Death of a precedent

Apparantly watching movies isn't my thing anymore. Time to disband the blog. Who has time to go to the theatre? This world is so busy that a two hour block is a lot to demand. I wish I was kidding. So reviews. I may not visit the matinee but I see movies on my time.

Jesus Camp: I really haven't had much time to soak this in. The filmmakers AND everyone involved knew exactly what it was all about. I want to say its a horror film but that's unfair. Oh it is scary but my being scared says more about me and not enough about the subject matter or the presentation. I have no reason to believe any of the subject matter was presented insincerely. The filmmakers succeeded in that even if portions were overdramatized, it was pretty obvious the pertinent truth wasn't being faked. The success of this film is not in what is shown but in all the elements that aren't shown. The logistics of having these kids travel all over the country to praise Jesus and to fight the war are mind boggling, but the film treats it like an afterthought. And where are the parents and who are the parents. Very well done with little Michael Moore ishness. 4.5/5

Death of a President: A second controversial film that behaves just as mundane. This was far too reminiscent of a CourtTV hour long show on some 40 year old crime. The creators lacked any creativity whatsoever. The assassination parallels Bobby Kennedy with a backdrop exactly like the inauguration 2000 protests. The government's response was perhaps as hackneyed as you could get. I enjoy speculative fiction but this film was intellectually lazy and failed to provide any insight. It attempted to cover up the extreme lack of creativity with about an hour too much about finding the assassin. I praise the filmmakers for remaining somewhat apolitical, but I would have preferred a politically charged film to this CourtTV rehash bolstered by one exciting scene (the assassination). Should have been a short film. 2/5