Red

Deb 9 Me 6

I don’t drink anymore. And I don’t go to bars and drink near beer; I mean, what’s the point? I don’t want to be around the drinking culture or be friends with booze anymore, because I don’t drink. So I don’t go to these shoot ‘em up action movies too often either; I mean, what’s the point? I don’t really want to be on good terms with rocket launchers or comfortable around automatic weapons.

I am impressed with the actors who signed up for this movie and they all put in great performances. The story was pretty good and from a technical point of view, it is a marvel. There is clever comic relief as the actors bow to practical human qualities and it’s generally a pretty good movie.

But I’m such a worm… all the way through we see who the good guys are and who’s bad. There are some refreshing surprises here and there too. But there are police, secret service guys and the general public who are put in life and death situations at the whim of the protagonists. All the way through I keep thinking about the cops (etc.) who are putting their lives on the line, having their lives flash in front of them and worrying about their loved ones at home. Sometimes I get so consumed by these unexplored side stories that I loose track of the movie. It’s a personal problem, I know.

So as far as this type of movie goes, it’s above average. Deb really liked it, which was a surprise to me. As far as I’m concerned I wish people didn’t like these movies; that the demand for them would go away. I wish people weren’t getting jaded by the power of firearms and not being concerned for the consequences of using them. I guess I want more of a Mr. Rogers world, where filmmakers recognize their responsibility to their young audiences and make films that encourage positive things in life.

And those movies can be just as fun to watch.

Tiny Furniture

Deb 0 Me 2

This movie had promise, and then it started. Now I can’t blame the movie for this, but it was presented in the worst fashion ever. First off, it wasn’t a movie, it was a DVD projected onto the screen. To make matters worse they couldn’t get the aspect ratio correct so it was squeezed into a 4X3 format, making everyone very tall and skinny. I hate that. But it wasn’t the fault of the movie and I’m not counting that against it.

The movie seemed to be about disaffected youth, people with no goals or ambition, no direction, no skills (social or professional) who just hang around, let things happen to them and complain. The central girl in this movie did have the ability to manipulate her mother, but didn’t bother to use this skill outside the home.

If the point of the movie is to make you associate with boredom of these peoples lives, then they did a very good job. I just don’t go to the movies to get bored.