Looking at Movies

I recently had the opportunity to see an advance screening of the new Denzel Washington film, “John Q,” the story of a blue-collar family whose insurance won’t cover their son’s heart transplant. Not only did the film have more expository dialogue than the owner’s manual for the space shuttle, it was a slap in the face for any American without adequate health insurance, myself included.

One of the lessons learned in becoming an adult is that life is full of hypocrisy. This is especially true in the entertainment industry. As a member of the human race and of the entertainment industry, I accept that. But this film and the filmmakers are so hypocritical, J. Edgar Hoover looks like a straight shooter in comparison. In truth, it would be laughable if it were not so cruel.

The film serves up a litany of facts and figures to drive home the point of how terrible the American health-care system is--a fact many of us know all too well. Without insurance in America, you cannot get the care you need. Without a full-time job, you are not eligible for complete coverage, and that’s if your employer even offers health insurance.

The hypocrisy of all this is that the film was shot in Canada. Hey, caring filmmakers, how many men and women here in Southern California will not qualify for benefits this year because they were unable to work the required hours to be eligible? Did anyone on the set even think of this when the lead character complains he cannot get enough hours because so many jobs have gone to Mexico?

As a person who works in the film industry and has not qualified for insurance for years, this was nothing more than adding salt to an open wound. An injury I am sure insurance doesn’t cover.

JESSE HARPER

Los Angeles

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For all the space (a front-page article) and high-flown rhetoric (a positively fawning review) you gave to “Shiri” (“A Korean Detente,” by Jon Matsumoto, Feb. 8; “‘Shiri’ Captures Political Intrigue’s Toll,” by Kevin Thomas, Feb. 8), you left something out: the mind-numbing, gratuitous violence displayed in this film.

This is irresponsible journalism. No matter how afraid critics Jon Matsumoto and Kevin Thomas are of being considered less than “edgy” and hopelessly out of touch with the latest from young foreign filmmakers, they are responsible for giving their readers all the facts.

SYLVIA ALLOWAY

Granada Hills

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What enticed me to pay good money to see “Collateral Damage” was a snippet of dialogue in the trailer: An authoritative figure demands of Arnold (slight paraphrasing here), “Whatever you do, don’t take the law into your own hands.” To which Arnold Schwarzenegger replies with a hint of sarcasm (given the context), “Thanks for the advice.”

The content of this exchange led me to believe that Arnold was going to kick some major tail a la “Dirty Harry.” However, when I saw the movie, the above exchange never took place. Both lines of dialogue were in the film, but not in connection with each other. Actually, Arnold’s “Thanks for the advice” appeared in a different scene altogether as a sincere declaration of gratitude to someone who’d just shared valuable travel tips with him.

It’s annoying that this kind of transposition (misrepresentation might be a better word) has become increasingly common in previews of coming attractions. Can you imagine my dismay when, instead of enjoying Dirty Harry, I was subjected to “Weeping Gordy??”

JACK LUKES

Sherman Oaks