BlueCarp

I do my best to avoid falling into the trap of unrealistic expectations. I had heard so many great things about Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, that I tried to ignore them. I failed.

Avoiding unrealistic expectations is tough when Entertainment Weekly asked, on its cover, “Is this the funniest movie ever?” It is not.

Ms. Carp and I saw the movie Friday. We had already seen most of the funny parts on previews and commercials. One funny scene not played in the promotional campaign has Borat stopping to visit “Gypsies” and looking through their “treasures.” The “Gypsies” are just a family having a yard sale. The “treasures” consist of random junk they have for sale on their yard.

We both recommend it, but not nearly as highly as many critics.

Posted by BlueCarp at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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Danish director Lars von Trier hates America.

I love his movies anyway.  He has no kind words for American capitalism. What sets him apart, however, from the typical Hollywood lefty - like Michael Moore or Oliver Stone or Sean Penn or Susan Sarandon, ad infinitum - is that he excoriates not only the American right, but the American left as well.

I wouldn't recommend either von Trier's Dogville or its sequel, Manderlay, to anybody. They are slow and contain the philosophical subtlety of a mouthful of raw horseradish.

But I like horseradish.

Movie critics usually love movies that bash America, no matter how slow or subtle.

Fahrenheit 9/11 has an approval rating of 84% (and 81% from the "Cream of the Crop" - the top critics) on the popular site RottenTomatoes. An Inconvenient Truth garnered ratings of 92% and 94%. Manderlay? Only 50% and 33%.

Why? "Fahrenheit" and "Truth" give the left a free pass. "Manderlay" does not.

Giv'em Hell, Lars.

Posted by BlueCarp at 08:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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