Surrogates

Synopsis

In the future all humans have their own surrogate (think avatar) that can be controlled from the comfort of their own home and still allow them all the pleasures and business of the world around them. Until recently, the surrogates have also allowed a level of protection, keeping humans away from the dangers of the outside world. But a new weapon has been developed that can cause death to a surrogate operator with only access to the surrogate. Detective Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) is forced to venture out into the world without his surrogate to figure out what's going on.

Entertainment Value - B

A good sci-fi/action flick, reminiscent of I, Robot (even with James Cromwell playing the same role as inventor of these new robots/surrogates). I liked I, Robot better; it was definitely deeper and more action packed. Maybe this is Bruce Willis's beginning to tone down the action flicks he stars in.

Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 4

This film accurately depicted how constantly seeking thrills, and trying to escape reality, damages real-life relationships. It made me think a lot about David A. Bednar's CES fireside on May 3, 2009, entitled "Things as They Really Are." The following are excerpts that relate particularly well to the film:

If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, ear buds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person‐to‐person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer‐mediated interaction that can displace the full range of physical capacity and experience....

I am raising a warning voice that we should not squander and damage authentic relationships by obsessing over contrived ones. 'Nearly 40% of men and 53% of women who play online games said their virtual friends were equal to or better than their real‐life friends, according to a survey of 30,000 gamers conducted by … a recent Ph.D. graduate from Stanford University. More than a quarter of gamers [who responded indicated that] the emotional highlight of the past week occurred in a computer world.

Chicago

Synopsis

Two ladies on death row must compete for the hearts of the corrupt Chicago people in order to gain their freedom.

Entertainment Value - A

Great music that was more than just song and dance, it cleverly moved the story forward. All the performances were well done, the plot was great.

Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 4

At first glance I was rather leery of what this movie would portray. I had already walked out of Moulin Rouge, and this didn't seem like it would be terribly different. What changed my mind about seeing this was Orson Scott Card's short reviews of the movie. The reasons for this not getting a higher moral rating from us is that it is not a show for young kids; the themes presented are for a more mature audience. Be aware that there is some language, sexuality, and a lot of revealing clothing presented in the movie (and no ClearPlay filter available at the date of this posting, and I'm not sure how they could create one without mutilating the musical numbers in the film). This content, however, adds to the overall message of the movie; and by the end it is quite clear that this film is a commentary on our social and legal system, not a promotion of murder, sex, and greed.

One of the biggest ironies in the film is seen in the character of Roxie's husband, Amos. He seems to be the only moral character in the film, portrayed as being both an innocent and a faithful husband, but gets trampled on as if honesty is going out of style. In addition to his goodness not being accepted/noticed, he's portrayed as a rather dim-witted person, clueless to how the "real-world" works. This juxtaposition strengthened the satire of the film through the mockery of moral values.

The scene I enjoyed most was the puppeteer number. It displayed how easily the media can be swayed one way or another if the facts are manipulated just right. All of a sudden a criminal becomes a hero because of the background he or she came from (always blaming the current conditions of the person on someone else other than him/herself.)

The movie makes you wonder if truth really matters to some people, or if the world is only always looking for fame and fortune. Nothing in this world comes easy. Those who rely on the world for their emotional support will never be happy. The press loved Velma one day, then Roxie the next, and then someone else, and then back to Roxie, and on and on. The world cannot ever provide the emotional stability needed to live a genuinely happy life, it gives you a false sense of worth and then drops you flat on your face (sounds similar to a scripture in the Book of Mormon.

Does the fact that these two murderesses got off Scott-free make this a less moral movie ("You can like the life you live and live the life you like.")? I don't think so, partially because the way the trial at the end was portrayed (like a circus, with a tap dance able to pull off the unthinkable) I found myself laughing at the absurdness of it all.

Frost/Nixon

Synopsis

This film covered the preparation and the airing of the historical 4-day interview David Frost conducted with former president Richard Nixon.  Some wanted the interview to be the trial Nixon never received (due to Ford's pardon); others simply wanted the experience of interviewing one of the most controversial men in history.

Entertainment Value

I'm not sure how accurate the interviews in the film were with the actual ones, but no matter what, Ron Howard did an excellent job putting this story.  For consisting of mostly just dialog between the titular characters, it was as tense as any other action/suspense film I've seen, reminiscent of the style of film 12 Angry Men was.

Moral Value

It's intriguing to see Frost's motives for interviewing Nixon dramatically shift just before the last leg of the series.  Frost accepted some of his researchers because of their intent on proving Nixon guilty in order to give Americans the resolution they needed for the preceding years of scandal.  Frost didn't quite share that passion and was fighting a losing battle until he too decided to take things seriously and conduct the last interview in a way that would start the healing process for disillusioned Americans.  This is a great example of how anything done halfheartedly cannot bring you real happiness, no matter how optimistic you are.  Once a person has done everything to ensure the success of a goal, no matter the outcome, that person is successful.

Being how this is a depiction of a very important event in our history, I think it is of great value to everyone to see this film.  The film could very easily have been brought to a PG-13 rating, but I fear that Hollywood pushed for the R-Rating solely to target it's audience to a more mature crowd.  I can see that this film probably would not be enjoyed by too many under age 17, so why market the film towards them by giving it a PG-13 rating?

We did watch this edited, and as far as I know only a handful of swearing was cut out (turn up your nudity filter if you don't care to see the back of a naked man running into the ocean at the end).