[NormsRevenge]

Raging Bull meets Raging Baloney

[conservative cat]

My brother, who is a disgusting liberal, hated this movie. He is an occupational therapist and said that the way the character felt was common for those with spinal cord injuries AT FIRST and then their attitude usually changes.

[richmwill]

Why would they criticize? Because some think it is better to live as a non-functioning brain-dead vegetable than to die with some dignity.

[Andy from Beaverton]

Medved almost single handed has dealt a death blow to this pitiful deceitful movie.

[This Just In]

A relative of mine, who happens to lean left, saw the movie the other day and expressed outrage over the ending. She said that she had no idea the movie would conclude in such a way and felt mislead. This relative also said that had she known about the twist at the end she would never had seen the movie.

[mcg1969]

Someone show me the law that says that the media has to comply with the wishes of Hollywood and keep key plot details of movies a secret. I sure as heck wish someone had told me that chick in the Crying Game was a dude, that's for sure.

[Ciexyz]

Another good one from Michael Medved.

[goldstategop]

The movie's theme is morally reprehensible. And as a disabled person, I resent the message my life isn't equal to the worth of people who aren't disabled because I can't do all of the things they can. I am entitled to the pursuit of happiness as much as they are. What passes for liberal compassion these days is quick and merciful death to those society deems too burdensome - and not the picture of perfect health. That's the message of Million Dollar Baby and no amount of deceptive bait and switch advertising will conceal it. Michael Medved has earned the right to say what he thinks without fear or favor. It has nothing to with Clint Eastwood's politics or party affiliation or anything extrinsic to the movie. The movie just plain sucks.

Denny Crane: "There are two places to find the truth. First God and then Fox News."

[bdeaner]

First, I agree with Medved that there is nothing subtle about the message of "Million Dollar Baby." The film evokes sympathy for a character who commits assisted suicide, and, in doing so, sends a message that quadraplegics have no life to live--a message which, by all scientific standards, flies in the face of reality. Surprisingly, most people who undergo such tragedies soon recover a lust for life and, in empirical research, demonstrate higher happiness scores than lottery winners. Christopher Reeve was a living example.

So, I completely reject the message of the film.

On the other hand, Eastwood is without doubt one of the most skilled film directors in Hollywood today. He has had his share of duds (i.e., Bloodwork), but within the past decade, he has directed some of the most mature and outstanding examples of cinema in recent memory. "Unforgiven" and "Mystic River" are particular standouts.

The cinematic craftsmanship of "Million Dollar Baby" is top notch in every respect. Most outstanding of all is the cinematography and lighting of Tom Stern, who really hits his stride with this film. Eastwood's musical score is subtle and just right. With the exception of Jay Baruchel, who overplays the mental retarded kid, the acting is superb in every sense. Both Swank and Eastwood display the apex of their talents on-screen--and, consider Eastwood's acting history, that's saying a lot. The editing is well-paced. For the most part, the writing is crisp and original, perhaps with the exception of the almost campy family of Swank's character.

It is possible to distinguish the craftsmanship of a film from the message of the film. If I were to grade "Million Dollar Baby" on ethics, it gets an F. But on filmmaking, it deserves an A.

[Question Liberal Authority]

I know someone who is very sensitive to the subject of suicide. Thanks to Michael Medved's ranting about this movie, I was able to warn her about the theme.

She still saw the movie, but was VERY glad that I told her about it.

[Nachum]

Good grief people! It was first a short story. A little known work that a classy director took a chance on. Eastwood made it into a film. It was a good film, period.

You don't like it? Fine. Don't see it.

[Patton@Bastogne]

.


Quidnunc


Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby ?


One of the best damn movies I've seen in years ... right-up there with the recent Kevin Costner flick "Open Range" ...


I'm a Pro-Life Conservative ... and think that Clint Eastwood's character did the RIGHT THING with his "adopted" daughter ...

Those knee-jerk Christian Pro-Lifers give the rest of us "thinking folks" a bad name ... especially with their "as expected" criticisms of this movie ...





Patton@Bastogne
Free Republic Member since 1998.



General George S. Patton Jr. Website




.

[lotusblos]

Hey, a movie is a movie and Clint Eastwood makes some of the best. If you need to see the ending you expect, write it yourself and get the movie made. If you can't handle surprises, just stick with Michael Moore, he won't disappoint.

[ratemy]

Million Dollar Baby is a movie about the sanctity of life...of course the religious conservatives don't like it...

[Borges]

Can't believe how much attention is being paid to this simple little tearjerker. And in reference to Michael Medved's example from Shakespeare...Opheila didn't kill herself she lost her mind and drowned. A better example would have been Romeo and Juliet or Antony and Cleopatra. Or Othello.

[Rastus]

Hey, quid. Here's another author's take on the same subject:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1344997/posts

[zbigreddogz]

If somebody wants to do me a favor and ban me, I guess they can. But I am increasingly convinced that Hannity was right. We HAVE been taken over by the extreme, and this is proof of it.

Decrying a film for taking a hard look at, and arriving at a different conclusion then, most conservatives, is stupid. Art is just that, art. It is there to discuss, to think about.

MDB doesn't even say that it is right, it merely says that this is what these characters, in this story, do. You can take it or leave it. I would think as conservatives, we would appreciate that sort of candor. Frankly, any conservative who WOULDN'T struggle with the issue if it was their daughter, who was paralized and couldn't breath on her own, and wanted to die, I woudn't trust. I am not saying that it is the right choice, or that it should be legal for doctors to help them, or anything else. But by not at least acnowledging the pain and torment people in that situation go through, we are not only doing a disservice to them, and to ourselves, but our cause.

And Medved shows his PROFOUND ignorance when he calls it a box office flop. By the end of it's run, it will have made more then 55 million dollars. It has probably made over 20 million in foreign markets. It will gross at least half that when it hits DVD. It was made for 25 million dollars. It will make a decent profit. The Aviator, on the other hand, which he praises, was made for nearly 100 million dollars, and has so far made back around 80 million. With foreign markets and DVD, It'll probably break even, but I doubt it will make much of a profit.

Seriously, I'm increasingly noticing that there is no place on this message boards for opinions like this. Heck, I've spend hours trying to explain that I think Max Cleland was a lousy Senator, and a whiny, self-important jerk, but a good GI, and am usually ridiculed for it.

Tell me, is there a place on these boards for such opinions? Because this person, who voted for 1 democrat in the last election, and that only because his republican opponent was a nut whom the State Republican Party Chair as well as our last candidate for Governor, urged us to vote against, is getting pretty tired of this kind of reactionary extremism.

[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

My wife is a home nurse to a sixteen-year-old boy who has Cerebral Palsey. He is completely paralyzed from the neck down. He loves his computer and his music. I was proud to introduce him to some music he had never heard before by sending him a CD which he thoroughly enjoyed.

This boy has trouble speaking but you can understand him.

He told my wife, during a candid moment, he hates that people think he has no brain.

This young man has every right to live his life and receive the love and respect of those around him. His is a very worthwhile life and our lives are made more rich by sharing our lives with him and others in his situation.

[beaversmom]

Michael Medved ping. Anyone want on or off the Medved ping list, please send me an e-mail.

[Mamzelle]

Just as a little aside--it is fun to hear Hollywood endorse an Absolute Value. "You should absolutely not tell the end of a movie without spoiler alerts!"

I think this is funny, coming from the same people who think leaking secrets that hurt national security is perfectly OK.

They do have some notion of what right and wrong might be--at least they think they know of one small instance.