Category: Movies

I know it’s a mistake to review a movie I’ve never seen, so I won’t. But I will review a 30-second clip of the movie “Cuties” that’s been making the rounds. This is the most-watched, most-controversial film currently streaming on Netflix. It’s a pedophile’s dream come true.  At least the clip I saw.

For 30 long seconds I watched a dance troop of bikini-clad 11-year-old girls — children — engage in a provocative dance far more outrageous than the twerking you might see at a Super Bowl half time show.

A video like this, sold over the dark web, would be labeled child pornography. IMO. I have no experience with soft or hard core porn. What I have had experience with, however, is listening to adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Enough to recognize exploitation when I see it.

In most states in the USA, the sexualizing of a child and filming it for sale is a felony. This movie was made in France. So I guess it’s legal to make it available to anyone — regardless of age or status on the Sex Offender Registry.

Who took these innocents and taught them to use their young bodies in such a seductive way? Is anyone looking out for the welfare of these children?

The producer of this movie is guilty of using them for monetary gain, with no thought of how it might harm them.

The director is guilty of teaching these children to portray sex objects.

The girls’ parents are at worst exploitive, and at best clueless. They should make themselves aware of how predators groom their victims. Especially in the entertainment industry.

Netflix should be ashamed.

Netflix stock has fallen and they’ve lost a bazillion subscribers, but they have not pulled this film from their site.  This atrocity is being defended by its makers, and some groups in the USA, as telling a story that needs to be heard (sexual exploitation of young girls).  Their defense: “(This film) is a powerful exploration of the way young girls are . . . encouraged to perform for the male gaze.”

Excuse me? Isn’t this what you just did? You taught these girls to bump and grind to attract lecherous attention? Are these graphic clips really necessary to tell your story?

Would you document the issues around animal cruelty with a film showing puppies being tortured?

The defense of this film is helping to create a whole new ME TOO movement — years from now when these girls come forward to tell their stories.

If this movie were banned and not another person watched it, the damage has been done.  These children were abused.

Not so cute now, is it?

It’s hard to believe that sweet Ryan Gosling (who grew up to be James Garner in The Notebook) could be devious and mean. Actually, after that movie proved to be a breakout role for this very talented actor, he has played some very edgy characters.

All Good Things came out in 2010 but I only recently put it in my Netflix queue after it was recommended as a Movie for Grownups. MFG are movies with serious plots and excellent acting but have very few four letter words to assault the ears or sex scenes that makes one feel like a voyeur.

David Marks (Gosling) and Katie (Kirsten Dunst) meet, fall in love, marry and move to Vermont to run a health food store. But David is pressured by his father (Frank Langella) to go into the family business. The Family Business is ostensibly real estate, with a side interest in buying politicians.

The script is taken from news stories about a high profile unsolved murder in New York, the Robert Durst case. Newly discovered facts, court records and of course speculation is used to tell the story of the young wife who disappeared and whose body has never been found, the strange behavior of the young husband, and the prosecutors who could find no probable cause to bring charges until 18 years later when the cold case was reopened.

I am interested in creative non-fiction and cold case investigations, so this was a movie that held my interest to the very end.

You can read more about this case here.

When I review a movie, you can be sure of one thing: it is not currently running in theaters. I have mentioned before my fondness for Netflix and how well it works for my lifestyle. I very seldom see first-run movies in a theater. The most recent was Les Miserables last Christmas. The time before that was Blind Side several years ago. But I digress.

I was interested in seeing Silver Linings Playbook after it was nominated for so many awards last spring. In it, former teacher Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) moves in with his parents after a stint in a mental institution. He is “undiagnosed bi-polar disorder” and resists taking any meds. His parents’ home may not be the best place for him because his dad (excellently portrayed by Robert De Niro) makes book on the football games and is in denial about his own obsessive/ compulsive disorder. Pat’s mother is an enabler. Pat is determined to reconcile with his ex-wife Nikki who left him when he discovered she was having an affair; he attacked her lover and nearly killed him. Nikki has no interest in making up; in fact she has a restraining order against him. Things get even more complicated when Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a girl with some baggage of her own.

Bradley Cooper does a great job depicting the character with bi-polar disorder — mood swings, hair trigger temper, abject apologies. Actually, he’s so good it’s hard to watch. That and the offensive language caused me to pause and seriously think about whether to finish the story.  But seeing Pat work through learning about himself and what he must be to survive in the world, made the viewing worthwhile.

The screenplay was written by David O. Russell from a novel by Matthew Quick. I am thinking to buy Mr. Russell a thesaurus, since he used very few verbs, adjectives or adverbs that did not start with the letter “F”. This is a sign that the writer has a limited vocabulary or else all of his characters do.

An aside: IMDb (International Movie Database) has a Parents Guide link that will tell you why the movie received a certain rating and what amount of sex/ violence/ profanity you can expect to see. This is helpful in choosing movies for grownups too. In Playbook, the f-word was used 30 times.  And sadly, in my opinion, none of them were necessary to the plot.  The actors did such a good job of showing anger, frustration, etc. we didn’t need the words.

This movie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and several cast members also received nominations for their roles. Only Jennifer Lawrence won that evening —  Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role. She also captured a Golden Globe and Screen Actor Guild Award.

Do I recommend this movie? Over all, yes, but be warned about the language.