This is definitely a film that will divide people immediately, because between the satire and the black comedy, the violence and obvious lamentation of the lost American Way, director and writer Bobcat Goldthwait has a lot to say. Also none of it is positive. Maybe twenty years ago, but not now, not when there are so many differentiations and categories of annoying people doing annoying things in the world today. Picking each of these inane people off the face of that world turns into a revenge fantasy for main character Frank (Murray) and sidekick Roxy (Barr). Struck with the realization that his migraines are being caused by a giant death giving tumor, Frank begins a siege on the country by killing off all manner of horrible people, a teenager at his side, who may not be the best companion but has the same hate that fuels him. The satire isn't anything new, as we've seen in films such as "Idiocracy," but it's finely crafted here and takes its time rather than going for the worst scenario possible. What really triggers people's opinion of this film are the great monologues given by Frank on how exactly these people are playing into stereotypes, their false idyllic thoughts of the world, and their own annoying habits. They pick off religious zealots, singing competition judges, loud neighbors, reality starlets, and hate mongering television pundits, and these people are not dealt with for hateful reasons. Frank simply wants to know why people are so mean, stupid, or acidic when they could act better to one another and towards the world. Though the point is brought about thanks to gunfire, the film has an obviously positive point towards peace and understanding in the world, and the employment of common sense. It may be over the top, but it's an important, and very funny, film.

Dealing with the interconnectedness of the human existence as well as the ethereal quality of dreams and the world of angels, Wim Wenders provides his magnum opus with "Wings of Desire." The film has been lauded for its grasp of different foreign languages, veering from the macabre, and showing the romanticism of the relationship between Damiel and Marion. While a later adaptation dealt primarily with this relationship, "Wings of Desire," at its core, is a film about the experience of being human and not taking it for granted. The world is not shown as being exciting, but instead candid and often beatific. The angels' world is superimposed over the humans', but theirs is a dull gray and white landscape. The humans' is in color and they interact with one another, but in the angels' they can hear the people's thoughts. Oftentimes these thoughts are philosophical and heavy-handed, exactly what a person would think if they were alone. These thoughts are oftentimes sprawling narratives about their lives, their strife and worries about the future. The angels whisper into their ears, picking up their moods by implanting thoughts. One of these angels is named Damiel, who floats around a huge library where other angels nest, and also around the massive city of Berlin. He and his friend Cassiel remark on the virtues of being alive, and all the small things that we never notice in our daily lives. While at a circus Damiel sees a trapeze performer named Marion and follows her around, listening to her dense inner thoughts. She gives these long soliloquies about the state of the world and how she fits into it, which are charming and introspective. Between the amazing visuals, the bleak and yet interesting soliloquies from the people that the angels are listening to, the amazing cinematography, the great performance from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the bleak Cold War landscape of Berlin, this film is unparalleled in beauty or simplicity. Peter Falk is also a great addition in a strange cameo where he plays himself, with a fictitious background as a fallen angel. Knowing someone is listening to your thoughts may seem terrifying, but when it comes to these guardians and their empathy towards humans, even in their times of need, it's an angelic effort all around.

One of the more corrosive deterrents to America's education system has to be bullying, which has becoming an increasingly dangerous public mental health issue in the past twenty years. With the innumerable teen suicides, the school shootings, and outcries from parental groups as well as the cyber sphere, bullying is in the forefront of everyone's mind, and yet causes more harm than adults can even imagine. For those of us who have been part of the bullied masses at some point in our lives, we know the toll that it takes, and the scars it leaves, and that's the main focus of this documentary. It deals precisely with how bullying makes a child feel, how irreparable the damage is to that child, and the oftentimes horrific steps they take in alleviating their pain. Filmmaker Lee Hirsch follows several children who have or are experiencing bullying, to a point where it makes them deeply depressed. One child has already taken his life, and the film follows his family's struggles with taking on the school board, another girl is facing felony charges after taking a weapon on a school bus to stop her tormentors, and another still faces the daily terrors of riding a school bus filled with physically and emotionally abusive bullies. These children, still so innocent at their age, are being made to grow up rather quickly, and without warrant. This Hirsch shows in-depth, just by interviewing them and showing their daily toils. Every scene is powerful, every instance of self-defense is shown as prey rising against its predator, and every child is shown love. I'll admit I even cried, and it's hard not to cry while writing this review as well. That's simply how powerful the message is. The last section of the film does meander as it tries to wrap up all the stories, and there isn't any input from the bullies themselves, but this film does show the lack of intervention of adults and lack of safeguards against these very public problems. This film is important for everyone to see, because it's not just the "weird" kids at risk, it's the helpless.