Review of MR MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM

MR MAGORIUM - STORY: A composer who works at a magical toy store cannot finish the symphony she is working on until she is bequeathed the store and is expected, despite her lack of awareness of it, to bring forth her inner magic.
MR MAGORIUM - MESSAGE: You are magic. Creativity originates with you. The fun and imagination and playfulness of childhood need not necessarily fade with age. The universe conforms and responds to belief. The universe reflects what you put into it, or treats you like you treat it.
MR MAGORIUM - WIN: Correctly identifies the person as the source of creativity and cause over his environment. Correctly identifies the souce of the state of one's environment as the person themself. Correctly identifies that a person (spiritual being) in good shape can drop his body at will and move on. Accurate portrayal of a child, a woman and Mr M in upbeat emotional tones -- even down to the fact that there was obviously little mental/emotional baggage. An example is the ready smile of the store's clerk which would lighten the heart of anyone receiving the welcome, the acceptance, the respect, the admiration, the love given to them by the smile. Another example is the optimism of the child in face of the impossible. It is accurate that things don't work as well around those who are glum. The movie promoted the arts and playing to raise spirits (as opposed to some movies recommending drugs and alcohol.)
MR MAGORIUM - LOSE: Mr. M did not concern himself with following laws, something which would make a person unhappy, yet he wasn't unhappy. In other words, the movie is saying that you cannot follow the rules (such as laws and requirements for busineses) and still have freedom, but this is false.
MR MAGORIUM - EFFECT ON ME: I was encouraged that spiritually positive, good message movies could be made and it gave me hope for selling my scripts. I felt more playful and less serious. I felt validated as a spiritual being and thus my abilities to influence my environment were bolstered.
Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com

Review of LIONS FOR LAMBS

LIONS FOR LAMBS - STORY: A Political Science professor rekindles a bright student's desire to bring about social change in a world where war makes politician and journalist careers.
LIONS FOR LAMBS - MESSAGE: Something can be done about it, so don't get complacent. Wake up and act before you're trapped in a world wondering how "they" let it get so bad. If each person doesn't fight for freedom, then you'll gradually lose your freedoms. Seek the truth, not what you're being fed, because those feeding you information have vested interests. If you don't change the system, it will corrupt you.
LIONS FOR LAMBS - WIN: Excellent, accurate portrayal of various emotional levels by the actors. (Example: the slick, pretty smiling politician yet has nervous hand twitches signaling his underlying deception.) The professor didn't teach so much as encouraged the student to look. He looked beyond the social veneer. It accurately showed journalism as propaganda, or as a tool used to create an effect. It validated true honor, courage, integrity and friendship. It showed communication as a tool for truly helping someone.
LIONS FOR LAMBS - LOSE: A tiny amount of psychology (aka introversion) used by the professor, but not enough to make him unlikeable or ineffective. Pushed coffee (drug caffeine).
LIONS FOR LAMBS - EFFECT ON ME: I was glad that I have the tools for social change. It made me want to use them more. It made me want to be more "courageous heroine for social change" and less "sheep heading for the slaughter." It made me realize who was responsible for changing conditions in my area, my country, my world -- ME!
Sincerely,
Becky MateScript Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com

Review of AMERICAN GANGSTER

AMERICAN GANGSTER - STORY: A resourceful gangster apprentice builds a drug empire but violates his own rule of not being ostentatious, bringing upon himself as an adversary one of the few honest cops. Based on a true story from (I believe) the mid-seventies.
AMERICAN GANGSTER - MESSAGE: Follow your self-set policy which you know to be in your best interest. Sticking to your principles and being honest wins the day. Reward positive behavior. Hard work and study bring about competence. A better product at a cheaper price gives one the market share. Family is a good investment. Within and without one's own group, one must put in discipline to keep the show on the road.
AMERICAN GANGSTER - WIN: Positive qualities such as honesty and integrity in the good guy made sense because they paid off. This film did a good job of showing that drugs lead to addiction, misery, unconsciousness, stupidity and death. It promoted luxury as a large house, liquor, and prostitutes but since it was the bad guys who had the luxury, at least it was negative promotion. Given the nature of the anti-social personality, it was accurate that the bad guy would normally keep his cool, but when provoked would be angry and hurt or shoot someone.
AMERICAN GANGSTER - LOSE: It promoted breaking up a family rather than addressing the uncommunicated secrets from each other which may have patched things up. In other words, it sort of said that the wife wished her husband was a little less principled and she couldn't stay with him, which to me is a good reason to dig around and find out what she was doing that was less than upfront. The movie did imply that she would have looked the other way if the cop had been bribed, but I think there should have been shown more actual financial dishonesty on her part, which possibly had to be there for her to have this attitude. No moral compass visible, except by the cop's good actions -- the gangster went to church with his mom but didn't apply what they learned there; the cop didn't go to church but adhered to a moral code he somehow had. A gangster purveying so much misery on people would not have been that handsome -- criminality and wrongdoing take a toll on people.
AMERICAN GANGSTER - EFFECT ON ME: It made me want to stick to my principles despite those around me. It made me want to see an increase in the workable efforts to end drug pushing, drug addiction and criminal reform.
Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Writer
Script Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com

Review of MIKE CLAYTON

MICHAEL CLAYTON - STORY: A man who resolves problems for a law firm before they get out of hand and do damage to the firm has to contend with one of the attorneys who suddenly got a conscience and can't continue cold legal torment of families taken advantage of by a large, apparently environment-friendly company that buys up small farms.
MICHAEL CLAYTON - MESSAGE: Do the right thing, the quick fix leads to failure, today's world leads us to so many compromises with our integrity that black and white are blurred to the point where we come close to snapping.
MICHAEL CLAYTON - WIN: Michael used communication and intelligence instead of violence to win the day. He also looked to see what was going on rather than assume. His family helped him win the day. In fact, his younger brother, who had let him down, made it up to him. The criminal went down.
MICHAEL CLAYTON - LOSE: There is no moral compass. There are only people trying to survive in a corrupt world with integrity redefined as who comes out on top, no matter the methods. Doing the right thing is considered insane. This movie promotes the false idea that drugs should be used to control behavior (rather than education on morality and ethics.) I believe the movie promoted alcohol, but I can't remember, probably because I was so fascinated with the story going on.
MICHAEL CLAYTON - EFFECT ON ME: I wanted to see more of the character, more sequels. It made me realize that people need the moral compasses that I use in todays world that help them know right from wrong.
Sincerely,
Becky Mate
Script Consultant
www.virtueinthearts.com