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Movie Reviews From A Family Perspective
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V
for Vendetta
Vantage Point
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Rae, Stephen Fry, John Hurt. Warner Bros. Sci-Fi action drama. Opens 3/17/06
Set in a futuristic totalitarian world, a mild-mannered woman becomes an ally to a well-spoken masked vigilante who rescues her from a dangerous situation. With injustice rampant, V, a combination of Zorro, Batman and Noel Coward, battles the Nation’s wicked leaders by cutting their throats and blowing up symbols of governmental power. Aided by his new Lois Lane, V fights a society ruled by corruption and cruelty.
A mix of George Orwell and the Matrix, this somber sci-fi actioneer is adapted from a graphic novel (this age’s classic novel). Dreary, humorous, it is a mix of 133 minutes of political pontificating interrupted by Phantom of the Opera-ish moments of wooing and tons of graphic comic book carnage.
Though totalitarian and Fascism are the words the film’s actors will toss around on the interview circuit, make no mistake, the movie’s villainous characters are Christians and conservatives. In the story, America isn’t even a player, evidently overcome by its own excess; the action therefore takes place in England. This Sceptered Isle set in the Silver Sea is now ruled by an Orwellian Big Brother who has become the most dastardly of villains – the right wing religious zealot. Seen mostly on a big screen TV, this resurrected Hitler is responsible for the extermination of gays and Muslims, not to mention, gypsies, tramps and thieves.
One gets the distinct impression from this film that the true threats to the freedom of man are the adherence to Christian and conservative philosophies. The socially acceptable pabulum that spews forth from this action-masked political parable is designed to indoctrinate viewers with the conviction that if these two belief systems were no more, the peoples of the world would at last find their utopian existence.
Thank Heaven for liberal filmmakers, eh, for without their intuitive political wisdom and united front, the world would soon be consumed by the evil threats that sprang from the teachings of Jesus Christ and Ronald Reagan.
Don’t care about the social rantings of the film’s makers? Well, you may enjoy some of the film’s other variables. There’s lots of bloodletting by way of swords, knives, guns, bombs and slow-mo martial arts battles. Or, if you’re so inclined, there’s the explicit physical torture of the leading lady. (Ever seen a well-paid actress crying as she is actually stripped of her wavy locks – here’s your chance.) And, for you pyrotechnic enthusiasts, there’s the blowing up of centuries-old edifices to the tunes of classic masters. Cool.
I think a lot of people will find something about V for Vendetta to appreciate. And you bad old conservative Christians, you just sit there and be quiet.
R (20, mostly the s-word, but the f-word is also represented 4 times. God’s name followed by a curse, Jesus name and Jesus Christ are uttered a total of 10 times. It is an extremely violent film with murders by the male lead. Throats are cut, people are poisoned, knifed or blown up. Beatings. A man is burned. We see dead naked bodies thrown into a ditch ala a futuristic holocaust. The female lead is tortured and she has her head shaved. During martial arts battles are in slow motion, with lots of blood spewing from slit throats and knife stabbings. A catholic Cardinal obviously having had sexual encounters with little girls is seen trying to rape the female lead as she is dressed as a little girl. A priest makes some lewd sexual comments. We see dancers in exotic clothing, but there is no nudity in a sexual context. We see two women kissing and a man discusses his sexual orientation. The film is pro homosexuality. Discussion of gay and lesbian love affairs. Some drinking. Conservatives and Christians are portrayed as unfeeling, crooked, murderous and the purveyors of genocide.
Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, William Hurt, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver. Columbia. Thriller. Written by Barry L. Levy, Dennis Quaid. Directed by Pete Travis. Opens 2/22/08
FILM SYNOPSIS: Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox) are two Secret Service agents assigned to protect President Ashton (William Hurt) at a landmark summit on the global war on terror. When President Ashton is shot moments after his arrival in Spain, chaos ensues and disparate lives collide. In the crowd is Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker), an American tourist videotaping the historic event to show his kids when he returns home. Also there is Rex (Sigourney Weaver), an American TV news producer who is reporting on the conference. It’s only as we follow each person’s perspective of the same 15 minutes prior to and immediately after the shooting that the terrifying truth behind the assassination attempt is revealed.
REVIEW: Involving performances, an intriguing premise and fast-paced direction should keep even the most ravenous popcorn eater from taking a concessions break. But there’s something troubling about the frequent terrorist-themed plotlines of late. It’s one thing to spotlight the cold-blooded destructiveness of this activity. It’s quite another to merely use it as entertainment fodder. In United 93 a couple years back, we were given a perception of the mind of the terrorist – we were engrossed, but we also learned something. But Vantage Point is pure escapist action adventure. There are people all over the world living daily with terrorism as a reality. To view the President being assassinated over and over, then countless people blown up or shot at point blank range seems a strange way to be entertained.
PG-13 (around 12 obscenities, eight profanes uses of God’s name or Christ’s; we see a man portraying the President shot over and over; bombs go off, killing civilians; many CIA agents are shot at point blank range by terrorists; a child is endangered; car chases endanger many). Running Time: 90 min. Intended Audience: Adults
DVD Alternatives: Groundhog Day. Bill
Murray learns how to treat others after being caught in a surreal world where
he wakes up each morning to re-live the same day.
Or:
Rashomon. This Akira Kurosawa study of truth and human nature
is not for children. The story concerns four people involved in a rape-murder,
as each participant tells a varying account of the action. Caution: though
it is not explicit in visual detail, it is intense.
Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall. Written and directed by Woody Allen.
In this bittersweet comedy, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall play two young Americans summering in Spain. And quicker than you can say “another pitcher of Sangria, waiter,” they meet a flamboyant artist and his insane ex-wife. Both are beguiled by the amorous and amoral artist, who manages to convince one of the young women to share his home with him and his ex – and soon their bed.
I love the humor and story complexity of many of Woody Allen’s films, as he’s one of a dying breed who avoids CGI effects and things that go boom in order to entertain. He almost always tells an intricate story and of late relies on a comedy of manners rather than buffoonery or the exploitation of bodily functions in order to get laughs. And in this production Mr. Allen brings together three absolutely stunning screen actresses, Ms. Johansson and Ms. Cruz being creations I think the Lord took extra time in constructing. And, oh how I love to see a summer film release without having to suffer through the angst of a superhero or the travails of the citizens of Gotham City. But before you all rush to the conclusion that this is an endorsement, there are elements of Woody Allen’s work that give pause.
Woody has been known to address morality and even the existence of God (Crimes and Misdemeanors), but all too often he uses those subjects as mere comic fodder. Here any serious examination of the relationship between male and female is minimized by titillating sexuality. Yes, the bespectacled auteur is making fun of unrestricted sexual mores (I think that’s what he’s doing), but he also handles the theme like a smarmy, self-indulgent fantasy.
You’d think an artist who sculpts or paints would be in tune with the
plausibility of a Creator. However, too often the artiste thinks he and
his ilk are the gods of creation. That’s the case with
Woody’s male lead character, a man unimpressed with the spirituality
of religious art, preferring his own myopic vision of life and death. Now,
I don’t expect many films to focus on God, but they lose me when the
main characters are allowed to deny His existence, with no one in the production
challenging that conclusion. There is a moral, of sorts, as the final
shot indicates that the thirst to satisfy self is unquenchable. Alas, the satiric
barbs and the life lesson are so blunted by the visual enticements of sin and
wrongdoing that all else is lost, including the characters.
PG-13 (four or five obscenities, mostly the s-word; two profane
uses of God’s name, and Christ’s name is used twice as a frustrated
exclamation - with little reverence for Him or those who believe that Jesus
is the Savior; the expression “oh my God” is used a couple of times,
which I wouldn’t mind if I thought that the characters or those playing
them actually believed that He was; a woman shoots a gun at her lover and his
new paramour; the film is a sex farce, with an air of sexuality throughout;
though the scenes don’t become overly graphic, there are several of them;
we see a man and woman in bed; then a man and two women in bed; the two female
leads are seen kissing; a woman commits adultery, while telling another that
she should do the same in order to be happy; same sex is part of the life experience – so
say the free thinking characters; drinking throughout – man, these folks
are like Hemingway’s lost generation).
DVD Alternative: The Philadelphia Story. Classic comedy about bride-to-be socialite. Complicating matters – a reporter immediately falls in love with her and the first husband wants her back. Scintillating dialogue and amusing performances by Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart.
© 2008 Good News Tucson™