1998

I already had to write out this entire entry, and then this whole stupid mess went kaputski so this is a redo. At any rate, lately I've been thinking about the great cinema that's come out of the year that was 1998. Three of my all-time favorite films all came out that year, Rushmore, Pleasantville, and The Truman Show. If you haven't seen them, or even if you have, there's no better time than to pop them back into your VCR or DVD player or what have you.

Bible Nuts
A while ago my friend Bob stumbled on this Christian movie reviewing site. Its reviews are the worst most one-sided over-the-top right wing religious reviews I've ever read in my life. But, I am a fan of freedom of speech, and in such a spirit, I present to you some of their more tame reviews. Reviews of said movies from 1998. (The site won't allow me to direct link, so copy/paste is in order, I'm afraid.)

"Pleasantville was replete with arrogant invasion into other people's lives. A pseudo-wise and worldly teen duo pushed their enlightened and progressive morals as needed and for the town's own good. Before the "odd couple" ravaged the morals and ethics of the entire community, the town teens who parked in "Lover's Lane" were honest and wholesome and enjoyed the beauty of the town lights below. But after the teen terrors tainted the entire town, a scene at Lover's Lane presented legs flying and cars rocking. A scene of a teenage pair with the girl giving a boy an apple was a very cheap shot at the Garden of Eden; that the sins of Adam and Eve were caused by sexual attraction/lust between an unmarried underage couple -- lies on explicit Scripture." More here: http://www.capalert.com/capreports/pleasant98.htm.

"Though nudity and murder were not noted, The Truman Show freckled the 1 hour and 55 minutes with traditionally unacceptable language, sexual references and innuendo and camera angles to focus the viewer on private regions, and just a touch of adolescent arrogance. Another invasive feature of The Truman Show was the frequent use of God's name in vain, once with and many without the four letter expletive, and Ed Harris playing God. Violence was present in the form of [implied] drowning deaths, a reference to suicide, murderous rage, and other matters of non-peaceful programming. The Truman Show also presented drinking as desirable and several barroom scenes."

"Rushmore was a school, a stupid school. This was a dumb show, an unimportant show, an easily forgotten show. I don't know if I need to say any more, but I will. Though not necessarily a violent movie in the vein of most R-rated movies, there were a lot of bully tactics, vengeful actions, threats, and airgun/dart shooting of a kids. The heart of this movie was in lies, arrogance, manipulations of fair authority because of personal failures, and foul language. In one case, a teen took pleasure in insulting a bed-ridden patient of a stroke. In another case, the teen took delight in attempting to murder his adult friend-turned-rival by disabling the brakes of his car. Though not likely in real life, the central teen obtained dynamite."

These are very tame of course, if you want some real hate spit forward by these people who claim not to hate, then just read the review of Fight Club. Its actually hilarious, if you don't take it seriously. And if you dare, check out the rest of their reviews here: http://www.capalert.com/capreports/index.htm

Enjoy.