3 Mini Film Reviews (Fahrenheit 9/11, United States of Leland, Spellbound)

I didn't really feel like writing up a review for Fahrenheit since it seems like I've written a lot about it - so I'll just condense things down and write some mini-reviews of some movies I've seen.

Fahrenheit 9/11: The most-hyped, most-anticipated documentary in years gives us a look at Bush's connection to the Bin Laden family, congress' rush to pass the Patriot Act, the rush to war, and the mistakes made along the way. This is one of the most powerful documentaries I've ever seen - Moore doesn't pull any punches. While emotional appeals are not seen to be a proper method of debate, Moore isn't a debater - he's a filmmaker, and films are a place for emotion. Moore does this effectively, sometimes excessively, but for good reason. Moore puts forth his reasoning against the War, that it was based on faulty information, and done unnecessarily, costing many people their lives needlessly. Moore goes after Bush viciously, chastising him from his delay at the onset of 9/11 to his dealings with the Saudis. It's quite an interesting film, and one I recommend highly. Even if you don't agree with Michael's views, it's interesting just to see the audience react in such a way. It's rare that a film can hold an audience and demand so much from them and get it every time.

The United States of Leland: I was hooked early on after we see Jenna Malone doing heroin. However, the film slowly breaks down. We learn that Leland Fritzgerald, the son of a famous author, stabbed a retard 20 times. Leland is sent to jail where he meets Pearl (Don Cheedle), a teacher who inspires Leland to write a journal about the way he sees the world. Done in the trendy non-linear timeline the film can be frustrating, slowly drawing out information that could've been given much easier. Leland has a few interesting insights to the people around him, but nothing more - in the end the film centers around Jenna Malone dating a dark and moody guy who doesn't say a lot and is supposed to be deeper than everyone around him, and who can solve everyone's problems. Sound Familiar? Don't worry, Leland even has the same haircut as Donnie, so you can always be looking out for Patrick Swayze. I was looking forward to this movie, but in the end, it was a letdown.

Spellbound: D-I-S-S-A-P-P-O-I-N-T-M-E-N-T. This was a bigger letdown than Leland. I'd heard a lot about this movie, from how even people who didn't like documentaries were greatly enjoying it to how everybody who watches it roots for a different speller. I gave it a chance, but the introductions of the different spellers didn't interest me. They all seemed the same - the way you kept them apart through the rest of the film was mostly by their race - there was the Mexican girl, the Indian girl, the Black girl, the large socially-inept white boy, the small dorky white boy. I don't remember their names well, there was no reason to. Perhaps the filmmaker was going for some world harmony/racial unity through spelling message, but it didn't really come through for me. The kids weren't different enough for me - they were basically all kids who mostly kept to themselves, wanted to win, and in their free time, they studied words. That's about all we learn about them. After 45 minutes the actual spelling bee begins and I'm already bored, but hoping they can keep it interesting. The bee was pretty much like if you were to watch it on ESPN, but because I couldn't really become interested in the characters, I didn't really care who won.

In other news: I have eaten some bad fish and I think I'm going to be sick.
8:35:04 PM    comment []  trackback []