annienomad

Once again John Sayles reveals that people and the land are one. That issues that face a region are inseparable from their culture. Or in this case, a clash of cultures. Sayles weaves a tale of co-dependence between rich and poor, love and need, power and abuse. He lets you feel and think but reminds you that life isn't comfortable. That choice is involved and that responsibility and compassion, or the lack of either, carries life-altering consequences.

LOTR suffers from a technically proficient but creatively challenged story-telling team. The meandering plot, the stilted dialog, the lack of pacing and the amateurish tone all lead me to believe that Peter Jackson should stick to horror films where his abilities are far more suited to that genre's expectations.

I look forward to the day when wide-eyed tech lovers awaken from their cgi induced hypnosis long enough to pay attention to the plot and the "technical" merits of a well-told story. Perhaps then talented casts and film crews won't have to be wasted on projects with only a studio marketing team and profit-driven consumer tie-ins to recommend it.

Despite the arty look of Traffic (differing film stocks for differing story lines) and a stellar cast (Douglas, Zeta-Jones, Cheadle and the subtle, yet intense, Del Toro), this is nothing more than a "message movie". An "After School Special" all growed up.

And not that it would excuse anything if it were, but it's not even a nobody-knows-what's-going-on, we-have-to-get-the-word-out kind of message. "The War on Drugs was Lost" has been an oft heard lament (not to mention a bumper sticker) for over a decade. And "Treatment, not incarceration" was voted into law two months ago, at least in California.

Frankly, I expected more than just savvy camera work from Soderbergh. He broke the Cardinal Rule of film-making (a practice rampant in Hollywood) "Show! Don't tell!" Artists illuminate, they don't preach.

If this heavy-handed, propagandistic, yet beautifully filmed (i.e. American Beauty) trend continues we'll have to hire someone (Randy Newman?) to compose a National Message Theme Song to march to at rallies.