the phone. Witness de Niro giving her an LP and admitting that he "knows nothing" about music. Witness him telling the politician Palladino that he supports him and hopes that he wins the election, and then telling Palladino that he "knows nothing" about politics. There was another instance where the lead character confesses that he "knows nothing" about some or other issue that had been explored and then summarily cut off by "knowing nothing".
Witness the lead character performing the standard and predictable American procedure when a woman states her disinterest in him. The man must grab her by the arm and pull and shove her about. I do not find this (admittedly mild) form of assault to be romantically feasible yet it is standard fare in American movies. Are American women different? Do they change their minds after a little display of childish violence?
We also have the great Scorsese attention deficit, lazy sloppy and stupid showing the protagonist cutting off one of the sleeves of his shirt (why?) and in the next shot the sleeve is back. This isn't a goof, it is unforgivably lazy. At this point you realise that this "masterpiece" is a piece of junk.
At some point we arrive at the point of the movie, the unnecessarily young prostitute. More lazy sloppy work follows. Predictable painfully shallow dialogue. "why are you doing this?" etc.
Now the pace of the film speeds up because our stupid lazy director is running out of film stock.
Now that the director has fulfilled his child sex fantasies he can give us a gratuitous violence and loving pornographic focus on obviously fake blood and gore and the film quickly wraps with an easy implausible ending.
Our twelve year old whore has gone back to school??? with parents who can't afford to visit New York and she is apparently happy in the rust belt town of Pittsburgh. Poor and happy in Pittsburgh don't make sense.
Her close associates have been violently murdered in front of her and she trots off to school with a bunch of strangers in some godforsaken city?
Our hero has casually killed three people using unlicenced firearms, yet he suffers absolutely zero consequences (another American specialty?) save for hero status in the media and (predictable) interest from the Cybil Shepard person.
A shallow stupid and unoriginal story. Perfect for short American attention spans, lazy untidy directing and unconvincing portrayals except for the whore and the pimp.
Alienation is not interesting
Burlesque (2010)
I liked it
I am giving it a six because of Christina Aguilera.
Essentially an Aguilera video with a cliché of a story line to join the music it was competently done. Good dance routines and pleasant music which became repetitive toward the end. Aguilera's electrifying voice kept my attention throughout.
Stanley Tucci carries on with his role in The Devil Wears Prada, even to the extent of casually flipping costumery over his shoulder at the young protagonist (Aguilera in this case) whilst delivering witty repartee.
Cher wailed like a stuck pig in some of her numbers. I don't believe that her singing added value as CA swept all before her. It's difficult to compete with Aguilera's power. Not many solo artists today could follow her act.
I am not competent enough to comment on Cher's acting performance but she was believable in the simple (beleagured) role.
Aguilera gives an honest and energetic performance. I think she is a lovely girl and that is exactly what she plays in this picture. Nothing spectacular. I bought her story as simple as it was. Some bitchy comments seemed to be out of character later in the movie after she gains a measure of fame.
When CA opens her mouth to sing, I shut mine and listen.