_**Provocative psychological drama**_ Peoples of differing ethnicities and social-economic levels 'crash' into each other in Los Angeles over a day or so at Christmas time. These people include: A white cop who's angry over the downside of affirmative action and so abuses his authority (Matt Dillon); his young white partner who objects to the abuse and actively tries to counteract it (Ryan Phillipe); a black TV director who feels emasculated over the racism he experiences and ultimately blows up (Terrence Howard); his light-skinned wife who doesn't know when to shutteth up (Thandie Newton); an Hispanic locksmith (Michael Peña) and his young daughter with an ‘impenetrable invisible cloak’; a Persian shopkeeper who needs a scapegoat after his store is horribly vandalized, not to mention his daughter and wife; two black car thieves (Ludacris and Larenz Tate), the latter the younger brother of a detective, Graham (Don Cheadle); Graham's beautiful partner and girlfriend, Ria (Jennifer Esposito), and her mother, a maid to the District Attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his wife (Sandra Bullock); an Asian man who’s hospitalized and his frantic wife racing to see whether he's alive or dead. "Crash" is reminiscent of another L.A. drama, the 1991 masterpiece "Grand Canyon," but has enough nuances to stand on its own. For one thing, "Crash" is even more serious and dark. This is an involved story with several interwoven story lines; it ain't no mindless popcorn 'blockbuster.' A casual viewing won't cut it. It's not that kind of picture. Most of the negative criticisms about the film are by people who didn't watch closely and then lambaste it with criticisms that aren't even legitimate. For one thing, the film is about more than racism; it's about stereotypes, hypocrites, abuse of power, the capacity for good or bad in every human soul, second chances, passive correction and shame, self-sacrifice, redemption, forgiveness, the last straw, manhood & emasculation, giving someone a break, true friendship, misunderstandings, favoritism and more. *** SPOILER ALERT *** Not every character is racist as some critics insist. Brendan Fraser's character never shows any racism and the only reason his wife (Bullock) blows up with racially-charged statements concerning the locksmith is because she just got robbed and shoved to the pavement at gunpoint by two young black guys. How would you or I react after such an experience? Also, the cop partner of Matt Dillon's character never displays racism in the truest sense; why else would he radically come to the defense of the director who has a fit or pick up a young black male hitchhiking? (What happens later is a misunderstanding not real racism). What about the detectives Graham & Ria and Ria's housemaid mother? (Yes, Graham makes one derogatory statement about Hispanics, but that's it; he's hardly racist). These are all main characters. Then there's the criticism that all the protagonists are "essentially one-dimensional racial stereotypes." This is completely untrue. Graham and Ria (black and Latino) are successful detectives; Cameron is a successful black TV director; and the Hispanic locksmith is a family-oriented working man, not a criminal or gangbanger. Yes, there are some people who fit the stereotypes, like the two young black male thieves and the racist/abusive white cop, but one of the thieves becomes shamed for his lifestyle & hypocrisy and the racist cop is willing to risk his life for a woman of color, thus redeeming himself (from the guilt he felt over abusing his power the night before), besides his white partner is anything but a white racist who abuses his authority. One critic criticized the film with this multiple-choice question: "You are involved in a car accident on a busy street. The other driver is Asian. Do you: (a) Wait for the police to arrive and see if the other driver is okay; (b) Exchange insurance information with the other driver; (c) Scream and yell, "damn chinks don't know how to drive!" "If you picked ‘c’ you'd love Crash." This car-crash scenario DOES take place in the story, but he's leaving out some important details: A woman & man are rear-ended by an Asian lady. Why don't they call the cops? Because they ARE cops and there are other cops on the scene. Why does the lady detective talk back to the Asian woman? Because the latter is having a fit and throwing racial slurs at her. This is WHY she talks back to the Asian woman, not to mention she's a cop and therefore in a position of authority. Why does the Asian woman have a fit anyway? Because she's rushing to the hospital to see if her husband's alive. So, you see, the witty little multiple-choice question doesn't actually fit the reality of the film. *** END SPOILER *** Another criticism is that the racism in the story is not subtle like it is in real life. Well, haven't you ever seen anyone blow up like in the movie? I have. In a city as big as L.A. how many such blow ups happen over any 36-hour period? There's a lot of raw emotion and hard-to-watch scenes, but there are undeniable glimpses of love, hope, redemption and forgiveness as well. If you're in the mood for a well-made psychological drama with numerous insights to the human condition, don't miss out. The film runs 1 hour, 54 minutes, and was shot in the Los Angeles area. GRADE: A
A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.
When beautiful young Grace arrives in the isolated township of Dogville, the small community agrees to hide her from a gang of ruthless gangsters, and, in return, Grace agrees to do odd jobs for the townspeople.
Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.
Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Tells the life story of Danish author Karen Blixen, who at the beginning of the 20th century moved to Africa to build a new life for herself. The film is based on her 1937 autobiographical novel.
In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.
A former Secret Service agent grudgingly takes an assignment to protect a pop idol who's threatened by a crazed fan. At first, the safety-obsessed bodyguard and the self-indulgent diva totally clash. But before long, all that tension sparks fireworks of another sort, and the love-averse tough guy is torn between duty and romance.
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.