#96 (2007): Do the Right Thing

M: Ugh. Overdone, exaggerated film that ostensibly focuses on the outcry of the black community stuck in the struggle of racial judgment. I’m sure there was a message in this movie somewhere but was lost in manic dialogue, no flow in the storyline, and wildly overemphasized characters. The opening credits alone, with Rosie Perez angrily gyrating to a purpose unknown to me and unrelated to the movie, makes me hate this movie. Every one of Lee’s films I’ve seen all have this same, overwrought, unrealistic feel with the exception of Malcolm X, only because that was a true story and [fortunately] not from the mind of Lee. Spike Lee needs to take copious notes from John Singleton’s Boyz in the Hood, a powerful film about racial struggles.

M's Rating:






J: I enjoyed this Spike Lee joint a lot more than my movie-watching buddy up there. It was really funny, at least in the beginning. The characters had fun names like Radio Raheem and Coconut Sid. Also, it was an all-star cast of, "hey, that's so-and-so from [insert show here]", like Gus from Breaking Bad,Commissioner Burrell from The Wire, Martin from Martin, and Ossie Davis from everything. When it turns into a drama at the end, it really makes you think. Or, at least, it really made me think. Neither Radio Raheem nor Sal got what they deserved, and the cops definitely didn't do the right thing (zing!), but what about everyone else? I don't know. Plus, I'm sure my race influences my opinion. Anyway, I'd watch this again. It was quirky and weird and thought-provoking.

J's rating:





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#98: Unforgiven

M: This movie did not disappoint when it comes to Eastwood and Westerns. It was gritty, an homage to such greats as High Plains Drifter. This also had a nice little ensemble of actors, with Gene Hackman as the man you love to hate, with such a love for peace that he doles out a great deal of violence to keep it. Morgan Freeman was ever-likable, even when he was trying to be bad. If you liked the Eastwood spaghetti westerns, this one shouldn't disappoint.

M's rating:






J: SNOOZE. Westerns aren't my thing so I didn't think I'd like this one. I was right. It wasn't a bad movie, but I spent a lot of time looking at the clock. It dragged. And the kid was crazy annoying. My favorite line: "Nobody's gonna pay good money for a cut-up whore". I want that on my tombstone.

Note from the future: This entry is posting in September 2010, even though it's under the date that the draft was written, December 2009. Re-reading this short review 9 months later, I realize that I hardly remember anything about this movie. I think maybe Morgan Freeman was in it, but he's in lots of Eastwood movies, so I could just be assuming. He plays Nelson Mandela in this one, right? Also, I'm pretty sure that in my head I'm getting this movie confused with the parts of The Outlaw Josie Wales that I've seen. That movie is super long and luckily not on The List.

J's rating:





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