02/17(a): Crash

My apologies for yesterday, as it was the first time I broke my streak for not writing to this blog everyday like I had hoped. For me, Sundays are the busiest days for me, so unfortunately I didn't fit this in. However, today I got two new reviews for you.

One of the most unlikely Best Picture Oscar winners has an enormous cast of characters and side characters that all have one thing in common. Racial and ethnic stereotypes is usually what first comes to mind after watching this movie. Or rather, the first 20 minutes! One would also have to wonder why such a movie would be named Crash. It is well-explained by Don Cheadle's character at the beginning of the movie. Think of Los Angeles' diverse culture. If you've ever been out there, you'll know there are many different ethnic and racial neighborhoods and such. In this movie, they 'crash' into each other.

Here's a little sampling of some of the characters:
-Matt Dillon (Best Supporting Actor nominee) plays a bigoted cop whose father is suffering from urinary tract infection
-Shaun Toub plays an Iranian-American shop owner whose paranoid personality and character gets his shop vandalized
-Michael Pena plays a Hispanic locksmith who is a devoted hard-worker and family man, but is often judged on the outside

You'll hear slurs, you'll hear the stereotypical views as you've probably witnessed in real life. Anger plays a role bigtime in this movie, as well as ignorance. Rapper Ludacris Bridges even plays it well as 'one of the few African-Americans that is found in downtown L.A.' I never even heard of the term 'prison tattoo' until I heard it come from Sandra Bullock's mouth.

Despite of the positive messages (or lack thereof), I believe this film should be looked at for its storytelling ways. In just under 30 minutes we instantly get to know the characters as their scenes intertwine with each other. Of course, this is not recommended for children or as a 'family film', as it does contain several parts filled with violence, language, etc. For a film that beat out Brokeback Mountain and Capote, this would make a great movie to watch and learn about cultures.

My rating: 7 out of 10