SiCKO

Well, I came into this film not expecting a whole lot. I have been taught to hate Michael Moore, and if I hadn't, I'm sure I'd be filling out papers to move to Canada right now. He made a very compelling argument, which is the direct theme and reason for a documentary to be made, to get your idea across to the general population. Michael Moore does a very good job of this.

I'm going to start out by discussing what I liked about this film. Moore moves through it very well. He starts out by showing these two fella's that cut themselves, but were unable to either go to the hospital or pay for the entirety of the surgeries. He talks to many different people, and does a very good job conveying the problems with our Healthcare system, then he goes to other countries such as Canada, France, England, and even Cuba who have Universal Healthcare, which is what this documentary is all about. He asks these people all of these questions that lead them into saying exactly what he wants to have on camera. One of the women that he talked to, the one that worked at the hospital that denied her husband treatment, ultimately leading to his death (in a way), had a very touching story that really makes the viewer pull for the Universal Healthcare campaign.

Moore pulls people together, and in doing so makes himself look like the good guy. When he looks like the good guy, anything he does it right. Ifso facto, Moore pulling for Universal Healthcare as the good guy makes it seem as if this is the way to go. The truth of the matter is that he skipped over MANY details that could have been covered. Mommy always said there are two sides to every argument. He presents one, and only one. He makes it seem as if he presenting both sides by saying things like, "Now wait a minute, how do they pay for this? It must be through taxes!" He then goes to the homes of these French individuals and asks them what they have to pay for, but he never even mentions the word taxes. Moreover, they probably mentioned it somewhere in there, but he edited it out or accidentally "lost" it. It's just a little too convenient that every single thing that the interviewees said meshed perfectly with the point that he was trying to get across. He also starts the movie off by showing this guy that cuts his knee open and has to stitch it himself, or a guy that cannot pay to have both of his fingers put back on. He then continues by saying but this movie isn't about them, its about the people that do have healthcare. What he leads us to assume, however, is that he is talking about the people with private healthcare, Americans with healthcare, essentially. He paints such a pretty picture, but skips over so many things. Initially when I saw the film, I was nodding along with it and thinking This fatty is a smart fella!! A few hours later, after thinking about the film the entire time, I saw more and more gaps, and it upset me how he uses other people to manipulate the audience.

Universal Healthcare, like anything else, has upsides and downsides. Sure, we don't have to pay ghastly bills for pills or appointments or surgeries, but we also don't have to pay even more taxes than we already do. My dad already pays 60 cents to every dollar on taxes, then he would have to pile even more on top of that! Sure we should all take care of each other, but that isn't what is taking place when people like my dad work their asses off, then other individuals claim to be trying to find work, and are continuously collecting unemployment. Once Obama brings this Universal Healthcare, my dad, myself, all of us are going to be paying not only to house and feed people who are lazy, but also keep them healthy. Its a huge cycle! They're fat and lazy and sitting at home doing nothing, then they to to the hospital with a blood clot in their leg from not moving for three days! I find it interesting that Moore makes this documentary to get us fired up about Universal Healthcare, and now I'm obviously fired up against it.

So, as far as the film goes, Moore did a very good job putting it together. As I have already mentioned, he is great at convincing those who do not understand in the first place what he is like. I don't know for everybody else, but I was looking for gaps, and thats why I found them. I think that in any documentary, one should look for gaps, because it is very obvious that they are only presenting the one side of the story. His music is sad at times, motivating and inspirational and exciting when it needs to be, and flat out happy when women have tears streaming down their faces. Oh this Michael Moore! He's such an angel! He's the most selfless man to ever live! And I'm sure that he doesn't want Universal Healthcare only because his fat ass is going to need a quadruple bi-pass!! Anyway, like I said, the film flows very well from story to story, almost making it seem more like a movie than a documentary.

The Matrix

The Matrix, as I have stated before, is a great film. Much better than it's successors. It takes one of the oldest, and certainly most popular stories in our history, and turns it into a blockbuster film about something that may seem different, but has many ties to Christianity.

You've got Neo, or Thomas Anderson, who seems lost and doesn't know what is going on, just knows that something is wrong with the world around him. He has heard only rumors of Morpheus, and searches for him for years. Morpheus allows Neo to see him, and he explains that 'life' is much more complex than we know, and that the Matrix is just a holding world, more or less. I know I don't have to explain this, but Morpheus is very obviously portrayed as God, and Neo is portrayed as Jesus.

When Morpheus allows Neo to meet him, he immediately lets him know that the pleasure is all his, and that he has been searching for Neo his entire life. He tells Neo that he is The One, and in sense bestows the weight of the world on him. Sound familiar? If not, go back to Sunday School. So Morpheus gives Neo a "choice," which isn't a choice at all because he knows exactly what the response will be. Enough religious talk, time to delve into the film itself.

The film fits into a few different themes. It fits into Technical Achievement because it had such great special effects and graphics. Even now, ten years later, you see people bending backwards and saying "MATRIX!!!" It was something that we hadn't seen before, and it was cool. It sticks out in everybody's mind when the film is mentioned. The other theme that it is would be Philosophical. It causes us as viewers to reevaluate ourselves, and shows that one person can do something. This is a very inspiring film, one that has much more depth to it than many people give it credit for.

How Keanu Reeves got this role is beyond me. Not that he didn't do well in it, but his portrayal as Bill or Ted or whoever the hell should have put him on the Naughty List for many many directors and production companies. I think that for Thomas Anderson, he was casted very well. He is a lanky individual who looks stoned all the time. I wouldn't have guessed that he'd play the commanding role of Neo terribly well, but he held up pretty good. Carrie-Ann Moss is an athletic woman, so visually she fit the role of Trinity. She also did a pretty good job with the acting. I think the most impressive casting choice by far was to cast Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus. He is a big dude!! He has a presence about him that commands respect, so this role was very fitting for him. They were all dressed in rags, but it would be obvious that Morpheus was the main man if one were to guess.

This was an action film. Although there wasn't completely nonstop action, the movie grabs you from beginning to end. The first scene of Trinity running away from the Agent was badass, the type that makes you sit up in your seat. This reminds me of something I've always said: "I can only read a book if it really grabs me in the first 10 or so pages." This movie does that. It doesn't start slow, wait around for awhile, then pick up speed. It starts out at 100 mph and doesn't stop til the credits roll. Even when Neo went to talk to the Auricle, which was arguably the most sombre point of the film, the audience is in the films grasp, just waiting to see what she says. This is a great movie that I always love to watch.

The music in it was my type of music. Pretty intense, and it kept the heart rate high. I really liked also how they played with slow-mo. When Tom Anderson's new little phone fell from the office building, when Trinity jumped to the adjacent building, when Neo jumped out of the way of the train; all these were intense and awesome.

Overall, it was a great film. It may not be for everybody, as some people don't like to look for symbolism in movies, as well as many people's dislike for violence and imaginitive film. Let them tend to their CareBear collection while we adrenaline jockeys of the world watch kickass movies like The Matrix. The last thing that I have to say is that at the time, directly following my first viewing of the Matrix, I was very excited for the next installation. I was definitely let down by both of them, however. Looking back, I think that Neo flying off into the heavens at the end of The Matrix should have been the end of the entire story. It showed that he had the situation all wrapped up, and it definitely would have sufficed in my mind.

Mike, just a reminder to watch Changeling, and also I watched Requiem for a Dream yesterday, blew my frickin mind!!