[EveningStar]

Some people may be wondering why I attended a showing of this movie. Well, it's simple, really:

It was playing at only 10 theatres nationwide. One of those theatres was less than 7 miles from our home. The next closest theatre was over 350 miles away in Phoenix. Given this opportunity, it was only right that I give the movie a fair viewing.

Both my wife and I are retired, so we selected an early afternoon weekday showing when most people were working We were thus able to get better seats. For that time of day, the movie was fairly well attended. The theatre was about 1/3 full.

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Here, very condensed, are my thoughts on the movie:

My wife and I both found the movie overall to be powerful and well done. It shows Palin at her best. The movie was well edited and quite moving. My wife came away with a new respect for Palin. My overall opinion of Palin remains unchanged. But that discussion is for other threads, OK?

Now, if the movie is going to be edited before its full release, I have some minor suggestions:

• The captions identifying the speakers were up and gone in a flash. The captions should remain on the screen slightly longer so that they can be read by non speed readers. Also, the captions should be repeated during the movie, say for every third appearance.
• There should also be captions identifying the leftwing critics at the beginning. They may be well known to many viewers, but not to everyone.
• There is one small shot at the end of the African sequence that lasts maybe a second. It shows a dead Zebra being devoured by lions. I think it's unnecessary.

There is one major fix that I would suggest, but due to the time and expense involved, I don't think it will be done. In this particular theatre, the musical score was loud and intrusive. It may have been a problem with the way the speakers were balanced. I don't know. However, the movie needs to be re-scored. Right now, the score runs continuously through the entire movie. It was like watching a David Lean film. Any moment I expected Lawrence of Arabia to ride over the horizon on a camel. Just kidding, but the score should be drastically reduced and limited to the more dramatic moments of the movie.

There were also a few occasions where I found myself laughing at some of the symbolic clips – exploding volcanoes, etc. I’m not sure if I was supposed to be laughing.

Still, the overall movie is well done.

As to the theatre audience reaction, they were enthusiastic. During the third act of the movie, they applauded and cheered several times.

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RonDog, thank you for inviting me to the after-movie party, and thank you for the kind words. To all those I met there, it was a pleasure. Everyone was extremely gracious to me and I replied in kind. It was past my bedtime, so I couldn’t stay long, but I had a good time.

[abigail2]

I agree 100% with your critique of the movie. I couldn’t read the captions either. I would agree they ought to make a few changes.

[Friendofgeorge]

Thank you for your respectful review. So the film may have won your wife over? I do not know your wifes view prior, but you say she left with a new respect for Palin, so I will leave it there unless you want to elaborate.

Thanks

[RonDog]

...the musical score was loud and intrusive...

...It was like watching a David Lean film.

Any moment I expected Lawrence of Arabia to ride over the horizon on a camel.

THANK YOU for braving the "slings and arrows" of this important discussion, EveningStar.

And, FWIW, I plan to keep working on "converting" YOU. ;)

As far as the muscial score, I think that you identified what I **liked** about it!

This wonderful movie **is** like an EPIC WESTERN -- and the "soaring" musical score helps to transport you there!

Good and evil, battling it out in the "Last Frontier" that is ALASKA...

...with Governor Palin as JOHN WAYNE!

Is "John Wayne" on your "Palin metaphor" list yet? ;)

[SueRae]

Appreciate your review. It hadn’t occurred to me that they would be re-releasing it to a larger audience but if they do, I hope they read and take your suggestions to heart. Looking forward to seeing it myself.