The Village and Other Things

Yes, I went and saw the Village tonight. My cousin Stephanie invited me to go with a few of her friends. We were supposed to see Napoleon Dynamite (and no, I have no clue what it is about). But it was sold out, so we went and saw the Village. Which by me, is a much better choice. Now I won't give anything away... but it is different from the other M. Night Shyamalan movies. Still some twists and surprises, he doesn't ever disappoint when it comes to that! I will give it four stars out of five. Rated against his other movies, it falls behind Signs and Sixth Sense but way ahead of Unbreakable.

Now for our trenchant political commentary: Several days ago I was reading some critics' reviews of The Village. (How's that for a tie in?) And one critic said that the political commentary in the movie got in the way of the plot. What political commentary you ask? Well, I would suggest you only read the following if you have seen the movie so that you won't be looking for it and thus ruin the movie. You have been warned. This critic believes that the movie was a commentary about Bush and how he leads the country. The leader of the village is named Walker, George W. Bush's middle name. As well the colors yellow and red play an important part in the film. This critic believed that just as Walker ruled his village through fear, Bush does the same thing with us. The war in Iraq must be a diversion to keep us from looking at the shortcomings of this presidency.

First of all, I will disagree that M. Night meant to have The Village be a parable for current American politics. It's too far of a stretch. Secondly, I disagree that this war is a political ploy. If it is, it failed miserably. Watching CNN which I often do, (and I am told is more on the democratic side of things, but which I find much more unbiased than the step-above-a-tabloid Fox Network) there are a lot of stories talking about other pressing issues outside of the war. Same sex marriage, the economy, employment rates and the like seem to be very important. Fear is something we've put upon ourselves, not by Bush.

I believe that companies (especially airlines) have seen this new demand for security and are taking advantage of it. The safety precautions are merely to make customers feel safe. I (half) jokingly suggest we have pre-9/11 and post-9/11 flights. And I will tell you truthfully I would ride the post-flights if it meant I can forgo all of the 'needed' security measures. And I will also hold my opinion even if there is another large terrorist attack on this country.

On a lighter note, I think I have found Kerry's long lost twin brother. Ironically his twin is President. In fact, he is president of a planet, Planet Neutral. Their motto is: 'Live Free or Don't.' And when in danger, they go to Beige Alert. Yeah, so I watch Futurama, what of it?