"Message" Movies

[Yerdaddy]

<p><a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=2722847&amp;page=1&amp;CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312" target="_blank">Blood Diamonds</a>, Hotel Rwanda, The Passion of the Christ, The Killing Fields, Saving Private Ryan, Shindler's List, Traffic, Z,&nbsp;Kramer Vs. Kramer,&nbsp;Bullworth,&nbsp;I Am Sam, Easy Rider... </p><p>What do you consider a &quot;message&quot; movie? Do you like em? Do you hate em? Do you want to watch them but go for entertainment first and never see most of them? Probably most interestingly - what are the WORST message movies, and was it the message you hated about them? Maybe even better - what's the&nbsp;best &quot;massage&quot; movie?&nbsp;No pressure.</p><p>I predict&nbsp;maybe 10&nbsp;serious posts and this thread is dead.</p>

[Furtherman]

The best one I've seen recently was Syrania.&nbsp; I thought it was amazing.

[phixion]

the end of clerks ii, i know whatever i dont care just if ur guy watch that movie with yourbest friend and tell me the ending doesnt hit home

[A.J.]

<p>BAD -- because there are some people that accept this as truth.</p><p><img src="http://www.musicaos.it/cinecaos/febbraio/jfk_big.JPG" border="0" width="222" height="316" /></p>

[KennethC]

<p>I'm your basic bleeding heart, but hate most message movies. They're&nbsp;just bad, Oscar-grubbing art. This goes for earnest Stanley Kramer joints like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, as well as modern, heavy-handed crapola like American Beauty. I've yet to see Crash or Syriana due to this prejudice. </p><p>I did like Z, but disliked every other Costa-Gavras flick I've seen, especially the English language ones.</p><p>I will say that Spielberg has enough cinematic &quot;razzle dazzle&quot; to make Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan somewhat watchable.</p>

[johnniewalker]

<p>http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k230/homer3889/crash_lrg.jpg</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I felt like a two year old, wow there is racism out in the world.&nbsp; Deep. </p>

[KennethC]

<p>When I was a younger man, I really liked John Sayles movies. I watch them now and find them flat and obvious.</p>

[Aggie]

<p>I just saw Blood Diamonds, I liked it although I find these movies depressing/frustrating. Another messgae movie I saw last year that I got the same feeling from was The Constant Gardener.</p><p>I've only seen one per year in the last few years&nbsp;and I tend to steer clear of these movies. I used to love 'message' movies and tear jerkers but I'm to the point where I want to escape the harsh realities of life when I see a movie. I prefer to laugh or have a feel good type movie. I'm getting soft.</p><p>Take Blood Diamonds for instance, I was made aware of an important issue that I didn't really know about, it touches on many of the other problems African countries have to deal with. It causes me&nbsp;many emotions: guilt, compassion, sorrow and helplessness. It's only for selfish reasons that I avoid the movies.</p><p>One of the worst message movies ever is The Day After Tomorrow. </p>

[Yerdaddy]

Crash was FUCKING AWFUL!

[phixion]

<p>BAD -- because there are some people that accept this as truth.</p><p>to quote stone; i present this as counterfiction to the fiction of the warren report</p>

[Don Stugots]

Dogma, Old School

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by Don Stugots on 12-15-06 @ 1:27 PM</span>

[shittyhambrgers]

<img src="http://www.djtim.org/album%20covers/don't%20be%20a%20menace.jpg" border="0" width="145" height="250" />

[SilentSpic]

<p><img src="http://thecia.com.au/reviews/a/images/apocalypto-poster-0.jpg" border="0" width="270" height="400" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Best movie ever.&nbsp; I've learned how fucked up our world used to be and still is.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

[Furtherman]

<strong>Aggie</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Take Blood Diamonds for instance, I was made aware of an important issue that I didn't really know about, it touches on many of the other problems African countries have to deal with. It causes me&nbsp;many emotions: guilt, compassion, sorrow and helplessness. It's only for selfish reasons that I avoid the movies.</p><p>Did this change your preception of diamonds?&nbsp; Would you accept them still?</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

[Aggie]

<strong>Furtherman</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>Aggie</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Take Blood Diamonds for instance, I was made aware of an important issue that I didn't really know about, it touches on many of the other problems African countries have to deal with. It causes me&nbsp;many emotions: guilt, compassion, sorrow and helplessness. It's only for selfish reasons that I avoid the movies.</p><p>Did this change your preception of diamonds?&nbsp; Would you accept them still?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Actually it did. I told my husband I'd be perfectly happy without ever getting one again. Not only did this movie make me change my mind, but I saw something on the history channel about DeBeers and how he screwed the tribes out of their land and made them mine their own diamonds for his gain. I didn't even know about that but this movie showed the modern day version of diamonds for weapons, the violence, killing and explotation of innocent people.</p><p>However, Cubic Zirconia is a fine alternative. I have a ring and earrings that I get compliments on all the time and they cost about $30</p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by Aggie on 12-15-06 @ 1:10 PM</span>

[Furtherman]

<strong>Aggie</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>Furtherman</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>Aggie</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Take Blood Diamonds for instance, I was made aware of an important issue that I didn't really know about, it touches on many of the other problems African countries have to deal with. It causes me&nbsp;many emotions: guilt, compassion, sorrow and helplessness. It's only for selfish reasons that I avoid the movies.</p><p>Did this change your preception of diamonds?&nbsp; Would you accept them still?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Actually it did. I told my husband I'd be perfectly happy without ever getting one again. </p><p>However, Cubic Zirconia is a fine alternative. I have a ring and earrings that I get compliments on all the time and they cost about $30. </p><p>That's interesting.&nbsp; And motivates me to check the movie out.</p><p>I had a friend who bought his wife a different kind of wedding ring (I don't recall what kind of stone) and I know she loved it but I was always suprised by some girls' reactions.&nbsp; Some were disapproving and some seem just plain confused.</p>

[Doogie]

12 monkeys...no matter what the fuck you do. Your future is set.

[AKA]

BLOOD DIAMOND was about 2/3 of a great movie - the other 1/3 was very Hollywood and, while still good, kind of brought me out of the movie. All in all I liked it - Africa has become the new IT topic (Constant Gardner in 2005 / Hotel Rwanda before that), and the fact that they are making an effort to clue in people what's going on I respect.

[Uncle Smokey]

&quot;The Accused&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp; Spend enough time in bars, and eventually even Jodie Foster will seem attractive.

[RapistWit]

<p>Off the top of my head:</p><p>&quot;Message&quot; movies I've liked recently: The Battle of Algiers, Grave of the Fireflies,&nbsp; The Black Robe, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Unbearable Lightness of Being</p><p>Ones I didn't care for: Crash, Constant Gardner, American Beauty</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

[Don Stugots]

<strong>Doogie76</strong> wrote:<br />12 monkeys...no matter what the fuck you do. Your future is set.<p>&nbsp;wow what a great flick that was.&nbsp; thanks for reminding me of it.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Fuck the boozos.&nbsp;</p>

[Yerdaddy]

<strong>RapistWit</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Off the top of my head:</p><p>&quot;Message&quot; movies I've liked recently: <strong>The Battle of Algiers</strong>, Grave of the Fireflies,&nbsp; The Black Robe, <strong>The Best Years of Our Lives</strong>, The Unbearable Lightness of Being</p><p>Ones I didn't care for: Crash, Constant Gardner, American Beauty</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Nice! Battle of Algiers just needs no comment for anyone who's seen it. Best Years is THE best movie about alcoholism ever. It's never been topped in, what, 50 years? Plus it's so much more.</p>

[RapistWit]

<strong>Yerdaddy</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>RapistWit</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Off the top of my head:</p><p>&quot;Message&quot; movies I've liked recently: <strong>The Battle of Algiers</strong>, Grave of the Fireflies,&nbsp; The Black Robe, <strong>The Best Years of Our Lives</strong>, The Unbearable Lightness of Being</p><p>Ones I didn't care for: Crash, Constant Gardner, American Beauty</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Nice! Battle of Algiers just needs no comment for anyone who's seen it. Best Years is THE best movie about alcoholism ever. It's never been topped in, what, 50 years? Plus it's so much more.</p><p>Best Years was a bit long and a bit preachy but&nbsp;was still an exceptional film.&nbsp;</p><p>Now that I think about it,&nbsp;&quot;The Constant Gardner&quot; was a really poor ripoff of &quot;The Third Man&quot;. </p><p>&quot;In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italy</a>, for thirty years under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgia" title="Borgia">Borgias</a>, they had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War" title="War">warfare</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terror" title="Terror">terror</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder" title="Murder">murder</a>, bloodshed &mdash; they produced <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo" title="Michelangelo">Michelangelo</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci" title="Leonardo da Vinci">Leonardo da Vinci</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a>. In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a>, they had brotherly love, five hundred years of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">democracy</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace" title="Peace">peace</a>, and what did that produce? The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo_clock" title="Cuckoo clock"><font color="#606420">cuckoo clock</font></a>.&quot;</p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by RapistWit on 12-15-06 @ 2:10 PM</span>

[JazzyJames]

Favorite message movie: Feild of Dreams. The message: play catch with your dad so you don't get ghosts.

[KennethC]

<strong>RapistWit</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Off the top of my head:</p><p>&quot;Message&quot; movies I've liked recently: The Battle of Algiers, Grave of the Fireflies,&nbsp; The Black Robe, The Best Years of Our Lives, The Unbearable Lightness of Being</p><p>Ones I didn't care for: Crash, Constant Gardner, American Beauty</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I thought Unbearable Lightness of Being was both a great book and film, not sure I would classify it as a message movie.</p><p>Battle of Algiers has been in my Netflix queue for a couple months, guess I'll have to bump it up - the Muppets will have to wait.</p>

[KennethC]

I double posted like a naughty boy.

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by KennethC on 12-15-06 @ 2:53 PM</span>

[Snacks]

<p>My all time favorite movie is a message movie. Remember the titans. I like message movies b/c they make you think or can inspire you. Most of these movies are over exagerated but the meaning is what makes them.</p><p>Now if you would have asked me this when I was a teen I wouldnt be able to see a message in any movie.</p>

[Bob Impact]

<p>I fucking HATE a message movie for two reasons, one I'm an Objectivist so I really don't subscribe to Judeo-Christian morals, and find the message of most of these movies to be morally abhorrent.&nbsp; Two, I really don't need some director trying to tell me how to live my life, just entertain me for an hour and a half, that's all I ask of you. </p>

[sailor]

<strong>Aggie</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>Furtherman</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>Aggie</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Take Blood Diamonds for instance, I was made aware of an important issue that I didn't really know about, it touches on many of the other problems African countries have to deal with. It causes me many emotions: guilt, compassion, sorrow and helplessness. It's only for selfish reasons that I avoid the movies.</p><p>Did this change your preception of diamonds? Would you accept them still?</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Actually it did. I told my husband I'd be perfectly happy without ever getting one again. Not only did this movie make me change my mind, but I saw something on the history channel about DeBeers and how he screwed the tribes out of their land and made them mine their own diamonds for his gain. I didn't even know about that but this movie showed the modern day version of diamonds for weapons, the violence, killing and explotation of innocent people.</p><p>However, Cubic Zirconia is a fine alternative. I have a ring and earrings that I get compliments on all the time and they cost about $30</p> <span class="post_edited">This message was edited by Aggie on 12-15-06 @ 1:10 PM</span><p>&nbsp;<font size="2">you can also try <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moissanite#Gemstone" target="_blank" title="silicon carbide">moissanite</a>, which is a newer diamond substitute.<br /></font></p>

[torker]

<p><img src="http://ruthlessreviews.com/pics4/radio2.jpg" border="0" width="364" height="269" /></p><p><img src="http://img.timeinc.net/ew/img/review/990910/sister.jpg" border="0" width="200" height="175" /></p><p><img src="http://www.gothamist.com/images/2003_12_samiam.jpg" border="0" width="197" height="222" /></p>

[UnknownPD]

<font size="2">Michael Collins</font>

[epo]

<p>Message movies are like any other movie in the fact that 98% of them are shit.&nbsp; </p><p>I don't care as long as the story is good and the characters are well developed.&nbsp; </p>

[Snacks]

The problem is most movies recently suck. So many remakes and sequals its like hollywood has no new ideas.

[Gvac]

<strong>johnniewalker</strong> wrote:<br /><p><img src="http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k230/homer3889/crash_lrg.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I felt like a two year old, wow there is racism out in the world. Deep. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>AMEN!&nbsp; I couldn't agree more.&nbsp; They beat into our head over and over again &quot;Racism is bad.&quot;&nbsp; It was an after school special with some big Hollywood names.&nbsp; A snooze fest if I've ever seen one. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

[El Mudo]

<p><img src="http://www.research.umbc.edu/~landon/13_Images_Movie/Paths%20of%20Glory.jpg" border="0" width="261" height="475" /></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

[Bulldogcakes]

<p>&nbsp;<img src="http://www.babeland.com/catalog/images/JH016250.jpg" border="0" width="200" height="300" /></p><p>This one's pretty good&nbsp;</p>

[alwat]

<strong>A.J.</strong> wrote:<br /><p>BAD -- because there are some people that accept this as truth.</p><p><img src="http://www.musicaos.it/cinecaos/febbraio/jfk_big.JPG" border="0" width="222" height="316" /></p><p>&nbsp;Don't feed us that right wing radio talkshow host talking point please. (i.e the children get there news from movies like jfk and shows like&nbsp; jon stewart's) </p>

[BLZBUBBA]

<p>RED DAWN was perhaps the stupidist message movie ever.&nbsp; The Soviets&nbsp;are just going to parachute in and take over the USA.&nbsp; Be scared America.&nbsp; They're coming.&nbsp;But even if&nbsp;our troops are defeated?&nbsp; HIGH SCHOOL KIDS will take them out.&nbsp; WOLVERINES!</p><p>John Wayne's THE GREEN BERETS was pretty weak as well.&nbsp; The message?&nbsp; Make a positive film about Vietnam and the govt. will back it 100%.&nbsp; Sure.&nbsp;&nbsp;Here are&nbsp;all the helicopters you need.&nbsp; Shoot it on our military base.&nbsp; We especially like the scenes where the Vietnamese kid is running through the camp unchecked.&nbsp; He's like their &quot;little friend&quot;.</p><p>DAS BOOT was a good message movie.&nbsp; It was about honor,&nbsp; service,&nbsp; and sacrifice.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sure.&nbsp; But ultimately it was&nbsp;about the futility of all that honor,&nbsp; service,&nbsp; and sacrifice.</p>

[A.J.]

<strong>alwat</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>A.J.</strong> wrote:<br /><p>BAD -- because there are some people that accept this as truth.</p><p><img src="http://www.musicaos.it/cinecaos/febbraio/jfk_big.JPG" border="0" width="222" height="316" /></p><p>&nbsp;Don't feed us that right wing radio talkshow host talking point please. (i.e the children get there news from movies like jfk and shows like&nbsp; jon stewart's) </p><p>No, my point was that most of this movie was fiction.&nbsp; It was almost completely disproven by an A&amp;E special that used computer graphics based on the Zapruder file.&nbsp; I forget the name -- it was narrated by Frank Sesno of CNN.</p>

[Snacks]

I wtched the movie Click expecting it to be a regular Adam Sandler movie, but it turned out to be a message movie. I think Sandler is trying to be serious!

[FUNKMAN]

<p><img src="http://www.cinemapassion.com/affiches/dolores_claiborne.jpg" border="0" width="321" height="450" /></p><p>one of my favorite movies of all time</p><p>alot of strong messages - affects of alcohol abuse, sexual abuse/incest, revenge</p><p>kathy bates shoots the shit to the sky in this one</p>

[Snacks]

<strong>FUNKMAN</strong> wrote:<br /><p><img src="http://www.cinemapassion.com/affiches/dolores_claiborne.jpg" border="0" width="321" height="450" /></p><p>one of my favorite movies of all time</p><p>alot of strong messages - affects of alcohol abuse, sexual abuse/incest, revenge</p><p>kathy bates shoots the shit to the sky in this one</p><p>I havent seen this movie in forever. It was a great movie. I may go to blockbuster and rent it. good call funk</p>

[moochcassidy]

<strong>phixion</strong> wrote:<br />the end of clerks ii, i know whatever i dont care just if ur guy watch that movie with yourbest friend and tell me the ending doesnt hit home<p>&nbsp;the ending doesnt hit home.&nbsp;<br /> </p>

[Uncle Smokey]

<p>&quot;Dead Man Walking&quot;&nbsp; Message movies can only really work when the writing or performances transcend the message and take you someplace deeper. This one totally does it for me.&nbsp; What in lesser skilled hands would be an anti-death penalty polemic becomes a meditation on revenge, suffering, redemption and the limitations of both remorse and&nbsp;forgiveness.&nbsp;</p>

[cougarjake13]

<strong>moochcassidy</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>phixion</strong> wrote:<br />the end of clerks ii, i know whatever i dont care just if ur guy watch that movie with yourbest friend and tell me the ending doesnt hit home <p>&nbsp;the ending doesnt hit home.&nbsp;</p><p>it hit next door but not home</p>

[Snacks]

<strong>cougarjake13</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>moochcassidy</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>phixion</strong> wrote:<br />the end of clerks ii, i know whatever i dont care just if ur guy watch that movie with yourbest friend and tell me the ending doesnt hit home <p>&nbsp;the ending doesnt hit home.&nbsp;</p><p>it hit next door but not home</p><p>It didnt get to me like that but i understood it.</p>

[lleeder]

<p><font size="3"><strong>Best message movie ever:</strong></font></p><p><img src="http://www.thedigitalbits.com/articles/miscgfx/covers4/chinasyndromesedvd.jpg" border="0" width="175" height="252" /></p>

[PapaBear]

<p>VERY hard to watch, but I watch it every time it comes on...</p><p><img src="http://www.lacoctelera.com/myfiles/estropajosucio/hotel_rwanda.jpg" border="0" width="300" height="450" /></p><p>It's playing on Showtime in 7 minutes.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

[Yerdaddy]

<strong>PapaBear</strong> wrote:<br /><p>VERY hard to watch, but I watch it every time it comes on...</p><p><img src="http://www.lacoctelera.com/myfiles/estropajosucio/hotel_rwanda.jpg" border="0" width="300" height="450" /></p><p>It's playing on Showtime in 7 minutes.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I was in Rwanda about the time this came out. I saw it when I got back to Yemen. The movie tore me apart. I had to watch it alone because I knew I was going to fall apart. Things is - the movie <u>downplayed</u> the horrors that went on there. I stood on a grave that held 180,000 people from the capital alone. And I even&nbsp;skipped the memorials where they left the bodies where they were killed. </p><p>There's a good chance I'll be in Cambodia this year. That will mean &quot;The Killing Fields&quot; will never be the same again. </p>

[jhawk57]

How about American History X?????

[NewYorkDragons80]

<strong>phixion</strong> wrote:<br /><p>BAD -- because there are some people that accept this as truth.</p><p>to quote stone; i present this as counterfiction to the fiction of the warren report</p><p>&nbsp;Then Stone is a fool and a liar </p>

[NewYorkDragons80]

<strong>RapistWit</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Off the top of my head:</p><p>&quot;Message&quot; movies I've liked recently: The Battle of Algiers, Grave of the Fireflies</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!</p>

[romey79]

<p><img src="http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n319/happyembolism/woodsman-poster.jpg" border="0" alt="The Woodsman" title="The Woodsman" width="335" height="500" /></p><p>Don't touch kids...?</p>

[SatCam]

http://www.postersnthings.com/posters/good_burger_advance.jpg

[keithy_19]

<p>Would American History X be considered one of these message movies? </p><p>Pay It Forward my also fall into this. </p><p>I enjoyed both, though both are bitingly depressing at their ends. </p>

[GonzoStyle]

<p>Film has always been my greatest passion and I love these types of movies or even films which do not really qualify as &quot;message&quot; films but have very poignant moments. </p><p>12 angry men was always one of my most favorite films and really had a great impact on the way I think, the Fonda version of course, not the awful remake. 12 angry men is also one of my favorites of all time. </p><p>My favorite film of all time is casablanca and nothing gets me more than the &quot;<em>La Marseillaise&quot; </em>scene in the film. How one man, with just the simplest of actions can make a difference.</p><p>&nbsp;you can see it here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0</a></p><p>Another is Ingmar Bergmans &quot;The Seventh Seal&quot;, basically any Bergman film but Seventh Seal is just a masterpiece in film making.</p><p>Naturally there are dozens of these types of films I could list, my most favorite recent one was V for Vendetta.</p>

<span class=post_edited>This message was edited by GonzoStyle on 12-25-06 @ 12:37 AM</span>

[Yerdaddy]

<strong>GonzoStyle</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Film has always been my greatest passion and I love these types of movies or even films which do not really qualify as &quot;message&quot; films but have very poignant moments. </p><p>12 angry men was always one of my most favorite films and really had a great impact on the way I think, the Fonda version of course, not the awful remake. 12 angry men is also one of my favorites of all time. </p><p>My favorite film of all time is casablanca and nothing gets me more than the &quot;<em>La Marseillaise&quot; </em>scene in the film. How one man, with just the simplest of actions can make a difference.</p><p>&nbsp;you can see it here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0</a></p><p>Another is Ingmar Bergmans &quot;The Seventh Seal&quot;, basically any Bergman film but Seventh Seal is just a masterpiece in film making.</p><p>Naturally there are dozens of these types of films I could list, my most favorite recent one was V for Vendetta.</p><span class="post_edited">This message was edited by GonzoStyle on 12-25-06 @ 12:37 AM</span> <p>I assume you've&nbsp;seen&nbsp;&quot;Ikiru&quot; (Kurosawa), &quot;The Bicycle Theif&quot;, &quot;The 400 (or is it 300? I'd have given that little fucker 500!) Blows&quot;, or even the message horror movie &quot;The Devil's Backbone&quot;? If you haven't... I don't know. They're movies. Do something with them.</p><p>My favorite recent is &quot;Good Night and Good Luck&quot;. Really got to the point of America in the first place: people can challenge power in our system. But it aint easy, and we may not have the tools to do it that we once did. And smoking is fucking cool.</p>

[TheMojoPin]

<strong>A.J.</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>alwat</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>A.J.</strong> wrote:<br /><p>BAD -- because there are some people that accept this as truth.</p><p><img src="http://www.musicaos.it/cinecaos/febbraio/jfk_big.JPG" border="0" width="222" height="316" /></p><p>&nbsp;Don't feed us that right wing radio talkshow host talking point please. (i.e the children get there news from movies like jfk and shows like&nbsp; jon stewart's) </p><p>No, my point was that most of this movie was fiction.&nbsp; It was almost completely disproven by an A&amp;E special that used computer graphics based on the Zapruder file.&nbsp; I forget the name -- it was narrated by Frank Sesno of CNN.</p><p><a href="http://www.ronfez.net/messageboard/viewmessages.cfm/CurrentPage/1/forum/87/Topic/32257/RequestTimeout/500" target="_blank">Is it time to dust off the old JFK assassination classic?</a></p><p>Both <em>JFK</em> and <em>Nixon</em> are bullshit historically, but I absolutely adore both films.&nbsp; They're stunning and brilliantly made.&nbsp; If they were presented as being about fictional characters, I think they'd be hailed as classics of cinema already by a much wider audience.</p>

[GonzoStyle]

<strong>Yerdaddy</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>GonzoStyle</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Film has always been my greatest passion and I love these types of movies or even films which do not really qualify as &quot;message&quot; films but have very poignant moments. </p><p>12 angry men was always one of my most favorite films and really had a great impact on the way I think, the Fonda version of course, not the awful remake. 12 angry men is also one of my favorites of all time. </p><p>My favorite film of all time is casablanca and nothing gets me more than the &quot;<em>La Marseillaise&quot; </em>scene in the film. How one man, with just the simplest of actions can make a difference.</p><p>&nbsp;you can see it here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0</a></p><p>Another is Ingmar Bergmans &quot;The Seventh Seal&quot;, basically any Bergman film but Seventh Seal is just a masterpiece in film making.</p><p>Naturally there are dozens of these types of films I could list, my most favorite recent one was V for Vendetta.</p><span class="post_edited">This message was edited by GonzoStyle on 12-25-06 @ 12:37 AM</span> <p>I assume you've&nbsp;seen&nbsp;&quot;Ikiru&quot; (Kurosawa), &quot;The Bicycle Theif&quot;, &quot;The 400 (or is it 300? I'd have given that little fucker 500!) Blows&quot;, or even the message horror movie &quot;The Devil's Backbone&quot;? If you haven't... I don't know. They're movies. Do something with them.</p><p>My favorite recent is &quot;Good Night and Good Luck&quot;. Really got to the point of America in the first place: people can challenge power in our system. But it aint easy, and we may not have the tools to do it that we once did. And smoking is fucking cool.</p><p>Ikiru yes but &quot;Rashomon&quot; is a better kurosawa film, naturally my favorite is Seven Samurai. </p>

[Yerdaddy]

<strong>GonzoStyle</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>Yerdaddy</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>GonzoStyle</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Film has always been my greatest passion and I love these types of movies or even films which do not really qualify as &quot;message&quot; films but have very poignant moments. </p><p>12 angry men was always one of my most favorite films and really had a great impact on the way I think, the Fonda version of course, not the awful remake. 12 angry men is also one of my favorites of all time. </p><p>My favorite film of all time is casablanca and nothing gets me more than the &quot;<em>La Marseillaise&quot; </em>scene in the film. How one man, with just the simplest of actions can make a difference.</p><p>&nbsp;you can see it here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0</a></p><p>Another is Ingmar Bergmans &quot;The Seventh Seal&quot;, basically any Bergman film but Seventh Seal is just a masterpiece in film making.</p><p>Naturally there are dozens of these types of films I could list, my most favorite recent one was V for Vendetta.</p><span class="post_edited">This message was edited by GonzoStyle on 12-25-06 @ 12:37 AM</span> <p>I assume you've&nbsp;seen&nbsp;&quot;Ikiru&quot; (Kurosawa), &quot;The Bicycle Theif&quot;, &quot;The 400 (or is it 300? I'd have given that little fucker 500!) Blows&quot;, or even the message horror movie &quot;The Devil's Backbone&quot;? If you haven't... I don't know. They're movies. Do something with them.</p><p>My favorite recent is &quot;Good Night and Good Luck&quot;. Really got to the point of America in the first place: people can challenge power in our system. But it aint easy, and we may not have the tools to do it that we once did. And smoking is fucking cool.</p><p>Ikiru yes but &quot;Rashomon&quot; is a better kurosawa film, naturally my favorite is Seven Samurai. </p><p>Yes &quot;Rashomon&quot; is a better movie but we're talking &quot;message&quot; movies here. Try to stay on topic. Don't be so irrashomon! </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I'm retarded.</p>

[GonzoStyle]

<strong>Yerdaddy</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>GonzoStyle</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>Yerdaddy</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>GonzoStyle</strong> wrote:<br /><p>Film has always been my greatest passion and I love these types of movies or even films which do not really qualify as &quot;message&quot; films but have very poignant moments. </p><p>12 angry men was always one of my most favorite films and really had a great impact on the way I think, the Fonda version of course, not the awful remake. 12 angry men is also one of my favorites of all time. </p><p>My favorite film of all time is casablanca and nothing gets me more than the &quot;<em>La Marseillaise&quot; </em>scene in the film. How one man, with just the simplest of actions can make a difference.</p><p>&nbsp;you can see it here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hJ-HI05NR0</a></p><p>Another is Ingmar Bergmans &quot;The Seventh Seal&quot;, basically any Bergman film but Seventh Seal is just a masterpiece in film making.</p><p>Naturally there are dozens of these types of films I could list, my most favorite recent one was V for Vendetta.</p><span class="post_edited">This message was edited by GonzoStyle on 12-25-06 @ 12:37 AM</span> <p>I assume you've&nbsp;seen&nbsp;&quot;Ikiru&quot; (Kurosawa), &quot;The Bicycle Theif&quot;, &quot;The 400 (or is it 300? I'd have given that little fucker 500!) Blows&quot;, or even the message horror movie &quot;The Devil's Backbone&quot;? If you haven't... I don't know. They're movies. Do something with them.</p><p>My favorite recent is &quot;Good Night and Good Luck&quot;. Really got to the point of America in the first place: people can challenge power in our system. But it aint easy, and we may not have the tools to do it that we once did. And smoking is fucking cool.</p><p>Ikiru yes but &quot;Rashomon&quot; is a better kurosawa film, naturally my favorite is Seven Samurai. </p><p>Yes &quot;Rashomon&quot; is a better movie but we're talking &quot;message&quot; movies here. Try to stay on topic. Don't be so irrashomon! </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I'm retarded.</p><p>Rashomon was a message movie, the message was, if you're gonna rape some dudes wife make sure she isn't crazier than you.</p>

[FezPaul]

<strong>Uncle Smokey</strong> wrote:<br />&quot;The Accused&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp; Spend enough time in bars, and eventually even Jodie Foster will seem attractive. <p>http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f281/FezPaul/hack/BisVos.gif</p>

[Mike Teacher]

<p>Things is - the movie <u>downplayed</u> the horrors that went on there. I stood on a grave that held 180,000 people from the capital alone. And I even&nbsp;skipped the memorials where they left the bodies where they were killed. </p><p>=</p><p>Yep, as bad as the movie made the situation seem, what happened in Rwanda was far far worse; my cousin did some prosthetics work for Rwandan amputees.</p><p>=</p><p>I'd throw in 'The Killing Fields' to see what the Khmer Rouge/Pol Pot did, and again, the movie doesnt begin to address the actual horror of the event. Don't know if any movie can.</p><p>=</p><p>For message I'd agree American History X gives a great message without hitting you over the head with it.</p><p>'Requiem for a Dream', whether it intends to or not, sends out the most anti-drug/addiction message in a movie I've seen.</p><p>'Kids' sends a message, but one I dread receiveing.</p><p>And well done mentioning 'The Best Years of our Lives' which is still considered by many to be the best movie ever; there are many movies that dealt with the problems of 'Coming Home' [including 'Coming Home'] but Best Years still just blows me away on so many levels, sentimantal I guess.</p><p>'The Blob' sends out a good message: Dont poke Meteorites with sticks.</p>

[suggums]

<strong>Bob Impact</strong> wrote:<br /><p>I fucking HATE a message movie for two reasons, one I'm an Objectivist so I really don't subscribe to Judeo-Christian morals, and find the message of most of these movies to be morally abhorrent. Two, I really don't need some director trying to tell me how to live my life, just entertain me for an hour and a half, that's all I ask of you. </p><p>&nbsp;3. how about an author telling you how to live your life?&nbsp; seems shes done a pretty good job</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>they're both art, and if they want to mix in their personal philosophies so fucking what? dont subscribe if you dont want to.&nbsp; the movie can still be enjoyable&nbsp;</p>

[A.J.]

<strong>TheMojoPin</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>A.J.</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>alwat</strong> wrote:<br /><strong>A.J.</strong> wrote:<br /><p>BAD -- because there are some people that accept this as truth.</p><p><img src="http://www.musicaos.it/cinecaos/febbraio/jfk_big.JPG" border="0" width="222" height="316" /></p><p>&nbsp;Don't feed us that right wing radio talkshow host talking point please. (i.e the children get there news from movies like jfk and shows like&nbsp; jon stewart's) </p><p>No, my point was that most of this movie was fiction.&nbsp; It was almost completely disproven by an A&amp;E special that used computer graphics based on the Zapruder file.&nbsp; I forget the name -- it was narrated by Frank Sesno of CNN.</p><p><a href="http://www.ronfez.net/messageboard/viewmessages.cfm/CurrentPage/1/forum/87/Topic/32257/RequestTimeout/500" target="_blank">Is it time to dust off the old JFK assassination classic?</a></p><p>Both <em>JFK</em> and <em>Nixon</em> are bullshit historically, but I absolutely adore both films.&nbsp; They're stunning and brilliantly made.&nbsp; If they were presented as being about fictional characters, I think they'd be hailed as classics of cinema already by a much wider audience.</p><p>It's about time you showed up. </p>

[Yerdaddy]

<strong>Aggie</strong> wrote:<br /><p>I just saw Blood Diamonds, I liked it although I find these movies depressing/frustrating. Another messgae movie I saw last year that I got the same feeling from was The Constant Gardener.</p><p>I've only seen one per year in the last few years&nbsp;and I tend to steer clear of these movies. I used to love 'message' movies and tear jerkers but I'm to the point where I want to escape the harsh realities of life when I see a movie. I prefer to laugh or have a feel good type movie. I'm getting soft.</p><p>Take Blood Diamonds for instance, I was made aware of an important issue that I didn't really know about, it touches on many of the other problems African countries have to deal with. It causes me&nbsp;many emotions: guilt, compassion, sorrow and helplessness. It's only for selfish reasons that I avoid the movies.</p><p>One of the worst message movies ever is The Day After Tomorrow. </p><p>I finally got to see a real good bootleg copy of this movie today. It wasn't bad as a message movie or as an action movie, but the message was really in your face. That's fine with me but... I'm a walking fucking message aren't I? But for those who wanted a straight action movie without the message, come on! It's called &quot;Blood Diamond&quot; for Christ's sake. All the hype points to heavy on the messge.</p><p>Anyway, I think about your post, Aggie,&nbsp;whenever I think about the movie and when I was watching the movie I with you in mind. It's a bit of a trap for a filmmaker that if he does his job right in making a message movie he's going to frustrate the hell out of alot of his viewers. This movie does a good job of working in most of the elements of a complicated&nbsp;issue like this - colonial history and it's remnants, the role of Africans as bad guys and victims, self-interested mercenaries, monstrous refugee camps, children as cannon fodder and slave labor, aid agencies, journalists, etc. etc. But, in the end, if you feel moved by it all, and even maybe a bit educated, what do you do about it? It is so complex. I was thinking that while I do feel frustrated about issues like Africa when I see them in movies it's not helplessness. I've been an activist and I'm still one to some degree. I've made choices in my life that I feel are responsible in view of my place in the world. My work as a journalist last year and plans to return feels like a contribution, even if I have to keep my expectations low on that point,&nbsp;(if nobody seems to give a shit about what I write I can't let it bring me down. That really is a big emotional conflict for journalists. It certainly was for me.) In the end I do feel like I've done some good, even if it's hard to define and gets lost when I'm depressed. </p><p>But more importantly, the problems are so complex, but so is our role, and thus so is our potential help. There's alot of organizations doing good work in Africa for example. (They often get a bad wrap in movies because there's a sense of having to distance yourself as a maker of these kinds of movies from being biased towards the activists. So they do have to take a shot at aid workers just to demonstrate ballance. But it shouldn't be used as an excuse to dismiss all aid work.) In Blood Diamonds there's a dismissive line about people reading an article and maybe write a check, but who cares? Well getting people to write checks is hugely important for all of this work. The private sector has a role to play in issues like this, but it's conditioned on them making money. They are sometimes probably part of the problem - sometimes part of the solution. Much of the work has to be aid work and that means people have to donate - through writing checks or paying taxes. My experiences have shown me that the private organizations generally are more effective as well, which makes checks more valuable. Every private NGO spends as much time as it needs to raise mon

[MellySmelly]

<p><img src="http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6343/3750zv6.jpg" border="0" width="180" height="264" /></p>