Monday, May 30, 2005
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
I just finished watching Once Upon A Time In America. It was Sergio Leone's (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) final film before his death. And it was pretty good. Nearly 4 hours long, but good nonetheless. The story was interesting and the editing was superb. However, between Boys Don't Cry and this movie, I think I've seen enough rape scenes to last me a few weeks.
I'm now going to tell a story about Hollywood.
Once upon a time, movies could be long. I don't mean 2.5 hours long. I mean 3-4 hours+ long. Long enough to require intermissions so people could take a leak.
Not only were these movies made, but they were good.
The Sound of Music became a classic. The Godfather and one of its sequels won Best Picture. Sergio Leone made a name for himself with lengthy spaghetti westerns. Ben-Hur won thirteen Academy Awards, the most ever won by a single film - a feat which was tied by Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and Titanic, also lengthy films.
However, after a while, Hollywood changed. Soon nobody wanted to make long movies anymore. Sure, they might be excellent films, but they didn't make enough money to warrant the production costs. And people were starting to want a different type of movie: they wanted fast-paced movies. They wanted movies that didn't require them to think, or wait very long for the "good parts". The new generation was being raised on MTV, with the idea that anything that went for longer than 5 minutes without something to appeal to their sex drive or sense of adventure was...well, boring. People didn't want slow movies anymore. They wanted escapist entertainment. A story wasn't worth more than a couple hours of their time to see. With technology making society itself move faster and faster, movies had to keep up with their audience. Why sit through a three-and-a-half-hour movie when an episode of Friends made you laugh and was only 1/7 that long?
Enter my generation: people who have never gone to a movie and had to go stand out in the lobby during an Intermission. People who want their stories spoon-fed to them, leaving no room for something that might require effort, like following a complex story. People to whom a long shot or slow conversation doesn't raise the tension, increase the realism, or is there to express a message - it's merely a few seconds wasted.
And yet, even though Hollywood and its audience changed for the most part, there were some things that never changed.
For example, the ability of people to sit through a 3-hour movie in order to watch a few midgets carry a cheap ring to a mountain, simply because it interested them. Or the ability to then go out and buy the Extended Editions of such movies on DVD. People still were willing to sit through lengthy movies. The catch was that they had to be action-packed and filled with swords and death and blood at every turn.
Gone were the days of Leone, when people were patient enough to let a story take its time unfolding. Gone were the days when people were willing to sit for more than 5 minutes without "action", simply because they were so intrigued by the characters they were watching. Gone were the days when movies were made with enough skill to grab an audience by the throat and not let go for 4 hours - not through action or sex, but through drama. Through story. Through characters.
And although there was still a small chance people might be willing to sit through an Intermission again, Hollywood just didn't seem to recognize it. And if they did, they weren't willing to risk it. Soon even "epics" like Kingdom of Heaven were being cut down from 4 hours to a little more than 2 hours. Movies that were brave enough to risk misjudging the time audiences would sit through them, such as Troy, were often simply bad movies that bombed at the box-office - and yet, at least one of those characteristics might have been reversed given a longer time to tell the story. With the exception of movies about a certain hobbit, it appeared as though the days of Leone and long, yet well-paced epic films, were twitching in their final death stroke.
THE END
R.I.P.
Epic films that told great stories, and weren't afraid to take their time to do it.
Quotes of Da Moment:
"The young watch television twenty-four hours a day, they don't read and they rarely listen. This incessant bombardment of images has developed a hypertrophied eye condition that's turning them into a race of mutants. They should pass a law for a total reeducation of the young, making children visit the Galleria Borgese on a daily basis."
--Federico Fellini
"The public has lost the habit of movie-going because the cinema no longer possesses the charm, the hypnotic charisma, the authority it once commanded. The image it once held for us all - that of a dream we dreamt with our eyes open - has disappeared. Is it still possible that one thousand people might group together in the dark and experience the dream that a single individual has directed?"
--Federico Fellini
I'm now going to tell a story about Hollywood.
Once upon a time, movies could be long. I don't mean 2.5 hours long. I mean 3-4 hours+ long. Long enough to require intermissions so people could take a leak.
Not only were these movies made, but they were good.
The Sound of Music became a classic. The Godfather and one of its sequels won Best Picture. Sergio Leone made a name for himself with lengthy spaghetti westerns. Ben-Hur won thirteen Academy Awards, the most ever won by a single film - a feat which was tied by Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and Titanic, also lengthy films.
However, after a while, Hollywood changed. Soon nobody wanted to make long movies anymore. Sure, they might be excellent films, but they didn't make enough money to warrant the production costs. And people were starting to want a different type of movie: they wanted fast-paced movies. They wanted movies that didn't require them to think, or wait very long for the "good parts". The new generation was being raised on MTV, with the idea that anything that went for longer than 5 minutes without something to appeal to their sex drive or sense of adventure was...well, boring. People didn't want slow movies anymore. They wanted escapist entertainment. A story wasn't worth more than a couple hours of their time to see. With technology making society itself move faster and faster, movies had to keep up with their audience. Why sit through a three-and-a-half-hour movie when an episode of Friends made you laugh and was only 1/7 that long?
Enter my generation: people who have never gone to a movie and had to go stand out in the lobby during an Intermission. People who want their stories spoon-fed to them, leaving no room for something that might require effort, like following a complex story. People to whom a long shot or slow conversation doesn't raise the tension, increase the realism, or is there to express a message - it's merely a few seconds wasted.
And yet, even though Hollywood and its audience changed for the most part, there were some things that never changed.
For example, the ability of people to sit through a 3-hour movie in order to watch a few midgets carry a cheap ring to a mountain, simply because it interested them. Or the ability to then go out and buy the Extended Editions of such movies on DVD. People still were willing to sit through lengthy movies. The catch was that they had to be action-packed and filled with swords and death and blood at every turn.
Gone were the days of Leone, when people were patient enough to let a story take its time unfolding. Gone were the days when people were willing to sit for more than 5 minutes without "action", simply because they were so intrigued by the characters they were watching. Gone were the days when movies were made with enough skill to grab an audience by the throat and not let go for 4 hours - not through action or sex, but through drama. Through story. Through characters.
And although there was still a small chance people might be willing to sit through an Intermission again, Hollywood just didn't seem to recognize it. And if they did, they weren't willing to risk it. Soon even "epics" like Kingdom of Heaven were being cut down from 4 hours to a little more than 2 hours. Movies that were brave enough to risk misjudging the time audiences would sit through them, such as Troy, were often simply bad movies that bombed at the box-office - and yet, at least one of those characteristics might have been reversed given a longer time to tell the story. With the exception of movies about a certain hobbit, it appeared as though the days of Leone and long, yet well-paced epic films, were twitching in their final death stroke.
THE END
R.I.P.
Epic films that told great stories, and weren't afraid to take their time to do it.
Quotes of Da Moment:
"The young watch television twenty-four hours a day, they don't read and they rarely listen. This incessant bombardment of images has developed a hypertrophied eye condition that's turning them into a race of mutants. They should pass a law for a total reeducation of the young, making children visit the Galleria Borgese on a daily basis."
--Federico Fellini
"The public has lost the habit of movie-going because the cinema no longer possesses the charm, the hypnotic charisma, the authority it once commanded. The image it once held for us all - that of a dream we dreamt with our eyes open - has disappeared. Is it still possible that one thousand people might group together in the dark and experience the dream that a single individual has directed?"
--Federico Fellini
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 5/30/2005 01:35:00 AM 
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Boys Don't Cry
I just saw Boys Don't Cry. It came out whatever year American Beauty won Best Picture - Hilary Swank burst onto the Hollywood scene after beating Annette Benning for an Oscar, a feat she repeated this year with Million Dollar Baby.
Overall, I liked it. Swank definitely deserved that Oscar.
She plays a girl, Teena Brandon, who is going through a sexual identity crisis. She changes her name to Brandon Teena, cuts her hair short, stuffs a sock down her pants, and next thing you know people thinks she's a guy and she can have sex with all the women she wants. Until, of course, she gets kicked out of where she's staying and has to go find somewhere else to live. She settles down in Falls City, a poor neighborhood filled with "white trash" and manages to find a few friends to hang out with.
The first 30-50 minutes move kind of slowly. Brandon/Teena parties with her friends as they lead their pointless lives, getting drunk, doing drugs, breaking the law, and in general just being the trash people think they are. Things start to get interesting when she starts having feelings for a girl named Lana, played to perfection by Chloe Sevigny. Brandon/Teena and Lana get together, and the next think you know they're managing to have sex without Lana discovering Brandon's a girl.
The movie gradually gets tenser and tenser until it finally explodes. Unlike most movies like this where the film ends soon after everyone discovers the protagonists' true gender, this one doesn't. Things spiral out of control.
This is a dark, gritty film that lots of people won't be able to sit through. My mom left after 10-15 minutes. There's lots of things I could say about it, but I don't want to give anything away.
The main message of the movie seems to be: why are we all so freakin' hateful? We hate the white trash. The white trash hate 'it' - people with sexual identity problems. Sheesh. When will we learn to love everyone? When will we realize that just because a person makes mistakes or might do something we consider sinful, that doesn't mean we shouldn't respond like Christ would?
I'm not sure how I feel about people that have problems with their sexual identity. Is it a sin to want to have a sex change? Is it a sin if you feel like you're trapped in the wrong body? Where is the line between sin and genetic/psychological disorder? Teena is so confused she doesn't even consider herself a lesbian, despite the fact that she's clearly sexually attracted to women - is it wrong to feel such sexual confusion? I don't know. But I do know we shouldn't hate people like Teena Brandon. It's when I see movies like this I start to be reminded of how much the religious fanaticism I mentioned earlier annoys me, since I can see a lot of conservative Christians acting like the people do in this movie. The fact that this film is based on a true story only serves to drive that point home.
Religion should help cement your faith and help it grow. Not contradict it.
Quote of Da Moment:
To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.
--Eric Hoffer
Overall, I liked it. Swank definitely deserved that Oscar.
She plays a girl, Teena Brandon, who is going through a sexual identity crisis. She changes her name to Brandon Teena, cuts her hair short, stuffs a sock down her pants, and next thing you know people thinks she's a guy and she can have sex with all the women she wants. Until, of course, she gets kicked out of where she's staying and has to go find somewhere else to live. She settles down in Falls City, a poor neighborhood filled with "white trash" and manages to find a few friends to hang out with.
The first 30-50 minutes move kind of slowly. Brandon/Teena parties with her friends as they lead their pointless lives, getting drunk, doing drugs, breaking the law, and in general just being the trash people think they are. Things start to get interesting when she starts having feelings for a girl named Lana, played to perfection by Chloe Sevigny. Brandon/Teena and Lana get together, and the next think you know they're managing to have sex without Lana discovering Brandon's a girl.
The movie gradually gets tenser and tenser until it finally explodes. Unlike most movies like this where the film ends soon after everyone discovers the protagonists' true gender, this one doesn't. Things spiral out of control.
This is a dark, gritty film that lots of people won't be able to sit through. My mom left after 10-15 minutes. There's lots of things I could say about it, but I don't want to give anything away.
The main message of the movie seems to be: why are we all so freakin' hateful? We hate the white trash. The white trash hate 'it' - people with sexual identity problems. Sheesh. When will we learn to love everyone? When will we realize that just because a person makes mistakes or might do something we consider sinful, that doesn't mean we shouldn't respond like Christ would?
I'm not sure how I feel about people that have problems with their sexual identity. Is it a sin to want to have a sex change? Is it a sin if you feel like you're trapped in the wrong body? Where is the line between sin and genetic/psychological disorder? Teena is so confused she doesn't even consider herself a lesbian, despite the fact that she's clearly sexually attracted to women - is it wrong to feel such sexual confusion? I don't know. But I do know we shouldn't hate people like Teena Brandon. It's when I see movies like this I start to be reminded of how much the religious fanaticism I mentioned earlier annoys me, since I can see a lot of conservative Christians acting like the people do in this movie. The fact that this film is based on a true story only serves to drive that point home.
Religion should help cement your faith and help it grow. Not contradict it.
Quote of Da Moment:
To know a person's religion we need not listen to his profession of faith but must find his brand of intolerance.
--Eric Hoffer
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 5/29/2005 01:46:00 AM
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Musings On Star Wars And Fanaticism
I've always liked Star Wars. In terms of movies that are just plain fun to watch, it's hard to beat them. A few years ago I was literally obsessed with it, reading the novels left and right. Chances are, if you ask me anything about Star Wars that was revealed more than two years ago, I could answer it.
Once I got to El Salvador, however, I started to have less time to read and I shifted my focus to film. Now I seem to more or less have broken away from total Star Wars geekiness. After all, I got a girlfriend - in many ways that separates me from the majority of Star Wars fanatics.
However, I still like Star Wars a ton. This past month my geekiness seems to be returning. It must be because of the release of Episode III, which will most likely be the last Star Wars movie. At least for a while. I want to go back and watch all the movies - I've already started watching them with Souwa, and I've already written a review of Episode I. I want to watch the Clone Wars cartoon, since it's supposedly very informative on what happens between Episodes II and III. I want to read the Episode III novel, since it supposedly makes the entire movie much clearer, in terms of character motivation and plot revelations. I'm also tempted to start reading the other novels again.
Is this a phase? Will I go back to merely being a casual Star Wars fan with an actual life, or will I suddenly return once again to the depths of total fanaticism? I know people who are much bigger fans than I am, and there's no way I want to be as, er...passionate...about it as they are. Is it possible to be a big Star Wars fan (not absolute fanatic) and still retain some shred of a decent social/romantic life? Is it possible to be a big Star Wars fan and still retain some shred of humanity? Do I want to go back to being such a big Star Wars fan?
In terms of storytelling, Star Wars has spawned an endless supply of novels and fanfilms. I'm still addicted to fanfilms, since they manage to combine Star Wars and filmmaking into one. If I go back to reading the novels, will I still have time to read other, more classical and more inspiring things? Is it possible to embrace Star Wars, discover all the tiny details and backstory that make it one of the most intriguing epics ever constructed, and still use the majority of my time for other pursuits?
*sigh*
The struggles of being a geek. I suppose I can only sit back and see what happens. I suppose being a Star Wars fan is a better fanaticism to have than others - *cough*religious*cough* - but I wonder if it's worth pursuing.
I can only assume this is a May thing.
In other news, being a geek is incredibly awesome. It lets me wonder about things like Star Wars instead of acknowledging life's bigger problems. As one friend once told me, Star Wars kept him from going into a chronic depression. I'm not sure if it's good or bad to hold onto a work of fiction that tightly, but who am I to judge?
I wonder if one day I'll be able to create something like that. Something that helps people through times of struggle.
God forbid I ever make something that attracts the kind of people Star Wars attracts, though. Some people just take things way too far. Geeks should not be freaks.
Quote of Da Moment:
There is only one step from fanaticism to barbarism.
--Denis Diderot
Once I got to El Salvador, however, I started to have less time to read and I shifted my focus to film. Now I seem to more or less have broken away from total Star Wars geekiness. After all, I got a girlfriend - in many ways that separates me from the majority of Star Wars fanatics.
However, I still like Star Wars a ton. This past month my geekiness seems to be returning. It must be because of the release of Episode III, which will most likely be the last Star Wars movie. At least for a while. I want to go back and watch all the movies - I've already started watching them with Souwa, and I've already written a review of Episode I. I want to watch the Clone Wars cartoon, since it's supposedly very informative on what happens between Episodes II and III. I want to read the Episode III novel, since it supposedly makes the entire movie much clearer, in terms of character motivation and plot revelations. I'm also tempted to start reading the other novels again.
Is this a phase? Will I go back to merely being a casual Star Wars fan with an actual life, or will I suddenly return once again to the depths of total fanaticism? I know people who are much bigger fans than I am, and there's no way I want to be as, er...passionate...about it as they are. Is it possible to be a big Star Wars fan (not absolute fanatic) and still retain some shred of a decent social/romantic life? Is it possible to be a big Star Wars fan and still retain some shred of humanity? Do I want to go back to being such a big Star Wars fan?
In terms of storytelling, Star Wars has spawned an endless supply of novels and fanfilms. I'm still addicted to fanfilms, since they manage to combine Star Wars and filmmaking into one. If I go back to reading the novels, will I still have time to read other, more classical and more inspiring things? Is it possible to embrace Star Wars, discover all the tiny details and backstory that make it one of the most intriguing epics ever constructed, and still use the majority of my time for other pursuits?
*sigh*
The struggles of being a geek. I suppose I can only sit back and see what happens. I suppose being a Star Wars fan is a better fanaticism to have than others - *cough*religious*cough* - but I wonder if it's worth pursuing.
I can only assume this is a May thing.
In other news, being a geek is incredibly awesome. It lets me wonder about things like Star Wars instead of acknowledging life's bigger problems. As one friend once told me, Star Wars kept him from going into a chronic depression. I'm not sure if it's good or bad to hold onto a work of fiction that tightly, but who am I to judge?
I wonder if one day I'll be able to create something like that. Something that helps people through times of struggle.
God forbid I ever make something that attracts the kind of people Star Wars attracts, though. Some people just take things way too far. Geeks should not be freaks.
Quote of Da Moment:
There is only one step from fanaticism to barbarism.
--Denis Diderot
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 5/28/2005 06:34:00 PM
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Not Much Going On...
I haven't really been doing much lately. I've just been relaxing at home and hanging out with Souwa.
I think I'm going to try and kick-start my movie reviews site up again by reviewing the entire Star Wars saga. Hopefully that should happen within the next few weeks.
Um, yeah. That's it.
I think I'm going to try and kick-start my movie reviews site up again by reviewing the entire Star Wars saga. Hopefully that should happen within the next few weeks.
Um, yeah. That's it.
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 5/24/2005 12:24:00 AM
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Speechless
I just came back from the Episode III premiere.
I am speechless.
George Lucas has completely redeemed himself.
This movie is by far the best of the prequels. Even if my opinion changes over time, that is definitely the case. As for whether or not it's better than the originals...right now I think it's definitely one of the best in the saga. I'll have to see the originals again to decide. It's also possible I'll see it again and not be as overwhelmed. Is it flawed? Yes. But they are forgiveable flaws, at least now. Hopefully this movie will stand the test of time.
Quote of Da Moment:
"Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"
--Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
I am speechless.
George Lucas has completely redeemed himself.
This movie is by far the best of the prequels. Even if my opinion changes over time, that is definitely the case. As for whether or not it's better than the originals...right now I think it's definitely one of the best in the saga. I'll have to see the originals again to decide. It's also possible I'll see it again and not be as overwhelmed. Is it flawed? Yes. But they are forgiveable flaws, at least now. Hopefully this movie will stand the test of time.
Quote of Da Moment:
"Are you threatening me, Master Jedi?"
--Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 5/19/2005 04:56:00 AM
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Zissou
I saw The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou last night. I thought it was pretty good and funny. My parents thought it was dull and fell asleep, but my brother and I liked it. It's not as good as The Royal Tenenbaums but it still has some funny parts.
Also: I have Episode 3 tickets. 12:01 AM on Thursday. It better be good.
Quote of Da Moment:
"Fold."
--The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Also: I have Episode 3 tickets. 12:01 AM on Thursday. It better be good.
Quote of Da Moment:
"Fold."
--The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 5/15/2005 12:01:00 PM
Friday, May 13, 2005
No More School
I finished my last exams today. It was a killer week....but now I'm done with high school! Woohoo! It still hasn't hit me yet that I don't have to go to school on Monday. Now I get to spend 3 weeks sleeping, eating, and watching movies.
In other news: Primer is an awesome movie. I rented it last weekend. It was a small little film made for $7000 that was only released in select cities, but it's great. It's about two guys that accidentally make a time machine. I understood most of it until about half way through, then I spent the rest of the movie going, "What's going on?" It's really complicated. Afterwards I got online to try to find an explanation, but I still didn't get it. So I watched the second half again. I think I understand the basics now, but the details are still fuzzy...even though it's confusing, it's still awesome once you realize everything that's going on beneath the surface. It's the definitely the best time travel movie I've seen since Donnie Darko.
A few weeks ago I also saw THX-1138, the first movie by George Lucas. It's waaaay different from Star Wars. It's kinda unclear and confusing about the funky society everyone lives in, but overall it's pretty good. It got really interesting near the end.
Episode III tickets go on sale at the theater I want to go to on Monday. I'm going to try to get tickets for a midnight showing. In the meantime, I'll be watching Episodes I and II again. The original trilogy has been on tv, and last night I saw the first 20 minutes of The Empire Strikes Back. That's when I was fully reminded of how much the originals are superior to the prequels. Let's hope Episode 3 is at least decent.
Natalie Portman shaved her head for her new movie, V for Vendetta, which is the newest movie by the Wachowski Brothers since the Matrix Trilogy. She looks really weird, and has this LUH (character from THX) thing going on. Picture here.
Hm. She should have done something like that for Episode 3.
Quote of Da Moment:
"Who's scruffy-looking?"
--Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
In other news: Primer is an awesome movie. I rented it last weekend. It was a small little film made for $7000 that was only released in select cities, but it's great. It's about two guys that accidentally make a time machine. I understood most of it until about half way through, then I spent the rest of the movie going, "What's going on?" It's really complicated. Afterwards I got online to try to find an explanation, but I still didn't get it. So I watched the second half again. I think I understand the basics now, but the details are still fuzzy...even though it's confusing, it's still awesome once you realize everything that's going on beneath the surface. It's the definitely the best time travel movie I've seen since Donnie Darko.
A few weeks ago I also saw THX-1138, the first movie by George Lucas. It's waaaay different from Star Wars. It's kinda unclear and confusing about the funky society everyone lives in, but overall it's pretty good. It got really interesting near the end.
Episode III tickets go on sale at the theater I want to go to on Monday. I'm going to try to get tickets for a midnight showing. In the meantime, I'll be watching Episodes I and II again. The original trilogy has been on tv, and last night I saw the first 20 minutes of The Empire Strikes Back. That's when I was fully reminded of how much the originals are superior to the prequels. Let's hope Episode 3 is at least decent.
Natalie Portman shaved her head for her new movie, V for Vendetta, which is the newest movie by the Wachowski Brothers since the Matrix Trilogy. She looks really weird, and has this LUH (character from THX) thing going on. Picture here.
Hm. She should have done something like that for Episode 3.
Quote of Da Moment:
"Who's scruffy-looking?"
--Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 5/13/2005 02:31:00 PM
Friday, May 06, 2005
Currently at 90%
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Exams and Movies
Okay, I'm in exams now. So far I've done my two math ones. They went okay, I guess. 6 more days of exams to go, then I'm officially finished with high school. Not graduated, but finished.
Good movies I've seen recently:
Hitch - Pretty good little romantic comedy. Although it doesn't complete redefine the "formula" of all modern romantic comedies, it at least adds a few interesting twists. And Kevin James is great. He should be in more movies.
Million Dollar Baby - Won Best Picture. Very good. Not sure what I think about the political statement at the end though...though it could be taken both ways depending on how you look at it.
Hotel Rwanda - Excellent. Quite possibly better than Million Dollar Baby, but it's hard to say since they're so different. This one's based on a true story about a guy in Rwanda who sheltered refugees in his hotel during the civil war. Don Cheadle's da man.
The Woodsman - It's about a pedophile, but don't let that keep you from seeing it. Kevin Bacon does an amazing job, and it takes its subject matter very seriously. It doesn't sympathize with the protagonist but it does show us his internal torment about who he is, and offers a tad of hope in the end. Definitely worth the time to watch. Dare a film to suggest we should be willing to forgive everyone?
In other movie news: Some early reviews of Episode III have been released, and they're all positive. Yay!
Quote of Da Moment:
"Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away."
--Hitch
Good movies I've seen recently:
Hitch - Pretty good little romantic comedy. Although it doesn't complete redefine the "formula" of all modern romantic comedies, it at least adds a few interesting twists. And Kevin James is great. He should be in more movies.
Million Dollar Baby - Won Best Picture. Very good. Not sure what I think about the political statement at the end though...though it could be taken both ways depending on how you look at it.
Hotel Rwanda - Excellent. Quite possibly better than Million Dollar Baby, but it's hard to say since they're so different. This one's based on a true story about a guy in Rwanda who sheltered refugees in his hotel during the civil war. Don Cheadle's da man.
The Woodsman - It's about a pedophile, but don't let that keep you from seeing it. Kevin Bacon does an amazing job, and it takes its subject matter very seriously. It doesn't sympathize with the protagonist but it does show us his internal torment about who he is, and offers a tad of hope in the end. Definitely worth the time to watch. Dare a film to suggest we should be willing to forgive everyone?
In other movie news: Some early reviews of Episode III have been released, and they're all positive. Yay!
Quote of Da Moment:
"Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away."
--Hitch
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 5/04/2005 03:21:00 PM
