Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Scent of a Woman

2010-04-21T14:59:36Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''''Scent of a Woman''''' is a movie starring [[Al Pacino]].
The plot is about a prep school boy who gets involved in a prank and is nearly thrown out of school, but that's just a framework. The real story is the student's relationship with the disabled veteran he's being paid to take care of.<ref> Roger Ebert wrote, "The screenplay is by Bo Goldman ... who is more interested in the people than the plot." [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19921223/REVIEWS/212230301/1023]</ref>
[[James Rebhorn]] turns in his usual excellent portrayal of an annoying authority figure.
Look also for a young [[Philip S. Hoffman]].

Charlie Simms is not going home from his expensive prep school for Thanksgiving, while his friends wonder whether to go skiing in Stowe or Sugarbush. He's on financial aid, so he applies for a job taking care of a housebound relative.
Only when he gets there does he begin to find out what he's in for.

Ultimately, the film is about integrity and concern for one's fellow man, two important [[conservative values]]. Charlie is faced with two matters of conscience: does he tell on his schoolmates, save himself, and collect the reward of a full scholarship to Harvard? And can he stop Lt. Col. Slade from blowing his brains out with a .45?

Like many films of its genre, this one suffers from several flaws. The hero drinks, smokes, speaks profanely and cuttingly, and has estranged himself from his family; he lives by himself in a small building behind his his niece's house. He can be a real gentleman when he wants to,<ref> "The Hollywood film takes great pains to show its protagonist as a kind-hearted, charismatic romantic who hides behind a gruff exterior." [http://www.avclub.com/articles/scent-of-a-woman,19487/]</ref>
but his attempt to educate Charlie includes the anti-patterns of prostitution and suicide.

Charlie tries to reason with Slade, using liberal platitudes: "You're not bad, you're just in pain."

==Notes==
<references />

Remember the Titans

2010-04-21T14:58:23Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''Remember the Titans''' is a wonderful football movie, with Denzel Washington and Will Patton
as black and white football coaches training an integrated team in the American South.
Newcomer Hayden Panettiere gives a surprisingly strong performance as the white coach's daughter.

[[Category:Movies about fathers and daughters]]
[[Category:Sports Movies]]

La Femme Nikita

2010-04-21T14:58:16Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''La Femme Nikita''' (French title: '''Nikita''') is a 1990 French language movie directed by [[Luc Besson]]. It is the story of a female drug addict convicted of murdering a policeman during a failed pharmacy robbery. While serving her sentence, Nikita is sneaked out of prison by an unknown government agency and given the choice of becoming an assassin (presumably for the French government) or being killed herself. Nikita is broken of her rebellious spirit as she struggles with opiate withdrawal to receive extensive training in weapons handling, etiquette, computers, and language. She eventually graduates her training to receive assignments to assassinate strangers by her handler, an operative higher up within the agency.

==Themes==
''Nikita'' explores themes of personal redemption as the protagonist, a formerly pathetic heroin addicted juvenile delinquent, is transformed and begins to find herself finally capable of self-examination and taking control of her life. She begins having doubts about killing for a living and escapes the agency to live a new life in peace and away from violence.

==Remakes==
''Nikita'' was remade in 1993 as ''Point of No Return'', by director John Badham. It starred Bridget Fonda as the assassin and Gabriel Byrne as the handler.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100263/</ref>

[[Category:French Movies]]
[[Category:Movies]]

Trouble Along the Way

2010-04-21T14:58:12Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''Trouble Along the Way''' stars [[John Wayne]] as a football coach who helps prevent a small Catholic college from closing.

[[Category:Movies about fathers and daughters]]

Full screen (Internet Explorer)

2010-04-21T14:58:06Z

AllenShaw: delete - non-encyclopedic

{{speedy}}
The '''full screen''' view in Internet Explorer 8 is supposed to hide toolbars automatically, but the Auto-Hide function can be disabled.
To restore [[Auto-Hide]]:
#Press F11 (and bear with me a moment!)
#Press Alt-spacebar
#:This brings up small menu in the upper-left portion of your screen
#Choose the Auto-<s>H</s>ide command
#:Within 3 or 4 seconds, the toobars will go away.

The Celestine Prophecy

2010-04-21T14:58:04Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop-culture

{{speedy}}
'''The Celestine Prophecy''' is a movie about "seeing the world as it really is."

32-bit Windows

2010-04-21T14:57:47Z

AllenShaw: delete - non-encyclopedic

{{speedy}}
'''Am I running 32-bit Windows?'''
* Users ask this question when downloading software, if there are separate versions for 64-bit and 32-bit Windows.
* In Vista, open the System control panel by right-clicking Computer and choosing Properties (either on the Start Menu or in Windows Explorer)

Confessions of a Shopaholic

2010-04-21T14:54:36Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture & rubbish writing

{{speedy}}
'''Confessions of a Shopaholic''' is a romantic comedy which appears simplistic but actually makes one simple point about an aspiring journalist. "She spoke the truth to people who never believed they could understand, and they loved it."

WarGames

2010-04-21T14:54:33Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''WarGames''' (1983) is a typical liberal "[[anti-war]]" movie, that is, a movie with the premise that America is wrong and American government leaders are stupid. The movie begins with a war exercise to discover what percent of missile launch teams will fire nuclear missiles with no information other than the fact that the launch order has been transmitted. Management is disappointed to discover that 1 in 5 teams refused to launch. So the old system, which requires two men to agree independently that the launch order is valid, is replaced with an automatic launch mechanism.

Matthew Broderick plays a teenager whose hobbies are video games (like the classic [[Galaga]]) and cracking into computer systems.
In typical liberal style, the movie takes as a premise that a crucially important military computer system would provide a list of its resources to someone who had not logged in.
But it also has the not so far-fetched idea that someone might use his own son's name as a login code. This is such an elementary breach of [[computer security]] that it provides redeeming value to an otherwise useless piece of liberal propaganda.

More far-fetched is the idea that the computer's main interface would be a natural-language chat program.
Even more far-fetched is the idea that a remote terminal would be unmonitored by any security personnel and allow a user to impersonate a dead man with a closed user account.
But the biggest farce of all is that a war games program would be connected with a live missile launch facility in such a way that any scenario entered would be interpreted as the real thing. The boy and his sidekick, thinking they are simply playing on a game publisher's computer, simulate Soviet launches against Las Vegas and Seattle.

What makes it entertaining (and not just an exercise in left-wing propaganda) is that the movie does indeed have a plot. The kid cracks security with "Joshua" (both the login code, and what he starts calling the AI program he's chatting with). He and the girl have fun playing a war game, but are scared of getting caught when they hear on the evening news that the game was taken seriously. Then the FBI arrest the kid and take him, of all places, directly to NORAD headquarters, where he's left alone with an unguarded computer terminal and logs in again! At this point, the kid is still trying to prove his innocence and tell the men what the program is doing. But they refuse to listen, and lock him up again - unguarded - in an infirmary room.

At the heart of the movie is a blurring between reality and fantasy, along with the highly appealing liberal (and adolescent) fantasy that you know something crucially important that no one else does. In David's case, he's the only one who knows that a rogue AI program is manipulating NORAD into a nuclear war with the USSR. The problem with this sort of fiction, as it is with other liberal fantasies, is the disconnection between theory and fact that comes when we allow ourselves the luxury of indulging our fantasies too much.

The movie ends with a "convincing" rationale, that the only way to deal with the risks of international nuclear war is to "refuse to play", presumably meaning that the US should have adopted a pacifist approach such as [[unilateral disarmament]]. Fortunately, [[Ronald Reagan]] did exactly the opposite and outspent the Soviets to win the [[Cold War]].

[[Category:Movies About Nuclear War]]

Registry repair

2010-04-21T14:53:21Z

AllenShaw: delete - non-encylcopedic

{{speedy}}
{{merge|Windows registry}}{{cquote|The problem with most registry repair titles is that they are based on the same open source software script which has then been customized and branded to their company name. The issue with this base product is that it is a basic registry scanning program that doesn't have the capacity or technology to effectively clean your [[Windows registry|registry]]. <ref>[http://www.asknerd.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&gclid=CKrrkdabxaACFctx5QodMT2VaA]</ref>}}

==References==
<references>

Windows registry

2010-04-21T14:53:16Z

AllenShaw: delete - non-encylcopedic

{{speedy}}
The registry is the brains of your computer - it provides all the system policies for your system <ref>[http://www.asknerd.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&gclid=CKrrkdabxaACFctx5QodMT2VaA]</ref>
For those who cannot be bothered to learn how a computer works, it may seem as if Microsoft has gone out of its way to make the Registry mysterious and fearsome sounding. <ref>[http://www.registryonwindows.com/]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Registry repair]]

==References==
<references>

False error messages

2010-04-21T14:53:14Z

AllenShaw: delete - non-encylcopedic

{{speedy}}
'''False error messages''' in Microsoft software cause distress and confusion for its users, but Microsoft has no plans to correct any of these.
For example, when you try to send an email with attached files, and a Microsoft application (like Word or Excel) has any of the attached files open, Microsoft Mail will say that it "cannot locate" the open files. This is false, because is not having trouble locating the files; it has simply been told that the files are in use. The false message causes distress, because the user might think the file has been deleted or misplaced. It causes confusion, because it implies that the files need to be found. Actually, they need only be closed (in whatever application has them open); then the email can be sent.

[[Category:Microsoft Problems]]

Cary Grant

2010-04-21T14:52:03Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''Cary Grant''' was a 20th century movie actor well known for his romantic and comedic roles, although justly famous for his star turn in [[Alfred Hitchcock's]] "[[North By Northwest]]."
In "[[People Will Talk]]", he plays an outspoken but kind medical professor.

Take the Lead

2010-04-21T14:51:53Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''''Take the Lead''''' (2006) is a movie, "inspired by the life of [[Pierre Dulaine]]", about a concerned citizen who uses ballroom dancing and etiquette as a form of [[character education]] for students in a violent inner city neighborhood. It also shows that the dance music of the early to mid 20th century has much in common with late 20th and early 21st century [[hip hop]].
The basic premise is that, those who have, are in a position to share with those who do not. This is underlined by the encouragement Dulaine gives to white, wealthy Caitlin: "Do you like to dance?" "Yes." "Then you were made to dance." She passes on the same encouragement to a black, overweight boy (Monster).
Another basic premise is that each person must take responsibility for their lives, rather than giving up, and that this is essential to education:
*"To do something, anything, is hard. It's much easier to blame your father, your mother, the environment, the government, lack of money, but even if you find a place to assign the blame, it doesn't make the problems go away."
The movie teaches conservative principles about relations between the sexes:
*"Now, if your 16-year-old daughter is strong and secure and trust (sic) herself, how likely is she to let some idiot knock her up? And if your son can learn to touch a girl with respect, how will he treat women throughout his life?

==Plot==
Pierre Dulaine, the owner of an upscale dance school, encounters a troubled youth (Rock) one evening and decides to make the local high school principal an offer of help. Most of the movie is about the progress of this class and the general effect on student morale and deportment, but it also has three sub-plots. Rock is a juvenile delinquent who is friendly with a gang of thieves. A black girl has a mother who brings home men. A white girl (Caitlen) is nervous about her upcoming [[cotillion]]. Meanwhile the whole class has a chance to participate in a city-wide dance competition.

Dulaine defends the universality of love against the haste to "get down to the ill na-na".
To overcome the objections of jaded students to what they see as the staid music of Ira and George Gershwin, he brings in a star pupil and demonstrates with her a sizzling hot [[tango]].

==Themes==

It's ugly to indulge in disdain and dismissive speech, regardless of one's social strata. Dulaine labors to teach the young people to say, "You're welcome", rather than "Uh huh" as a way of showing their sincerity.

==Evaluation==
Although the story is in the conservative mold of an educated, middle-class person giving of themselves to elevate the less fortunate, it contains one flaw: Dulaine tells one pupil, "You need to dance for yourself, not for anybody else." This was in response to excessive pressure from the pupil's parent, which was backfiring and hurting the pupil's confidence. But the correct Christan answer would be about enjoying her God-given gift '''as well as''' giving joy to others by employing that talent for their benefit.

==Legacy==

A title panel in the movie asserts:
:Since "Dancing Classrooms" was created by [[Pierre Dulaine]], it has grown to involve 42 instructors and more than 12,000 students in 120 New York City public schools. It is currently expanding across America.

[[category:Movies About Teachers]]
[[category:Mentor Movies]]
[[Category:Movies about high school]]

==External Links==
*[http://www.grouchoreviews.com/reviews/2527 Groucho Reviews] tears into the film for promoting the students from 5th grade to high school, and other liberties taken with reality

The Sixth Sense

2010-04-21T14:50:55Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
{{Infobox Film
| name=The Sixth Sense
| image=
| caption=
| director=[[M. Night Shyamalan]]
| producer=Kathleen Kennedy Frank Marshall Barry Mendel Sam Mercer
| writer=M. Night Shymalan
| starring=[[Bruce Willis]] Haley Joel Osment
| music=James Newton Howard
| cinematography=Tak Fujimoto
| editing=Andrew Mondshein
| distributor=Kennedy/Marshall/Barry Mendel Productions Hollywood Pictures Spyglass Entertainment
| release date(s)=August 6, 1999
| running time=107 min.
| language=English}}

'''The Sixth Sense''' is a block-buster film directed by [[M. Night Shyamalan]], about a child psychologist who tries to help a child troubled by his mysterious ability to "see dead people all the time". The film was rated PG-13 for intense thematic material and violent images.

This supernatural thriller begins with Philadelphia psychologist Malcolm Crowe getting tipsy with his wife Anna and making light of an award bestowed upon him by the mayor's office for his outstanding work with children. Upstairs, they discover a break in, and Crowe sees a terribly skinny young man clad only in gray briefs, who complains that the doctor has misdiagnosed him ("possible mood disorder") and forgotten him. Crowe takes a moment and remembers former patient Vincent Grey and his good points, but Vincent rages, "You failed me!" and shoots Crowe with a small pistol. Then he turns his gun on himself.

From this point on in the movie, Crowe has no more conversations with adults; he does speak to a number of people, but it easily escapes the notice of the viewer that they never reply. Looking back, one can see all sorts of moments which hint at the reason for this, but on first viewing they merely seem to reflect things like self-doubt or a relationship inexplicably becoming distant.

Our next view of Dr. Crowe finds him seated on a bench with notes and briefcase, reviewing notes on a 9-year-old boy named Cole Sear, who has a diagnosis similar to that of Vincent Grey. He follows Cole to a church, introduces himself, and apologizes for missing his "appointment".

In the following scene we meet Cole's divorced mother, hastily dressing as she prepares to send Cole off to school. After leaving the kitchen for a moment to fetch a tie for Cole, she is astonished to find most of the cabinet doors and drawers open with Cole still seated at the breakfast table. (This brings to mind the typical reasoning of atheists: if the [[fossil record]] appears to show that human beings and animals evolved from other forms of life, then it must be a purely natural process; no supernatural being could have done it (since the supernatural is merely an ignorant myth). Cole must have been looking for something (it couldn't be ghosts, no matter how unlikely it is that a boy could get up, open a dozen doors and drawers, and get back in his seat without even breathing hard or breaking a sweat).

Cole's mother and Dr. Crowe are seated across from each other, not talking, when the apartment door opens and Cole comes home. She tries to get him to talk, by playing a game where she says three things happened to her as if they were true, but are obviously only wishes: winning the lottery, quitting her jobs, eating a picnic and swimming all day in a fountain. Cole's things (wishes) are being picked first for kickball, winning the game, and being carried on his teammate's shoulders. Then Dr. Crowe tries a game with a similar purpose: he must guess something (pretending to "read" Cole's mind), with right or wrong guesses indicated by Cole taking a step forward or back. Right guesses win the boy's confidence, wrong guesses are actually intended to learn something about the boy:
#Your mom's doctor couldn't help her, so you think I can't help you (right)
#You're worried about secrets your mother told the doctor (right)
#You have a secret (right)
#(wrong) The watch was left behind by his father when he left
#(wrong) He got in trouble at school for drawing a picture with a man hurt in the neck with a screwdriver by another man; everyone got upset and his mother cried; now he draws the kind of pictures they don't have meetings about, like smiles and rainbows and dogs running
Cole says, "You're nice, but you can't help me."

Crowe shows up at an elegant restaurant where Anna has finished eating alone. He sits down, says he just can't keep track of time. He starts talking about his new patient, how he's similar to Grey, about his doubts. He apologizes for seeming distant, tries to pick up the check. She signs, glances up, says, "Happy anniversary", and leaves without another word.

Crowe and Cole talk with each other while strolling through the neighborhood. They also meet indoors, where Cole comments on the number of questions the doctor asked about Cole's father. Crowe still does not know Cole's secret, and mentions free association. Cole had once filled a page with angry words and left it where his mother could find it.

Crowe is in the basement, studying the book ''Severe stress and mental disturbance in children'' by Cynthia R. Pfeffer, thinking it could be some sort of physical abuse (but possibly self-inflicted). A young man calls on Anna, inviting her out to the Amish country for a flea market. She declines, to Crowe's relief (perhaps he suspects her of wanting to have an affair).

Cole is in his classroom, when the topic turns to the history of Philadelphia. The teacher asks the children to guess what their school building was used for long ago. Cole suggests that people were hanged in it, his teacher counters that it was courthouse. Cole says that it was the lawyers who had the people hung. The teacher says it's not true, and Cole asks him not to stare at him. The teacher rather inconsiderately chooses instead to stare him down, and Cole calls him Stuttering Stanley over and over until the teacher pounds on Cole's desk saying, "Shut up, you little freak!"

At a birthday party in house like a castle (more upscale than Cole's [[Chuck E. Cheese]] party last year), Cole's mother is suffering the disdain of the wealthier mothers while Cole is lured into a small closet at the top of the stairs and shut in. By the time Cole's mother finds him, he has passed out and is brought to the hospital. The doctor (played by director M. Night Shyamalan) insinuates that Cole's mother has been abusing him. As he's resting in bed, Cole is visited by Dr. Crowe, who tries to get Cole to talk by beginning a rambling story. Cole interrupts and asks Crowe to explain why he's sad. Crowe demurs, but tells the story of "Malcolm" who loved helping children more than anything else in the world. He found out he had made a mistake with one and couldn't help him, but then met a "cool" boy who reminded him of the first one. He thought if he could help him, it would help the other one too.

In return, Cole reveals his own secret: "I see dead people ... walking around ... they don't see each other ... they only see what they want to see ... they don't know they're dead." He sees them, "...all they time ... they're everywhere." Crowe thinks the boy is hallucinating and considers a diagnosis of paranoia or schizophrenia (obviously based on the materialistic premise that there is no such thing as [[ghost]]s, or [[life after death]]).

Cole's mother uncovers scares on her son's back as she puts him to bed. He wakes up, rushes surreptitiously to the bathroom through the suddenly chilly hallway, and enters the kitchen. "Mom?" he calls. The woman turns around, and she has a red mark on her face. She speaks as if addressing her husband who had beaten her and displays her wrists with scars as of having cut her wrists to commit suicide. She yells, "Now you can't hurt me any more!"

Crowe tells Cole he can't be his doctor any more. Cole says he's the only one who can help him but, "How can you help me if you don't believe me?" Crowe reviews an audiotape of a session with Vincent Grey, when he left the room to take a phone call. Turning up the volume, he hears through the static, "Yo no quiero morir." (I don't want to die.) And it's not Vincent's voice.

After this, Crowe decides to believe Cole and makes his first helpful suggestion: the way to make the dead people go away is to listen to them, because even the angry ones just want help. So the next time Cole sees a ghost (a little girl) he says, "Do you want to tell me something?"

Color is a constant theme of the movie, with trees filled with lush green leavess contrasting with piles of brown leaves on the ground in the fall. Cole barely manages to open the heavy red door of a church (red is used throughout to indicate the supernatural).<ref>"Red is an important color in this film. It is used to underscore important links to the supernatural. Red in our culture is a symbol of blood, and hence, death. It is also a bright color that pulls the eye. It underscores. Shyamalan gives it a spiritual connection as well." [http://hollywoodjesus.com/sixth_sense.htm] </ref>

==Notes==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT: Sixth Sense, The}}
[[Category: Movies]]

Hounddog

2010-04-21T14:50:46Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''Hounddog''' is a movie that puts the "red" in [[redneck]]. It may be about kids, but it's not for kids.
The opening scene has otherwise charming [[Dakota Fanning]] contending with a boy her age about a deal to "show her his thing" in exchange for a kiss. Then her father brings home a "stranger lady" for a new girlfriend, and the next day he shoots Dakota's dog. Her father leaves the house, and the new girlfriend says it's permanent. She's sporting a big red mark on her face, and the girl brings her a cold beer (not to drink but to cool and soothe the bruise). The girl finds out that the boy can't swim, so she offers to teach him. She likes to climb a big tree and sing Elvis songs up there. A local black man tells her to "find the spirit" and that "Hound Dog" isn't an Elvis song (a woman had recorded it a few years earlier than Elvis). One evening there's a thunderstorm, and her father is struck by lightning and forgets his identity (see [[amnesia]]). Then the girl gets rape, having been lured to an isolated shack.

Dances With Wolves

2010-04-21T14:50:40Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''Dances With Wolves''', the directorial debut of actor [[Kevin Costner]],<ref> [http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19901109/REVIEWS/11090301/1023 Roger Ebert review]</ref> describes how one white man and a tribe of [[Sioux]] get to know one another.

==Notes==
<references/>

[[category:movies]]

Great Expectations (1946)

2010-04-21T14:50:36Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
In '''Great Expectations''' (1946), Pip is accosted by an escaped convict in a graveyard and brings him food and drink. The convict returns the favor, upon his arrest by His Majesty's soldiers, by declaring that it was he who stole a meat pie and a dram of brandy from the blacksmith's house. Then Miss Haversham starts inviting Pip to "play" in her huge mansion (all but deserted, and with a Haunted House look completed with cobwebs). There he meets a proud, insulting but pretty girl whose company the lady encourages him to keep. This lasts until Pip turns 14 and begins his [[apprenticeship]] with Joe the blacksmith.

When he is 20, Pip is summoned to London to become a gentleman of "great expectations" by an unknown benefactor. At first he is stunned with gratitude, but within a year he comes to realize: "... in trying to become a gentleman, I had succeeded in becoming a snob." A meeting with Joe is awkward, and Pip reflects, "There no are no swindlers in this world to compare with the self-swindler." (see [[Denial]])

Flaming Star

2010-04-21T14:50:27Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''Flaming Star''' (1960) stars [[Elvis Presley]] as Pacer, a half-Indian, half-white man in an area with deadly conflicts between Indians and whites.

The movie begins with a surprise birthday party for a white man and an Indian raid on a settler's cabin. Then a lone Indian carrying a spear appears as evening falls, desiring to talk to Pacer, who refuses any but a daylight meeting with this Kiowa chief.

The next day the two sons discover the Indian butchery when they visit the store, and a relative of one of the deceased threatens to murder Pacer in retaliation (although the viewer knows he had nothing to do with the raid). Then 8 men visit the house demanding the white son clarify where his loyalty lies.

After that, Paw and the white son ride off, and two white trappers visit the house begging a meal. When they learn that Pacer and his mother are Indian, they turn arrogant, calling him boy and Red Boy and one making sexual advances towards his mother.
*This scene shows the degenerate side of whites better than anything else: racism combined with a taste for adultery.

The Kiowa chief appears, and Pacer comes out from the walls of his house to hear his demand: join their side of the war, or be killed (along with his mother). Maw counsels rather than give a quick answer to go to the Indian camp and discuss the matter with her relatives there. The chief keeps the conversation light, not coming to the point in public; at the end of the visit, he acknowledges that Pacer is not ready to make the required choice but only repeats his people's viewpoint
:"Do we come out to take '''their''' land? No, they come against '''us''' ... forever taking, forever pushing."
Pacer's mother fares less well, discovering that the women of tribe have totally ostracized her: to them she is no longer Kiowa.

[[category:movies]]

Broken Arrow

2010-04-21T14:50:23Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture and badly written

{{speedy}}
'''Broken Arrow'''

*... a great western classic that broke new ground when it was released in 1950. Delmer Daves directs this film with an understanding and empathy for the Native American Indians who slowly watched a sea of pioneers and soldiers take over the territories that were once their exclusive domain and livelihood. By 1870 a bloody battle led by the Apache leader Cochise (Jeff Chandler) had been raging in Arizona for over ten years. Jim Jeffords (James Stewart), an ex-army scout, discovers a wounded Apache youth and while the boy attempts to stab him, Jim stays with him until his wounds are healed. When a party of Apaches comes to fetch the youth, they allow Jim to live and he is amazed to discover they are not "animals." The incident makes such an impact on Jim...he learns the Apache customs and language and with a guide to show him the way, he rides into the camp of Cochise. After a while a strong bond is formed...Cochise allows the mail to go through and eventually there is talk of a peace treaty. This was one of the first westerns to show that evil and deception occur on both sides...not all Indians are bad nor are they all good...they are no different from the white men. James Stewart is great but it is Jeff Chandler as Cochise who steals the film. [http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/Broken_Arrow/70065051?trkid=1481020]

[[category:movies]]

Rock My World

2010-04-21T14:50:15Z

AllenShaw: delete - pop culture

{{speedy}}
'''Rock My World''' is a British comedy starring [[Peter O'Toole]] as a elderly lord still in love with his wife, but short on funds. The couple rent their mansion out to a group of rock musicians, while posing as the vacationing butler and cook so their neighbors won't know of their financial straits.

A newly popular 5-man rock band from America called Global Heresy, missing its founder, replaces him with a girl bassist ([[Alicia Silverstone]]). Despite having third billing, Silverstone plays rather a minor role in the film, which is really about how the couple and the band teach each a few things about gracious living.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

2010-04-21T14:31:25Z

AllenShaw: speedy delete - promotes environmentalism

{{speedy}}
{{Infobox Film
| name=Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
| image=Nausicaa p.jpg
| caption=
| director=Hayao Miyazaki
| producer=Isao Takahata
| writer=Hayao Miyazaki
| narrator=Tony Jay (2005 Disney re-release)
| starring=
| music=Joe Hisaishi
| cinematography=Hideshi Kyonen
| editing=Tomoko Kida, Naoki Kaneko, Shoji Sakai
| distributor=Studio Ghibli
| released=1985
| runtime=
| country=Japan
| language=Japanese
| budget=
| gross=
| preceded_by=
| followed_by=
| website=
| amg_id=
| imdb_id=
}}
'''''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind''''' (Japanese title: '''''Kaze no tani no Naushika''''' 風の谷のナウシカ) is an animated film epic released in 1985 by [[Hayao Miyazaki]] and [[Studio Ghibli]], and based upon his earlier [[manga]].

==Plot synopsis==
A thousand years in the future mankind is struggling for survival against a spreading toxic jungle, with only the Valley of the Wind seemingly untouched until a hostile force brings in a sleeping giant with the intent to use it to destroy the jungle's insects; only a spirited princess (Nausicaä) stands in the way, learning more about the jungle than she intended.

==Cast==
====Original Japanese cast====
*Sumi Shimamoto...........Nausicaä
*Hisako Kyôda.............Oh-Baba
*Gorô Naya................Yupa
*Ichirô Nagai.............Mito
*Kôhei Miyauchi...........Goru
*Jôji Yanami..............Gikkuri
*Mîna Tominaga............Rastel

====2005 Disney re-release cast====
*Alison Lohman............Nausicaä
*Tress MacNeille..........Obaba
*Patrick Stewart..........Lord Yupa
*Edward James Olmos.......Mito
*Chris Sarandon...........Kurotowa
*Uma Thurman..............Kushana
*Mark Hamill..............Mayor of Pejite
*Tony Jay.................Narrator

==Creation==
The original story as written by Miyazaki took a total of twelve years to write, with lengthy interruptions due to other commitments. In all, 59 chapters, or five years of menga, were put on paper before work was stopped in 1983 to allow work on the film version, which was funded by Topcraft Studio. The success of the film (it ran for three months in Japan) led to the creation of Studio Ghibli, allowing Miyazaki total creative control over his later works. [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=180]

===="Warriors of the Wind"====
''Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind'' was first introduced to American audiences by New World Video in a heavily-edited film titled "Warriors of the Wind", and broadcast on cable's Home Box Office in 1987. Essentially re-made for children, it focused more on the action than on the environmental theme which was elemental to Miyazaki's story; even Nausicaä's name was changed to "Princess Zandra". Both the editing and release was done without the assistance or approval of an angered Miyazaki, who later said that fans should "to dismiss it from their minds" when his film was restored and re-released in 2005. When Disney offered to re-release the film on DVD in 2005, Miyazaki by then had taken a hard line on future contracts regarding his films; he reportedly sent a samurai sword as a gift to Disney staff preparring another film (''[[Princess Mononoke]]''), bearing a short message attached to the blade which said succinctly: "No cuts". [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=180]

==Links==
*[http://www.onlineghibli.com/films.php Online Ghibli; information on the films of Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli]
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087544/ Internet Movie Database]
*[http://www.nausicaa.net/wiki/Main_Page GhibliWiki; site devoted to fans of Hayao Miyazaki's films]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtohSZ8U5Hk Test flight of Nausicaa's glider on YouTube]

Grave of the Fireflies

2010-04-21T14:30:55Z

AllenShaw: speedy delete - facist propoganda

{{speedy}}
{{Infobox Film
| name=Grave of the Fireflies
| image=Grave of the Fireflies.jpg
| caption=
| director=Isao Takahata
| producer=Toru Hara
| writer=Isao Takahata
| narrator=
| starring=
| music=Masahiko Satoh; Michio Mamiya
| cinematography=Nobuo Koyama
| editing=Takeshi Seyama
| distributor=Studio Ghibli; Central Park Media
| released=1988; 1996
| runtime=
| country=Japan
| language=Japanese
| budget=
| gross=
| preceded_by=
| followed_by=
| website=
| amg_id=
| imdb_id=
}}
'''Grave of the Fireflies''' (火垂るの墓 ''Hotaru no Haka'') is an animated film written and directed by [[Isao Takahata]], a colleague of [[Hayao Miyazaki]] at [[Studio Ghibli]] and produced by Toru Hara. It originally premiered on 16 April 1988, on a double-bill with [[My Neighbor Totoro]]. It was based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, written by Akiyuki Nosaka, who described his work as "a personal apology to my sister."

It was later licensed by Central Park Media, with an English dub being released to widespread critical acclaim. To date, it remains the only anime title to feature on the Top 100 DVD Releases <ref>http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/listing/top100films.php</ref>. [[Roger Ebert]] has referred to it as "the most realistic animated film I've ever seen". <ref>http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000319/REVIEWS08/3190301/1023</ref>

==Synopsis==
{{spoiler}}

As [[World War 2]] draws to a close, American forces begin fire bombing Japanese civilian targets in an attempt to reduce morale on the home front and thus hasten Japan's surrender. As a result of such an attack on the city of [[Kobe]], 12-year-old Seita and his little sister, Setsuko, lose both their home and their mother and have to rely firstly on the charity of relatives, and later on their own wits, during a time where society is becoming increasingly focused on survival and supporting those who work towards that goal. This is something that the two children cannot comprehend, leading to clashes with their relatives and resulting in Seita and Setsuko leaving, in order to go it alone.

At first Seita is confident they can survive on their own, but nobody could ever be prepared for the challenges of living in such uncertain times, especially those who are living outside the system. However, it is the two children's love for each other that provides shelter from the harsh reality that is closing in around them and is what makes this feature stand out.

With very few [[anime]] being set during World War II ([[Barefoot Gen]] and [[The Cockpit]] being other examples), ''Grave of the Fireflies'' is unique as it is made abundantly clear within the first five minutes of the film that neither of its two protagonists will survive until the end. Yet despite, this incredibly bleak premise, the film works for two main reasons.

Firstly, as with many Ghibli films, it does not chose sides, but concentrates simply on the story at hand. The Americans are not portrayed as bad, nor are the Japanese portrayed as being good - everybody is simply doing what they must within the confines of the war.

Secondly, the film works because of the relationship between Seita and Setsuko. It is more about how they react and adapt to their hardships, rather than the hardships themselves. It is about how they remain together, until the tragic climax. We watch Seita performing acrobatic tricks to entertain and distract Setsuko, even though their mother lies dying in the makeshift hospital nearby; they play in the sea, despite their desperate circumstances and when they are reduced to living in an abandoned air raid shelter, they try to make it as comfortable as they can.

At the end of the day, Grave of the Fireflies is more about the bond between brother and sister, than war, and that bond is expressed so beautifully, that it makes the eventual tragedy all the more moving and meaningful.

==Symbolism==

It is interesting that the author chose the kanji 火垂る, instead of 蛍, which denotes a firefly (''hotaru''). The former, which translates as "dangling fire" can symbolise not only fireflies, but also family (dangling fire being a type of sparkler firework that families play with together) and possibly even the falling incendiary bombs used by the attacking forces.

==Cast==

* Seita - Tsutomu Tatsumi (Japanese); J. Robert Spencer (English)
* Setsuko - Ayano Shiraishi (Japanese); Rhoda Chrosite (English)

In a departure from usual methods, where adult ''seiyuu'' (声優), or voice actors, are used to portray children, the original Japanese dub used Ayano Shiraishi, who was only five years old, and Tsutomu Tatsumi, himself still in his early teens, at the time of recording. This adds a haunting realism to their performances, when you realise you are actually listening to children, instead of adults pretending to be children.

However, in order to make allowances for the foibles of a five year-old, her lines were recorded prior to filming and the animators had to make allowance for the fact that they would be dubbed in at a later stage. As they were not quite sure how to deal with this, Setsuko's mouth is rarely shown when she speaks.

To date, "Grave of the Fireflies" remains the only film credit for both Tatsumi and Shiraishi.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0851302</ref><ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0794186</ref>

==Soundtrack==

* Musical Score: Michio Mamiya
* Opening theme: "Setsuko and Seita" by Michio Mamiya
* Ending theme: "Futari" by Michio Mamiya

==External Links==
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095327/ IMDB] entry for Grave of the Fireflies

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[category:Anime]]
[[Category:Animated Movies]]

Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon

2010-04-21T14:09:30Z

AllenShaw: delete pop-culture

{{speedy}}
[[Image:SailorSenshi.png|thumb|right|250px|The characters of Sailor Moon]]
The '''Sailor Moon''' series of ''[[anime]]'' is aimed at Japanese schoolgirls, and (with some mild censorship) it has made its way to America as well. A 14-year-old girl is given special powers by a magic cat and told to become a "pretty soldier".

:"Usagi wants nothing more than to hang out at the video arcade with her friends and flirt with cute guys, like any young girl would. Yet now, she now has this familiar nagging her to be a better fighter, telling her the fate of the world rests on her shoulders. She is being forced to grow up when she should be revelling in her childhood. What Japanese child, or any teenager for that matter, ''wouldn't'' relate to that?"<ref> [http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=405 THEM anime reviews]</ref>

:"Also enjoyable was the interpersonal relationships between the girls themselves and how they feel about their parents."<ref> [http://www.japanhero.com/tokusatsu%20reviews/pretty-guardian-sailor-moon.htm Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Review] </ref>

The show's popularity amongst fans has resulted in a spin-off live action series, numerous Sailor Moon-themed musicals and 20 albums.

==Critical evaluation==

The series has been praised for its original, supposedly Christian emphasis in a culture where less than 1% are Christian. But it has been criticized for the revealing costumes and glimpses of nudity,<ref> [http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/tv/2002/sailormoon.html Sailor Moon (TV Spotlight) - ChristianAnswers.Net]</ref> as well as for the homosexual relationship between two of the girl characters.<ref> "Sailor Moon doesn’t pull any punches. [[Homosexuality]] in particular was embraced and expressed ..." [http://www.denkyu.com/?p=331] </ref>

==Notes==
<references />

[[category:Anime]]