Monday, October 20, 2008

The Manchurian Candidate

Last night, we watched The Manchurian Candidate. C was watching it for a class, and I was just along for the ride.

The story is of a group of American soldiers that gets captured in Korea (in 1952) and gets brainwashed. One member of the group becomes an assassin, and upon their return to the United States after an 18-month tour, he gets introduced to his American operative.

I was really impressed with how this story unfolded. It was absolutely chilling at times - and Angela Lansbury (as the assassin's mother) is amazing. Plus, who doesn't like getting to watch Frank Sinatra thinking he's losing his mind? Old Blue Eyes is just fun to watch.

Verdict: Watch it! I'm pretty squeamish about over-the-top violence, but this movie is fairly low on the gore factor - though there are at least half-a-dozen on-screen deaths. Having said that, this is definitely a PG-13 movie. Younger children would just find it disturbing and confusing.

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