seen - fiction / true story

I agree it's more a story of friendship & betrayal than it is about FB.

Set 2 months before the bombing of Pearl Harbour when Japan abruptly pulled off ships from the far east: perfect backdrop for a spy movie.

This is the story of how George Jung first brought cocaine to America from Columbia in the 1960's. "Blow" refers to the powder form of cocaine that is snorted through the nose. Personally, i like "Traffic" better.

His opponents defended their own beliefs, his judge defended her own system, each felt entitled to impose their personal doctrine onto others. I was shocked by the undisguised bias of the judge as she handed down the max sentence, in a you-cross-me i-will-make-you-pay manner. Classic example of a public servant forgetting that they were elected to serve, not empowered to push their own doctrine.

If Pacino's portrait was accurate (Kevorkian thought so) then he's a very interesting, eccentric nerd. His paintings, his dogged belief that he had no choice but to provide this service to his patients -- out of duty. I like how he reacted when asked how much he would charge for the procedure, "You don't charge something like that. What is wrong with you?"

I think, despite my position, this is an admirable dude. He really believed in his cause. And i think the system is incredibly barbaric to not only cheat him (he risked jail to push for a national debate, they side-stepped it by dropping the assisted suicide aspect altogether), but also to deny his parole, and then to grant it only when he's terminally ill (Hep C related liver cancer) and only under a gag order to keep him from talking about assisted suicide upon release.

My only solace is seeing his chipper self in the extra footage. Taking 8+ years from a 70 yr-old (that's the last decade in one's life!) I don't know how these ppl could be pleased with themselves.


4 stars for a lively portrait and an interesting subject.

A movie experience that is, strangely, smaller than the sum of its parts... It shed some new light and should be more worthwhile than how I feel about it.

A movie that reads like a book, shud be worth re-watching.

incl a rather heart-breaking letter to the teacher about "respect" ~40 min into the movie.

a few minutes of good fight sequence near the end

:) sweetness accomplished w/o being corny. It felt real, may even be worth re-watching! The only bad part was having 11 yr-old Isabel dance w a broom.

same actor who played Jesus from "Passion of the Christ" 2004