#9, Winter's Bone

Earlier this week I saw The Hunger Games and I must admit, before it was released that Jennifer Lawrence would play Katniss, I had never heard of her before. Once she was announced, I read up on her and saw that she was in this movie, which received all kinds of nominations. Since then, it has been on my radar and tonight I finally took the plunge.

#9 Winter's Bone (2010, drama)

What I did not like:
- There were too many characters for my poor little head to keep track of. Maybe there was an appropriate number of characters and they were all too similar.
- I had a hard time getting into the story. While I understand it was an artistic choice, the In Media Res did not work for me here. I found myself asking too many questions about how this family got into such dire circumstances. I was left with an inability to care about what wound up happening to her father.
- It ended way too abruptly for me!

What I really DID like:
- Jennifer Lawrence is SUPER great in this. I can really see her doing some wonderful things as her career progresses.
- The other actors are very decent as well -- but as I said before, they all kind of blurred together for me.
- I can read this as a sort of update of Ethan Frome in a way. And that was really likeable.
- There was some GREAT music.

Final Grade: C+
On another day, it might have gotten a B-, but I'm still reeling from seeing Bully yesterday and this one left me kind of cold, emotionally.

#8, Turn Me On, Dammit

For part 2 of my double feature at the Angelika, I checked out a Norwegian flick I'd just read a review for:

#8: Turn Me On, Dammit (2011, comedy)

Just like the reviewer in this NPR review, I found myself frequently remembering the 1998 film from Sweden that any young lesbian well remembers: Show Me Love.

This movie follows Alma -- a nearly-16-year-old girl who is, like most of her peers, obsessed with sex. Alma has a vivid imagination and spends a lot of time imagining herself in sexual encounters with just about everyone she comes across -- most notably Artur (who looks eerily like my junior-year-of-high-school boyfriend). I remember this time like it was yesterday -- knowing that sex was about to become a really important part of your life, but not having the experience/knowledge to know how to address it. Through an unfortunate event involving a penis-jab and mean girl jealousy (intrigued yet?), Alma winds up an outcast with the hilarious nickname "Dick Alma."

More than anything, this is a script full of deadpan humor... but there is something really, really awkward about it. I have not yet decided if this is good awkward or bad awkward, but I do know that it was just ... off somehow. There were scenes that seemed unnecessary and that served no real purpose (either in character or plot development). Moreover, while the actor who plays Alma is certainly a skilled artist (I can't wait to see what she does next!), she is way too attractive for me to believe that she'd have trouble finding a willing sex partner.

Final Grade: B+
Though there was something really weird about it, this was a totally pleasant way to spend 86 minutes of my life.

#7, Bully

So to celebrate the final weekday of my Spring Break, I checked out what was playing at the Angelika and wound up treating myself to a little double feature. For my first film of the day, I selected one that I had already heard about:

#7: Bully (2011, documentary)

I first heard about this movie when I got e-mails from organizations like Change.org petitioning its R rating, which essentially barred one of the biggest, most important target audiences from seeing it. And yet, at the same time, I think that this rating made way more of a statement than a film or a person ever could:

What these 10-16-year-olds are subjected to, on a daily basis, is not appropriate for children and young teens to see or hear.

That said, the rating was bogus, totally missed the point of the film and I'm glad it was reduced to PG-13.

Onto my experience watching the film, well ... this review says it a lot better than I ever could. The narrative bounces from character to character with no real rhyme or reason. It doesn't flow well like a documentary should and this does impact its emotional viability.

Maybe I should be grateful for that, because I was a wreck while watching this, crappy flow and all. I agree with the above-linked article again that Kelby, a 16-year-old lesbian from a small Oklahoma town, and her parents share one of the most compelling stories. It is fascinating to hear them describe their evolution from selective biblical literalist Sunday School teachers to parents who defend and attempt to protect their daughter.

Without a doubt, the most gut-wrenching story belongs to Alex and the adults who have failed him every step of the way. I'm going to venture that Alex's experience reflects what most bullying looks like: largely psychological (when he says things like "You're my buddy ... right?" he receives answers like "I'm not your buddy. I will fuck you up."), not "seriously" physical (he is never left bloody) and often shrugged off as "kids will be kids."

As a teacher, the most heartbreaking, upsetting thing was watching the administrators at his school be so utterly useless to stop what is happening. Here's the thing about administrators: they have A LOT of discretion regarding discipline. I believe, without a doubt, that Alex was visibly bullied in and around school and that the administration did nothing about it. This happens for all kinds of reasons -- from a desire to have cleaner disciplinary records to a simple lack of time or energy to deal with nonphysical incidents. It's really wrong, though. I think we're at a point where we've seen enough proof that bullying causes serious, lasting emotional damage and needs to be addressed IMMEDIATELY.

Alex never shared what was going on with his parents, having learned early on that if you simply shut off your emotions, the tough stuff becomes a lot more bearable. He explains some of this here (you should also watch this because Anderson Cooper is a beautiful human). While his mother seemed fairly certain that there was some pretty serious stuff going on, without him telling her she was powerless to do anything. His father, however, was clearly of the mindset that if only Alex would stand up for himself, his problems would be solved.

Finally, the bullying escalated to the point that the documentary crew had to share footage with both Alex's parents and school administration, out of fear for his safety. This lead to two big things:

1. There was an amazing scene between his parents, where his mother expresses deep grief, feeling like a horrible, negligent parent. While she recognizes that there wasn't much she could do because Alex NEVER expressed the extent of the problem, she still feels heartbroken on behalf of her son. She then explains to her husband that the only thing worse for Alex than enduring that at school/on the bus must be having to tell his father. It is kind of intoned that if his father would be more emotional, Alex might be able to open up more at home. It was a great, great moment ... and it made me forget my earlier anger with the father.

2. The parents immediately came to school. The AP they talked to doled out some of the foulest CYA politician BULLSHIT I have ever seen. While to satiate Alex's family (and, I'm sure, the film crew) they did track down some of the worst offenders and make threats about what would happen if they bothered Alex again, the administration took ZERO responsibility for the school culture they created. Here is the bottom line: if you create a school culture in which bullying is not only punished by staff, but in which it is not accepted by students ... then you've got your job done for you. The message that this incompetent administration has given students is: DON'T GET CAUGHT BULLYING. And that is why it continues. Kids are smart enough to know the differences.

I watched the same administrator deal with several other students and she always seemed to blame the victim because it was easier. While I'm sure my view is skewed and only partial, I want that lady fired.

Final Grade: B

#6, The Hunger Games

#6: The Hunger Games (2012, drama)
I liked it, but am left with an overall "enh." I wasn't disappointed by it or anything -- quite the contrary -- but it didn't really do anything to enhance my enjoyment of the novel.

Love:
Katniss, Cinna, Caesar Flickerman, Rue, Haymitch, Effie
The Capitol, the field (what is it even called?) looked EXACTLY as I imagined it would, Katniss' costumes,

Not So Much:
Snow, Peeta
Cinematography, no history of the mockingjay

Final Grade: A
Totally adequate -- didn't quite go the distance, though.

I heard lots of complaints about the length of the movie

#5, Waste Land

#5, Waste Land (2010, documentary)

These are just placeholding notes.

- love: concept
- love: Muniz
- love: what responsibility does the artist know the people he exalts? lingering impact?
- love: proud does not mean happy; it's important to look closer

Final Grade: A

#4, Harold and Maude

My favorite thing about being on the wagon as far as this project goes is that when I'm focused on watching NEW movies, I finally pay attention to all the stuff that I constantly flip past on my Netflix queue in favor of My So-Called Life episodes that I've already seen 500 times. I have had movie #4 in my queue since the very early days of even having said queue, but it has actually been on my radar ever since 1998, when it was alluded to in the classic gross-out comedy, There's Something About Mary. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present:

#4, Harold and Maude (1971, comedy)
This movie is really, really funny. It took a while to get ahold of the particular darkness of this brand of comedy -- but once I did, I was hooked!

There's a great aesthetic to this film -- very, very '70s. I found myself particularly admiring the contrast of Harold's very formal house (and in that tomblike place, it's no wonder that he wound up so death-obsessed) and Maude's crazy-train abode.

Final Grade: A-

#3, Girl 27

As you might be able to tell, I am on break from work again, which means MOVIES (two of these I actually watched back in February but am just now writing up)! Tomorrow I am finally going to see The Hunger Games, so expect a post from me then! (Who am I talking to, exactly?)

#3: Girl 27 (2007, documentary)

I love the classic Old Hollywood era -- or rather, I love its mystique. I love the glamor and glitz and the world of ladies and gentlemen and high society. Of course, like all beautiful and iconic things, this image takes a lot of work to manage and maintain.

Girl 27 tells the story of what MGM execs were willing to do to preserve that image. In this documentary, extra Patricia Douglas exposes how she and many other young girls trying to break into the industry were tricked into attending an industry event (they believed they were going to a casting call), where she was forced to drink alcohol and ultimately raped. This is obviously an event from which she never recovered -- as she lived out the rest of her life very reclusively. She summoned all of the courage she had to pursue justice and was failed not only by a corrupt legal system but also by the all-powerful MEDIA. She was slandered left and right and ultimately shamed into obscurity.

Not only does the filmmaker paint a complex view of MGM at the height of its power, he also paints a portrait of a woman (and family) destroyed by that very same power. When Whitney Houston died two months ago, Dr. Drew (formerly of Loveline, currently seems to be marketing himself as an addiction specialist) made a lot of talkshow/CNN rounds. The best thing he said was in response to a question about why so many celebrities wind up with serious addictions. He explained how celebrities do not have the same consequences for bad behavior that the rest of us do. That is why Lindsay Lohan continues to flail about. I found myself thinking of this lack of consequences as I digested Girl 27 -- how much wrongdoing people are willing to ignore in the face of celebrity

Final Grade: B
This was very interesting and the story was compelling. At times, the pacing was very slow and I'm not sure when/if I'll ever want to watch it again but I was very emotionally involved as a viewer.

#2, One Nation Under God

Look at me, two new movies in ONE DAY! Can you tell I've reached the point in my February vacation that I actually have to get work done ... and have somehow convinced myself that rejuvenating this blog -- a task that requires deviations along the lines of watching a movie or 10 -- is a viable reason not to be working on stuff that I really should? Can you? Because that is totally what has happened here.

#2: One Nation Under God (1993, documentary)

This is a really great look at ministries and even secular groups that have tried to cure people of homosexuality. The structure is largely chronological and there are equal parts video footage and talking heads. The film seems to center partially around the story Gary Cooper and Michael Bussee, two founding members of the uber-creepy Exodus group, who fell in love, renounced Exodus and lived a beautiful life together until Cooper died in 1991.

The directors did a really great job of framing and exploring the issue, as the film moved from historic perspectives through the changing thoughts from psychology -- then into the HOW (info on the therapy itself) -- then into the bigger issues: the effects of ex-gay therapy, how it promotes further homophobia, lgbt community as scapegoats and how homosexuality has been sort of co-opted by the Right Wing.

There were several aha! moments that made me punch the air triumphantly, the biggest one being where several people began explaining homophobia as a true extension of sexism. Very early on in the film, a clear cut distinction was made between sexual orientation and sexual behavior, and how we can change the latter but not the former. The homophobia-sexism connection was one I struggled with when I first heard about it years ago and the behavior/orientation distinction is one that I have noticed a lot of people don't seem to GET right away ... and the film does a really nice job of breaking down these ideas (and many other) so they really make sense. Masterful!

While the bias on the part of the filmmakers was obvious and evident (and also correct; they find conversion therapy as ridiculous as all intelligent people do), it was just as obvious that the directors sought out people to speak from both sides.

Final Grade: A-
This is actually something I would use as a teaching aid, if I were teaching any sort of civil rights/lgbt history/psychology class. It's concise (only 83 minutes!), basic and lets the viewer do a lot of the thinking. It's nearly 20 years later, so I would love to see an update. A lot has changed in our world in the past 20 years (plus: I'd love to see them tear Michelle Bachman and her malarky apart).

#1, No Strings Attached

It's 2012, so I'm going to give this whole blog one more shot.

It's only fair to start from #1 again, though, so this morning I bring you

#1: No Strings Attached (Ashton Kutcher & Natalie Portman, 2011)



This is certainly not a keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat guessing type of film. It is pretty much disgustingly predictable from beginning through end. Boy and girl meet several times and become friends. Girl is emotionally stunted and finishing med school and can't "handle" a real relationship, so she and boy become friends with benefits. Which works out exactly .99% of the time in real life (and has an even lower success rate in the movies). Of course, because this movie is so very "edgy" and "now" it is the GIRL who does not want more commitment -- it is the dude. Which might have been edgy or modern in 1964, but not so much now.

There was also not much rise and fall -- virtually no difference between the first 10 minutes and the 10 minutes leading up to what we'll arbitrarily call the climax of the story. So since this film had absolutely nothing original to offer in terms of plot, it had two things to fall back on: dialogue and acting.

The Acting:
I'm sorry, but I'm just unable to deal with Kutcher as a romantic lead -- as someone that as a 20-something female I'm supposed to find desirable. I just don't. And it's not because he's a dude, either ... because I can totally get behind Ryan Gosling or someone as a romantic lead ... you know? So that was rough.

Natalie Portman had some incredibly hilarious moments as Emma, where her character reminded me of her role in Garden State, all quirky and fast and funny. There were also some great characters in the movie (in fact, I prefer pretty much all of the cast to Mr. Kutcher), played by very fun actors such as Kevin Kline (playing Kutcher's father) and Mindy Kaling (of The Office) as one of Portman's roommates.

The Dialogue:
I can't even get to much into this, it's so painful. I'm just going to share with you this climactic moment:

"I'm warning you ... if you come any closer ... I may never let you go."

Yeah, this was a SERIOUS line. My eyes almost rolled themselves out of my head at that one.
So the dialogue ranged from that to slightly-less-wtf ... not the high point of the movie.

Final Grade: C-
Portman and the cast of supporting actors saved this one from the D zone, but only just barely.

34. The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie (2010, Direct to Video Animated)

34. The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie (2010, Direct-to-Video Animated)

I'm just going to be honest: I'm not a big fan of the raunchy, go-out-of-my-way-to-be-offensive style comedy that the Drawn Together franchise uses. Do I find it genuinely offensive? Not really -- most of the time it's very sarcastic and quite clever, which is definitely more my style. So while the writers are clearly quite capable of a more mature style of comedy, yet for some reason there's a whole bunch of people who prefer all the cerebral junk delivered in a tasty potty humor shell. And I find the gratuitous raunch (raunchiness for raunchiness' sake!) kind of off-putting. But not offensive.

So with that in mind, I decided to check out the movie (I had never seen the series) prepared to roll my eyes a lot.

To my surprise, I actually liked the movie. There was plenty of gratuitous raunch, but it was all just so very, very funny. The story was fast-paced and there were some very well-written barbs in there. I may just have to check out the series now ...

Final Grade: B-

33. The Stepfather (2009, Thriller)

33. The Stepfather (2009, Thriller)

If I had seen this when I was about sixteen (and was thus part of the target audience), I really would have loved it. So, in that sense, this remake was really well done! Just enough blood to be gross and enough crazy to be interesting, but definitely not scary enough to give me nightmares.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the acting. Dylan Walsh and Penn Badgley, in particular, did pretty well with what they were given. The writing of this film was not great ... or even remotely original. It fits every aspect of the Teen Thriller Archetype and was less boring than 2007's Disturbia.



The movie didn't require any brainwork but was still quite a tasty way to pass some time. It was fun and got the pulse racing a few times.

Final Grade: C

32. Sex and the City II (2010, Comedy)

32. Sex and the City II (2010, Comedy)

There's not really a whole lot to say about this one that hasn't been said before (and isn't exactly what you'd expect.

If you're a fan of the series and enjoy(ed) watching the evolution of these characters, then the movie is fairly satisfying as an end to the series. My friend said that it felt much more like a long, extended episode than the first movie did. And I am inclined to agree.

Samantha was on her absolute worst behavior, Charlotte's image of perfection was perfect yet again crumbled and Miranda was as hilarious and neurotic as always! Carrie, of course, continued to spew her same misinformed ideas about healthy relationships. Delicious!

Final Grade: B+

31. Cropsey (2010, Documentary)

31. Cropsey (2010, Documentary)

This movie was about Cropsey, a mythical serial killer in Staten Island. He is the man parents warn their children about in order to keep them from wandering into the woods at night. All of Staten Island assumed Cropsey was just a story until developmentally disabled children began disappearing. Cropsey

It sounds really interesting: dark, mysterious with just a touch of social justice? Meh. It was actually rather dull -- I started nodding off in the theater. Most dull was the fact that the documentary never actually went anywhere. Every time I thought it was leading to somewhere stupendous, I was let down. It was frustrating. And boring.

I was also quite annoyed by how various people (director, narrator) kept going on and on and on about how this documentary (a NINE YEAR PROJECT) raised more questions rather than giving any answers -- like that's a good thing. Yes, inquiry is an important part of learning and yes, all great research initially raises more questions than answers. After nine years, though, wouldn't you think there would be some answers? To brag about the fact that there are no answers rather than address it as an unfortunate reality seems lazy.

The most interesting parts were the parts that examined the investigation and trial of Andre Rand, who was ultimately found guilty of kidnapping and murdering two of the girls. The evidence was circumstantial at best and the whole ordeal really highlighted how great the need to place blame is for some communities. And, truly, at the end of the movie I wasn't sure whether Rand was a scapegoat or a criminal. And if the movie had presented itself as an examination of social justice and trial, that would have been great.

I think the filmmakers were trying to do too much. They had two major projects: 1. examination of how an urban legend is used within a community and 2. examination of social justice and crime in America. And it was just too much for one movie.

Final Grade: C

30. Elegy (2008, Drama)

30. Elegy (2008, Drama)

This was really beautiful, from the cinematography to the language to the music to the stunning Penelope Cruz. The movie was rife with stereotypes but I wasn’t bored.

I’m not I will ever understand why people push one another away. I’m not sure anyone in the world ever will. The prevalence of aversion to true trust and intimacy is so perplexing, particularly since it is something that is clearly good for us. It enriches our lives and helps us to grow. That is not to say that the presence of another is absolutely necessary for a full and good life. I’m just talking trends in human behavior!

So … that’s what the movie is about, more or less. And it had the impact you might expect. So it was a beautifully-made movie that told a sad, effective, touching story.

I don’t know what my problem is, but I just couldn’t get over how sad so much of it was. One of my high school English teachers / drama coaches was fond of saying “A movie should be like a two-hour escape from real life.” And as much as those perfect, Hollywood endings make me roll my eyes, a big part of me gets equally exasperated at filmmakers who seem so eager to deny me the joy of a wholly unrealistic happy ending.

Final Grade: B

29. The Clique (2009, Comedy)

29. The Clique (2009, Comedy)

As someone who spends a great deal of time with teenage girls – as well as a survivor of that whole … scene -- I am fascinated by that whole queen bee / mean girl dynamic. So I guess that’s why this movie wound up on my Netflix queue. As to why I spent a Friday night watching it, I can’t really tell you. Blame it on the warm weather; blame it on a long work week; blame it on the fact that I have 9 instructional days until sweet, sweet freedom! For whatever reason, I settled in this evening for some wholesome PG fun.

Did you know that the word “bitch” (and not in the context of dog breeding) is allowed in a PG film? Yeah, neither did I. Until … The Clique! This movie was fucking crazy.

There are so many things I want to say about this movie – far too many for me to stick with standard narrative flow. I must create a list of the things that made this movie so unbelievably, jaw-droppingly insane:

1. Claire. Now, I am not one for Blaming The Victim … but whoa. This girl was a major glutton for punishment; no matter how rude and hostile the clique became, Claire kept coming back for more! I think after a couple of harsh run-ins most of us would just cut our losses and avoid the Queen Bee. Claire, on the other hand, actively sought her out. It was really uncomfortable … like watching a gal with her skirt tucked into her tights.

2. Massie. In no universe could this girl be 12. And by “this girl” I am referring both to the actress and the character. Also: she was a completely fabulous supervilliain. Really just over-the-top and campy.

3. Vincent. The flaming, flamboyant art teacher. So exceptionally bitchy! I loved him!

4. Chris Abeley. The actor was kind of a nonentity, but I cannot get over how awesome it was that all the star-struck girls kept referring to him by his full name. Hee! Hello teenage years! Such a weird, weird hilarious formality. Also, they sometimes call him “Chris Babely” which is also hilarious and awesome.

Oh, man. The acting was horrible. I mean … just awful, awful, awful. The characters and storyline were completely implausible. And I was wholly entertained the entire time.

I doubt I will ever want to watch this movie again (which is why it will not get the coveted F grade), but it certainly was fun while it lasted (unlike New York City Serenade, which is probably the worst a movie can be without being so-bad-it’s-good)!

Final Grade: D

28. Commune (2005, Documentary)

28. Commune (2005, Documentary)

In the past year or so, it has come to my attention that even if I am not exactly a hippie, I do exhibit some hippie-ish tendencies (into which we need not delve further!). Anyway, one aspect of hippiedom that has always both intrigued and repelled me (not in an "Ewww, gross!" sense, more in a "Wow -- that lifestyle would just NOT work for me sense) is the commune. Although I am way into people generally looking out for one another and embracing all sorts of families, I am perplexed by how often communes seem to begin with completely sexist models of living and how quickly they become totally corrupt or anarchic. Call it human nature, I guess.

Anyway, Commune did not disappoint. While the structure could have used some work (I would have liked to see a slightly stricter narrative structure; it was kind of hard to get a linear grasp on anything), I really enjoyed the integration of past and present interviews and pictures/film. The director seemed to focus on the motif of how the desire for freedom can actually become really stifling and restrictive (seen mostly in the examples of lovers who felt like they couldn't make an agreement to be exclusive and Elsa Marley's (one of the founders of the commune at Black Bear Ranch) desire to create art). Maybe I enjoyed it because that's one of the things that worries me so much about these structures.

Overall, the director did a good job of presenting a fairly balanced view of things, highlighting both highs and lows, seeing people talk about great experiences and sa dones, people who loved the lifestyle and those who hated it (Michael Moore he was not!). And this movie was just the right length! 78 minutes -- perfection. Long enough that I feel like we really got into some neat stuff, but short enough that it didn't become boring.

Final Grade: A-

Mass Update. (Movies 17-27)

The prodigal blogger returns.
Since March 7th I have seen several movies but have not been blogging. At all! My bad. In the interest of time, I am just going to post names of movies I have watched and overall grades. Maybe someday I will come back and write fuller reviews. Probably not.

March 7th

17. Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland: The 3D IMAX Experience (2010, Fantasy)

Final Grade: B-

March 27th
18. Darkon (2006, Documentary)

Final Grade: B+

March 28th

19. Serving in Silence (1995, Made for TV)

Final Grade: C

March 29th

20. When Night is Falling (1995, Romance)

Final Grade: C-

March 31st

21. Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009, Comedy)

Final Grade: B-

April 10th
22. The Big Lebowski (2009, Comedy)
Final Grade: B

23. Bingo! The Documentary (1999, Documentary)
Final Grade: B+


24. Arranged (2007, Drama)
Final Grade: A

April 17th
25. The Alphabet Killer (2008, Thriller)
Final Grade: D

April 18th
26. We Live in Public (2008, Documentary)
Final Grade: B+

April 25th
27. Sunshine Cleaning (2008, Dramedy)
Final Grade: B+/A-

At this point in my project ...

There are 223 days left in 2010 (Approximately 30 weeks)
I have 73 movies left to watch.

This means I need to watch approximately 2.5 movies a week in order to stay on track.
I had better get to work!

16. Congo (1995, Action)

16. Congo (1995, Action)

Action is not usually my style (although the beautiful Laura Linney totally is), but I have been obsessed with this movie since the first day I saw it on the shelf at Blockbuster -- you know, back when people still went to Blockbuster. I was twelve, though, and not in charge of video rentals. I am proud to say that now I am almost 27 and I will watch Congo if I darn well please!

Like so many other things we insist we will do once we're old enough (tattoos and jello shots come to mind), Congo was about five parts awesome and fifty parts WHAT.WERE.YOU.THINKING?!

So let's address the obvious features of Congo:

1. Talking Gorilla -- kind of unusual but it's real, so whatever.
2. Civil War in the Congo -- again, very sadly real. What I can't quite buy is that so many people would just blatantly ignore the civil unrest and go ahead crossing borders willy nilly
3. Active Volcano -- once again, very real ... and once again, I can't quite buy that people would insist on blatantly ignoring the she's-about-to-blow situation (perhaps a metaphor for the script?) for the sake of gorilla-returning missions/nefarious secret missions (which leads me to ....)
4. CIA! CIA! CIA! -- again, the CIA is just as real as communicative gorillas, civil unrest and volcanoes, and OF COURSE they would be involved here. Such flat characters, though! I swear, if they had been any more dastardly stereotypical, they would have been twirling their handlebar moustaches whilst tying the beautiful Laura Linney (or heck, Amy the Talking Gorilla) to railroad tracks. Or the active volcano.
5. Laser Crystals -- Because, I guess, items 1-4 were JUST NOT ENOUGH TO WORK WITH, Crichton included the fact that in the middle of this Congo jungle (and right on top of the volcano) there are FLESH-EATING ALBINO GORILLAS burdened with the ANCIENT TASK of guarding LASER CRYSTALS. Read that again. Seriously.

So we have these five uh ... situations all tied together with mangled accents, astoundingly poor dialogue and questionable acting. And the beautiful Laura Linney, of course. When I think about movies, and what makes a specific movie an A+ or an F-, one thing I must consider is the Rewatch Factor. Will I want to rewatch this again in a day? A week? Five years? Never?

So even though it is a cesspool of all that was the mid-90s action genre, Congo has a magnificently high Rewatch Factor (I couldn't stop talking about it for a week and found myself trying to convince people to watch it with me, even as I complained about How!Bad! it was) ... and has catapulted itself into the coveted So Bad It's Good category, earning it a Final Grade of F for FREAKING AWESOME!

(As mentioned with New York Serenade, a genuinely shitty movie with a Rewatch Factor of -29, I feel that an F can only be earned by a movie that is So Bad It's Good ... which Congo definitely is. Hey. Want to watch it with me?)

15. Very Young Girls (2008, Documentary)

15. Very Young Girls (2008 Documentary)

I am going to come right out and be honest about the fact that this was not a well-made Documentary. The cinematography was shaky and the narrative did not flow well. That said, this was a very powerful and important movie and I am glad that someone made it.

The film centers around the organization Girls Education Monitoring Services (GEMS), a group which provides shelter and education to young women who have fallen prey to sexual exploitation.

I was touched by the stories that came from the group -- stories of triumph and of relapse, of degredation and acceptance. I was so touched, in fact, that the second the movie ended I e-mailed the organization to find out how I can help.

Final Grade: A (really, it deserves a B/B-, but it actually spurred me into action, which I can't really say about anything else in this dang project)

14. Poliwood (2003, Documentary)

14. Poliwood (2003, Documentary)

Very interesting examination about the increasingly blurred line between Politician and Celebrity. What struck me most was the insistence on the part of the many, many celebrities interviewed is the responsibility of each one of us to be informed and to make every effort to learn. I think there was a really interesting question that was, if not answered, at least raised for discussion. As celebrities who have the attention of the American people, do they have a greater responsibility to stay current and informed? Or do they have a greater responsibility to remain quiet about their own political views?

In particular, I really enjoyed discussion with musical artists. I could not believe that CSNY was BOOed for expressing run-of-the-mill CSNY views – the shift that we’ve made from music as a standard political tool to music being more media to consume (and now politics are media to consume as well). I would have liked a more in-depth look at that.

I really do appreciate the effort that the director obviously took in making sure that this movie at least attempted to be bipartisan. Michael Moore he is not (I think Moore is an irresponsible documentarian. I agree with him 9 times out of 10, but his films are just so insanely unbalanced).

On a positive note, watching two politically-charged movies in one day has totally revived my political fervor. Hello 2010 election season! I AM READY FOR YOU!

Final Grade: B