Thursday, July 05, 2007

Freedom (and heavily opinionated mini-movie reviews!)


No, this is not a thought-provoking blog post, nor will there be photographs or youTube fodder. Instead, I just want to wish everyone a happy belated 4th of July. What did I do for the 4th, you might ask? Well, I cleaned the kitchen, changed some diapers, fed a baby a few times, took a nap, and eventually left Juston and Frankie at home and went to the movies because I needed to get out of the house. I rounded off the evening with a potluck and some fireworks on TV. Yes, let freedom ring.



I saw "Sicko", which is Michael Moore's new documentary about the state of U.S. healthcare. No new surprises, our current system is terribly broken, probably beyond repair, and it needs a complete overhaul. While I'm not sure that universal healthcare is all puppies and rainbows and happy smiling children, I think that it's definitely and infintely better than our current system. As a parent, I worry that perhaps we'll discover some health issue that we can't resolve with our insurance carrier and that we'll be stuck choosing between bankruptcy and death. I know it's a worst case scenario, but it does happen, and something must be done. Let's just say it's one of my bigger issues for chosing a candidate when voting next year. As always, Moore skews the facts to compliment his own agenda, but this is nothing new in documentary filmmaking; even Eskimos in the 1920s were made to seem like a happy family, when, in fact, Nanoook and his cohorts were really just the best-looking Eskimos hired to re-create scenes of arctic life. Health care an important issue, and anything to document the crisis in a way that screams "we need change!" is alright in my book. But be warned, it'll probably manipulate you into being mad.


And for good measure, I saw "Transformers" on Monday night at the drive-in with spouse and kid in tow. Actually, I was the one 'in tow' because I really didn't want to see the film. It was a Michael Bay movie (ick), full of fast cars, giant robots, big explosions, and excessive cleavage. I was completely bored, but Juston loved it. I think you either have to be a male in your mid-twenties to mid-thirties, or have some other kind of nostalgic tie to Transformers in order to appreciate such a terrible movie. The effects were okay, but really, once they got to the good effects parts, I was too bored and tired to care! I found myself counting product placements, because in my mind, Michael Bay is synonymous with obvious product placement. Beyond the TITLE of the film and the PLOT being a massive toy-tie in, there were many others. When you get bored as you are forced to sit through it, make a game of it (this tactic really works well with any overblow Hollywood Blockbuster, but Michael Bay has a special way of putting the products in your face.) Waste of two and a half hours of my life, waste of $7. The things we do for love, or at least to keep the ones we love appeased.

3 comments:

Leah said...

I saw a cartoon you might like. It reminded me of Juston and you because it is documentary style. Surf's up was funny plus it might be something to show your kid when he gets bigger to tell him about what movies he should watch. lol. Leah

Leah said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Whatever! Transformers was amazing! Of course I am a thirysomething male that enjoys movies of this nature. By the way Die Hard was even better!
As far as the Heath Care goes. I was in Canada and saw what universal Health care does. Sure everyone has it, but everyone I talked to has someone who died because they could not get the treatment in time. Over a month to get a broken leg fixed, break again just to set it right. I could go on and on. Our system here, terrible as well. Leah and I were denied for single family coverage because I had my gall bladder out, I had too! Oh and Charlie went to the ER twice in a week. So I pay full health benifits to one of my employees just so we can be back on the group plan. Big money $$$$$. Must be changed, but I think I would rather pay more, then not be able to get my little boy into the doctor because they are so back up. Tough call.


Jason ""The Big Ol' Muley"