Drama
25th Hour (2002)
Great acting in this contemporary drama of an ex-drug dealer who finally is dealing with some real issues in his life in the final 24 hours before beginning a 7-year prison term;
Edward Norton, Director Spike Lee. See Favorite Scenes, page xiii.
R

28 Days (2000)
An alcoholic is challenged to accept her problem when she's sent to a rehab center for twenty-eight days; Sandra Bullock.
PG-13

A Man of Passion (1989)
An older eccentric Spanish artist teaches his grandson about art, life, and sex. He makes love to all his young models, who just adore him for his lust for life. Anthony Quinn basically plays himself. The title fits Anthony Quinn all the way! Maud Adams, Elizabeth Ashley.
R

A Time to Kill (1996)
A theme of justice versus no justice when trial lawyers oppose each other in the case of a father on trial for murder. Definitely holds your interest; Sandra Bullock, Matthew McConaughey, Samuel L. Jackson. See Favorite Scenes, page x.
R

A Walk in the Clouds (1995)
A patriarch of a Mexican family befriends a young American in love with his granddaughter. Very well-done ethnic film; Anthony Quinn, Keanu Reeves.PG-13

About Schmidt (2002)
A recently retired and widowed insurance man begins to learn about life; Jack Nicholson. R

Adaptation (2002)
One of Nicolas Cage’s better films about a lonely screenwriter and his more talented brother who helps him try to find some success. R
African Queen, The (1951)
A riverboat captain and a stiff missionary are thrown together in a dangerous river trip in Africa during World War I; Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn. NR

After the Rain (1999)
Takes place in South Africa during apartheid. A white woman befriends a black man and makes a terrible mistake by going too far in her friendship, putting both their lives in danger when her husband comes home from war and finds them together. Misplaced compassion very often leads to disaster; Paul Bettany, Louise Lombard, Aryon Bakare.
R

Agatha (1979)
A U.S. reporter joins the search for writer Agatha Christie who was lost for eleven days in 1926; Dustin Hoffman, Vanessa Redgrave, Director Michael Apted.PG

Age of Innocence (1993)
An engaged lawyer falls for his free-thinking cousin in 1870 New York; Daniel Day Lewis, Director Martin Scorsese. PG

Akeelah and the Bee (2006)
With the help of a caring but strict mentor, an inner-city girl tries to make her way to the National Spelling Bee championship; Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Keke Palmer. PG

Ali (2001)
More than a biography on the heavyweight boxing champion, Muhammad Ali, a look also into the man who fought for the rights of blacks around the world; Will Smith. R
All The Pretty Horses (2000)

Western story of two 1940s cowboys headed to Mexico hoping to live the ranching life they love; Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, Penélope Cruz.
PG-13

Always Outnumbered (1998)
About inner-city life; Laurence Fishburne, Cicely Tyson. R  TVM

Amadeus (1984)
An exaggerated view of Mozart; Tom Hulce, F. Murray Abraham. PG

Amistad (1997)
Story of the Spanish slave ship La Amistad, whose “cargo” broke their chains in 1839 and wound up in a U.S. courtroom.
R 


On the State of the Film Industry
and Violence in Our Schools

I previously wrote an article—titled “Why the Violence in America Among Our Youth, Teenagers, and Young Adults? The Answer Should Be Obvious”—on this subject when the thirteen killings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado occurred. Since that time there have been at least a half dozen more shootings in other schools around the country, more deaths of innocent victims.

First, I would like to say that the American public and most of Western civilization are diseased. Watching violence at all levels on television and in movies since childhood encourages animalistic tendencies for war, fighting, and teenage violence. Most adults balance out in their college and adult years, but some do not.

The possibility for violence is especially high with teenagers who are in their turmoil years of trying to figure out life, who they are, and their relationships with peers, in a culture where members of the society pay to see violence on the screen and in print (books, magazines, and so on).

A generation ago, John Wayne was a national hero. And while he was killing the bad guy in the movies, you didn’t see the blood and guts. Spartacus was a spectacular film that had violence, but again, the gory details were left out. The film Lawrence of Arabia, although it too had violence, will forever be a classic as a period-piece of history that brings out the message of valor and courage.

In the recent Academy-Award-winner Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon there was also violence, but the gory details were left out, and it was done in an almost mystical, magical, choreographic way. The sword became more of an instrument of dance for the sword holder. Braveheart was a period-piece, a history that happened centuries ago, and there were scenes of sensitivity with family, as there were in The Patriot.

Today, in most films, what we see is the man with the gun. I suggest that people see the foreign film Men With Guns, about the assault on indigenous peoples by governments, as well as corporations, who want the natural resources on their land. It doesn’t matter who has the guns—guns kill and are used to take away homes and lands. This is the message we get in the movies and on television: whoever has the biggest gun wins the day. No wonder our children grow up quite confused and violent.

It is difficult now, for an American culture that has grown up with the animal-brain nature (not only in violence but also sex), to simply go and turn off the TV, not buy the video/DVD, and not go to the film, but that is exactly what America needs to do. . . .