ratty-3
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
24 years
Reviews
House of Cards (1993)
Take this movie with a grain of salt--please!
**** SPOILER WARNING ****
Being the father of an autistic child introduced me to a world of children with disabilities, part of which is realistically portrayed at times in this movie.
The realism is enhanced by sprinkling the movie with actually disabled children whose demeanor and behavior is achingly familiar to those of us exposed to them.
This realism in detail, including portraying many accurate arguments on the part of the protagonists, has the unfortunate (and perhaps intended) purpose of validating a fantasy ending.
Also familiar to me, and, I'm sure, the vast legion of parents of the disabled, is the ending itself, in which, after much sturm und drang, the autistic girl finally says "Mommy," hugs her mom, and proceeds to give appropriate responses to every query and situation. Miracle cure! I say this is familiar to me because I saw the same scene countless times. My almost 4-year-old daughter, who never said a word, who I had to engage by getting right in face, blotting out all other distractions, suddenly began speaking in complete sentences! But this happened in countless dreams, and I always woke up before the credits started rolling.
My daughter is now 8 and light-years beyond where I thought (and feared) she would ever be, but this came about through years of intensive work by her teachers, social workers, psychologists, and her family. And the work goes on.
Parents of disabled children need to fully participate in their child's education and therapy, and not take as scripture every word professionals say. But (with autism especially), the clock is running. If one parent fails to get appropriate therapy for his or her disabled child because of this movie, it will have performed an unintended evil.
I suppose the filmmakers could weasel out by saying that the girl portrayed in the film wasn't really autistic, she suffered from some kind of trauma-induced hysteria, which COULD be cured by unconventional means. OK. But they went out of their way to show the girl exhibiting behaviors that anyone familiar with autism would recognize instantly.
This is at best dishonest, and at worst exploitation.
Being the father of an autistic child introduced me to a world of children with disabilities, part of which is realistically portrayed at times in this movie.
The realism is enhanced by sprinkling the movie with actually disabled children whose demeanor and behavior is achingly familiar to those of us exposed to them.
This realism in detail, including portraying many accurate arguments on the part of the protagonists, has the unfortunate (and perhaps intended) purpose of validating a fantasy ending.
Also familiar to me, and, I'm sure, the vast legion of parents of the disabled, is the ending itself, in which, after much sturm und drang, the autistic girl finally says "Mommy," hugs her mom, and proceeds to give appropriate responses to every query and situation. Miracle cure! I say this is familiar to me because I saw the same scene countless times. My almost 4-year-old daughter, who never said a word, who I had to engage by getting right in face, blotting out all other distractions, suddenly began speaking in complete sentences! But this happened in countless dreams, and I always woke up before the credits started rolling.
My daughter is now 8 and light-years beyond where I thought (and feared) she would ever be, but this came about through years of intensive work by her teachers, social workers, psychologists, and her family. And the work goes on.
Parents of disabled children need to fully participate in their child's education and therapy, and not take as scripture every word professionals say. But (with autism especially), the clock is running. If one parent fails to get appropriate therapy for his or her disabled child because of this movie, it will have performed an unintended evil.
I suppose the filmmakers could weasel out by saying that the girl portrayed in the film wasn't really autistic, she suffered from some kind of trauma-induced hysteria, which COULD be cured by unconventional means. OK. But they went out of their way to show the girl exhibiting behaviors that anyone familiar with autism would recognize instantly.
This is at best dishonest, and at worst exploitation.
House of Cards (1993)
Take this movie with a grain of salt--please!
**** SPOILER WARNING ****
Being the father of an autistic child introduced me to a world of children with disabilities, part of which is realistically portrayed at times in this movie.
The realism is enhanced by sprinkling the movie with actually disabled children whose demeanor and behavior is achingly familiar to those of us exposed to them.
This realism in detail, including portraying many accurate arguments on the part of the protagonists, has the unfortunate (and perhaps intended) purpose of validating a fantasy ending.
Also familiar to me, and, I'm sure, the vast legion of parents of the disabled, is the ending itself, in which, after much sturm und drang, the autistic girl finally says "Mommy," hugs her mom, and proceeds to give appropriate responses to every query and situation. Miracle cure! I say this is familiar to me because I saw the same scene countless times. My almost 4-year-old daughter, who never said a word, who I had to engage by getting right in face, blotting out all other distractions, suddenly began speaking in complete sentences! But this happened in countless dreams, and I always woke up before the credits started rolling.
My daughter is now 8 and light-years beyond where I thought (and feared) she would ever be, but this came about through years of intensive work by her teachers, social workers, psychologists, and her family. And the work goes on.
Parents of disabled children need to fully participate in their child's education and therapy, and not take as scripture every word professionals say. But (with autism especially), the clock is running. If one parent fails to get appropriate therapy for his or her disabled child because of this movie, it will have performed an unintended evil.
I suppose the filmmakers could weasel out by saying that the girl portrayed in the film wasn't really autistic, she suffered from some kind of trauma-induced hysteria, which COULD be cured by unconventional means. OK. But they went out of their way to show the girl exhibiting behaviors that anyone familiar with autism would recognize instantly.
This is at best dishonest, and at worst exploitation.
Being the father of an autistic child introduced me to a world of children with disabilities, part of which is realistically portrayed at times in this movie.
The realism is enhanced by sprinkling the movie with actually disabled children whose demeanor and behavior is achingly familiar to those of us exposed to them.
This realism in detail, including portraying many accurate arguments on the part of the protagonists, has the unfortunate (and perhaps intended) purpose of validating a fantasy ending.
Also familiar to me, and, I'm sure, the vast legion of parents of the disabled, is the ending itself, in which, after much sturm und drang, the autistic girl finally says "Mommy," hugs her mom, and proceeds to give appropriate responses to every query and situation. Miracle cure! I say this is familiar to me because I saw the same scene countless times. My almost 4-year-old daughter, who never said a word, who I had to engage by getting right in face, blotting out all other distractions, suddenly began speaking in complete sentences! But this happened in countless dreams, and I always woke up before the credits started rolling.
My daughter is now 8 and light-years beyond where I thought (and feared) she would ever be, but this came about through years of intensive work by her teachers, social workers, psychologists, and her family. And the work goes on.
Parents of disabled children need to fully participate in their child's education and therapy, and not take as scripture every word professionals say. But (with autism especially), the clock is running. If one parent fails to get appropriate therapy for his or her disabled child because of this movie, it will have performed an unintended evil.
I suppose the filmmakers could weasel out by saying that the girl portrayed in the film wasn't really autistic, she suffered from some kind of trauma-induced hysteria, which COULD be cured by unconventional means. OK. But they went out of their way to show the girl exhibiting behaviors that anyone familiar with autism would recognize instantly.
This is at best dishonest, and at worst exploitation.
The Mummy (1932)
Superior to every later effort
This is a well-paced subtle movie. What is often missed is that it is amazing and even touching love story made horrible by the passage of thousands of years.
I believe it is Karloff's best effort, followed by his performance in "The Black Cat."
I believe it is Karloff's best effort, followed by his performance in "The Black Cat."