Springs the ambush about three quarters in when Jane Fonda shows up as Nancy Reagan. It was all so well disguised till that point (even Oprah was reasonable), I thought at first maybe she's finally mellowed. But the over-the-top propaganda started building to a crescendo--including Alan Rickman portraying Reagan as a slow-speaking, dim-witted, racist simpleton. As bad as the Obama ass kissing was, the most unforgivable part was portraying Johnson as a joke instead of the worst President in our history, including Obama--provided he doesn't have anybody assassinated in the next three years.
Those who accuse me of over emphasizing or manufacturing the political aspects of film, an accusation which has something of a basis in Truth, albeit not with the judgmentally negative tone, have no reasonable claim that I'm digging here. It's the worst I've seen since Bulworth, and worse even than the 2004 redo of The Manchurian Candidate, turning as it did the original on its head. These make Al Gore and Michael Moore look like pikers.
"The Butler"
Re: "The Butler"
Stewball wrote: It was all so well disguised till that point (even Oprah was reasonable),
Really?! For me, this was obvious from watching a few seconds of the trailer.
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Re: "The Butler"
ShogunRua wrote:Stewball wrote: It was all so well disguised till that point (even Oprah was reasonable),
Really?! For me, this was obvious from watching a few seconds of the trailer.
What did you see in it? I didn't see anything in the trailer that didn't look accurate. Still, I went in expecting it to drop the other shoe, but like I say, it was sort of bouncing back a forth but being essentially reasonable, until....
Re: "The Butler"
Stewball wrote:ShogunRua wrote:Stewball wrote: It was all so well disguised till that point (even Oprah was reasonable),
Really?! For me, this was obvious from watching a few seconds of the trailer.
What did you see in it? I didn't see anything in the trailer that didn't look accurate. Still, I went in expecting it to drop the other shoe, but like I say, it was sort of bouncing back a forth but being essentially reasonable, until....
Come on, man. A Hollywood film about the violent racism blacks suffer? You're aware that Hollywood is a bunch of extreme, hypocritical liberals, right? What else were you expecting with a movie on that subject? You're like Charlie Brown with the football...
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Re: "The Butler"
ShogunRua wrote:Come on, man. A Hollywood film about the violent racism blacks suffer? You're aware that Hollywood is a bunch of extreme, hypocritical liberals, right? What else were you expecting with a movie on that subject? You're like Charlie Brown with the football...
Yeah, I know, it's loaded with Nasis, but I don't think Hollywood is as rotten to the core as the loudmouths make it seem, particularly Directors, if you listen to the writer-director David Mamet who came out of the lib closet not long ago. As far as movies about race, The Help was spot on, and you can tell it was because the left hated it, including academia which even got in on the kicking spree--while the prudish right wing sat on their hands. 42 also this year was well done, and Black Snake Moan, though not focused that much on race, was excellent, even though nobody's seen it. As righteous as the poster for it was, it sent the wrong message.
And just as Johnson's fascist left was taking over in the late 60's, they had two good ones for their day come out: In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, both of which were mentioned, negatively, in The Butler, although I agree with them that Poitier is pfwt. Last but not least, bridging the pretty much silent Hollywood gulf between then and now, there was A Soldier's Story.
Re: "The Butler"
Stewball wrote:if you listen to the writer-director David Mamet who came out of the lib closet not long ago.
And who has been ruthlessly punished for it. Great example. (sarcasm)
Stewball wrote: 42 also this year was well done,
Sure, if simple-minded, historically inaccurate, black-and-white pandering is your thing.
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Re: "The Butler"
ShogunRua wrote:Stewball wrote:if you listen to the writer-director David Mamet who came out of the lib closet not long ago.
And who has been ruthlessly punished for it. Great example. (sarcasm)
You miss the point; They're there, and sometimes they and their works manage to shine through. Yeah, condemn the injustice, but is that all there is?
BTW, I thought this was interesting:
That's Eugene Allen, the real butler (who was promoted to Mait're d'Hotel under Reagan), whose story had so little resemblance to the movie version they had to give him another name; and who had only one son (who went to Vietnam and returned), and a wife who wasn't an unfaithful alcoholic. He declined offers to turn his story into a book.
As with all such "based on actual events" films, that doesn't mean what ends up on the screen is a lie--of course that doesn't mean it isn't either, or as in this case, both.
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Re: "The Butler"
O Goody, looks like it's going to be #1 again this week. Why? you ax; because it's such a good movie? No, because Obey's got his useful idiots out in force again no doubt, and the only competition is:
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
The World's End
&
You're Next
(sigh) Yes, I am next.....
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
The World's End
&
You're Next
(sigh) Yes, I am next.....