Comments on: Review: Che

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Thu, 15 Jan 2009 09:14:40 +0000

[...] Hollywood » Blog Archive » Review: Che unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptA lie so afraid of its own shadow [...]

By: Campaspe

Campaspe — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:23:46 +0000

And I’m going to add one more thing. When John complains about the Iraq-themed movies he despises, what he is usually saying is that the movie is didactic. It’s advocacy, with all the elements stacked and a little Aesop-like conclusion affixed. What I see here in the comments is the viewpoint that a movie has to advance a preconceived agenda or it’s worthless. I may not agree with John on a lot, okay a WHOLE lot of stuff, but I think we both agree that’s the death of cinema.

By: Campaspe

Campaspe — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:13:55 +0000

Okay, I will speak up here, because I admired John for having the guts to write about the movie he saw. For a true cinephile, there are a lot of movies like this, no matter which side of the aisle you are on. Someone brought up The Birth of a Nation, a movie so racist it prompted a man named William Simmons to revive the Ku Klux Klan. It is also a stunningly beautiful and important work of art, a landmark in cinema. As is Riefenstahl’s Olympia, Eisenstein’s Ivan the Terrible Part 1, Kalatazov’s Soy Cuba … I could add some movies that are problematic for a feminist, I mean, the list goes on.

John is looking at the film’s language, its story, its style and presentation. You can’t ignore that, not if you have any aspirations to be a real critic, let alone an artist, right or left. Nor can you accuse John of ignoring the political implications. There’s no way anyone came away from his review thinking that he admired Che Guevara. He’s talking about the Soderbergh movie as film, and he is also fulfilling his duty to explain what repulses him about the film’s POV.

I thought this review took guts.

By: Lee Wilkinson

Lee Wilkinson — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:24:55 +0000

If only Jason Apuzzo had helmed this project! That would be a classic.

By: Michael Fidanza

Michael Fidanza — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:00:28 +0000

Thirty-three days after opening, total gross as reported by BoxOfficeMojo.com is $293,708. The people’s academy has spoken.

By: Growltiger

Growltiger — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:38:42 +0000

John does not need defending, however, those who expect him to fudge his reviews just because the subject matter stinks (can we say “sucks” here?)
are doing a disservice to John and to cinema. How can we believe his reviews if he has to be a propaganda reviewer for conservatives? You can’t pay me to see “Che” but I do need to know whether it’s good cinema or not. Let Nolte review; we use the reviews to decide if we want to see the movie.

By: Sheldon Gilman

Sheldon Gilman — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:40:07 +0000

Watch your back, buddy. Your “readers” are the direct descendants of the morons who turned the lions against the Christians. Can’t you hear the growling in the background?

By: Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:45:54 +0000

SYN: “Speaking of Lear, the Left even has the audacity to rewrite Shakespeare by adding scenes which Shakespeare never wrote all for POLITICAL EXPEDIENCY.”

Gadzooks sire, thousest be correct.

I just checked this line from King Lear (the best Bard none):

I grow, I prosper; Now Gods stand up for Bastards.

It has been Politically Bastardized to:

I grow, I prosper; Now Gods stand up for the spawn of non-tradional families be they transgenderd, single moms or inter-species.

I think it works quite well?

By: David Fekke

David Fekke — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:27:14 +0000

I heard that Soderbergh shot this with a Red camera system. Am I the only who finds that ironic. I am more curious how the ‘Film’ looks than the actual content.

By: Raven

Raven — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:23:00 +0000

“The man’s a liar and a filmmaker whose work I haven’t much admired, ironically, until now.” No irony here, just a bit of moral confusion.

The issue is one of critical moral maturity. In the matter of a film grossly misrepresenting an historical figure of such notorious turpitude and false legend as Che, to say you were “swept up” in the story may be an admirably candid admission but also seems to indicate a certain critical moral lapse. Something to keep in mind if you expect more from a film critic — such as resistance to such seductions and degradations.