Films/DVD Asylum

There's no doubt Cuarón is hugely gifted

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In Reply to: RE: We'll just have to disagree about this one... posted by Harmonia on February 19, 2008 at 21:04:00

I even liked his Harry Potter film, especially compared to the others. But the reason CoM upset people on the left and right is because it cast the terrorsts and government as equivalent. And while the left might believe that terrorists have greater justification in their actions than government, and the right may believe the opposite, I am so tired of the Hollywood premise that "both are equal", which appeared to be a theme of CoM. It is such an easy idea that it requires and commands no real thought. The story was empty rhetoric about saving the world in the backdrop of this human impotence that was never explained and only served to emotionally manipulate the audience about the hopelessness in the future.

The roles played by race and gender were not interesting. If the movie really wanted to make a gutsy statement about a black woman or baby being the future or the savior of humanity, why did we need a white male to protect them until he became a martyr? I saw the entire vision of the future and salvation of humanity as nothing but a cheap attempt at transgression to make up for the ills of the past. The Michael Cain character was like a John Lenon figure, smoking reefer and getting martyred himself. It really bothered me, and not because it was good but because it was so superficial. It may have masqueraded as a complicated exposition, but the story was simple and the message was telegraphed right down the name emblazoned on the ship at the end.

It wasn't only the story but many of Cuarón's choices that I didn't like, including the shakey/handheld camera during the action sequences.
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"I have found that if you love life, life will love you back." -Arthur Rubinstein (1887-1982)

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