Movies

I've watched two films in the past two days which are both contenders for my personal favorite. The better, however, was David Cronenberg's A History of Violence. Although the IMDB site gives it 8 stars, it is a favorite of the good doctor Kermode, who sings its praises at every available opportunity - especially recently with the release of Cronenberg's latest, Eastern Promises, starring the same fantastic actor, Viggo Mortensen (better known for his role as Aragorn in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings). Incidentally, it was Cronenberg who wrote and directed the horrific cult-classic, The Fly. The second film was This is England, giving a bleak portrayal of Liverpool, and Britain in general, during the early eighties. It focuses on the story of a stunted pre-teen caught up in skinhead culture before it turned nasty. That's exactly what this film depicts, the turning of likable teenagers into ruthless racists, employing the nationalist unity of the Falklands War as its backdrop. Both were emotionally gripping and they've resonated with me for the last couple of days, enough for me to feel compelled and preach them to you. While we're on the subject of movies; the topic of film classification has come up recently alongside the ebb and flow of children's animated films, such as Bee Movie or Ratatouille. Although the internet movie database (imdb.com) is good for overall trivia, the British Board of Film Classification (bbfc.co.uk) often gives a clear plot summary and includes relevant information about a film's content. For example, if you wanted to know whether a film contained extreme violence of fantasy violence, this site will lay it out for you: so it's good for uncertain parents. What's more, if you're still having doubts, visit the Parent's BBFC (pbbfc.co.uk) for in-depth discussions about film content, for parents, by parents.