a couple of good movies to see

[bcwflash]

Well first let me say that the movies are good in that they really bring a sense of disgust about how our world works sometimes. The two movies i watched again recently were HOTEL ROWANDA and SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL.  The power and courage showed is great but the damage to the pysche of those who witness and survive is so unfortunate. Hate shown in all its most ugly and angering ways. Both movies tell of real events. No hollywood make believe but desperate times causing people to make and accept impossible circumstances.  The movies are real eye openers and i think everyone should try to see them. When we turn a blind eye to evil in the world it allows man to be at his worst.

[Delvie]

I haven't seen Shake Hands W/ The Devil, yet, but I agree about Hotel Rowanda. Another couple of movies that I've seen recently that made my "people are basically good" theory waver is Blood Diamond & The Last King Of Scotland.

[pctchuck]

I think most people in this country are like me:  I go to movies to escape the reality.  It is getting so bad that I rarely watch the evening local news.  It isn't that I don't want to be informed, it is that so much of what is being put infront of us is graphic and/or heartbreaking.  Let me have an hour or two of escape and fun.

[dawnsawaking]

I think most people in this country are like me:  I go to movies to escape the reality.  It is getting so bad that I rarely watch the evening local news.  It isn't that I don't want to be informed, it is that so much of what is being put infront of us is graphic and/or heartbreaking.  Let me have an hour or two of escape and fun.

totally agree, Cali and I love watching movies and splurging to go see a movie every once and awhile.  Tonight we finally went to see Wanted, being that I never read the comic and Cali did we both loved the movie, there were some areas in the movie where you wonder where it is going but all in all it was a great movie....but there was a preview of a movie that I want to see, because I have become a Jason Strathman (The Transporter) fan the preview of the movie was "Death Race" and as Cali put it as, "Speed Racer for adults"

[bcwflash]

There are enough movies for pure escapism and yes everyone needs that but i also like movies to no longer be just format hollywood make believe. We can't make things better if we don't feel sadness or outrage at how things have been done or are being done. A movie can make sure that we don't just say things happen and forget about it. I'm glad most movies are fantasy and are just to have fun with but i appreciate those that tell stories i think we need to see and feel. Blood Diamond was an excellent movie as well,I haven't watched the King of Scotland yet but do want to get around to it. I really liked Flags of our fathers and letters from Iwo jima. they were intense and heart felt and again not just hollywood propaganda. That being said i did see Kellys heroes last week for about the tenth time on late night tv.

[Delvie]

These aren't movies that bcwflash are suggesting you go out to see. None of them are in the cinemas anymore. I, too, don't go to cinemas to see these movies. Personally, I only go to the cinema to see movies w/ awesome special effects that the same experience won't be duplicated @ home. Granted, the 72" @ home is a help, but to fully appreciate the special effects that go into movies like Transformers or LOTR requires surroundsound & a big screen (IMAX whenever possible). I wouldn't go to the cinema to see "just a drama". But like bcwflash was suggesting, movies like HR, SHWTD, BD, & LKoS are definately a must see, whether on cable, sat or rental.

[sattch]

I have to throw Children of Men into the conversation.  The movie does a great job of creating a world without hope, and just how terrifying and cruel it that would be (ESPECIALLY on a big screen).  It's on par with Saving Private Ryan in getting across a visceral and immediate reaction in the violence.

Having said that though, I am usually not a fan of filmmakers 'politicking' their films; it always comes off as propaganda.  Art isn't exactly the most articulate platform to express anything more than ideology, as opposed to say, an op-ed or policy journal.  Just seems like if you're out to affect the world, shouldn't you be doing something a little more effective than making a movie?

[bcwflash]

With hotle Rawanda and Shake hadns with the devil you are getting real stories of what happened in Rawanda during a time when 500,000 people were cleansed. the media didn't cover it much and many rich and powerful nations did nothing to assist. It was like an African holocust. The only way that story is made real for most G8 nations is to tell it in the form of a movie. If your story is being ignored or made to seem unimportant than a movie can help people to understand or at least realize what can and does happen in this world. A movie is a bit of made up drama in that the speeches are loud and maybe more flowery than what really happened but many films on real events are important. That is the power of an entertainment venue being used to get out a message.

[pctchuck]

I didn't say that these movies don't have a place in cinema, just that most people are looking for a little escapism.  No matter what you may think of this "docudrama" type of movie, the movie is still painted in a way that the writers, director, actors, editors, producers, etc. want to slant the movie.  I can really respect what Clint Eastwood did with his two films about Iwo Jima, in that he presented both sides of the conflict.  Still, he needed to choose characters and storylines in the films to paint the picture he wanted to tell.  I guess all in all, that is true of any artform.