Two stars from me, simply because I feel that "12 Years A Slave" was nothing much more than a movie exploiting and shocking in a rather crude fashion.

I felt that the producers were conducting more of a display of slavery's cruelties, rather than getting us immersed in the travails of the victims so we could really empathize with them and even more recognize the evils of slavery. Rather, I felt that the producers were working too hard to say to the audience, "You think you are shocked now, just wait until you see what we show you next." I was not made to feel the pain. I was made into only an observer of someone else's pain.

Those with differing views are welcome to relate why, but please, let's for once drop the usual extremes we see these days when it comes to such a thing here as being negative and critical of an African-American movie's rendering of such a serious and terrible subject.

Can we keep from giving the movie a top star rating for fear of being called a racist? Do not worry that liking "Schindler's List" better than "12 Years A Slave" is based on prejudice. To me, the former was far better produced.

Can we keep from giving the movie a top star rating because we have "white guilt?" Mea culpas such as, "I loved Roots, and Denzel is my favorite actor, are unnecessary when one low-rates this particular movie.

To me, it just comes down to my feeling that the movie was poorly done. Paying to see it in the first place allows my critique to be made with no strings attached. I would like to see more of the same from other reviewers.