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SevenBillionth
Reviews
Mass (2021)
Decent screenplay, but skirts around the issue
Decent performances and script that captures the horror and aftermath. But messaging and moral is all wrong. Mass seems to say that if we can:
- ban violent video games,
- loved ones can come together and sing coom ba yah,
- have more religion and councilling
then the fact classrooms full of children are routinely butchered can largely be resolved. Or at least we can cope with these revolting events.
There's an elephant in the room carrying a semi-automatic assault rifle. Was barely mentioned. Why is the USA the only democractic country in the world that is unable to hold its government to account, without the proliferation of murder machines? The US constitution is a wonderful thing, but it doesn't have all the answers. The second amendment must be repealed. This film seems to suggest that it's better to attempt to eradicate teenage angst. Good luck with that. To deprioritise the gun issue is to permit endless repetition of this child slaughter.
Bobby Robson: More Than a Manager (2018)
Nice guys win
The depth of humanity of Sir Bobby Robson astounds me. His legacy still dominates the world's biggest sport today, through the likes of Pep Guardiola & Jose Mourinho. Sir Alex Ferguson credited Sir Bobby for helping him getting started in management. The two most talented players of their generation: Ronaldo & Paul Gascoigne said they owe him everything. The best goalscorers of their era: Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker likewise.
The World Cup Italia '90 scenes and the recent interviews with Gascoigne about his relationship with Sir Bobby were the most poignant. It's as if Sir Bobby saw himself in Gazza: both born entertainers, loved people, incredibly talented in their own ways. I think Sir Bobby knew after retiring, Gazza would not be able to cope without the game, just as he couldn't. Most people who are into football already knew most of the stories in this film, but not this one. I defy you to not to be moved.
He had an encyclopaedic knowledge of football and was sharp as a button, yet treated all those around him with respect and compassion. Such a rare combination of qualities make him inspirational.
Mourinho: "A person does not die until the last person who loves him dies".
Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011)
Thought provoking
A fascinating insight into the underlying causes of many of the world's problems. The solution Z proposes is flawed, although a sound basis for further thought.
The most powerful flaw with this new society is how people are motivated to strive and improve. If everyone gets their fair share, what is the motivation to toil in difficult jobs that will never be made redundant such as the sciences, computing, or robotics? An individual's life can never be better than his neighbour's. So is societal gain from your endevours enough of an incentive to spend your life toiling in a science lab rather than do less challenging work? Given the choice, most people would choose an easy life.
Secondly, the natural conclusion of this new society is Gattaca. The first half hour of Z explains that criminals, addicts, etc are more a product of their environment than genetically predisposed. By removing the bad environment so the argument goes - poverty, poor education, healthcare, inequality, etc, the conditions that create problematic people are removed. Sounds plausible. However would such a society not then place far more emphasis on the quality of your genes? Environment and cause & effect would no longer be factors, everyone would receive good upbringings. The distinguishing factor would be genetic. And that essentially is the dystopia depicted in Gattaca (an excellent film btw).
To those who say this solution is communist, which has been tried and failed - this solution is not communist. It is post-communist. With the power of modern computers, the efficient resource-allocation system could be operated on a decent-spec home computer. The reason communism kept failing is that it inevitably led to a corrupt elite who were rightfully deposed by popular uprising. If everyone can duplicate the system on which resources are allocated themselves on their own computers, there can be no accusation of corruption. There would be healthy debate and democratic decision making as to the rules and inputs to the system, but there would be no elitist subversion of the planned economy that people hated so much about communism (nor capitalism's elite 1% owning 40%).
So in summary, not the definitive blueprint it wants to be, but food for thought nevertheless.
Felon (2008)
Skewed morals outweigh quality of movie
I couldn't agree more with comments made by ValerinAmberz. Why are all the negative comments hidden away on the last page? This film has double standards, all the key characters are given multiple dimensions except one. The burglar hadn't physically harmed anyone, and was no longer a threat. Maybe he was protecting his family against a similarly cruel set of circumstances that led Val Kilmer to kill 16 people. On the one hand Felon paints a refreshingly rounded portrait of the villain of the piece, the prison officer. His extreme actions are the result of his life's troubles and pressures and the fact that society is happy to turn a blind eye to prison brutality as long as felons are kept hidden from view.
In this way we are shown cause and effect, how everything comes full circle, no-one is born with original sin, there is no such thing as black and white. It isn't afraid to tackle the realities of the human condition. This reminded me of The Wire's nuanced approach to those who would usually be depicted as irredeemable.
However on the other hand we are told that burglars are irredeemable and if you kill one, even one who's running away, then that should go unpunished. It doesn't fit. I'm confused by the message Felon is trying to convey. Either the moral of the story is that we should acknowledge that people are products of their environment, or we should assume that people who do bad things are born bad and deserve the ultimate punishment. It can't have it both ways.