Link: http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/reviews/cl-et-button25-2008dec25,0,3522895.story
This movie review was written by Kenneth Turan for the LA Times. I myself have seen the movie in mention, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," and I don't think it deserved the review that Turan gave it. Turan says that this film "...leaves you colder than it should, and it shouldn't leave you cold at all." I disagree that this film was anything close to "cold". Though I do agree with Turan that the movie itself was a bit too long and at times tedious, I don't believe it deserved the criticism that he gave to it in that area. In addition the one section where Turan writes, "While that bit of technical virtuosity is supposed to make us ponder the mysteries of mortality, actually seeing these various Buttons plays as grotesque and gimmicky, leading to speculation that the chance to do something bizarre and unsettling is what attracted Fincher to the project in the first place," I find this phrase completely uncalled for. Though I enjoyed this journalist's including background information on those behind the scenes: the director, the screenwriters, etc., his scrutiny of Fincher's choose to do this film was crossing a line in my mind, going from giving a good review to being unnecessarily harsh using the words "gimmicky" and "grotesque," these are two words that I would only reserve for terrible low-budget movies using obvious prothstetics, not something that other critics are claiming as a visual masterpiece.
Apart from the reviewer's too-obvious bias, The review included good background information. I did not know this film was based on a book prior to reading this review, and I find that an interesting addition to the film, because it is not mentioned in ads that a book is what the film is based on. As a mentioned before the journalist did a good job again at mentioning the director and writers for the film and what they have previously worked on, which was a good standpoint if the reader has seen any of the films.
Though I thought this review was lacking any notable observations about the film (apart from the fact it was based on a book) and that this review lost integrity when Turan decided to pull apart "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and boil it down to a movie, "Hollywood suits have been trying to make it for decades." I believe that this review was also proven wrong and the opinion of one very biased journalist when it was nominated for numerous academy awards. When I saw this movie, it was not my favorite, but it definitely did not deserve this review.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
In a Quiet Rebellion, Parishioners Keep Faith
LINK:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/us/06vigil.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
In this article “In a Quiet Rebellion, Parishioners Keep the Faith”, by Abby Goodnough, we learn of vigils taking place in Roman Catholic churches, that were supposed to close, in Massachusetts . The main church focused on is the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church in Scituate Mass. St. Frances is a church that was supposed to close over one thousand days ago, but due to constant vigils and an appeal by the former parishioners to the Vatican , the church has yet to be sold by the archdiocese. Goodnough explores the deeper meaning on the vigils, and how, “They call it a vigil, but by now it is more of a lifestyle.” The journalist does a very good job of collecting all of the facts and information on what is exactly going on, while still incorporating some of the parishioner’s back stories and motivations. Goodnough incorporates details such as, “Bobbie Sullivan, 57 …planned her weeks around a sign-up sheet by the door. Her husband died in 2006, and sleeping alone in the reconciliation room, under an electric blanket, does not bother her.” These details help add human interest to the story, pull at the heart strings a bit and demonstrate the parishioner’s motivations for holding on to this vigil.
Moving aside from the way the article is written to its actual content, at first I was a bit confused and did not agree with what these people were doing. Turning a church into a “living room” with things such as, “…houseplants on the altar and finished jigsaw puzzles on a back pew…” seems very odd to me. Why people would choose to basically campout in a church that is supposed to be closed seems not only strange, but a bit disrespectful to me. Churches are supposed to be places of worship, not places to come sleep and live twenty-four seven. Moving through the article however the journalist mentions a deeper meaning to the vigils, “Parishioners also hold suppers in the vestibule and meet Tuesdays to say the rosary. They raise money as a nonprofit group, donate to charities and open the church to outsiders seeking comfort or repose.” With that detail the vigil seems a little more plausible and makes a bit more sense to me, though I can not fully understand the motivations behind holding onto a church that is no longer functioning.
Overall, this was an excellent article. It is an interesting topic, and it has enough fact and quoted opinion that it balances out. The writing style flows smoothly, and I as a reader was interested the whole time while reading. Goodnough captures the plight of the parishioners at St. Frances and tells their story in an informative and unbiased way.
In this article “In a Quiet Rebellion, Parishioners Keep the Faith”, by Abby Goodnough, we learn of vigils taking place in Roman Catholic churches, that were supposed to close, in Massachusetts . The main church focused on is the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Church in Scituate Mass. St. Frances is a church that was supposed to close over one thousand days ago, but due to constant vigils and an appeal by the former parishioners to the Vatican , the church has yet to be sold by the archdiocese. Goodnough explores the deeper meaning on the vigils, and how, “They call it a vigil, but by now it is more of a lifestyle.” The journalist does a very good job of collecting all of the facts and information on what is exactly going on, while still incorporating some of the parishioner’s back stories and motivations. Goodnough incorporates details such as, “Bobbie Sullivan, 57 …planned her weeks around a sign-up sheet by the door. Her husband died in 2006, and sleeping alone in the reconciliation room, under an electric blanket, does not bother her.” These details help add human interest to the story, pull at the heart strings a bit and demonstrate the parishioner’s motivations for holding on to this vigil.
Moving aside from the way the article is written to its actual content, at first I was a bit confused and did not agree with what these people were doing. Turning a church into a “living room” with things such as, “…houseplants on the altar and finished jigsaw puzzles on a back pew…” seems very odd to me. Why people would choose to basically campout in a church that is supposed to be closed seems not only strange, but a bit disrespectful to me. Churches are supposed to be places of worship, not places to come sleep and live twenty-four seven. Moving through the article however the journalist mentions a deeper meaning to the vigils, “Parishioners also hold suppers in the vestibule and meet Tuesdays to say the rosary. They raise money as a nonprofit group, donate to charities and open the church to outsiders seeking comfort or repose.” With that detail the vigil seems a little more plausible and makes a bit more sense to me, though I can not fully understand the motivations behind holding onto a church that is no longer functioning.
Overall, this was an excellent article. It is an interesting topic, and it has enough fact and quoted opinion that it balances out. The writing style flows smoothly, and I as a reader was interested the whole time while reading. Goodnough captures the plight of the parishioners at St. Frances and tells their story in an informative and unbiased way.
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