“Sin City”
:: Had to turn it off half-way through the movie. Just could not take it anymore. I tried to last all the way through it. Those types of movies are just not made for me.
“Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”
:: This quote about the movie in Netflix hooked me in, but deceptively so. I was bored to the degree that I offered to take it out and watch something else. They could have taken any number of angles and pursued a great story. Instead, there was a disconnected and fragmented feeling throughout about the characters and where they were headed. In some cases, this could be a great thing. But in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” I was left wishing that I spent more time researching Harvey Keitel’s better movies before choosing this one.
Undeniably one of the must-sees of 1970s cinema, Martin Scorsese’s film features Ellen Burstyn in the Oscar-winning role of a widow who must find the strength to go on in the face of loneliness and fear, all in the name of her young son, Tommy (Alfred Lutter). Eventually, they land in Tucson and she finds a job as a waitress at a diner, where somehow, she’s able to picture love again through the eyes of a customer (Kris Kristofferson).
“Reservoir Dogs”
:: My significant other had not seen this classic cult film before, so I thought I would do her the service and rent it. She fell asleep during the first part and didn’t let me know that she hadn’t been watching it until much later in the film. I immediately turned the film off and went to sleep. End of story.
“Born Into Brothels”
:: As an Indian, I am taken and disturbed at the same time when I watch documentaries like this. I’m completely drawn to films of this sort, so it won’t be the last tear jerker about poor Indian children or people that I will watch.
I’m taken because I feel for the people in the documentary. The filmmakers do a wonderful job of portraying the lives of these children of prostitutes accurately. The filmmakers aren’t there for some ulterior motive like the wretched goal of spreading religion under the guise of humanitarian assistance. These guys are genuine in their endeavors to help the otherwise unfortunate circumstance of their existence.
I’m disturbed by the thought that well-off Indians (in India and in the West) can so easily forget and compartmentalize the reality of what India really still remains. No MBA from Stanford alone will improve the plight of those less fortunate. But with the access to skilled Indian labor becoming so readily available, that Stanford MBA might actually contribute to the growing disparity between India’s rich and poor. I hope that the technology and outsourcing boom in India does not find the poorest of the poor left behind. If there has been anytime to empower India’s poor by educating them for the future, it’s now.
[You might ask, "Raj, what the hell are you doing to make things better for them. You're a baller slash shot caller, right?" ]
[I would respond, "Yo, check it: (uncomfortable pause) I don't know."]
I actively contribute while I am there, but I feel like I don’t have as much local impact as possible. I need to think about these things more and get back to you. Talk about a powerful documentary.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I have yet to see Sin City, so I know not of what you speak when you say you “Just could not take it anymore” What was it that you could not take? Was there nothing redeemable about this film? What exactly are “those types of movies” that are not made for you?
You’ll understand when you watch the movie. You literally may get nausea just trying to watch.
“Those types of movies” are made for people who can lose themselves in an episode of Star Trek. Enough said.