Babel

Well, I finally watched "Babel" last night and I have to say I was extremely disappointed. While not an awful movie without some positives, it was nowhere close to Oscar worthy. Yet it received multiple Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Overall I guess I would give it a B-/C+.

My biggest problem with the movie was how it just hit you over the head for 2 1/2 hours. In this way it was very similar to "Crash" to me. In both movies they take an important and very big theme/issue and proceed to point this theme out in the most obvious way for the entire movie. After maybe 5-10 minutes I would expect people to just say, I get it and move on. And in both cases it's like the director is constantly asking if you get it. See, if only the police officer would have asked then that would not have happened. Get it? There's a lack of communication. Get it?

Even the title suggest middle school level sophistication. I remember writing a short story in English 101 where a suicide victim named Lazarus doesn't die, thinking I was clever or something. Looking back, I laugh at myself and think wow, was I naive and dumb. But that's exactly what goes on in this movie, including the title. Get it - Babel is also in the Bible and symbolizes the multiple languages that resulted and caused mass confusion which still exists to this day.

All that being said, it's hard to completely fault this movie. Its ambition is inarguably much higher than most crap out there, most featuring Dane Cook. And it was very well shot and edited (the only Oscar nomination I can understand). But overall it was a very frustrating movie.

Tags:

*entertainment*movies *Oscars *Babel *communication*language *Crash *racism