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The Human Stain (2003)
Mess of a movie with good intentions
The problem with the movie Human Stain is it uses clichés, false suppositions, and more prejudice to paint a confusing story. Anthony Hopkins plays a college professor who loses his career for making racial comments. His lifelong secret is he has black blood since his natural parents are light colored African Americans. The first supposition is he was wronged for being fired for making racial comments. He WAS angry with the black race since they reminded him of his family. Whites and blacks drag over the coals blacks with conservative view points. Any person who hates blacks is more deserving of contempt despite their race. There are good and bad whites and blacks so you don't write off an entire race because you are angry with your family.
The second wrong supposition and the racism was that professor was a hot white chick magnet because of his secret black blood. If not for that pint of Black blood he'd be just another middle aged white loser who never gets laid. Otherwise how would he end up in a Philip Roth novel. Roth doesn't care about race. He just had to write another of his steamy books and add race to make him appear to be a more significant writer. The professor diddles with a woman who's sole is destroyed by her past. Half the people in the movie told him not to do it. You are supposed to believe his special love is enough to save her. It's really patronizing of Philip Roth to sink Blacks to the level of his writing pretending he's giving them a complement. They destroy each other for good reason oh but there is a racist. If you are killed by a racist there must be something good about you. There were no skid marks. Is that Roth saying it actually is wrong to have sex with a mentally ill person? Nothing like a Jew using pretend blacks to put down whites.
Jane the Virgin (2014)
Finally
I don't want to sound harsh but it's nice to see Latin people that don't look like they belong to M13. It's nice to see Latins who don't look ashamed to speak some English. It's nice seeing a Latin environment where the pride isn't so thick you can't cut it with a knife. Who can be proud of pride - the mother of all sins. The result is a Latin comedy where all act like Anglos much like a another version of Blossom. You've got the usual moronic white guys - can't escape that in 2015. Sorry, but I and more people should 'splain things as they are instead of as they hoped they were. For one thing everybody is dumbed down by PC. Everything PC is phony. How nice can you be when you're threatened by ridicule to be that way? It's better to speak truth and offend the Nazis and brain dead people who won't let you have your own beliefs.
Black Box (2014)
How crazy is this show?
Everybody is crazy and nobody is crazy. If you can earn meaningful income you are not disabled. If you are a danger to yourself or others you can be institutionalized. Some people may be too emotional and lost in their thoughts. Others not. Everybody feels better on Monday than on Tuesday and vice versa. Bipolar? I doubt it. Murder suicides? Often led to by anti-depressants but pharmaceutical companies sponsor TV shows so they'll never make a show about that.
This TV show is using the recent formula of 'Frantic TV' used on shows like Scandal, Crisis, and Believe. It's based on the observation that watcher's attention spans and interest is even less than just a few years ago. Now people will watch only if it can trigger their adrenalin response so someone has to die or be in danger every two minutes. Another trick being used is using a white woman with a black boy friend. This is designed to make white males watch out of intimidation and to make blacks watch who don't like white people (It is good to see Black people who are not in jail find more parts in Hollywood). Another trick is to make mental illness seem cool. Cool is turning every thing upside down like crazy sane, sane crazy or crazy is crazy (I fooled you!). Obama world is doing everything opposite of the last guy - the formula for people who hate everything is doing the opposite (like George Kostanza).
This review pretty well describes most TV and movies made today. Most entertainment is designed to intimidate, justify, or deny or create fear, envy, jealousy, anger, revulsion, or lust, and I foresee the trend to continue. If you can shock you can sell some soap a few more weeks and maybe think of something more shocking before people get bored and do something more meaningful like play checkers.
Mother and Child (2009)
Humanist misfire
Mother and Child is a Crash type movie where unrelated characters of different races come together or become related by the end. The Watts character is the daughter given up years ago by the Benning character and they are seriously troubled because of it. Annette is a spinster who distrusts men and Watts is a psychopath who manipulates them. What develops is both meet kindly coworkers or neighbors that eventually melt their hearts and all ends happily. It is a well made film with great direction and acting if you are a true believer in humanism. The left sees people as troubled but good deep inside except for conservatives who are evil through and through. The right see people as troubled who act good (to maintain social order), may become better through suffering, but basically are fallen. My view is closer to the second.
That distinction explains why this move is unrealistic. With so much unhappiness they wouldn't have waited 37 years. Second you can't melt the heats of troubled people. If you spend time around them you'll become troubled also.. The message I received was that promiscuity is dangerous and if you want to be a mother you wait until you are mature, find the right partner, then have children if it is affordable and wanted. Otherwise revert to adoption. Finally, everyone in this movie would have lawyered up which makes me ask why basically good people are so litigious all the time? Why don't they just sit around all day affecting others lovingly and forget about working in law, social services, or whatever? Too many contradictions in that belief and feelings seldom make sense. Suffering follows close behind.
Barbarella (1968)
Sexual and sad
Barbarella has to be the most overtly sexual movie ever made and it was amazingly made in 1968! Jane Fonda's sexiness was the only reason 49% of the population watched it and aside from the Vadim/Fonda cinematic ambitions little reason why it should have been made. Art it was not! When I lived in a dormitory at the University of Missouri in the 1960s we called Jane Mighty Fine a Vagina. At the time of Barbarella and Cat Ballou she was considered the sexiest woman in Hollywood. In the most truthful terms it can be said that Roger was pimping her. Who does something like that to their loved one? Now to the sad part. Beautiful women in movies and beautiful women in real life live the dubious life of being sex objects. It's been going on for millions of years and it's still going on. Beautiful women with dark souls enjoy it and become Succubus and the decent women who would want to be loved, liked, appreciated, valued, or feel worth two cents just feel frustrated and disappointed. They feel conflict and filthiness when they sense some pig wants to jump their bones. The feminist movement sure didn't help the situation because deranged women always knew there is no power without sexuality. Woman's and men's intellects have little value in our culture.
Several years ago Jane was interviewed on Oprah and they both talked about how meaningful her life was. If I had been there I would have asked her if she felt like she had been used by every man she knew and hated by every woman? To live the life of a pervert fantasy on your best days until you were too old? Did you find purpose elsewhere?
The Dust Bowl (2012)
History or story?
The Dust Bowl is a continuation of the same type of documentary Ken Burns has been producing the past three decades. It's a compilation of old magazine or book quotes, interviews of individuals from that period, plus pictures and illustrations. The problem is since there is no way of knowing what pictures actually represent the quotes. Unlike a history book with a bibliography of sources that can be checked here we are being told a story which may have some truth but may also have untruths or misrepresentations. Is the child in the photo the actual child who died in that storm or another?
The product of Ken Burns documentaries are a reflection of burn's world views more than lessons in history. If Burns were not affiliated with PBS I may view his documentaries more open mindedly. In addition I find his documentaries to be generally manipulative with violin music fading in at just the right time to elicit a tear or two with news a child died. I like drawing my own conclusions from history and not having my chain yanked by a pseudo intellectual or other impostor.
I view Ken Burn's work as entertainment at best and propaganda at worst. It's his schtick and it's what he does apparently well enough to continue to receive funding. Hopefully more people will begin to see through it.
Revolution (2012)
Jury is still out
First thing about Revolution is the sword fighting will get tiring pretty fast. The best thing this series can attain is that it be imbued by some warmth, humanity, humor, and irony ala shows like Firefly, Buffy, or Xena. This will require character development. Also it will help if the good guys aren't all good and the bad guys aren't all bad.
Without these ingredients the show will only last 4-5 episodes. As is the female lead is pretty but bland, fierce but unconvincing. She appears to have little acting experience so I'm not sure if she knows yet where to take the character or how. Is she trying to act or acting like she is trying? Time will tell. Right now the only glimmers of hope are the guy from Breaking Bad and maybe the uncle if he would say something tongue in cheek to give the story a human dimension.
The major networks don't seem to understand - brutal realism doesn't work since everyone knows it's fake anyway. The key is to make the action plausible, the characters interesting, and to make the stories human, truthful, and enlightening.
Flashpoint (2008)
unrealistic but enjoyable
Flashpoint is an enjoyable TV program but things that happen on screen don't happen in real life. Like the woman who holds an abusive cop hostage on his boat and when the episode ends she is free to go. The law doesn't work that way where two wrongs make a right.
In this series no one is ever arrested if there is the lightest amount of justification for their actions and no matter how many innocent lives are put at risk. Another odd episode is the one where homeowners victimized by greedy foreclosures go to the top floor of a building to find the greedy business man. The SRU team doesn't evacuate the building. The just let the workers go back to work at their desks.
Where are the tazers? There have been plenty of episodes where a good tazer would have ended the standoff but bleeding hearts like the makers of this program decided not to employ them because sometimes tazers harm people.
This program is a fun watch but the unrealities are glaring.
Xena: Warrior Princess (1995)
Multidimensional leads keep it fresh
Xena Warrior Princess was a fine serial adventure series from the eighties. Lucy Lawless played Xena flawlessly as a character revealing strength, determination, vulnerability, humor, and compassion. Thankfully the program didn't probe a possible intimate relationship between Xena and Gabriella. It was a family series with such topics left alone. Every week they rolled out new fascinating and often evil adversaries that were great to watch. If I remember back correctly there was even a Shakespearean or operatic episode but I may be mistaking it for another series. Gabriella was great reminding me of some girl from my past maybe a forgotten girl next door. They were ladies I wanted to spend good clean time with every week.
I'd like to see a movie version with Olivia Wilde as Xena, and Allesandra Toresanni as a blond playing Gabriella. It would be lots of fun.
Caprica (2009)
Stunning
Caprica was a TV series that falls under the 'they cancel all the good ones before they catch on' category. Whereas Battlestar Gallactica was an action adventure series Caprica was a drama in the best sense of the term. Put differently it was better and of a more unsurpassed quality than what could have been accepted at the time by most BSG, X-files, and similar scifi fans. When you think about it most scifi is good stories with a lot of action and hopefully good acting. Scifi fans are not astute and probably spend less time than most watching HBO or Masterpiece Theater. Ironically had Caprica been on one of those networks it probably would have succeeded and received critical acclaim.
The acting was excellent, the special effects were minimal, and although you knew the eventual outcome the unfolding of events was stunning. The only thing that could have made Caprica better would have been if the chronology had begun at an earlier time in the history of the characters or the twelve colonies. A pre prequel anyone? How about a dramatic redo of BSG? I suspect the produces were trying to created a prequel that surpassed the original. They succeeded if not for the ratings.
Caprica is the best modern scifi series and compares with the best TV of any genre.
Missing (2012)
Base on good action flick
Missing is based on the Liam Neeson action flick from a year ago called Taken. That involved an ex cia agent Neeson reluctantly letting his teenage daughter go to Paris where she is kidnapped and sold out of a sex slave ring. That was a good flick - not too complex with a lot of good butt kicking that had you rooting for the hero to the very end. If this feminized TV version is half as good as the movie it should run for a few seasons at least. One nit: everyone knows Ashley Judd can't fight - to make her appear tough they have her walking around like she has a cue stick up her rear. No wiggle at all. At least she is old and weathered enough not to look like a super model.
The only thing to watch out for is a plot that starts to go conspiracy crazy ala Alias or the X Files. I don't want to use my brain when I'm vegging out in front of the TV.
Burn Notice (2007)
Someone needs your help Michael
Burn notice is a show that you watch a few episodes at first then it grows on you over weeks or months. It's kind of a cross between The Saint and Mission Impossible. The plots are all similar - creating a con to get the bad guys and boy do they get got. The lead Michael Weston is confident but not cocky. There is a hint of a possible romance with Fiona but he's not a womanizer. The chemistry between him, Fiona, and his guy pal Sam is the best part. There is humor, action, adventure, and you really begin to start liking each of them along with their idiosyncrasies. I like the voice overs by Michael - they are astute, practical, and sound like truthful things a spy or government agent would know.
The only weaknesses in the show are the mother (Sharon Gless) who seems miscast and the fact that the con often goes a little too smoothly compared to reality. My plans never go that well and I'm just living an average life. But hey it's fiction.
The Stand (1994)
Good first viewing
I really liked the stand the first time I saw it on TV. The second time I saw it it really bugged me for the following reasons: The Harold character was so obviously schidzoid from the first scenes of the series Stu wouldn't have put up with him especially the way Stu dealt with the crazy bureaucrat doctors during the first episode.
When Stu finally escapes from the center for disease control in Vermont there were dead lab people lying in the corridors. By the time the virus got there the incubation period was much longer so the lab techs wouldn't have died on the spot. After all it took the residents of Texas three days to die and they were right near an infected person.
That danged banjo that keeps making that strange twanging sound . That was OK once or twice and was obviously designed to give the story a sinister or unique feel to it but it got old really fast
How nobody at the compound perceived the betrayers amongst them. Many were perceptive enough to have dreams about the future and the old lady but were completely blind to the bomber and the harlot.
Stu climbs the hill and when he arrives at the top he gets cocky and falls down the hill. The cocky behavior was out of character for Stu but he had to break his leg to survive what was to come. It was a silly plot device.
All in all The Stand was a mixed bag and ultimately irritating in multiple viewings.
Breaking Bad (2008)
Trash parading as moral ambiguity
I get it. A disrespected teacher with cancer decides to be a drug manufacturer to help his family after he passes. There must be some good in him - who are we to judge? After all his wife works for a tax cheat, his brother in law is abusive to Mexicans, and his son is disrespectful.
Trouble with moral ambiguity is it ultimately excuses all behavior. The people who make this program live in Hollywood so obviously they use drugs, know a lot about drugs, and know others involved in it. After all they're cool and it's a good way to make money by creating a program that helps amoral people feel better about themselves just because they snort a little, or cheat a little.
The question I'd like to ask is whether the makers of this program - the actors, producers, sponsors, and indirectly the viewers would like this program if it meant hit men with guns and axes would stalk their families and kill their family members?
I didn't think so. The moral - don't exploit tragedy just because it's cool, it makes money, and it makes amoral people feel better about themselves. If you're not part of the solution you are part of the problem.
Gold Rush (2010)
Fake fake fake
What appears to be a group of six novice miners searching for gold in Alaska is actually a produced TV program paid for by sponsors. All the desperation of mortgaging their lives, taking a great financial risk, and possibly failing in their efforts to make money are all fake.
In the fist season they only found 14 ounces of gold worth about twenty thousand dollars but in actuality each minute of commercials probably brings the production company about that much money so everyone in this production is doing quite well. Unless you want to believe the miners (actors) agreed to act for free. YEAH RIGHT!
Each miner (actor) is probably being paid about thirty thousand dollars per episode to act desperate.
True Grit (2010)
Misfire
I found very little good about True Grit. The Kim Darby fill in came across as cold and humorless. Kim Darby was cute and she grew on you. The Hattie girl just wanted to show she was tough. When it turned out she never saw Rooster again I felt good for Rooster. As a grownup Hattie reminded me of the wicked Witch of the west in the Wizard of Oz.
Jeff Bridges wasn't much better as Rooster. Having just won an Oscar for Crazy Heart and being featured on 60 minutes I suppose he felt he could mumble through the picture and it would be seen as a profound performance.
None of the performances made me feel anything for them, for their time period, nor for the experiences they shared. I think the Coen brothers were trying too hard to make it a classic and also to be more realistic and unsentimental than the original but in doing so left the film lacking any warmth or heart.
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Chinatown on Ice
Do not read this if you have not seen the Sweet Hereafter: This film is a haunting representation of the secrets, lies, betrayals, and other sins within families, the resulting tragedy and the power of forgiveness. Incest is the underlying sin and the relationships between the Sarah Polly character and her father and Billy Ansel and his deceased wife (daughter). Even the relationship between the lawyer and the daughter who he never really betrayed is seen as fragile and what can happen even when a parent does nothing wrong.
Was Nicole having an affair with the Bruce Greenwood character? When she left the baby sitting she was wearing a pink skirt she was also shown changing into earlier in the movie. However when the car headlights shined on her she was still wearing jeans. This is a great mystery movie also.
Notable in this production are the slow pacing, the sound, the Armenian music, the cinematography, and the exceptional acting. All the characters are people you think you knew at some point and the films lack of sentimentality and gratuitous violence is unprecedented in a movie of this type. The spiritual ending with the girl smiling while watching the ferris wheel and the same girl spreading her arms like an angel facing the car headlights about to meet her fate are images you'll never forget. My second favorite movie to Nights of Cabiria. This movie is the real deal, one everyone needs to see.