Left vs. Right-Wing in Theaters Now

My middle brother once told my mother-in-law that he doesn't watch "Oscar-type" movies because they're "SO depressing." The way I interpreted his comment was that the feelings brought on by some movies stay with you after the end credits have rolled. There's really no such thing as "contemporary classics" because only time will tell if something has staying power over centuries of generations. This is similar to the definition in my "Difference Between Horror and Suspense" post that horror lasts while suspense will pass. What my brother referred to as "Oscar-type" movies, I will divide into two camps: those that make you feel (with or without a story) and those that make you think (with or without the truth). In either case, these thoughts or feelings are mostly a post-screening experience. I'm not trying to say that Hollywood blockbuster-type movies don't make you feel or think, but their provocativeness is more of a temporary nature to get you through the cliffhanger plot points. Another thing I'm not saying is that An American Carol or Religulous are "Oscar-type" movies. I watched both movies back to back which amused the ticket booth guy to laugh out loud. The bottom line if you choose not to read my full reviews is that they're both successful at getting you to think, although one's a little better at that than the other.

An American Carol (two stars total) mainly intrigued me because my dad's favorite book is Dicken's Christmas Carol and he owns most of the movie versions. As a completist, I felt obligated to see it. If you liked Airplane! or The Naked Gun series, then you'd like this latest from the same director. Somehow I forgot how much slapstick there is in those movies and I'm REALLY not a fan of slapstick, so that mostly explains why there's no red star here. Also, the Christmas Carol parallel is all but missing save for a Tiny Tim (who's not even the son the Scrooge character's employee). The marketing and the movie itself are a little misleading about the main character hating the Fourth of July, it's actually the military that he wants abolished and the lesson he learns is that "there are some things worth fighting for." I'm not anti-military but I am anti-the Kid Rock National Guard music video that somehow made its way in before this movie with the trailers. Last but not least on the list of script issues, I heard a critic called this movie "mean spirited" and isn't that how all spoofs are(?), but what I think he was referring to were the low-brow jabs at Michael Moore. Rather than critique the content of his work, this spoof concentrates only and very repetitively on his weight and hygiene. A full orange star goes to effects, slapstick-related though they may be, like Chamberlain getting thrown out of a window and the main character's face getting squished underneath someone's foot. Half a yellow is for the stars that I never expected to see: Chris Farley's brother, Frasier's Kelsey Grammer as the Ghost of Past, Present, and Future, Dennis Hopper as a zombie-killing judge (ok, that role was not entirely surprising), and Paris Hilton. The best line of dialogue and overall sequence is the riff on college in the middle. There's a whole musical number performed by burned-out hippie college professors that was worth the price of admission alone. Well, maybe not, but it's worth a google search for the lyrics. All in all, it's a less than average movie compared to an above average one:

Religulous (AKA The Movie Title No One Can Pronounce; three stars total), according to the rules of English grammar that I was taught, would begin "relig" like Zelig (Woody Allen movie), not "relige" like in religion because you need the letter "i" to make the "g" sound that way. Anyway, my coworker said he's a bit of "a masochist when it comes to Bill Maher because watching his show pisses (my coworker) off but it also makes you think. Same scenario with this movie, it's aimed not at fellow atheists but at "the faithful," and those supposed faithful that he interviews are almost all so ignorant it's enough to make you want to become unfaithful just to disassociate yourself from them (but not to be judge). Bottom line is Bill Maher is very good at helping people make themselves look bad and that can be laugh-out-loud funny as opposed to just inspiring a few chuckles as An American Carol did. His intention with this movie is stop "the arrogant certitude" where "faith means making a virtue out of not (being able to prove) knowing anything." He said he's not "questioning God . . . but practices." Later on though he asks people WHY faith is good, so I don't buy that his problem is with organized religion like he claims. I think he's just plain flabbergasted by the concept of faith. At least he has the courtesy to thank some interviewees at the beginning for being "Christlike and not just Christian." That there's a difference is probably the best point he makes. I don't want to dissect his arguments too much because getting defensive makes you look guilty, right? Perhaps, but I don't think there's anything wrong with getting offended by someone mocking what you hold sacred. I can't give more than half a red star no matter how clearly, intelligently, and organized the arguments are. The movie's offensive. I appreciated the visuals he got by actually travelling the world to different sacred sites (orange star). The best aspect overall would have to be the editing. He crosscuts various video clips throughout each interview and they're all hilarious (green star). They also helped me to decide never to support any animated versions of scripture, theatrical performances (The Passion), or gospel lyrics set to contemporary music. People just don't get how easy those things make the job of guys like Bill Maher. If there were a soundtrack from this movie, I might buy it, because it goes from Rick James to Gnarls Barkley to Bob Dylan (blue star). What I learned about myself is that I don't know my Egyptian mythology as well as I should.