My rant against Monster and movies like it
#26
DVD Talk Legend
A few edits.
Originally posted by Hiro11
There are lots of these annoying rules in movies. Yes, there are exceptions, but mostly:
1. All people in jail don't really deserve to be there. They are hard working, blue-collar guys ruthlessly persecuted by the man. See: Shawshank Redemption, Escape from Alcatraz, Birdman of Alcatraz etc. If they DO deserve to be in jail, they will likely be released early even though they are obviously not fully rehabilitated, only to commit fruther crimes.
2. All black characters are soulful and less materialistic than white characters. Unless they are gangsters, in which case they must dominate and humiliate a white male character.
3. Asian males are barely allowed on movie sets and when they are, not allowed to be sexy (Chow Yun Fat excepted) and mostly there to do martial arts or to draws laughs with their funny accents. Asian women who are not Lucy Lui aren't allowed within 50 miles of Hollywood unless the movie is about Vietnam. If it is an urban film, all Asians run grocery stores.
4. No Hindi or Middle Eastern people allowed on set unless they are depicted as terrorists, religious nuts or convenience store workers. An exception is when a funny accent is needed and an Asian actor is not available.
5. All rich people are bad, all attained wealth through inheritance (in which case they didn't deserve it ) or crime.
6. Psychological counseling is invariably a process where the subject resists, resists and resists only to reach a "moment of clarity" breaking point and tearfully heal themselves instantly. See: Good Will Hunting etc.
There are lots of these annoying rules in movies. Yes, there are exceptions, but mostly:
1. All people in jail don't really deserve to be there. They are hard working, blue-collar guys ruthlessly persecuted by the man. See: Shawshank Redemption, Escape from Alcatraz, Birdman of Alcatraz etc. If they DO deserve to be in jail, they will likely be released early even though they are obviously not fully rehabilitated, only to commit fruther crimes.
2. All black characters are soulful and less materialistic than white characters. Unless they are gangsters, in which case they must dominate and humiliate a white male character.
3. Asian males are barely allowed on movie sets and when they are, not allowed to be sexy (Chow Yun Fat excepted) and mostly there to do martial arts or to draws laughs with their funny accents. Asian women who are not Lucy Lui aren't allowed within 50 miles of Hollywood unless the movie is about Vietnam. If it is an urban film, all Asians run grocery stores.
4. No Hindi or Middle Eastern people allowed on set unless they are depicted as terrorists, religious nuts or convenience store workers. An exception is when a funny accent is needed and an Asian actor is not available.
5. All rich people are bad, all attained wealth through inheritance (in which case they didn't deserve it ) or crime.
6. Psychological counseling is invariably a process where the subject resists, resists and resists only to reach a "moment of clarity" breaking point and tearfully heal themselves instantly. See: Good Will Hunting etc.
#27
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Originally posted by Neeb
And that "justification" for the murders is why I can't support 'Monster.' The movie sets up most of the killings as those done out of necessity rather than the internal evil that serial killers possess. By making them crimes of self-defense or need- the film excuses the killing. And is utter horseshit.
And that "justification" for the murders is why I can't support 'Monster.' The movie sets up most of the killings as those done out of necessity rather than the internal evil that serial killers possess. By making them crimes of self-defense or need- the film excuses the killing. And is utter horseshit.
The rest of the murders were first degree.
Theron was on 'Sunday Morning Shoot-Out' this week and pretty much said that her character was not a 'victim' - lots of people experience these kinds of things but don't become serial killers.
#28
DVD Talk Legend
Originally posted by Neeb
And that "justification" for the murders is why I can't support 'Monster.' The movie sets up most of the killings as those done out of necessity rather than the internal evil that serial killers possess. By making them crimes of self-defense or need- the film excuses the killing. And is utter horseshit.
And that "justification" for the murders is why I can't support 'Monster.' The movie sets up most of the killings as those done out of necessity rather than the internal evil that serial killers possess. By making them crimes of self-defense or need- the film excuses the killing. And is utter horseshit.
Ok, there are lots of head scratching comments in here - unsurprisingly mostly coming from our far more, for lack of a better word, conservative members. But this one pretty much sums it up for me. I'm not sure if I watched the same movie, but I didn't see one single second of anything that could be interpreted as "excusing" the killings. Perhaps the first one was in self-defense - but there were a bunch afterwords that were patently cold-blooded. The final one was very difficult to watch.
I think, as someone else has mentioned, many of you have a problem with admitting that people like this are in fact just that: people. Yes she was raped as a kid, yes she had an awful life...does that excuse her actions? absolutely not...does it help to explain them? Most assuredly yes. Those are two very different things. Nothing about her is celebrated, she is no martyr...she was just a sad individual who snapped, and watching that unfold was mesmerizing - mostly thanks to Theron's incredible transformation. None of which celebrates her life - but why is it so awful to look inside someone like this in hopes of trying to understand how people in our society get driven to such extremes - you know, in an attempt to prevent it from happening more?
the critics here seem to be letting their socio-political worldviews color what is at its core a very unflattering portrayal of a woman gone bad. I'm not sure what other films the OP is referencing when he declares that he's "sick of ALL these movies" - this is the only female serial killing prostitute I recall in recent years being the subject of a film.
And Pants, this isn't exactly Radio - and your admission further reveals why it's impossible to take anything you say seriously.....