Well  I went to the matinee today and took in a Sunday morning movie. "Zero Dark Thirty" was on the menu for me. The price for a MJR early bird showing is only $5.00 and this is when I watch all the movies I go to see. I take in a bottle of water, and sometimes a little snack,usually a zip lock bag with some animal crackers, or grapes. On this day however, it was just my water. As I walked into the particular viewing room for my show, I could see I was running late. Already the main previews where wrapping up and the first scene was just beginning. I am a hard person to please with a movie. I expect to be drawn into a drama, and to be convinced by the director and moreover, the actors, to pull me into the story and make me feel as if I'm there at that moment.
   With that being said, I also hold actors and actresses to a high standard in their performance. Embodying, the character, and bringing the live of the story to show threw for a specific character the depth of the story is what makes or breaks a film for me, so getting the right cast is the hardest thing for a director I suppose.

So my opinion of "Zero Dark Thirty" is this. It was a little long for the dialogue riddled, action packless, marathon. The fact that there is a lot of time dedicated to this woman's insubordination through out the movie left me unamused.  The movie was not quite a spy thriller, and not quite an action movie, it had a bit of an identity crisis. Patriotic ... yes it was a spike the football, wave the flag, feel good about what we are doing movie. For that I was happy.

My final grade for depth of story.......... B-
My final grade for depth of characters....C-
My final grade for over all value.............. C+         

Well since the big chill has settled into the Midwest, I decided to spend a couple hours in the comfy confines of a warm theater for a couple hours. So while I drank a hot cup of tea this morning, and skimmed through the Sunday morning edition of the Wall Street Journal,  I trolled the start times and found " Silver Linings Playbook"  I have to say, as my wife and I entered the theater we just wanted to hang out and unwind for a bit, and go home. With no expectations of the movie going in, I was surprised to find myself  enjoying the trials  and tribulations of (Bradly Cooper) Pat.    And Jennifer Lawrence was delightful and refreshing.  The cast was a well rounded group, even having high profile actors like Robert De Niro, , Chris Tucker and Julia Stiles, it didn't seem to overwhelm the story line. Which took on a hot topic now in America, mental health issues and how families deal with them. 

So here goes my rating    "Silver Linings Playbook"

Depth of story, story line............................C+
Depth of characters .................................. B+
Overall quality of movie..............................B- 

I will start by saying,  I understand poverty in America , is not the same as in Africa, or North Korea, or some Middle Eastern countries. However, based on the standards of industrialized nations and education standards, and human rights standards, I will be discussing our poverty level based on the fact we are a world super power and not a third world nation. We are " The United States of America" and we should hold ourselves to the highest standard.

With that said lets use ( http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/12poverty.shtml ) as our starting point for what the "Government" sees poverty as, and then compare and contrast that to what  " real poverty terms" are in America based on income levels, and how many Americans are really victims. 

Let's start with a number.  2.87  That is the family size the 2010 Census survey said the households, in America of those with just a High School education. So since we cant have 3/4 of a person lets round up due to it being closer to 3 then it is 2. So we have a house hold with three (3) people here, two adults and one child. According to the Health and Human Services Department of the government, a household of 3 is a balmy... $19,090.  really this is the line. We are going to use as well the line for a family of 5, their poverty line is $27,010.  Now our contrast is what most people would consider to be, middle class  earners for a family of (3),  $48,500.  To show the reality of " REAL TERM POVERTY"  that American's face.

There are a few conditions to take into account. I am not going to calculate any government aid the low income families may be getting ( in real cases) nor will I show examples of cost of living prices in every single state. There will be a difference from the East Coast to West Coast  to the Midwest. I will be using costs in the Midwest, because that's what I know.  Now lets list the basics almost all house holds must have just for survival.
rent/ mortgage................................$900 mo. X 12 = $10,800
electric bill......................................$100 mo. X 12 = $1,200
natural gas......................................$120 mo. X 12 = $1,440
gas for the car................................$160 mo. X 12 = $1,920
groceries........................................$400 mo. X 12 = $4,800
cell phone/home phone......................$80 mo. X 12 = $960
internet/cable.....................................$90 mo. X 12 = $1,080 ...............grand total...= $22,200
car payment (only for middle class families) $295 mo. X 12 = $3,540.............= $25,740

So a family of 3 is in poverty if they earn $19,090 but it takes $22,200 - $25,740 to just cover the basics. This doesn't cover child care, savings, putting away money for Christmas, birthdays, or anniversaries,
 The money here is also what is needed brought home $22,200 to do that, you would need to gross about $26,900..   Anybody that has kids, knows it takes a lot more then a couple $1,000 a year to raise a child, especially when they are school age.  According to these monthly bills I think it save to say that the poverty line for a family of 3 should be closer to $35,000 a year.  American's are told one thing by government officials, most of whom earn well over the income levels of most middle class American's, that poverty is at one level, but so many  10 of millions more live at levels that only allow them to.. work eat sleep, repeat.

Lets talk about " real poverty" levels.                      Good Luck America.