I was thinking of ways to spice up this blog. I have my Alphabet countdown, which is a nice thing for me to write. Having a segment like that is nice, so I though ‘Ok, I’m watching films every week, mostly in the cinema, but also DVD’s, I should write about them’. So here it starts. “Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief”, “I Love you Phillip Morris”, “My Cousin Vinny” and “Capitalism: A Love Story” are up first.
Starting with some Sci-Fi, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was an interesting movie on some aspects, quite annoying on others. Let me start with the good. I’ve always loved Greek Mythology, and I can see through this movie that the guy who wrote the books corresponding did as well. He really brought a lot of the details from that history into the story in a very interesting way. The depiction in film was very nice indeed, so for all the mythological aspects this film is quite nice. It is something we don’t come upon often in films anymore and offers enough explanation. Now the annoying part: The character development was rushed through, friendships were made on the spot, trust was earned without thought and a kid became a man in like…no time. In Harry Potter at least the first book never made him out to be amazing, the kid was daring and couldn’t be touched, he was clever and was protected. In this, the kid is taught in one lesson how to fight and suddenly he’s a boss, with a little help from his godly father, and in a matter of seconds is an efficient controller of water. In Avatar (series) this process of being good at controlling an element is taken through much more detail, and given justice in its difficulty. It’s like, this guy just touches water and suddenly it obeys him, he doesn’t even have to understand it or know what he’s doing. Lastly, the film is very cliché.
I love you Phillip Morris is actually a film I enjoyed a lot. Yes, it is very weird, for all the things that Russel does to satisfy his homosexual partners are completely insane, but the way that he does it is not only ingenious but also deeply heartfelt. The story is basically about a man who will do anything (fraud, coning, lying and well anything for money and a good quality of life) to be a) with his love and b) make him as happy as possible. It’s a story about another level of relationships that took to criminal behaviour. Really, not much more that I can say except that the moral of the story that all that extreme wasn’t necessary really for Steven Jay Russell to have lived a great life, but a man with a high IQ (163) needs to do something with that brain, and he got a lot done, and got out of prison very creatively.
My Cousin Vinny. Also about getting someone out of prison, but not via fraud, but via justice and a lot of humour…for the viewer. This is a really nice movie for its creativity which comes to light in a) the catalysing situation, b) all of Vinny’s problems in and out of court and c) how he solves the case. The first one is quite simple, mistaken identity and misinformation lead two guys to admit to murder while thinking they were being accused of stealing a can of tuna. It seems ridiculous but the way it is shown is very plausible. The second is what I would call a series of unfortunate events that lead to lack of sleep, a dress code problem, a legal identity problem and a few nights in jail for Vinny, all of which helped him or the comedy ultimately somehow. The last one was just ingenious and funny how he discredited the eye-whiteness’ and an automotive expert with, again, simple, plausible points. This film is hilarious and got Marisa Tomei a deserved Oscar.
Lastly Capitalism: A Love Story. Just like Bowling in Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko this film is a Michael Moore must watch about the USA’s (and general) problems and obvious steps that can and must be taken not only to prevent it but to eliminate the problem. This one is about the corruption that caused and followed this last economic crisis, why it came to be and all the inhumanity behind it. But it doesn’t end on a bad note, instead it shows positive signs of rebellion in the US against big corporations that created a Plutonomy (where the top 1% of the population has more money than the bottom 95%). It also shows how all the things that the US needs is very possible and was even something they helped Europe and Japan have after the war. What FDR called the Second Bill of Rights included the rights to have “a job, an adequate wage and decent living, a decent home, medical care, economic protection during sickness, accident, old age or unemployment and a good education” (taken from the film). These are fundamental rights especially when living in a capitalistic society, they protect the work force and the nation, and America just doesn’t have that. Great film, great man, great ideas.
Really, I enjoyed all four films, if anyone else who reads this has watched any of them, feel free to comment on what you thought.
