203. O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)

Deceitful, two-faced she-woman. Never trust a female Delmar, remember that one simple precept and your time with me will not have been ill spent.

There are a few recurring themes on this blog. One of them is that the Coen Brothers make some awful fine movies. A retelling of Homer's Oddysey in the Depression Era south with music from T-Bone Burnett and Alison Krauss and John Goodman as Cyclops-esque Big Dan Teague. YES, PLEASE!!! One of the coolest things about this movie that most people probably don't know is that it uses extensive ever-present special effects. The movie was filmed in Summer and then the lush green was digitally transformed to brown and tan hues to reflect the hopelessness of the escapees' surroundings during the Great Depression. Pretty Cool!

202. This is What Democracy Looks Like (2000)

The first amendment grants all citizens the right to peaceful assembly. This movie illustrates that this right has been pretty much decimated to nonexistence. Sure, if you want to file at the courthouse for a permit to have a nice, quite Saturday-morning march around downtown, then it will be no problem. If you want to march on Washington, bring it on. If you want to protest soldier's funerals with signs that say "God Hates Fags", the red carpet is rolled out. But if you want to protest against policies of globalization and profiteering at the expense of the world's poor by peaceful demonstration, then you better prep your gas mask. The idea that we live in the "land of the free", home of "equal opportunity", and safe haven for democracy is a fabrication. In civics class, we learn that our rights are guaranteed as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others. In reality, we learn that our rights are guaranteed as long as they do not shed light upon injustices brought on the poor by the rich.

Most of the world's wealth is held by a relatively small number of individuals. The only way this can happen is for the poor to believe a lie. This lie is different depending upon where you live. In developing countries, the lie is that the people are powerless. Since most free speech is limited in these parts of the world, this is an easy lie to uphold because the few that try to rally uprisings are jailed or killed. In the developed world, the lie is that you will one day be a part of this elite group that owns most of the world's wealth (some people call this the "American Dream"). The problem comes when a large group of people realize this lie and choose to speak out about it. This is where the truth of our first amendment rights are revealed.

This movie uses primary sources to document the protests at the 1999 WTO Conference in Seattle. The WTO stands for World Trade Organization. This conglomerate of wealthy people from all over the world has pretty much positioned itself as supreme ruler of Earth. It is more powerful than any single government simply because politicians need money and they have it. The goal of the WTO is what is bothersome. It has no Constitution or Bill of Rights and seeks only to protect and increase the assets of the corporations and individuals involved. Don't get me wrong without the WTO, most of the goods at Target and Walmart would cost maybe twice as much money, but many feel that the real human cost of such "cheap" goods should be taken into account as well.

The most troubling thing about this movie is how quick the police, government officials, and media jump to the aid of the WTO after the protests begin. One of the most important things about our right to assemble is that the many "have-nots" could have their voices heard over the few "haves". The protesters chant "this is what democracy looks like!" almost as a question to the police as they are dispersed with tear gas and violence.... So check this movie out, read about the WTO, or just keep on believing the lie...

201. Chocolat (2000)

-Each time I tell myself it's the last time, but then I get a whiff of her hot chocolate, or...
-...Seashells. Chocolate seashells, so small, so plain, so *innocent*. I thought, oh, just one little taste, it can't do any harm. But it turned out they were filled with rich, sinful...
-...And it *melts*, God forgive me, it melts ever so slowly on your tongue, and tortures you with pleasure.

A whimsical little story about how something as wonderfully simple as chocolate can free a small town from puritanical unhappiness. I really need to watch this one again. It has been far too long.

200. Hamlet (2000)

The play's the thing, with which I'll catch the conscience of the king.

Shakespeare's masterpiece told in the setting of modern day New York (Hamlet's father owns the Denmark Corporation). Ethan Hawke gives Hamlet's famous soliloquoy while browsing the shelves of Blockbuster video. That alone is enough to make this movie awesome, but it also contains spot on performances from Bill Murray, Julia Stiles, Steve Zahn, and Liev Schreiber.

199. Being John Malkovich (1999)

Have you ever had two people look at you, with complete lust and devotion, through the same pair of eyes?

A puppetteer, his wife, and a coworker discover a small door in an office building that leads into the head of John Malkovich (who plays himself). Once inside, they have some amount of control over the famous actor and are able to live out fantasies and discover things about themselves. Eventually Malkovich finds out and actually enters his own brain with very interesting results. This is extremely creative screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's first team-up with extremely creative director Spike Jonze. I am still amazed that this movie got greenlit... Can you imagine the pitch to studio execs???

This is the last movie of 1999, which means tomorrow will be movie #200 and start the year 2000 (pretty cool). Forthcoming years may have more movies than this one, but I still contend that this is the greatest year for movies of all time. To recap (with a few more that barely missed the 365):

Being John Malkovich
The Cider House Rules
Dogma
Fight Club
The Green Mile
The Iron Giant
Magnolia
The Matrix
SLC Punk
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
Toy Story 2
But I'm a Cheerleader
Go
The Hurricane
Ride with the Devil
Varsity Blues
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
Snow Falling on Cedars
South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut

American Pie, The Blair Witch Project, Election, The Sixth Sense, Office Space, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, Audition, Three Kings, The Mummy, Detroit Rock City, Life, The Story of Us

198. The Cider House Rules (1999)

Goodnight, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England.

No one likes abortion. It is really easy to say that they should be outlawed in any and all circumstances (this is especially easy for men and older women to say since they will never have to make the decision about the fate of their child...). The issue is much more complicated than the black and white "pro-choice/pro-life" nature it has taken in today's world.

This movie tells an amazing story of a Doctor in charge of an orphanage and his protege', "grown-up" orphan Homer Wells. Homer disagrees with the Doctor's willingness to perform illegal abortions if the mother requests, and sets out to find his own way in the world. He settles on an apple farm where he learns the ways of the world, falls in love, and encounters problems that cannot be defined with his naive view of the world. Yet another somewhat forgotten gem that you should absolutely watch immediately if you have never seen it!

197. Dogma (1999)

Human beings have neither the aural nor the psychological capacity to withstand the awesome power of God's true voice. Were you to hear it, your mind would cave in and your heart would explode within your chest. We went through five Adams before we figured that one out.

Let me start this off by saying that I define myself as "Protestant". I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church and am a big fan of Jesus, but I don't like to group myself in a single denomination. I don't define myself as simply "Christian" because the inevitable question usually comes: "Which flavor?" "Protestant" not only expresses my Christianity, but also roots itself in the word "protest", which I feel does a pretty good job at describing the work of Jesus. He spent a big chunk of his time here on Earth breaking down the conventions of the religious establishment ("You have heard..., but I say unto you...."). One of his last acts was to issue "the great commission". That is, to go and make disciples of all nations. For the most part I think that his followers have done a pretty good job of this. Christianity is, after all, the most commonly held religion in the world. However, it is amazing how this group of people have "factioned" themselves in the past 2000 years. In this movie, Rufus (the thirteenth apostle) notes that this fact is one of the most troubling to God.

This is Kevin Smith's most personal movie and it manages to use his signature potty humor (sometimes literally) and verbose characters to tackle the real problems that modern religion (especially Catholicism) has connecting with many people.