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bdreynolds76
Reviews
The Execution of Wanda Jean (2002)
Interesting, but futile for a conservative like me
I happened to catch the movie on HBO tonight and just could not tear myself away from it. Don't get me wrong, the movie in no way changed my opinion on the death penalty, and only gave me further infuriation at defense lawyers, but it did give me a new perspective on one aspect of the death penalty that hadn't occurred to me before, the family of the murderer. I have no problem with the death of a murderer, and I certainly felt no sympathy for the lawyer who knew what he was getting in to and tried such things as the fact that Wanda Jean did not graduate from high school as a reason to get her a stay of execution, but I felt my heart deeply saddened for the Allen family. Much like the family of the victim, they did not want their kin to die, and their grief was so painful it was almost unbearable to watch. To be honest, it makes one strong case against the death penalty, the only one who is truly being punished is the family. With lethal injection, the murderer just calmly slips away, but their family has to live with it for the rest of their lives. The only real complaint I had about this movie (other than the cameo by Rev. Jesse Jackson) was that I thought it focused too much on the main lawyer, the filmmakers could have spent some more time focusing on the two families and Wanda Jean herself. 7/10
Whiteboyz (1999)
This movie heightens all white stereotypes.
I turned on HBO last night and this movie was on. For some reason, I kept watching long after the movie got ridiculous. So many stereotypes of white people being racist came out that even I was offended. 150 white people at a party and the one black guy is the one who gets arrested? With no search for evidence? Some cops might be racist, but that would be suicide to handle it the way they did. And of course, every white guy in the movie, except for the leads, is a hillbilly racist (as everyone knows we all are) The only thing that surprised me about this movie was that the guy in the jail cell didn't rape Flip. Of course, that might have made the movie more enjoyable, much like when Flip gets beat up. If you're a minority who wants to believe everything is about race, then watch it and continue to hate, but for the rational people, watch the paint dry...you'll be much more concerned about the fate of the paint than with the fate of Flip.