Change Your Image
ronryanlaw-1
Reviews
J. Edgar (2011)
Irony
A disgusting person. The great irony is that the person that invented the concept of public enemy number one turned out to actually be public enemy number one. This is because he was an enemy to the fundamental principles of the Constitution. He regularly violated multiple aspects of the Bill of Rights. His only interest was to retain himself in power. And all his good intentions were based on bent and twisted personality distortions, mirrored back to the world and communicated in rhetoric that sounded sane and truly intentioned. It is not that he didn't accomplish some good. He was instrumental in bringing science to criminal forensics. Although the movie hit the major themes, it took it too easy on J. Edgar. Also, the movie was boring because it focused the attention of the entire movie on him and he was extremely boring. Clint Eastwood is one of the most brilliant film makers today. His movies are thoughtful, compassionate and tender. But it is clear that there are some flaws with his state of consciousness (in my opinion). Although he is a Republican, I had thought he was one of those old fashioned rational and practical types, with a true intention of public service. But I heard recently that he was supporting Herman Cain for President. But I guess that this can't be held against him too much. Although Cain is crazy, there isn't a single Republican candidate whose mental state is reality based.
X: The Unheard Music (1986)
Documentary with lots of music of L.A. punk rock band "X"
It has been said that X was to Los Angeles what the Ramones were to New York. But X was far more brilliant. Their musicianship was superior and their songs were clever and intelligent in a fun way. When you mix super-coolness with excellence you really have something special. Otherwise stated, what happens when you mix punk rock with true musical and artistic genius? One of the biggest travesties of fate in music, was the fact that they did not become commonly known nationwide and did not have the opportunity to sell out the larger arenas. There is still time for many more to be introduced to them by obtaining their albums and having the opportunity to see them perform live. Their first two studio albums, Los Angeles and Wild Gift, were ranked by Rolling Stone magazine as being among the 500 greatest albums of all time, and 1981's Wild Gift was named "Record of the Year" by Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Village Voice.
Southland Tales (2006)
Southland Tales Instant Cult Classic
Don't let this one get by without considering it as an instant cult classic. Sarah Michelle Gellar is at her best when doing intelligent comedy. The movie satirizes the way aspects of society are just nuts, but people keep acting like everything is serious. If that capacity of we as a whole blows up in a perfect storm of lunacy, who knows how wacky things could get. Some aspects of this touched upon is the paranoid hysteria that we have been through with regard to communism, crime and terrorism. Another is the hyper-manic obsession with celebrity and glamor in pop culture. For me, the funniest and scariest overeactions happen in those on the right, so much so that what starts out as an attempt to maintain sobriety, common sense and rationality, ends up at such a place that real people, institutions and processes turn into the opposite of each of these and they don't seem to even know it. There are many great people in the film all of whom get the joke. Truth really is stranger than fiction. It is hard to analyze and put into words the sense of humor and delivery carried throughout the film, but who wants to settle for anything less?