Syriana (2005)
Rated:  R
Director:  Stephen Gaghan
Starring:  Matt Damon and George Clooney
"American Middle East Policy Unveiled for the Consumer Citizen", a
review by Erik Moore
This action thriller, inviting for any action movie fan, pulls together
several threads of global reality into a synchronous whole that
becomes a stark commentary on U.S. foreign relations and their
conflict with meaningful democracy.  We see oil barons in both Texas
and “Syriana” vying for power as governments are influenced, pro-
democratic leaders are assassinated, and huge engines of
governmental spying and clandestine retaliation are put in to play for
corporate greed and economic convenience.  Syriana explores the
psychology that has driven a U.S. foreign policy legacy of shameless
support tyrants, merciless suppression popular movements, willful
deception of the American citizenry, and ravenous exploitation of natural
resources of other countries.  We are not left with an obvious call to
action after watching Syriana, but with a serious question about the
ethics of supporting such activities with our votes and our taxes, and
the challenge of meaningfully reinventing democracy in the face of such
a legacy.

King Arthur
Touchstone Pictures
Rated: R
Released in US on December 21, 2004
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Screenplay: David Franzoni, John Lee Hancock
Based on the epic legends of King Arthur, codified in works like: Le
Morte D' Arthur, by Sir Thomas Mallory and History of the Kings of
Britain, by Jeoffrie of Monmouth
Starring: Clive Owens, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgard, et al.

"Opening Up Our Legacy"
a review by Erik Moore
May 8th, 2005
This excellent rendition of the Arthurian legends takes a new and
significant perspective for interpreting legends from the past.  Rather
than dismiss them as storytelling amusements because of their
magical assertions, King Arthur (this film) offers us a sensible way to
both see the legend as a fictional resonation of a real past, and
presents a new and more realistic portrayal of possible characters in
that past.  

The treatment of magic here, in particular in the characters of Merlin,
provides a credible sense of how native tribal structure would interact
under a myth system that would generate these legends.  Likewise, it
clearly portrays how individual people's involvement in Christian myths
would have acted and does not use the temptation of computer
graphics to make of them more than they are.  The rational  treatment of
these imaginary aspects of legends in general allows us to learn from
powerful human dynamics in these stories without inadvertently
supporting the  fundamentalist habits of using history to make their
mythical, spiritualist, and magical  assertions seem real.

Once this veil of "imagination as real" has been lifted from the myth, we
are open to a much more compelling story of Arthur, who struggles with
his own personal philosophy and beliefs in the light of conflicting
ideologies, myths, and allegiances.  With all of these forces pulling on
his identity, the Arthur portrayed here can move in a new and syncretic
direction that would be powerful enough to generate the legends that
we inherit.

The movie does have significant violence and intimate scenes that well-
justify the R rating.  It is not for small children, but these effects add to
the realism of the interactions and support the dynamics that are the
foundation of the realistic portrayal.

Review © 2005 Erik Moore, all rights reserved.

TROY
Warner Bros. Pictures
Rated: R
Released in US on May 14, 2004
Director: Wolfgang Peterson
Screenplay: David Benioff
Based on the epic poem by Homer
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Brad Pitt, and Orlando Bloom

The Shadow of Reality Behind a Classically Religious War
a review by Talia Moore
July 17, 2004
Until now, The Iliad and The Odyssey were stories that centered on the
whims of the Greek gods.  When taken literally the human portion of the
plot was considered secondary.  These people believed that their
devotion to their gods would be the greatest contributor to their survival.  
For example, Odysseus was one of the few of these characters that
used reason and common sense, but it was only to please Athena,
whom he thought was the only being capable of saving his life.

David Benioff's modern screenplay looks beyond the pious aspects of
the characters and explores the effects of their human motivations.  
Those who base their lives solely on devotion to the gods are portrayed
in the movie as distracted from key issues and lacking common
sense.  The sensible characters' decisions are supported by personal
judgment and reasoning.  These classical heroes have taken their
lives into their own hands and realize that they must accept the
repercussions of their actions.  In my opinion they have become even
more admirable because of their newfound independence and
responsibility.

I would recommend reading The Iliad at the very least and comparing it
to the movie.  That way you will be able to decide for yourself which
characters you respect the most.  Both the epic poems and the movie
include violence and nudity.  This movie is rated R, so watch it first, and
if you consider your children mature enough, this would be a wonderful
movie to watch and talk about with your family and friends.

Review © 2004 Talia Moore, all rights reserved.

Dogma
Columbia Tristar
Rated: R
Released in US November 12, 1999
Director: Kevin Smith
Screenplay: Kevin Smith
Starring: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, and
George Carlin

"If It Was All True"
a review by Talia Moore
Dogma is set in a universe no different than ours, except that
Catholicism is absolutely and literally true.  By working in this set of
boundaries, Dogma satirically demonstrates that such a universe
could never exist.

The irony in this movie is witty and charming, but often becomes crude.  
Everyone is fed up with the far-reaching effects of fundamentalist
Catholicism.  A muse (Hayek) cannot stand the misinterpreted
products of her inspiration.  Jesus hates that people use him to justify
indecent acts.  Even the angel of death (Damon) can’t stand the
irrational violence he commits for God in the Bible.  

The wisest character in the movie is Rufus (Rock), the dead black 13th
apostle who falls out of the sky.  Rufus realizes that having cemented
beliefs often forces people to commit illogical, and sometimes
inhumane acts.  “I think it's better to have ideas. You can change an
idea. Changing a belief is trickier.”  Because he claims to have been a
close friend of Jesus, he knows firsthand that the Bible is incorrect and
incomplete, and finds it foolish that people believe it word for word.

The overall message is:  The literal interpretations of the metaphysical
ideas in the Bible are absurd. Get what you can out of it, but don't take it
too seriously.  The same holds true for this movie.  You might want to
watch this movie before you let your teenagers watch it, but this movie
is not advisable for your middle schoolers and younger.  Your children
need to be able to extract the logical arguments while leaving all the
dirty humor behind.

Review © 2004 Talia Moore, all rights reserved.


Water
Director:  Deepa Mehta
Mongrel Media, David Hamilton Production
Rated: PG-13
Released in US: 2005
Story and Screenplay:  Deepa Mehta
Starring: Lisa Ray, Waheeda Rehman, Sarala, John Abraham IV
(Spoken Language:  Hindi; with English subtitles)

"Two Stories that offer inspiration and understanding."
A review by Erik Moore, 2006
This film has two stories that can both be seen on the DVD.  
The first story is the making of the film. As Mehta was making the film in
India,  Hindu fundamentalists protested the making of the film because
they saw its documentation of the needless suffering of widows under
draconian enforcement of Hindu traditional directives found in the “The
Laws of Manu categorized under the Dharmashastras, and  from
around 200 BCE.  This set of laws is core focus of much modern Hindu
fundamentalism.   The movie Water shows how people defend a
system not just from change, but from a criticism that would otherwise
allow those same defenders to have a better perspective of the
traditions that they inherit.  The second story is that of a young girl of
eight years old who finds herself a widow without ever remembering
the husband and is forced into a widow’s house where many players
live a tormented life solely because of an enforcement of Hindu law that
is thoughtless in regard to its consequences, humaneness, or
relevance.  When considering the gross unfairness of many traditional
patriarchal societies and the abuse of power that is presented as
religion, Mehta’s “Water” is a great first place to introduce this idea to
people both engaged in or looking to understand societies driven by a
forced and uncritical compliance with traditional mandates as default
morality
.
Review © 2006 Erik Moore, all rights reserved.

Goya's Ghosts
Director:  Milos Forman
Rated: R
Released in Spain 2006
Story and Screenplay:  Milos Forman and Jean-Claude Carriere
Starring: Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgard

"Reason in a Mad house ."
A review by Erik Moore, 2008
This film takes us on the journey of the famous Spanish Goya as it interweaves with one of his models through the drama of the Spanish Inquisition, the invasion of Napolion, and the re-institution of the Inquisiton's clergy. It shows in detail, how fundamentalist belief in the truth of ideas leads to absurdity, in particular the belief that being “put to the question” i.e. tortured, is the highest form of truth. It shows with great sense and feeling the absurdities and unnecessary hardship caused by both imperialism and by dogmatism. This film is an excellent introduction to the life of Francisco Goya, an inveterate critic of clerical claims to authority, and a masterful cartoonist. The portrayal of two roles by Natalie Portman are excellent, as is the perofmrance of Javier Bardem (Lorenzo) and Stellan Skarsgard (Goya).

Review © 2008 Erik Moore, all rights reserved.

The Crucible
Director:  Nicholas Hytner
Mongrel Media, David Hamilton Production
Rated: PG-13
Released in US: 1996
Story and Screenplay:  Arthur Miller
Starring: Wynona Ryder, Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Scofield

"Role-Play and Witch Hunts"
A review by Erik Moore, 2008
Arthur Miller’s screen play based on his stage play of the same name, this engaging rendering in film of one of the seminal plays of the 20 th Century explores in depth the psychological dynamics that led to the Salem witch trials. The lead female part, played by Wynona Ryder is an excellent portrayal of the psychology of a whole category of people who are pressured to react in defensive role-play against an oppressive and absurd portrayal of reality that pervades all institutions of society, including legal, political, social, and policing systems. In a society where social narrative is controlled by fictitious assertions playing along can seem like the only productive response. But the problem with defiant or manipulative playing along “in their world” is that it generally feeds and empowers the dogmatic institutions it resists by filling the roles of enemies and snitches that validate the apparent authority of myth-based power systems. It’s message is as important now as it was in during Miller’s life, that was ironically also troubled by dogmatic and manipulative politics that found scapegoats like Miller himself, labeled as communists. Even now as the 21 st century dawns, we see political groups manipulating the legal, social, and bureaucratic system, looking for scapegoat to validate their authority. This film/play is one of the best strong statements standing up and calling society back to reason.

Review © 2006 Erik Moore, all rights reserved.

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