The Blue Kite, Dead Man Walking, & National Treasure

The Blue Kite is actually pretty depressing. Oh, wait, because every movie banned in China for being an accurate portrayal of post-revolution China and the many re-education programs that went on, leading to many, many deaths and very little progress. This is really messed up, but I guess that's why China is so messed up and why people study that time period so much. I would like to know more about this time period, although really, my best bet is to talk to my friend who is going to start studying China next month. Or at least ask her advice as to how to learn about this. Anyway, I really don't have a lot to say besides man, China was messed up, and the constant need to be counterrevolutionary is a serious problem with every communist country (and pretty much all authoritarian regimes). So messed up.

Dead Man Walking is really well-made. I'm not sure what else I can really say about it, because there was nothing wrong with it at all, and it's just well-done in every way. I can't think of anything wrong with it, and nothing I can make fun of it for. Sort of makes it difficult. I mean, if there's a movie that is so utterly ridiculous, it's easy to write about, or if it deals with something I want to talk about, that's easy. But when it's a reasonable look at the death penalty and I really hate the death penalty, that's about it. I just don't think anyone should be ending anyone's life, for any reason. Then again, I really haven't had anything horrible happen to me or my family, so I can't say ultimately what I would want in the situation in the film.

National Treasure is actually better than I was expecting. But why does Sean Bean keep getting typecast as the bad guy or someone who's completely incompetant? Have people not seen the Sharpe series? And if not, why don't they watch those to get an idea of how good Sean Bean can be. Nic Cage is too hyperactive in it, but that's a fairly normal thing for him. It's full of fun little historical facts, most of which are pretty easy, and fairly well known, but still, the movie promotes early American historical knowledge, which is good. I do know that the mason stuff is generally hokum, but it's a thrill a minute thrill ride. Of course there are serious problems. But somehow it's also so horribly cheesy and ridiculous that it doesn't really matter. I'm happy that a movie like this did fairly well, when it could have been a movie with no redeeming values at all.