BUFFALO SOLDIERS
RATING: R
STARRING: Joaquin Phoenix, Anna Paquin, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Dean Stockwell, Elizabeth McGovern, and Gabriel Mann
DIRECTOR: Gregor Jordan
PRODUCERS: Rainer Grupe, Amy Kaufman, and Reinhard Klooss
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: James Schamus, Chris Chrisafis, Kai May, and Douglas R. Stone
WRITERS: Eric Weiss, Nora Maccoby, and Gregor Jordan
DISTRIBUTOR: Miramax Films (Buena Vista)
GENRE: Drama
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Older teenagers and adults
SUMMARY: Buffalo Soldiers takes place in 1989, just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. U.S. soldiers are stationed in Stuttgart, West Germany at the Theodore Roosevelt Army Base, readying the world for peace and safety. On the inside, however, things are not what they seem. Specialist Ray Elwood is quietly turning his military duties into an intricate network of black market deals. He is a battalion secretary to a Commander, but on the side, he sells the locals stolen Mop N’ Glo and cooks heroin for the base’s ruthless head of Military Police.
Buffalo Soldiers premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2001, but apparently the release date has been pushed back several times due to the fact that American troops are involved in the Middle East right now, and most war satires are typically not welcome during such times.
Overall, the movie is full of violence, sex, drugs, and a depressing outlook. Moral, patriotic audiences will likely avoid this movie, despite the fact that it has a star-studded cast who all give full performances. There are no redemptive elements in the movie.
CONTENT: Dark, bitter, pagan worldview with caustic, exaggerated, anti-American portrait of criminally-minded, licentious U.S. soldiers in Germany with no redemption of their cause; strong language with about 140 obscenities, mostly strong, plus numerous profanities; strong violence with one-on-one fist-fighting, beatings, torture, etc.; numerous depictions of alcohol; drug use, abuse.
GIGLI
RATING: R
STARRING: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Al Pacino, and Christopher Walken
DIRECTOR: Martin Brest
PRODUCERS: Martin Brest and Casey Silver
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: John Hardy
WRITER: Martin Brest
DISTRIBUTOR: Columbia Pictures/Sony
GENRE: Drama/Romantic Comedy
INTENDED AUDIENCE: Older Teens & Adults
SUMMARY: In Gigli, a street thug is assigned a kidnapping but is soon surprised to find that the mob has assigned a seductive lesbian woman to keep him company. Possibly the worst movie in three years, Gigli is simply a bisexual propaganda movie that moral audiences will likely avoid, perhaps even boycott.
The story is implausible with Gigli being able to easily kidnap from an institution the retarded brother of a high-profile judge, and easily being able to detain him for weeks without anyone really noticing. The pro-homosexual discussions and lectures are nauseatingly excessive, and the "I’m a lesbian but I’m going to do seductive exercises while telling you why men are sexually inferior to women" part was the movie’s definite low. With the exception of Al Pacino, who makes a chilling bad guy, and Justin Bartha, who performs well in his mentally-handicapped role, the acting is very mediocre. The movie has sexual overtones throughout. The Jennifer Lopez character (Ricki) proclaims herself to be a lesbian, but surely romantic audiences are hoping she’s lying to protect herself from Gigli’s advances.
CONTENT: Very strong pagan, relativistic worldview with feminist/homosexual/bisexual outlook and some evolutionary elements about evolution of the sexes; strong language with at least 117 strong obscenities, 31 lighter obscenities, and 15 profanities; violence includes man being shot to death in head and woman slitting wrists in attempted suicide; sex includes excessive, repulsive, detailed, preachy, pro-lesbian discussions and a lesbian catfight; nudity includes some partial rear female nudity and many "Bay Watch" type scantily-clad ladies on a beach.
