Movies For Thought

Occasionally a movie comes along that isn't just a diversion, it really deserves some thought, perhaps even discussion. These are the ones that I recommend:

Apocalypse Now

(Redux) 1979 Director: Francis Ford Coppola. In my eyes, Apocalypse Now is one of the greatest movies ever made. It's not a movie about war...but one about the nature of war.

Martin Sheen plays a U.S. military covert operations operative (assassin) in Vietnam during the war, whose mission is to travel upriver and "terminate with extreme prejudice" an American colonel who seems to be running his own war against the Vietcong.

Marlon Brando gives a stunning, terrifying performance as the true Spirit of War, a man-God who has terrifyingly moved beyond all normal human values to embrace "The Horror".

Baraka

A stunning visual and world music trip around the planet and its people make Baraka a must-see for every hippy and humanist.

Birdy

Alan Parker's brave decision to marry Peter Gabriel's dramatic rock/world music with his own stunning sense of visuals, lift Birdy, a story about a young man traumatized by his experiences in the Vietnam War, into grand filmic poetry. Birdy is a unique and truly memorable experience.

Million Dollar Baby

Deserved winner of several Academy Awards, Million Dollar Baby is a triumph in simple, austere story-telling about a wannabe female boxer, her reluctant coach and a narrator, who fills in the details. Essentially a three-piece play with some featured cameos, Million Dollar Baby is a most unusual story about Love that isn't in the least part saccharine.

Shattered Glass

I'll admit that I only purchased the little-known Shattered Glass because it starred Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader in Star Wars 6, Revenge Of The Sith)...and my sons thought he was the bees knees...but this is a really terrific movie for adults, though it's hardly known.

Christensen plays Stephen Glass, a young, funny and charismatic journalist for the prestigous New Republic magazine, whose stories entertain and educate. Unfortunately, they aren't based in fact...and as they unravel, Glass is revealed to be a pathological liar, even lying about becoming suicidal over being caught out.

The supporting cast is very strong, in particular Peter Sarsgaard and Chloe Sevigny...but most of all, this is an important film about Ethics and as the Amazon review says, it's the best film about journalism since All The Presidents Men.

Super Size Me

Considerably less manipulative and histrionic than Michael Moore's well-intentioned but flawed works, Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me is unashamedly of that genre, openly biased documentary.

The concept was simple:

Eat McDonald's junk food for a month, Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Supersize it when invited to
Monitor his reasonably fit body's reaction

The results surprised both Spurlock and his doctor, as his body went into a sudden tailspin of salt & sugar addiction marked by rapid weight-gain and failing bodily functions.

In a world in which, presently, 60% of adults...and an increasing number of children...are overweight, usually from eating too much junk food, I invite you to put your politics to the side and view the data.

Terrifying viewing, highly recommended.

The Life Of David Gale

The Life Of David Gale is another movie about Ethics, in which anti death-penalty activist, philosophy lecturer David Gale (Kevin Spacey) is on death row after being convicted of the rape and murder of his best friend and fellow activist Constance Harraway (Laura Linney).

With only 3 days left before execution, only reluctant last-interview journalist Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslett) is in a position to work out the clues that could save Gale's life.