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Joe-560
Reviews
Max (2002)
Interesting
Already people are criticizing this movie because of the suggestion that if Hitler had become an artist, we might have prevented the Holocaust. I would have to disagree with them, in that this is not what the film was trying to convey. What this movie was about was Hitler's odd relationship with a Jewish art dealer named Max Hoffman. This takes place when Hitler was aged 30 years old (post WWI, pre WWII). Hitler is trying to be an artists, but refuses to listen to advice and seems to find the slight in every comment about him or what he stands for. He claims NOT to be an Anti-Semite, but what I got from the film was he was sort-of peer pressured into the propaganda.
By then end of the movie, Hitler has failed as an artist, as he did in real life. He claims to have disovered a new art in politics, and pursues a career in the Socialist Party rather than becoming an artist. Does this sound familiar?
While this movie may not be a true account of what actually happened, it did portray Hitler's falling out of his pursuit towards being an artist, boasting the message: some people can't be changed. Cusack's character, Max, constantly tries to become Hitler's friend throughout the movie, but this is difficult because hitler is anti-social, rude, closed-minded (obviously), basically just a hard person to like. The film's message is not to show what could have been, but what never, ever had a chance of happening. Even if Hitler had succeeded as an artist, nothing would have changed.
The movie succeeded in what it was trying to do, which I think was show how Hitler had every opportunity to choose a different path, but he didn't. He had a Jewish friend that never did him wrong, yet he failed to see the goodness and humanity, the common link that binds us all. Perhaps the movie's message was, some people can't be helped, no matter how hard you try.
I'm sure the idea when it was being written was, what if Hitler had a Jewish friend that could have made a differnce? There you have it. None at all. The rest, as they say, is history.
I thought this was a brilliant film. The acting was terriffic, the directing good, and the pacing was not slow at all, it's just the audience that's impatient. Bonus: the camera-pull back in the end to show the architecture of the squares forming a swatstika, ingenius.
American History X (1998)
one of the best movies ever made
American History X is a powerful, emotionally devastating opus of beauty that should be viewed and experienced by all. Tony Kaye and David McKenna have done something extroardinary in seeing hate and racism from the POV of the American neo-Nazi, and helped us see more than we could have hoped for. The film's underlying theme was simple: life is too short to be p****d off all the time. Edward Norton's dynamic performance was his best to date, showing a grand transformation of the intelligent yet simple-minded young man who, while in an emotionally hateful and racist frame of mind, speaks certain truths that most of us wish were not the facts. However, it is only after befriending a black inmate in prison that he learns see things from a wider perspective, through all the b******t and propaganda that he has learned and taught others. He realizes that yes, maybe it is true that one in every three black males is in some form of a correctional facility. Maybe most black Americans have been using their past history of slavery to promote white guilt and frighten white Americans into recession. But the even harder truth to face is that Norton's hate had so consumed him that he failed to see any options other than blaming blacks and minorities for all of the country's problems. Hate consumed his mind and disabled it. This is one of the best movies ever made and one of my favorites. I have been watching Norton since Primal Fear and I know that he will go far as an actor. It was a pity he did not win the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Fight Club (1999)
This is where the term 'great film-making' comes from
Fight Club was, to say the least, one of the best films I've ever seen. I have and will continue to recommend this movie to anyone, despite the fact that the average viewer would prefer a mindless, boring, run-of-the-mill big action shoot-em-up flick over a provacative, brilliantly scripted and remarkably choreographed film with deep philosophical origins that actually requires use of the brain to comprehend. Critics such as Roger Ebert have declared this film "pro-fascist", and I still marvel at such ridiculous remarks. There are so many brilliant ways to interpret the meanings and ideals listed in said film and many combinations of viewpoints with which to perceive both emotionally and psychologically, as well as physically, that viewers with shallow-minded ignorance could not even begin to fathom the awe-inspiring delight and enlightenment that occurs as a result of viewing it. Most people will be offended for the film's strong celebrations of violence, but if they don't understand with what purposes the violence has and what motivations are clearly presented, as well as the overall effect of the anti-social behavior that the characters use with which to compromise their goals, then this film will probably be a waste of time for them. Others will be put off by the film's attack on modern society and the basic foundations of civilization because they listen but do not hear, and it is ignorance that is a dangerous root in our species. View with an open mind, a strong stomach, and most of all pay attention because if you're confused because you missed something or even worse misunderstood what is being said, then you will most likely say you didn't like the film because your apprehensive skills need work. Brilliant acting, taut script and wonderful direction, this film is definately a classic cinematic masterpiece that like other controversial films will be recognized for what it is as time progresses.