Star Wars Episode III
Saw this one on Friday night. It was, as many have said before, better than the previous two prequels, which is certainly not to say that it was, in any traditional sense, good. As with the others, Lucas made me laugh when he was trying to be moving (men who have had as terrible luck in love as he have should not be allowed to write love scene dialogue), and made me groan and cringe several times with terrible jokes or puns. The references to the current political situation were heavy-handed and obvious, though not inaccurate. (Example: As the Galactic Senate is approving the elevation of the bad guy to the rank of supreme Emperor, Natalie Portman quips, "So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause." Quite so. Witness NASCAR.)
Overall, though, Lucas retains his gift for making good actors look terrible (et tu, Jimmy Smits?), and for dragging out plot points for hours and then just changing everything in a heartbeat. (Example: Annakin struggles mightily with his dark-side tendencies until, in one instant, he is completely and forever evil. "What have I done?" followed immediately by "I am under your command, my master." Enh.)
In summary, it surely was better than it's recent predecessors. High praise indeed.
Hotel Rwanda
Last night we finally watched Hotel Rwanda, and all I can really say about it is shame on us. Shame on all of us. Of course we've all known for a long time what happened 11 years ago in Rwanda, but seeing it dramatized so well really brought home the unimaginable failure or our "civilization" to do anything about such a monumental tragedy. We knew about it, and we let it happen. Our leaders were careful to only refer to "acts of genocide," not genocide unqualified, literally playing word games so that we would not be legally obligated to do something.
Our current adventures around the world only show how nothing has changed. We intervene where we have economic interests and pretend it's a humanitarian cause, while simultaneously turning our backs completely to real atrocities on a scale we can't imagine happening in places we don't care about.
Canadian Colonel Oliver, portrayed by Nick Nolte - who was forced to stand by and watch the Rwandan genocide take place, ordered by his superiors to do nothing, (and who later basically lost his mind over the whole thing) - explains the West's refusal to intervene this way:
I can honestly say that I've never felt so ashamed watching a movie.
