Films that go "Ouch!" #monday #meme #netflix #blockbuster

As my worst month of the year so far continues, thanks to a sad weekend and the new discovery of not one but two pieces of malfunctioning electronics equipment, I’ve decided to keep in line with the spirit of last week’s “Stick Me” theme that Dale at Smurfin the Web served up. So, this week’s topic is “When It Hurts Too Much.”

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies that cause pain in one way or another to the main characters and/or movies that are painful to watch. Also, make sure to visit the blogs of fellow Monday Movie Meme participants. Here are my selections for the “When It Hurts Too Much” theme.
*Disclaimer: this post may contain spoiler alerts where noted.

The Bone Collector
Many unsuspecting characters had an up close and personal meeting with physical pain in this movie, which stars Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie and Queen Latifah. In “The Bone Collector,” a cop teams up with a forensics expert to solve crimes committed by a serial killer who goes around New York city kidnapping people, only to slice and dice them up later.

The Dutchess*
Lots of emotional pain is at the center of Georgiana Spencer’s scandalous home life, where her husband, the Duke of Devonshire is sleeping with her best friend. That isn’t even the tip of the iceberg in this movie, where the Duke refuses to acknowledge their daughters and is livid with Georgiana who has not given birth to a son, for whom he can make his heir.

Georgiana finds solace in the arms of a politician named Charles but their affair is forbidden (gotta love the hypocrisy!) but the Duke. From living in an unwanted threesome at home to being forced to give up the child she had by the man who she truly loved, while still being expected to keep up appearances, Georgiana didn’t have it easy.

The Tombs
The mental anguish that the main character of this short film experiences just builds scene by scene. “The Tombs” is about a man who spends three days in New York’s central booking system for a crime that he may not have even committed.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans*
A combination of physical and emotional pain plague the main characters of this action/fantasy movie. Their pain is the result of forbidden love between two different species, which causes an elder to go on a personal rampage. Lucien gets beaten and whipped while Sonja is forced to watch, before she is burned alive -- literally and figuratively by the very person who is supposed to protect her. As if that’s not enougg, Lucien is also forced to witness it all, bearing an unbearable burden of losing his family.

Now for the viewers point of view: here are films that while great, have been difficult for me to watch without being angry, depressed or sad....not necessarily in that order.

The Battle of Algiers
Since there is nothing pretty about war, I am aware that the violence and torture in “The Battle of Algiers” is to be expected but watching it still makes me uncomfortable. I read about this movie while doing some research on a filming technique that I want to try, and then rented it from Netflix. The film is another one of those real-life tales, which makes it all the more sad. In this movie, an Algerian revolution is in play as the people of this country fight to gain independence from the French.

Sometimes in April
Idris Elba stars in this movie about two brothers who unfortunately find themselves on opposites sides of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. I’m glad that I didn’t dismiss “Sometimes in April” when a friend recommended that I watch it but find it to be among the most violently gruesome of films based on real life. Much like the violent acts in “The Battle of Algiers,” people do some disgusting things in “Sometimes in April.” It’s a real shame and insult to our humanity.

While it’s one of those made-for-television movies, many people who are familiar with this HBO flick believe that it provides a much better account of the tragedies that ensued during that time, than “Hotel Rwanda” starring Don Cheadle did. Having watched both films (...and I wasn’t interested in watching “Hotel Rwanda” either but my grandmother insisted that I check it out), I’m partial to the overall consensus of Elba’s film doing a better job than Cheadle’s movie, but are still just as moving and just as painful to watch. They definitely aren’t something that makes you want to pop a bowl of popcorn and get down with on a weekend night.

I Am Sam
My cousin told me that this movie, starring Sean Penn and Dakota Fanning, is so good that it will make me cry. After all, she was a grown 30-something mother who cried AND her eldest son broke down in tears during the film. Still, I didn’t believe her and had little interest in watching “I Am Sam” but low and behold -- there I was at her house one day, where she played this movie on DVD. Needless to say, yes, I did get teary but was not balling my eyes out as much as she predicted.

What are the most painful movies that YOU remember?

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Comments

[Ron Easton for Dads UnLimited]

The Passion of the Christ...
Braveheart...
Off the top of my head... a thought-provoking post!

[sdk_2010]

http://smurfdok.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/monday-movie-meme-130212/" rel="nofollow">My Choices

[HermanTurnip]

Shoot...Ron beat to The Passion Of The Christ. Thumbs up on that one.

- Hellraiser (pick any one!)
- 13 Assassins (war and mutilation abound)
- Fargo (just for the wood chipper scene alone)
- Knowing (cursed with knowing the end of the world is nigh)
- Rescue Dawn (captured, starved, and on the run)
- Unbreakable (Mr. Glass and his penchant for breaking bones)

Good topic. It's a wide open field with this one! :-)

[Arlee Bird]

Sorry about all the crap you've been dealing with. Let's have a better time from here on out.

I'll agree with Ron's choice of The Passion. Also, there was the scene in A Man Called Horse where the character played by Richard Harris is hung by his breastbone--that looked pretty painful.

Lee
http://wrotebyrote.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge

[Nicole]

Ron,

I watched Braveheart maybe 2 or 3 years ago...good choice. Its such a good movie and surprised me because I initially didn't want to see it because I thought it would be corny or just old and boring or whatever but someone recommended that I rent it and I'm glad that I gave it a chance.

I remember when The Passion of the Christ came out in theaters and there were protests and such and all sorts of controversy surrounding the film. To this day, I still have not seen this particular movie. To be honest, I was afraid to watch it back then and now, it's just been one of those, out of sight, out of mind things.

Dale,

Thanks for the notification. Nice theme this week...you're really sticking it to us with this one, ha! I read about your choices and left my comments.

Herman,

Everyone seems to be all about the 'Passion' this week. I may have to get in one this and rent the darn thing, but I'm not so sure yet. Great choices with Hellraiser and Unbreakable. The latter movie is on my movie rental queue but I have never been able to bring myself to watch any one of the Hellraiser films. It's too scary.

I tend to be a war movie buff from time to time, so 13 Assassins may make my rental list and I heard of Fargo but never looked into it further to see what it's all about. Knowing and Rescue Dawn are two that I never heard of...will have to remedy that someday!

Dale sure did pick a good one, Herman, I agree with you there. Boy do I really have a LOT of movies to watch and get up to date on.

Arlee,

Thanks, I appreciate that. We can have a better time but I'm not so sure if I'll be able to, personally, at the rate I'm going. If it weren't for my work commitments and a handful of my blogging buddies including yourself, I wouldn't want to get out of bed.

While I have not watched The Passion of the Christ, I can see how it fits Dale's "Stick Me" meme and am glad it made Ron's and your list this week. Never heard of "A Man Called Horse" (what's with all the horse movies in Hollywood, like the new "War Horse" that came out not too long ago?) but that hanging scene you describe reminds me of the end of "Last King of Scotland," although it was a different area, it was all above the waist.

[KarenG]

Hi! I'm visiting blogs from the A to Z sign up list. I like the Braveheart suggestion as well.

KarenG

[Ro @ Eat Live Move]

I second the Passion of the Christ. I also think that Beautiful Boy is painful. It's a story about a school shooting from the point of view of the parents of the shooter. It's all around sad and painful. Great discussion!