An Unreasonable Man

An Unreasonable Man paints a picture of its subject, consumer advocate and candidate Ralph Nader, which is neither flattering nor vilifying. Rather directors Henriette Mantel and Steve Skrovan chooses to paint a picture of Nader that captures this remarkable man warts and all. Focusing on Nader’s “rise and fall” in a chronological order with occasional personal interludes.

The compelling narrative presented is Nader’s single mindedness. Like Don Quixote, Nader is portrayed as a man with a will of steal. The documentary focuses on how this drive which has for years pushed his efforts to success, would later lead him to chase windmills that he couldn’t defeat, those of the American political system.


The documentary seems largely aimed reclaiming Nader’s pre-candidacy legacy as a legislative reformer fighting for the American consumer. The bulk of the film focuses here. Telling of how Nader build one of the largest consumer rights organization in the history of the nation, the documentary at the same time touches on how the founding of progressive groups led to the founding of their counterparts. The film does however take small steps at reclaiming the legacy of his campaign, presenting an array of arguments for and against his campaigns in 2000 and 2004. The most interesting point is an interview with the author of an American Political Science Association Article looking at Nader’s impact on the 2000 election.
An Unreasonable Man, is a compassionate portrait, while it takes great strides towards being objective, its sentimentality still leaks through. Like its subject, the film is compelling, warts and all. An Unreasonable Man is 2hrs. 1min. Long, and is not rated, although there is no nudity, sex, and little, if any, profanity.

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Ocean's Eleven is a Royal Flush

When I first saw Ocean’s Eleven I though it was ok. When I watched it a second time I warmed to it a little bit more. When I watched it the a third time I genuinely liked. Ocean’s 11 really has it all, Clever writing, great direction, and an all star cast headed up by Matt Daemon, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney, but also including Elliot J. Gould and Don Cheadle.

The acting in this movie is high caliber. George Clooney as Dan Ocean is a great choice. While not Sinatraesque Clooney’s performance is more then adequate. He comes off cool, Not Sinatra cool, but Clooney cool. Thus George Clooney makes the roll his own. Both Brad Pitt and Matt Damon shine in there respective roles. Matt Damons portrayal of Linus is of particular note. Watching Linus’s over eager journey on the screne was extremely enjoyable.

The story is fast and moves forward in stylish grace. The only flaw with the film is that its not deep. There is no I Ching Wisdom in Ocean’s Eleven, only I-Pod Style. If your looking for deep cinema this movies not for you. If you don’t mind having some fun, then Ocean’s Eleven is worth your hard earned money.

The Protector (Tom yum goong)

If you like bad Asian action movie s and I mean Bad then Ong Bak II or the protector is the movie for you. Tony Jaa stars as cam, A jugernoaught or something. He basically is the guy in charge of protecting the elephant’s or something. I don’t know any way the dude dad gests shot, his elephant gets stolen, and then the dude thinks he’s Bruce Lee.

The protector seriously lacks in plot. It also lacks in consistency, with characters being introduced for little or no reason. Some appearing and then disappearing almost immediately. There is a lot of this in dealing with Jaa’s buddy, basically a carry over from Ong Bak but this time a policemen instead of a crook.

Then there are the action scenes. If you like this movie it will be for the action scenes, and you probably voted for Bush. Twice. The action scenes in the movie go from really awesome. To really stupid, but mostly the try to look cool without providing much substance. The biggest example of this is when Cam charges up these crazy stairs of a club in what’s supposed to be the longest uncut action sequence ever. As a consequence for this ambitious move, most of the shots and action here are really lame. People get like kneed in the stomach and like die, over and over again. In short, don’t waster your time as even the most awesome scenes don’t live up to basic standards.

The Protector is one of those movies that you will pop in and pop out. Almost as bad as Pauline Shore is dead. It gets 1.5 out of 5 stars. At 90 min. it’s really not worth your time, trust me.