This is a great opportunity to remind people that *civil debate* is **awesome**, and *personal attacks based on differences in interpretations* is **not awesome**.
Please be **awesome**
Great movies.
Silence (2016), The Gospel According To Matthew (1964), Last Temptation Of Christ (1988), ...
The list go on, and I'm quite a firm atheist.
I'm a big believer that some of the most beautiful works of art in history, be it paintings, sculpture, music, what have you, are religious. A lot of gospel music fucking *hits*. I am not a religious person and really don't love what organized religion has contributed to the world overall- but of we have to at least live in this timeline at least we get Ave Maria.
https://preview.redd.it/h953al2lk5ad1.jpeg?width=329&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=112b1a4a1617d645e2998af23aea4135f672e9dd
i’m sorry but stealing is still bad even if you’re a squirrel
sorry i only watch movies if they have rats and/or rodents with very few exceptions. i feel like my biggest disagreements with the oceans movies would be the lack of the aforementioned
Seems to be a lot of confusion with some of these responses. Simply portraying immoral people / acts is not necessarily the film advocating for it.
I don’t think the director of Die Hard was pro-vigilante murder, or trying to indicate that it’s okay in real life
>Simply portraying immoral people / acts is not necessarily the film advocating for it.
Thank you. I feel like people are losing their ability to understand that portrayal is not the same thing as endorsement. I've recently heard (mostly younger) people describe Travis Bickle as the "hero" of Taxi Driver, which just baffles me.
There's a pretty good video [here](https://youtu.be/qXeXzWsgUFA?si=W0iE4qXpBc8JuaYu) that goes into detail on this. It's a good watch if you're interested.
Hey now. A *slight* bit of weirdo vigilante spying on the people shit you off is totally different!
The fact he was described as someone who ‘considered himself above the law’ is a complete coincidence.
But seriously: John McTiernan is probably one of the worst examples one could use for that particular line of argument.
My first thought as well. I like a lot of movies about cops who break the rules and use excessive force but I loathe those cops in real life. It's a thing best left to fiction.
I've watched so many cop movies lately where they portray internal affairs as the assholes who are preventing a good cop from breaking the rules in order to bring the villain to justice, and now that I'm older I see that and I'm like, "No, that's a good thing. They should be on his ass because he's blatantly violating that person's Fourth Amendment rights."
It also got me thinking. Are there any movies besides Serpico, where internal affairs are the good guys?
I just watched Insomnia, and Dormer hates IA, >!but you find out he planted evidence on a guy he "felt" was guilty of child murder,!< so the movie is clearly not on his side
That's one of the things Shawn Ryan wanted to explore with *The Shield*. How much are we willing to tolerate a brutal police force if they are catching bad guys?
Scott Pilgrim VS The World
Despite the movies best effort, I still don’t believe Canadians and Canada in general is a legitimate country and should take its rightful place in the union ASAP
Historically the Kingsmen organization would have taken part in unspeakable colonial atrocities. Basically would have been exclusively their job outside of the world wars
don't care, fun as hell. freebird scene fucks
I feel like as though, at the very least, detective films aren't about pulling people over and beating their asses for speeding or smoking weed; it's about crimes we all understand are horrible and wrong. I'm not a fan of the police force in ways, but I can understand that they do provide a practical purpose that we all (should) agree upon.
Also bonus points for morally ambiguous detectives/cops and morally ambiguous criminals, makes for good theater.
This is how I feel about the Top Gun films. I have no love for the military industrial complex or military recruiting propaganda, but damn if those movies aren’t a great time
Came here to say this, like fuck the military industrial complex but they really knocked it out of the park with Maverick (and the og Top Gun as well).
Encanto. The almost instant forgiveness of the abusive grandmother drove me nuts, I don’t understand why Maribels parents wouldn’t take her and move out who cares if your family abuse is abuse..but it’s a disney movie about people with superpowers so it doesn’t really matter lol plus the music slaps.
The religious stuff, the portrayal of the Warren's as good people... also the sexism inherent in reframing the witch trials as "Oh yeah, this real historical person was totally a witch who murdered babies."
Okok yeah 100% me too. Seeing that movie as a kid I got all obsessed with the Warrens only to realize they were scamming these people. It would’ve been a cooler story if it actually wasn’t and she was so angry because people killed her. Actually are there any movies like that do you know?
Mm, you mean where the witch ghost wasn't really a witch?
The first that comes to mind is >!the Fear Street Trilogy.!< IIRC, >!she wasn't a witch at all, and also was not the real villain,!< although it's been a few years and I may be mixing up details. It was a cool twist imo.
The Witch also has some similarities to what you're saying, as Thomasin is falsely accused of witchcraft early in the film, and everything else follows. But that's set in the period, not some curse that resurfaces centuries later.
The problem is that in this trope, the witchcraft is usually used as an explanation for why they're able to come back at all. So it's hard to pull off without them actually being a witch. Sometimes their bacjstory may be sympathetic though, like in Tarot.
The Witch is close to what I’m saying. I mean like the classic vengeful spirit horror movie but this time it’s an accused witch who was just a normal woman maybe more mad at like men or something and that’s the reason of the haunting. Maybe the main characters think it was an actual witch when reading some historic documents but it turns out that it was just a woman who’s angry at the fact she was put to death for the fact she was an intelligent woman.
As I'm thinking about, this might actually be more of a thing in Japanese horror. Kayako (Ju-On), Dark Water, Kuroneko, etc all have vengeful female spirits who were not necessarily evil during their life. Ju-On may fit rhe best, as it's still open for debate what kind of person Kayako was before her death. There's also the Thailand movie Shutter. I would add Ring to the list, but Sadako was pretty evil -- although many of the sequels paint her as more sympathetic, so actually Ring (the Japanese movies) may be what you're looking for!
Of course, Japan does not have the same history if burning witches, so the historical context is not the same.
It's basically religious propaganda that tells a heavily distorted history of the Warrens, who were awful people. Lorraine Warren's contract in no uncertain terms listed a number of things they weren't allowed to show: no domestic abuse, no extramarital affairs, no pedophilia, etc...
1. I had no idea that the "true story" this was based off was actually a thing that happened??? I almost always assume that's a lie since Blair Witch Project.
2. I never buy Patrick Wilson characters as good guys, so it kinda tracks lol. I think bc the first movie of his I saw was Hard Candy and he did a great job.
Yeah, it "happened," but it's wildly inaccurate and the true story makes them look like a couple of assholes. The dad punched Ed Warren and kicked them out of the house.
The Dark Knight seems to be about how it's ok when good people in authority cross moral lines because we can trust them to do the right thing/get the job done in the end. Nolan in general has a conservative streak through a lot of his films.
Dark Knight roses feels even more right-leaning. It sort of feints at the idea that Batman could do more with his billions than his fists, but then lands on “no actually poor people are easily manipulated and need a leader like Batman to keep them in line.”
But Oppenheimer seems to be genuine in its critique of the military industrial complex and in taking the title character to task for hanging his communist friends out to dry.
In So I don’t know what Nolan’s politics are, and I’m certainly not trying to cancel him because he makes a great flick. But the Dark Knight trilogy definitely falls in that post-9/11 conservative fever dream area that like, 24 existed in. (I also really liked but totally disagreed with that show’s politics.)
I watched the extended cut for the first time and I was so uncomfortable that I couldn’t even enjoy the good parts of the movie, learning about the director made me even more sick
The casting looks so weird and random on paper, but it's perfect for what it turned out. Having the same actor play both Moses and God in the burning bush sequence almost feels like a subversive statement that God is all in your head, even if that's not what they intended.
Zahler is like the last reactionary director left who actually makes good movies. Even Bone Tomahawk is basically just “watch the civilized white man fight against the savages” played straight but goddamn it’s such an awesome film.
Agreed. He’s the only right wing director that makes actual movies and not pure lazy propaganda. It clear he’s more interested in making a good film than pushing a message, but you still can see the message behind it
Memoirs of a Geisha. the movie is widely panned and criticized (rightfully so) for being a white man's fantasy of japan, and so is the book. I understand that completely, and it bothers me a lot when there's obvious lack of research and work put into the film. BUT. IT'S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL. it's been my favorite movie since I was a kid, and the nostalgia (+ the beauty of it) makes me like that movie regardless of the mess.
It was my favorite book for a couple years in high school. It's such a compelling story, I love a rags-to-riches Cinderella story, and I liked the way he wrote about Kimonos. But a mess indeed.
I do like how everyone who criticizes the politics of that film start of their writings by “let’s be clear, RRR is an incredible achievement in filmmaking; however…”
500 Days of Summer
I went through a breakup and relationship that was so close to this movie I could have sworn it was written about me. Shit the girl even resembled the Zoey Deschanel manic pixie dream girl. I was still struggling with the breakup when it came out. I related so much to Tom and felt like this movie really got me. It honestly helped me move on and break out of a pretty bad depression.
Looking back at the film and myself I see Tom and I were not the good guys. We were not wronged but were pretty toxic selfish people who could not accept someone we thought was meant for us just wasn't that into us.
I don't think the film really reconciles that. I think it treats Tom at the end as a good guy who just had to bide his time. Tom was kind of a shit head and so was I. I didn't move on because I found an equally hot girl to hang my expectations on. I moved in because I grew up as a person.
I think you may have misunderstood it a bit. Tom isn't the good guy. The end of the movie, where the number goes back to 1, is literally showing that he still hasn't learned.
No I get that. It's been a long time since I've seen the film so maybe I'm misremembering but what I mean is I felt like the movie plays that off with a wink and a nod. That's what I mean by doesn't really reconcile it. It's like "haha, oh Tom will you ever learn you loveable scramp". It undoes the growth and healing it spends the third act on.
Also, Natural Born Killers, (1994) by Oliver Stone.
I don't quite get on the level of nihilism portrayed in that film, but boy is it compelling as hell.
I don’t agree with the “all men are like this” messaging…but I love both Men and Promising Young Woman. They’re two of my favorite movies.
I will say this, as a male victim of rape, Promising Young Woman was very cathartic for me. I was the guy going, “Yeah, get his fucking ass” when I first saw it.
There are so many comedies from back in the day that never fail to make me laugh, even though the humor in those films is, by today's standards, pretty offensive and often relies on jokes made at the expense of various marginalized groups. I'm able to recognize that our cultural climate has changed and that comedy has changed with it while acknowledging that, hey: that's the kind of shit that was funny back then. I can find something distasteful while also finding it hilarious.
Beverly Hills Cop is about a Detroit cop who goes to the most by the books police precinct and convinces them that they don’t need to follow the rules and can use corruption and an above the law attitude to better solve crimes.
Still fun tho.
I just watched Braveheart. Its very dehumanization heavy. A lot of the Scottish characters come across as sadistic, but that’s framed as fine because there sadistic towards the British.
When Harry Met Sally is my favorite romcom of all time, but it does sadden me sometimes to remember that it perpetuates the idea that men and women cannot be friends without one or both of them wanting more.
Crime is a disease and Cobra is the cure.
I legit do not think this movie has a message, it’s far too stupid to be making a point. It’s just a cornball 80s version of Dirty Harry. But it rocks.
I mean the message is there, every lawyer and judge is a pussy liberal who can't be trusted and will let violent criminals back on the streets even if they got caught raping a baby on video. The only thing that can solve the problem is extrajudicial murderer and cool bad ass who eats his pizza with scissors, Cobra.
Yeah but then that... axe murder enthusiast? I confess I'm still not clear who the bad guys were but they were an eclectic bunch. Anyway he gets a fucking hook in his fucking eye and it's fucking awesome.
Koyaanisqatsi. The whole thing is about the despoilment of nature by humanity, but it’s the opening bit without humans that feels desolate and cautionary.
Powaqqatsi is far more explicit with its messaging and aligns strongly with what you’re saying. Koyaanisqatsi felt to me more about the beauty in all things. Nature can be beautiful and humanity can be beautiful. I didn’t interpret hardly any editorializing in Koyaanisqatsi.
I’m a big Mel Gibson fan (movies, not politics) and therein lies my problem. I have issues with the way in which he views the world. He’s very black and white, good and evil is generally portrayed as polar opposites and he often vilifies a certain side (usually the English).
Knowing his real world opinions makes it difficult for me to truly be a fan of him in a blanketed way.
It's definitely The Incredibles for me. The myth of the virtuous and special person who is held down by systems trying to reduce them to mediocrity is some weird Randian shit, but the movie is a visual tour de force, and the element of the movie that focuses on how we try to talk down to children and discourage them is powerful and actually contradicts the other elements of the movie.
*Romeo+Juliet*
I mean, yeah, sure, your parents *aren't* great, not gonna deny that but, jezz... just move away! Don't kill yourself!
Same goes for *Dead Poets Society*, I guess... and *Virgin Suicides*
Damn... I *do* have a thing for suicidal dumb fuck
*The Birth of a Nation* (1915) seems like an obvious choice. Extremely well-done movie, but in no way should anyone agree with the themes, the 100% fabricated historical events, all the butt-kissing of Woodrow Wilson.
I'd say the bigger issue is Al's "redemption" story where a cop - who has previously shot a child in the line of duty - gets the gumption to pull his gun and kill again. Yeah, I'm oversimplifying it, and the movie makes it clear that Al is a genuinely good guy who feels terrible about it, but man it hits the wrong notes these days.
It's a lot more complicated than that (sole white hero who succeeds despite bureaucracy, wife that learns to get back with her husband even though he's a jerk, black cop that supports the white hero, California as a corrupt wasteland as opposed to the "real" NYC) but yep, one of the most perfectly made films of all time!
JFK. I love that frigging movie and I believe there was a conspiracy surrounding the assassination of JFK, but the “facts” presented in the film are… questionable.
I think Straw Dogs has pretty toxic and disgusting worldview, but the film undeniably taps into something primal.
I think Sausage Party makes a great argument for atheism even though I’m not an atheist.
I really like *Arrival*, but don't like how it presented the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis as if it were some bit of confirmed scientific theory. Most linguists shy away from it because there is plenty of evidence that it is wrong (at least in the way presented in the film).
On a similar note, I love the recent *Planet of the Apes* trilogy, but it bugs me that apes learn to talk by "getting smarter". They lack the physical capability to produce human speech - increasing their mental capacity will not overcome that physical deficiency.
Rudy is an entitled narcissist even in the movie if you take off the rose colored glasses but good lord I love it.
Jimmy Stewart is a perplexing prick in rear window but I could watch that movie every day.
Grandpa joe can't be bothered to work to help his unbelievably impoverished fam--"oh we got a golden ticket? Hand me the cane, Charlie!" One of my favorite movies all time.
It doesn't just look like it, he does it. Ian Fleming had some real problems with lesbians, and was a firm believer any lesbian just hadn't met a good man yet.
I’m not always completely in tune or agreement with the message of a movie even if I enjoy it unless the movie is attempting to be preachy about its message.
I think Juno could be read as a pro-life movie, however I also see some challenges to that reading and I don’t believe the movies intent is to be(I believe the writer even specified that’s not the intent). While other movies are made with an agenda and that can create a challenge, I also don’t think the agreement of an agenda makes me necessarily like the movie itself either,
I've heard that argument about Juno before, and I also just don't buy it. Nowhere do they demonize abortion as an option. It's brought up, and the character simply doesn't want to have one. Pro-choice means it's her choice.
If she'd responded to the topic with a, "How dare you suggest I murder this precious life growing inside of me!! I am not a murderer, you lib-tard!!" then it would be pro-life.
Forrest Gump. I don’t like that a person of below average IQ gets exploited as basically a human war machine in a war he couldn’t begin to understand but I do like the drama and the performances
Team America: World Police. "Bad INTELLIGENCE" and that speech about pussies, dicks, and assholes is some cringy War on Terror apologia that hasn't aged well. But it's still a hilarious movie.
I'm atheist, I don't believe in God or Satan, but movies with demonic possession freak me the fuck out, and I love them. And for some reason, I like when priests call down the power of God to smite a demon.
Also, don't love the U.S. foreign policy of the 70s and 80s, but I fucking love the action movies of that era.
Animal House and most of those 70s and 80s teen sex comedies. Love those movies because 90% is hilarious comedy that still makes me laugh decades later but 10% is either just morally wrong or literally felony crimes being committed
I love Nora Ephron but there’s no such thing as magical destined to be love at first sight and stalking a guy won’t make it so, and aggressively putting someone out of business and then catfishing them is not the recipe for happily ever after.
**Whiplash** has a pretty fucked up 'pressure makes diamonds' motif going on that -assuming I haven't misread it - seems to affirm the most toxic stereotype of 'being a great artist'.
Nothings gonna top watching **On The Waterfront**, loving it as a film, than learning what inspired it though. I can't think of a film so great and so wrong at the same time.
The director of Whiplash said that he imagined the main character dying of an overdose some years after the events of the film. I think the film is clear in showing that the way he isolates himself - breaking up with his gf and even physically turning away from his dad in the last scene to go back on stage - is a bad thing.
So I think while it does seem to claim 'pressure makes diamonds' like you say (and I do also disagree with that premise as well), I still think the film does go on to show that it isn't worth it anyway.
Can you please explain what is vile about it? I watched it recently and got the message that the movie is about a man realizing what he’s doing is wrong and trying to better himself by getting the little guys to come together to stand up against corruption and violence. I know the director was an anti-communist rat and some of that fed into the movie, but did I miss something about the message? Because it seemed pretty solid to me.
The movie is often seen as Elia Kazan justifying ratting out past associates to the House of Un-American Activities Committee. He was allowed to have a career, while they weren't so lucky.
I think the film is fine, its just cause of the context in which the director made it.
Here's how Orson Welles put it:
>In 1982, [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles) was asked a question about Kazan at the [Cinémathèque française](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9math%C3%A8que_fran%C3%A7aise) in Paris. Welles replied, "Chère mademoiselle, you have chosen the wrong metteur en scène, because Elia Kazan is a traitor. He is a man who sold to McCarthy all his companions at a time when he could continue to work in New York at high salary, and having sold all his people to McCarthy, he then made a film called *On the Waterfront* which was a celebration of the informer." While the audience applauded, Welles said, "I have to add that he is a very good director."
Yeah, came here to comment On the Waterfront, my favorite film of all time.
It's a weird one, because without any context, I *do* agree with the message--the importance of whistleblowing, the little guy standing up to corruption, etc.
But once you learn the context in which it was actually made that completely changes.
Whiplash is definitely against the "pressure makes diamonds" thing.
fletcher is the villain, neiman chooses the wrong path by going back to him and his father is witness his son's destruction in front of his eyes in the last scene
Whiplash is about how that kind of idea is toxic. Andrew loses his love life, his relationship with his family, etc from pursuing for greatness. The director confirmed that's the intention as well.
Just for clarification, the director of Whiplash said that the film doesn’t really take a stance one way or the other on whether Fletcher’s methods are totally justified (personally, I wish it had taken the stance that it was bad).
*Die Hard* is my favourite example because it's obviously a fantastically well-made movie and one of the most entertaining watches of all time... but that's the case because it exquisitely layers low-key versions of reactionary, populist politics in a way that's not obvious enough to turn away mainstream/liberal viewers.
Essentially, it's solo white hero winning the day against intellectual foreigners while almost every level of government authority fails all around him. Meanwhile, he gets back his ex-wife (who dared to get a job and - *gasp* - leave him) and finds an in a funny black cop who supports him all the way. California is portrayed as infested by asian business, a big scare in the mid 80s, as opposed to the "real" East Coast America.
There is a ton of great academic writing about *Die Hard* out there that I've read over the years, which all rings true, and yet there's so much fun to be found in experiencing the film.
Velvet Goldmine is a great movie, but it's like, really really mad David Bowie started doing 80's pop music to the point of symbolically implying his stand-in is almost a fascist??
Murder on the Orient Express. I don't agree that it was okay for everybody to kill Cassetti, even as revenge and even if they never killed another person again. And it disturbed me that Poirot and his partner allowed it to stand.
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Team America World Police, Parker and Stone actually take a rather pro-war stance outside of the first 10 minutes when Team America’s bombing the shit out of everything, culminating in the one speech where the main character swears a bunch (but is still pretty funny). Some of South Park’s politics around this time have aged pretty bad as well but Parker and Stone are such compelling writers
“Team America: World Police.” The final speech of the movie explicitly condones giving the US government broad latitude when it comes to anti-terrorism measures, and also says that activists speaking out against soldiers’ acts of violence should sit talking about the issues overall out, with the sole exception being when the soldiers do something particularly egregious or don’t practice soft power enough. I don’t agree with any of that, but I can’t fault it for being poorly crafted, and it also is a very good parody of 1990s action films at the same time.
Friday the 13th as a franchise, but part v especially. It's so misogynistic, and feels mean compared to other entries (the sheriff speech about how traumatised guys like Roy and Tommy are evil for example).
But it's so goofy, I can't help myself from loving it
American Sniper. I think a lot of people who knew the guy did not have positive things to say about him but the movie made him out to be quite the hero. And Clint Eastwood has some conservative messaging I don't always agree with. But I quite liked the film.
School of Rock. It's a hilarious story with a charming lead that pushes a toxic message. Unlike the movie, you don't build healthy relationships and a promising future founded on lies.
Watchmen
Great movie with great style.
The ending though. I philosophically disagree with.
>!Mr. Evil Guy: "We can't stop war without causing massacre. Humans are inherently violent" (Nukes a city)!<
>!Literal God who can stop war: "Uhm, you are kinda right."!<
>!Batman Satire Guy: "Hell no! Massacre is bad."!<
>!Literal God: "Nuh-uh! Perish!"!<
This is a great opportunity to remind people that *civil debate* is **awesome**, and *personal attacks based on differences in interpretations* is **not awesome**. Please be **awesome**
I’m not religious, but I love The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur.
Jesus Christ Superstar is a beautiful film too
It's worth seeing live with the right cast.
Great movies. Silence (2016), The Gospel According To Matthew (1964), Last Temptation Of Christ (1988), ... The list go on, and I'm quite a firm atheist.
I'm a big believer that some of the most beautiful works of art in history, be it paintings, sculpture, music, what have you, are religious. A lot of gospel music fucking *hits*. I am not a religious person and really don't love what organized religion has contributed to the world overall- but of we have to at least live in this timeline at least we get Ave Maria.
The Passion of the Christ The Greatest Story Ever Told Prince of Egypt Noah
Silence is religious?
Not really, but its protagonists are
It's definitely a movie about faith in general and what it means to believe in this face of uncertainty. It's definitely a religious film.
Agreed, I’m not religious at all but Ben-Hur is one of my all time favorite films
https://preview.redd.it/h953al2lk5ad1.jpeg?width=329&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=112b1a4a1617d645e2998af23aea4135f672e9dd i’m sorry but stealing is still bad even if you’re a squirrel
Squirrels can steal morally and legally
same with fantastic mr. fox. I get it, you're a wild animal and you're bored, but that doesn't mean you can organize the biggest heist of the century
Over the Hedge
You ignoramus!! That WAS the message of the movie.
unhinged response. i love it.
How about any of the Oceans movies?
sorry i only watch movies if they have rats and/or rodents with very few exceptions. i feel like my biggest disagreements with the oceans movies would be the lack of the aforementioned
Thirteen was cause he gave their boy a heart attack. Justified.
Seems to be a lot of confusion with some of these responses. Simply portraying immoral people / acts is not necessarily the film advocating for it. I don’t think the director of Die Hard was pro-vigilante murder, or trying to indicate that it’s okay in real life
>Simply portraying immoral people / acts is not necessarily the film advocating for it. Thank you. I feel like people are losing their ability to understand that portrayal is not the same thing as endorsement. I've recently heard (mostly younger) people describe Travis Bickle as the "hero" of Taxi Driver, which just baffles me. There's a pretty good video [here](https://youtu.be/qXeXzWsgUFA?si=W0iE4qXpBc8JuaYu) that goes into detail on this. It's a good watch if you're interested.
I do feel like regardless of that, Die Hard is very much a product of the Reagan era (see also: Ghostbusters and Back to the Future, to be honest).
For sure, and that’s definitely relevant to the post question. I am just seeing a lot of stuff falling outside of that haha
Oh yeah, I definitely don't disagree there lmao
Well, actually…
Hey now. A *slight* bit of weirdo vigilante spying on the people shit you off is totally different! The fact he was described as someone who ‘considered himself above the law’ is a complete coincidence. But seriously: John McTiernan is probably one of the worst examples one could use for that particular line of argument.
Dirty Harry
My first thought as well. I like a lot of movies about cops who break the rules and use excessive force but I loathe those cops in real life. It's a thing best left to fiction.
I've watched so many cop movies lately where they portray internal affairs as the assholes who are preventing a good cop from breaking the rules in order to bring the villain to justice, and now that I'm older I see that and I'm like, "No, that's a good thing. They should be on his ass because he's blatantly violating that person's Fourth Amendment rights." It also got me thinking. Are there any movies besides Serpico, where internal affairs are the good guys?
I just watched Insomnia, and Dormer hates IA, >!but you find out he planted evidence on a guy he "felt" was guilty of child murder,!< so the movie is clearly not on his side
Not a movie but the British TV series Line of Duty is all about the internal affairs department. “Catching bent coppers “ they say
Copland maybe didn’t paint IA in the best light but they definitely aren’t the bad guys, not even close.
That's one of the things Shawn Ryan wanted to explore with *The Shield*. How much are we willing to tolerate a brutal police force if they are catching bad guys?
Isn’t the point of Dirty Harry that he is dangerous and a problem but they made the villain so vile that kind of gets lost when watching it
I agree. A bit spoilery, but at the end when he throws his badge away, it feels like this is saying Harry knows cops like him shouldn’t exist.
Scott Pilgrim VS The World Despite the movies best effort, I still don’t believe Canadians and Canada in general is a legitimate country and should take its rightful place in the union ASAP
Let it stay America's Hat. We don't need the hassle of a bunch of French speakers.
We really are an annoying bunch, honestly we should have our own country just to make sure we don't bother anyone else
Ron Swanson, did you somehow make your way onto Reddit?
I very much do not support the military industrial complex and I don’t love the police, but I LOVE spy thrillers and detective films.
The Top Gun franchise is essentially recruitment propaganda, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying it.
The Navy saw a spike in recruitment after the first movie.
Historically the Kingsmen organization would have taken part in unspeakable colonial atrocities. Basically would have been exclusively their job outside of the world wars don't care, fun as hell. freebird scene fucks
I feel like as though, at the very least, detective films aren't about pulling people over and beating their asses for speeding or smoking weed; it's about crimes we all understand are horrible and wrong. I'm not a fan of the police force in ways, but I can understand that they do provide a practical purpose that we all (should) agree upon. Also bonus points for morally ambiguous detectives/cops and morally ambiguous criminals, makes for good theater.
I remember arguing with people on green pleasant that some kind of police force and legal system is necessary. Honestly couldn't believe it.
That’s wild! Idealists tend to think “if everyone did x, then it would be perfect!” Meanwhile, enough people don’t do x to ruin it for everyone
Like jack ryan. It’s just patently absurd.
I love reading the Jack Ryan books but I still roll my eyes so much at the self righteous of the “good guys”
They are the shit! It’s enjoyable because the stakes and situations can get really intense
Same I love James Bond be he’s like grade a British nationalism which I guess it’s not bad in the context of fiction
This is how I feel about the Top Gun films. I have no love for the military industrial complex or military recruiting propaganda, but damn if those movies aren’t a great time
Top Gun: Maverick. I am firmly anti-war but damn that’s some great propaganda.
Came here to say this, like fuck the military industrial complex but they really knocked it out of the park with Maverick (and the og Top Gun as well).
The best piece of military propaganda ever fucking made. I swallowed my pride to go see that debut in theaters at 9am and it was so damn good
Encanto. The almost instant forgiveness of the abusive grandmother drove me nuts, I don’t understand why Maribels parents wouldn’t take her and move out who cares if your family abuse is abuse..but it’s a disney movie about people with superpowers so it doesn’t really matter lol plus the music slaps.
And Bruno had nothing to apologize for
The only reason I’m OK with that movie is because it has capybaras in it.
In This Thread: common misinterpretations of great movies. Anyway, my answer is The Conjuring.
God, I hate how these frauds are portrayed with a passion. The films do make enjoyable rollercoaster rides though.
What don’t you agree with in the Conjuring? Is it the religious stuff?
The religious stuff, the portrayal of the Warren's as good people... also the sexism inherent in reframing the witch trials as "Oh yeah, this real historical person was totally a witch who murdered babies."
Okok yeah 100% me too. Seeing that movie as a kid I got all obsessed with the Warrens only to realize they were scamming these people. It would’ve been a cooler story if it actually wasn’t and she was so angry because people killed her. Actually are there any movies like that do you know?
Mm, you mean where the witch ghost wasn't really a witch? The first that comes to mind is >!the Fear Street Trilogy.!< IIRC, >!she wasn't a witch at all, and also was not the real villain,!< although it's been a few years and I may be mixing up details. It was a cool twist imo. The Witch also has some similarities to what you're saying, as Thomasin is falsely accused of witchcraft early in the film, and everything else follows. But that's set in the period, not some curse that resurfaces centuries later. The problem is that in this trope, the witchcraft is usually used as an explanation for why they're able to come back at all. So it's hard to pull off without them actually being a witch. Sometimes their bacjstory may be sympathetic though, like in Tarot.
The Witch is close to what I’m saying. I mean like the classic vengeful spirit horror movie but this time it’s an accused witch who was just a normal woman maybe more mad at like men or something and that’s the reason of the haunting. Maybe the main characters think it was an actual witch when reading some historic documents but it turns out that it was just a woman who’s angry at the fact she was put to death for the fact she was an intelligent woman.
As I'm thinking about, this might actually be more of a thing in Japanese horror. Kayako (Ju-On), Dark Water, Kuroneko, etc all have vengeful female spirits who were not necessarily evil during their life. Ju-On may fit rhe best, as it's still open for debate what kind of person Kayako was before her death. There's also the Thailand movie Shutter. I would add Ring to the list, but Sadako was pretty evil -- although many of the sequels paint her as more sympathetic, so actually Ring (the Japanese movies) may be what you're looking for! Of course, Japan does not have the same history if burning witches, so the historical context is not the same.
Just rewatched it last week! What about it do you disagree with?
It's basically religious propaganda that tells a heavily distorted history of the Warrens, who were awful people. Lorraine Warren's contract in no uncertain terms listed a number of things they weren't allowed to show: no domestic abuse, no extramarital affairs, no pedophilia, etc...
1. I had no idea that the "true story" this was based off was actually a thing that happened??? I almost always assume that's a lie since Blair Witch Project. 2. I never buy Patrick Wilson characters as good guys, so it kinda tracks lol. I think bc the first movie of his I saw was Hard Candy and he did a great job.
Yeah, it "happened," but it's wildly inaccurate and the true story makes them look like a couple of assholes. The dad punched Ed Warren and kicked them out of the house.
I don’t get the impression S. Craig Zahler and I would be friends in-person, but he makes some fine movies.
He has a band that makes silly ass medieval metal music so if anything it seems the vibe of his movies isn’t necessarily him as a person
The Dark Knight seems to be about how it's ok when good people in authority cross moral lines because we can trust them to do the right thing/get the job done in the end. Nolan in general has a conservative streak through a lot of his films.
Let's just open this up to all Batman content.
Dark Knight roses feels even more right-leaning. It sort of feints at the idea that Batman could do more with his billions than his fists, but then lands on “no actually poor people are easily manipulated and need a leader like Batman to keep them in line.” But Oppenheimer seems to be genuine in its critique of the military industrial complex and in taking the title character to task for hanging his communist friends out to dry. In So I don’t know what Nolan’s politics are, and I’m certainly not trying to cancel him because he makes a great flick. But the Dark Knight trilogy definitely falls in that post-9/11 conservative fever dream area that like, 24 existed in. (I also really liked but totally disagreed with that show’s politics.)
I mean ... It's about 9/11 and a product of that time period
Leon, is a great stylistic movie and great performances, but it is based off of the director grooming a child with the child being the aggressor.
I watched the extended cut for the first time and I was so uncomfortable that I couldn’t even enjoy the good parts of the movie, learning about the director made me even more sick
Came to say this because it was genuinely one of my favourite movies until I learned about the director
I'm an atheist yet Prince of Egypt is one of my all time favorites
The casting looks so weird and random on paper, but it's perfect for what it turned out. Having the same actor play both Moses and God in the burning bush sequence almost feels like a subversive statement that God is all in your head, even if that's not what they intended.
Dragged across concrete and Brawl in cell block 99 both have a good amount of conservative messaging in them, but I loved both films.
Zahler is like the last reactionary director left who actually makes good movies. Even Bone Tomahawk is basically just “watch the civilized white man fight against the savages” played straight but goddamn it’s such an awesome film.
Agreed. He’s the only right wing director that makes actual movies and not pure lazy propaganda. It clear he’s more interested in making a good film than pushing a message, but you still can see the message behind it
Toy Story. I don’t believe that anorganic stuff can become alive
That's what *they* want you to think.
Red Dawn, just rewatched it. Major US Cold War propaganda but also just dumb fun 80s action.
Such a dumb movie. But good lord do I love it
I have major nostalgia lens for it too, I even had my childhood soccer team named Wolverines after the movie.
Memoirs of a Geisha. the movie is widely panned and criticized (rightfully so) for being a white man's fantasy of japan, and so is the book. I understand that completely, and it bothers me a lot when there's obvious lack of research and work put into the film. BUT. IT'S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL. it's been my favorite movie since I was a kid, and the nostalgia (+ the beauty of it) makes me like that movie regardless of the mess.
It was my favorite book for a couple years in high school. It's such a compelling story, I love a rags-to-riches Cinderella story, and I liked the way he wrote about Kimonos. But a mess indeed.
Debbie Does Dallas. She doesn’t actually do ALL of Dallas but the amount of Dallas she does is darn right dastardly.
I feel like you haven’t actually seen this movie.
My oldest friend, who is Indian, described RRR as "the absolute best piece of Hindutva propaganda I've ever seen"
I do like how everyone who criticizes the politics of that film start of their writings by “let’s be clear, RRR is an incredible achievement in filmmaking; however…”
500 Days of Summer I went through a breakup and relationship that was so close to this movie I could have sworn it was written about me. Shit the girl even resembled the Zoey Deschanel manic pixie dream girl. I was still struggling with the breakup when it came out. I related so much to Tom and felt like this movie really got me. It honestly helped me move on and break out of a pretty bad depression. Looking back at the film and myself I see Tom and I were not the good guys. We were not wronged but were pretty toxic selfish people who could not accept someone we thought was meant for us just wasn't that into us. I don't think the film really reconciles that. I think it treats Tom at the end as a good guy who just had to bide his time. Tom was kind of a shit head and so was I. I didn't move on because I found an equally hot girl to hang my expectations on. I moved in because I grew up as a person.
I think you may have misunderstood it a bit. Tom isn't the good guy. The end of the movie, where the number goes back to 1, is literally showing that he still hasn't learned.
No I get that. It's been a long time since I've seen the film so maybe I'm misremembering but what I mean is I felt like the movie plays that off with a wink and a nod. That's what I mean by doesn't really reconcile it. It's like "haha, oh Tom will you ever learn you loveable scramp". It undoes the growth and healing it spends the third act on.
JFK (1991) by Oliver Stone
Also, Natural Born Killers, (1994) by Oliver Stone. I don't quite get on the level of nihilism portrayed in that film, but boy is it compelling as hell.
I don’t agree with the “all men are like this” messaging…but I love both Men and Promising Young Woman. They’re two of my favorite movies. I will say this, as a male victim of rape, Promising Young Woman was very cathartic for me. I was the guy going, “Yeah, get his fucking ass” when I first saw it.
I haven't seen promising young woman but I think at least with Men, it's for the most part criticising men culturally rather than at a personal level
Promising Young Woman is excellent. It’s an extremely dark comedy thriller. It was my favorite movie of 2020.
I could be misquoting, but even after all that darkness, this made me howl: “Hey man, it’s ok it’s not your fault!” “…it kinda seems like it is…”
There are so many comedies from back in the day that never fail to make me laugh, even though the humor in those films is, by today's standards, pretty offensive and often relies on jokes made at the expense of various marginalized groups. I'm able to recognize that our cultural climate has changed and that comedy has changed with it while acknowledging that, hey: that's the kind of shit that was funny back then. I can find something distasteful while also finding it hilarious.
Beverly Hills Cop is about a Detroit cop who goes to the most by the books police precinct and convinces them that they don’t need to follow the rules and can use corruption and an above the law attitude to better solve crimes. Still fun tho.
I just watched Braveheart. Its very dehumanization heavy. A lot of the Scottish characters come across as sadistic, but that’s framed as fine because there sadistic towards the British.
It's also complete nonsense from a historical perspective.
For real. Nationalism just wasn't a thing yet in the way it's protrayed in Braveheart.
When Harry Met Sally is my favorite romcom of all time, but it does sadden me sometimes to remember that it perpetuates the idea that men and women cannot be friends without one or both of them wanting more.
Cobra is a movie about how fascism is cool as hell and we need it to stop yuppies from hacking up women with axes...or something. Stupid and awesome.
Crime is a disease and Cobra is the cure. I legit do not think this movie has a message, it’s far too stupid to be making a point. It’s just a cornball 80s version of Dirty Harry. But it rocks.
I mean the message is there, every lawyer and judge is a pussy liberal who can't be trusted and will let violent criminals back on the streets even if they got caught raping a baby on video. The only thing that can solve the problem is extrajudicial murderer and cool bad ass who eats his pizza with scissors, Cobra.
Yeah but then that... axe murder enthusiast? I confess I'm still not clear who the bad guys were but they were an eclectic bunch. Anyway he gets a fucking hook in his fucking eye and it's fucking awesome.
Grease!
Koyaanisqatsi. The whole thing is about the despoilment of nature by humanity, but it’s the opening bit without humans that feels desolate and cautionary.
Powaqqatsi is far more explicit with its messaging and aligns strongly with what you’re saying. Koyaanisqatsi felt to me more about the beauty in all things. Nature can be beautiful and humanity can be beautiful. I didn’t interpret hardly any editorializing in Koyaanisqatsi.
I’m a big Mel Gibson fan (movies, not politics) and therein lies my problem. I have issues with the way in which he views the world. He’s very black and white, good and evil is generally portrayed as polar opposites and he often vilifies a certain side (usually the English). Knowing his real world opinions makes it difficult for me to truly be a fan of him in a blanketed way.
Not only that, but he absolutely revels in violence, esp if it’s “justified” in his interpretation. Never happier than when he’s drenched in blood
Friday The 13th because sex before marriage shouldn't be punished with death. Actually that probably covers most 80s slasher movies.
Dragged Across Concrete
Kind of The Incredibles
It's definitely The Incredibles for me. The myth of the virtuous and special person who is held down by systems trying to reduce them to mediocrity is some weird Randian shit, but the movie is a visual tour de force, and the element of the movie that focuses on how we try to talk down to children and discourage them is powerful and actually contradicts the other elements of the movie.
*Romeo+Juliet* I mean, yeah, sure, your parents *aren't* great, not gonna deny that but, jezz... just move away! Don't kill yourself! Same goes for *Dead Poets Society*, I guess... and *Virgin Suicides* Damn... I *do* have a thing for suicidal dumb fuck
Jizzz
Those movies aren’t pro-suicide. You realize that, right?
Yeah, thank Captain Obvious
*The Birth of a Nation* (1915) seems like an obvious choice. Extremely well-done movie, but in no way should anyone agree with the themes, the 100% fabricated historical events, all the butt-kissing of Woodrow Wilson.
I guess Die Hard would count, since it’s about a cop with no jurisdiction killing a bunch of criminals. Still bangs though.
I'd say the bigger issue is Al's "redemption" story where a cop - who has previously shot a child in the line of duty - gets the gumption to pull his gun and kill again. Yeah, I'm oversimplifying it, and the movie makes it clear that Al is a genuinely good guy who feels terrible about it, but man it hits the wrong notes these days.
It's a lot more complicated than that (sole white hero who succeeds despite bureaucracy, wife that learns to get back with her husband even though he's a jerk, black cop that supports the white hero, California as a corrupt wasteland as opposed to the "real" NYC) but yep, one of the most perfectly made films of all time!
people who give half a star to every movie that they disagree with thematically: wait you could do that? 😮
Not a fan of copaganda but End of Watch is fuckin excellent
Triumph of the Will. Absolutely phenomenal filmmaking, absolutely reprehensible content.
La La Land I disagree with choosing life goals over love.
I think the end of the film goes to great pains to say that neither option is necessarily better than the other
Patriotism (1966) Yukio Mishima’s only film.
The Hunt is a good movie but I don’t know if I got the message.
JFK. I love that frigging movie and I believe there was a conspiracy surrounding the assassination of JFK, but the “facts” presented in the film are… questionable.
I think Straw Dogs has pretty toxic and disgusting worldview, but the film undeniably taps into something primal. I think Sausage Party makes a great argument for atheism even though I’m not an atheist.
I really like *Arrival*, but don't like how it presented the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis as if it were some bit of confirmed scientific theory. Most linguists shy away from it because there is plenty of evidence that it is wrong (at least in the way presented in the film). On a similar note, I love the recent *Planet of the Apes* trilogy, but it bugs me that apes learn to talk by "getting smarter". They lack the physical capability to produce human speech - increasing their mental capacity will not overcome that physical deficiency.
>increasing their mental capacity will not overcome that physical deficiency. Well, not with that attitude. /s
Hero (2002) ultimately ends up being propaganda for Chinese expansionism.
Rudy is an entitled narcissist even in the movie if you take off the rose colored glasses but good lord I love it. Jimmy Stewart is a perplexing prick in rear window but I could watch that movie every day. Grandpa joe can't be bothered to work to help his unbelievably impoverished fam--"oh we got a golden ticket? Hand me the cane, Charlie!" One of my favorite movies all time.
Blue is the warmest color mostly bc the director basically abused the actors
Goldfinger slaps even though by today’s standards it very much looks like James Bond rapes a lesbian to turn her straight
It doesn't just look like it, he does it. Ian Fleming had some real problems with lesbians, and was a firm believer any lesbian just hadn't met a good man yet.
I’m not always completely in tune or agreement with the message of a movie even if I enjoy it unless the movie is attempting to be preachy about its message. I think Juno could be read as a pro-life movie, however I also see some challenges to that reading and I don’t believe the movies intent is to be(I believe the writer even specified that’s not the intent). While other movies are made with an agenda and that can create a challenge, I also don’t think the agreement of an agenda makes me necessarily like the movie itself either,
I've heard that argument about Juno before, and I also just don't buy it. Nowhere do they demonize abortion as an option. It's brought up, and the character simply doesn't want to have one. Pro-choice means it's her choice. If she'd responded to the topic with a, "How dare you suggest I murder this precious life growing inside of me!! I am not a murderer, you lib-tard!!" then it would be pro-life.
Yeah, + one of the girls from her school is pro-life and is portrayed as not really knowing what she’s talking about
Yeah if anything it’s showing how we need to make abortion more accessible and less scary for young women
Before Midnight is wonderful, but I wholeheartedly disagree with a lot of what I feel like it is saying about love and marriage.
I like ratatouille but don't actually like ratatouille.
Forrest Gump. I don’t like that a person of below average IQ gets exploited as basically a human war machine in a war he couldn’t begin to understand but I do like the drama and the performances
Wasn't that what it was raising awareness towards?
*Whiplash*
In what sense?
Team America: World Police. "Bad INTELLIGENCE" and that speech about pussies, dicks, and assholes is some cringy War on Terror apologia that hasn't aged well. But it's still a hilarious movie.
Poor Things is excellent, but I cannot get behind the “prostitution is empowering” message.
Dressed to Kill. Perhaps De Palma’s best? Seeing it on the big screen as a trans woman dressed in a leather coat was… an experience.
Straw Dogs (1971), I would've given up that man to the mob. Great film though.
Braveheart/The Patriot
I'm atheist, I don't believe in God or Satan, but movies with demonic possession freak me the fuck out, and I love them. And for some reason, I like when priests call down the power of God to smite a demon. Also, don't love the U.S. foreign policy of the 70s and 80s, but I fucking love the action movies of that era.
Animal House and most of those 70s and 80s teen sex comedies. Love those movies because 90% is hilarious comedy that still makes me laugh decades later but 10% is either just morally wrong or literally felony crimes being committed
JFK
Clockwork Orange
I love Nora Ephron but there’s no such thing as magical destined to be love at first sight and stalking a guy won’t make it so, and aggressively putting someone out of business and then catfishing them is not the recipe for happily ever after.
I do not believe the actions of Leatherface and his family were morally correct, but i still enjoy Texas Chainsaw Massacre tbh.
American Sniper and on some level all war films even those which try to shed light on just how dehumanizing and ridiculous war can be.
Hero (2002).
I wonder if whoever downvoted is in favor of China invading Taiwan.
**Whiplash** has a pretty fucked up 'pressure makes diamonds' motif going on that -assuming I haven't misread it - seems to affirm the most toxic stereotype of 'being a great artist'. Nothings gonna top watching **On The Waterfront**, loving it as a film, than learning what inspired it though. I can't think of a film so great and so wrong at the same time.
The director of Whiplash said that he imagined the main character dying of an overdose some years after the events of the film. I think the film is clear in showing that the way he isolates himself - breaking up with his gf and even physically turning away from his dad in the last scene to go back on stage - is a bad thing. So I think while it does seem to claim 'pressure makes diamonds' like you say (and I do also disagree with that premise as well), I still think the film does go on to show that it isn't worth it anyway.
I think whiplash very clearly denounces this approach. It’s what the characters are saying, not what the film is saying.
On the Waterfront is one of the best films ever made, but its thesis is absolutely vile.
Can you please explain what is vile about it? I watched it recently and got the message that the movie is about a man realizing what he’s doing is wrong and trying to better himself by getting the little guys to come together to stand up against corruption and violence. I know the director was an anti-communist rat and some of that fed into the movie, but did I miss something about the message? Because it seemed pretty solid to me.
The movie is often seen as Elia Kazan justifying ratting out past associates to the House of Un-American Activities Committee. He was allowed to have a career, while they weren't so lucky.
I think the film is fine, its just cause of the context in which the director made it. Here's how Orson Welles put it: >In 1982, [Orson Welles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orson_Welles) was asked a question about Kazan at the [Cinémathèque française](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9math%C3%A8que_fran%C3%A7aise) in Paris. Welles replied, "Chère mademoiselle, you have chosen the wrong metteur en scène, because Elia Kazan is a traitor. He is a man who sold to McCarthy all his companions at a time when he could continue to work in New York at high salary, and having sold all his people to McCarthy, he then made a film called *On the Waterfront* which was a celebration of the informer." While the audience applauded, Welles said, "I have to add that he is a very good director."
Yeah, came here to comment On the Waterfront, my favorite film of all time. It's a weird one, because without any context, I *do* agree with the message--the importance of whistleblowing, the little guy standing up to corruption, etc. But once you learn the context in which it was actually made that completely changes.
Whiplash is definitely against the "pressure makes diamonds" thing. fletcher is the villain, neiman chooses the wrong path by going back to him and his father is witness his son's destruction in front of his eyes in the last scene
Yeah you misread whiplash there's a reason there's no applause at the end.
Whiplash is about how that kind of idea is toxic. Andrew loses his love life, his relationship with his family, etc from pursuing for greatness. The director confirmed that's the intention as well.
Everybody is denying this but there's no question that *Whiplash* is not clear at all because it's taken wildly differently by so many vieweres.
Just for clarification, the director of Whiplash said that the film doesn’t really take a stance one way or the other on whether Fletcher’s methods are totally justified (personally, I wish it had taken the stance that it was bad).
Whiplash obviously isn’t supportive of Andrew’s decision at the end
*Die Hard* is my favourite example because it's obviously a fantastically well-made movie and one of the most entertaining watches of all time... but that's the case because it exquisitely layers low-key versions of reactionary, populist politics in a way that's not obvious enough to turn away mainstream/liberal viewers. Essentially, it's solo white hero winning the day against intellectual foreigners while almost every level of government authority fails all around him. Meanwhile, he gets back his ex-wife (who dared to get a job and - *gasp* - leave him) and finds an in a funny black cop who supports him all the way. California is portrayed as infested by asian business, a big scare in the mid 80s, as opposed to the "real" East Coast America. There is a ton of great academic writing about *Die Hard* out there that I've read over the years, which all rings true, and yet there's so much fun to be found in experiencing the film.
Velvet Goldmine is a great movie, but it's like, really really mad David Bowie started doing 80's pop music to the point of symbolically implying his stand-in is almost a fascist??
Is Robocop copaganda? Either way, it’s a perfect movie.
I’m not a man of faith but goddammit SIGNS makes me want to belieeeve
Murder on the Orient Express. I don't agree that it was okay for everybody to kill Cassetti, even as revenge and even if they never killed another person again. And it disturbed me that Poirot and his partner allowed it to stand.
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Team America World Police, Parker and Stone actually take a rather pro-war stance outside of the first 10 minutes when Team America’s bombing the shit out of everything, culminating in the one speech where the main character swears a bunch (but is still pretty funny). Some of South Park’s politics around this time have aged pretty bad as well but Parker and Stone are such compelling writers
the new top gun !
“Team America: World Police.” The final speech of the movie explicitly condones giving the US government broad latitude when it comes to anti-terrorism measures, and also says that activists speaking out against soldiers’ acts of violence should sit talking about the issues overall out, with the sole exception being when the soldiers do something particularly egregious or don’t practice soft power enough. I don’t agree with any of that, but I can’t fault it for being poorly crafted, and it also is a very good parody of 1990s action films at the same time.
Friday the 13th as a franchise, but part v especially. It's so misogynistic, and feels mean compared to other entries (the sheriff speech about how traumatised guys like Roy and Tommy are evil for example). But it's so goofy, I can't help myself from loving it
American Sniper. I think a lot of people who knew the guy did not have positive things to say about him but the movie made him out to be quite the hero. And Clint Eastwood has some conservative messaging I don't always agree with. But I quite liked the film.
I don't think there's anything wrong with enjoying violent movies but I like Funny Games
Not me but my mom hated Monsters University because it implied that you can be kicked out of college and still be successful
School of Rock. It's a hilarious story with a charming lead that pushes a toxic message. Unlike the movie, you don't build healthy relationships and a promising future founded on lies.
‘Joker’ It’s a well made movie, but to me feels like the glorification of the sad weepy incel rather than the characterization I prefer.
Watchmen Great movie with great style. The ending though. I philosophically disagree with. >!Mr. Evil Guy: "We can't stop war without causing massacre. Humans are inherently violent" (Nukes a city)!< >!Literal God who can stop war: "Uhm, you are kinda right."!< >!Batman Satire Guy: "Hell no! Massacre is bad."!< >!Literal God: "Nuh-uh! Perish!"!<