So heres the deal! If you didnt like SCHINDLERS LIST, that doesnt automatically make you a Jew hating Nazi! Likewise, if you didnt care for 12 YEARS A SLAVE, that doesnt necessarily make you a racist, and if you didnt like DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, that doesnt mean youre homophobic. Its all art and purely subjective. Having said that, I thought all three of the previously mentioned films were fantastic! On the flip side, despite an amazing performance by Forest Whitaker, I thought THE BUTLER was labored and over bloated, but saying such a thing hardly makes me racist. Theres been a lot of talk about 12 YEARS A SLAVE winning the Oscar for Best Picture last night and how it was a politically motivated sham. I think that discredits the power of that particular film. I think a lot of folks who claim the movie didnt really deserve to win are just pissed because the film they were rooting for, didnt come out victorious. For the record, I was rooting for GRAVITY. I really was. It was far and away my favorite film of 2013 and quite frankly, its one of my favorite films of all time. Still, I dont get how folks can have such hate for 12 YEARS A SLAVE. We all have our likes and dislikes, I get that. Once again, film is art and all art is subjective, but all the hatred for 12 YEARS A SLAVE is strange to me. It reminds me of the backlash against CRASH a few years back. In the past few months, Ive heard folks refer to 12 YEARS A SLAVE as a snuff film, an inaccurate depiction of Solomon Northrups real story, and a cheap attempt at exploiting a dark chapter in American History (i.e. playing the race card.) While I cant comment on Northrups real story (I wasnt alive during the slavery era and I have yet to read the mans memoirs), I can tell you that for me, 12 YEARS A SLAVE was a powerful, haunting, dramatic experience filled with riveting performances, and clearly, it was made with uncompromising passion. It is brutal yes, but to sugar coat the brutality by not showing it would have been the irresponsible route to take. 12 YEARS A SLAVE had the same affect on me that SCHINDLERS LIST and THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST did, and while it was difficult to watch at times, I thought there was a lot more to the film than beatings and rape. 12 YEARS A SLAVE is a movie about the human condition and its a historic reminder of a time a lot of folks want to forget. Again, not a film for everyone. Some people go to the movies to escape reality, not to be reminded of it, but for me, 12 YEARS A SLAVE is an astonishing work (sans Brad Pitts grandstanding moment in the final act.) Allow me to share another opinion; There were bigger travesties at this years Oscars than 12 YEARS A SLAVE winning Best Picture. I.e. INSIDE LLWEYN DAVIS being snubbed (if you ask me, the Coen Brothers latest was a more interesting endeavor than the fun but slightly overrated AMERICAN HUSTLE) and Tom Hanks being shut out for two pitch perfect performances (CAPTAIN PHILLIPS and SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.) And the list goes on and on and on. A lot of you out there reading this post are probably laughing because you think there are far more pressing issues in this world than who won or didnt win a stupid Oscar, but for us crazed movie fans, the battle rages on. :)
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 17:30:16 +0000
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