Given its subject matter, Lovelace could be forgiven for being shocking or harrowing itself...if it were. It could be forgiven for being a lot of things--contentious, outrageous, depressing, infuriating. But given its source material, here's the one thing I couldn't forgive it for being: gutless.
The past twelve months have been filled with great times at the movies for me. For the first time since I started making such lists, I had choices to make not only at the top but also at the bottom.
I happened to see Enough Said the day after screening Inside Llewyn Davis. Both films featured caustic--some might say cruel--women verbally abusing the men they once partnered.
Alas, no. No to all of it. No to it being a holiday film, a love film, a romantic film, or a feel good film. No, above all to it being truthful about the world we live in. No to the masses being smarter than the critics. No to some of the best actors of our generation elevating mediocre material. I still can't bring myself to hate this movie, but I do feel sympathy (and yes, if I'm honest, condescension) towards those who embrace it.
While I never quite felt like I was watching a snuff film, I could also never shake the suspicion that I might soon be.
This movie isn't that bad. The acting is, but the plot isn't.
"This program is an adaptation of Bible Stories that changed our world" suggests a rebuttal to those who question why such a program even justifies a place on our screens, whilst "It endeavors to stay true to the spirit of the book" seems like a defense against potential criticisms that it dares to meander from the original text.
Evaluating Disney films in a DVD era has become a complicated calculus.
I prefer the movie to the book.
A person--doesn’t have to be a friend of yours necessarily, just someone you know or have heard of--is diagnosed with cancer. This person decides not to undergo any type of chemotherapy treatment or ingest any available medicines—because he equates treatment to “cheating.” Would you not think this an asinine response?
