Good topic, Anduril. I think you know the answer to your question, "is it appropriate to discuss content", you just want to bring it out for others to chew on. Yes, it's appropriate to discuss content, but it's important to keep it within the parameters of the film itself. So, a discussion of the Iraq war in a Fahr9/11 thread should try to stick to the topics that Moore brings up in that film. Likewise, a discussion of "Passions of the Christ" should certainly be able to discuss interpretations of the relevent Biblical passages.

I'm curious as to your comment that "For me, there are actually only a handful of movies that would really stir me to write about direction, cinematography, and acting because, in many movies, if these things are done well, then it fades into the background...". What films are those, if you don't mind my asking?

I agree with Johann (and Kubrick) that the content or story is king, but a really good film to me transcends the story itself at the same time. It's a work of art, it's not simply a text to be translated literally. I remember hearing an interview with the novelist E.L. Doctorow on NPR a few months ago, where he talked about how writing and the use of words should be musical in a way, it should be symphonic. It's not simply story telling, it's also the beauty of the expression. Same thing with film, it's not simply the "point" of the story that matters.

In that sense, I think Kubrick was absolutely amazing in that his films mastered both content and craft. Think back on the "points" he's making in Lolita, and Dr. Strangelove, and Clockwork Orange, and 2001. It's deep stuff, as deep as I can remember from any other filmmaker. At the same time, the look of his films is perfect, his films are visually spectacular. The war room in Strangelove, the scenes of Alex's "education" in Clockwork Orange, the spacecraft in 2001, all are some of the most recognizable scenes in the history of film.

Greenaway is an example of a director who might score more points in the craft rather than in content area. The films of Michael Mann are mesmerizing to me, but his plots tend to crumble a bit if you take a finer look. But story is certainly important, and I always appreciate a straight-forward film that contains an interesting storyline.