November 2008 Archives

I guess I've been on a Coen movie kick lately, but it's all wavy gravy cause they do some solid work. Miller's Crossing is an older one that I haven't had the chance to see before, but I remember way back in the day being very struck by just the trailer. This film had all the makings of a good one: very strong, well defined characters; a complex story full of twists and turns; incredibly breathtaking photography and atmosphere; a well-fiting score to segue the scenes and action together. I really couldn't think of one negative comment for this movie except that the story required undivided attention. As one who watches a lot of foreign films, you'd think this would be no problem for me, and yet the rewind feature was my friend.
I wouldn't so much classify this film as a cut-and-dry gangster film (or 'gangsta' as I almost types- what the hell?) but rather more of a character piece. Maybe, perhaps, an "Albert Finney in yo face!" piece.
I feel unmotivated tonight, so for a synopis, check out the IMDB page here. Or just take my word for it that it rocks and Daddy Warbucks can kick all sorts of ass with a Tommy gun and rent it already. Do it.

My brother made the comment the other day that my blog looked lonely and envious of my Twitter. I guess I have enjoyed the convenience provided by Twitter for quick and easy quips and observations instead of having to collect all those random thoughts into a lucid paragraph. I'll admit it- I'm greedy with the Twitter. As is the case quite often with me, I went into stimulus overload. Once again, I got my mind going into more directions that I keep up with. I'm really enjoying my career and the positive changes in it over the course of the last few months, but adjusting to a new job and a new course of work proved to be more tiring than I thought it would be. I think part of that is due to some pressures at the job in the form of deadlines. Luckily I work in an environment that keeps me grounded and remembering that no one is defibbing on a crash cart at our job; ie, anything can be dealt with in stride. It's hard to see it from that angle when you're knee deep in it, but it's a refreshing outlook that I have to work on adopting as my own. The man thinks I freak out way too easily and I'm inclined to agree with him. Problem is, I'm not really sure how to NOT freak out, considering it's all second nature to me. Or is it first nature? What the hell kind of stupid phrase is that anyway?
I have a long list of things I want to accomplish or just flat out do for the sake of non-accomplishing- related matters. Time management is not my forte. Neither is an accute attention span for that matter. Hell, the only reason this is getting posted now is because I figured out how to post via my bberry. Hehe.

I went into this film not knowing too much about it other than it was a thriller and it was French. I was somewhat hesistant as my experience with French thrillers thus far ranged from the quite good ("Ills") to the completely overrated/I want those hours of my life back sort of way("Cache"). But I figured what the hell? Honestly, I really just wanted to take a walk to the theater and enjoy a film and this seemed like the best option. Scientific, I know.
Back to the film. Basic synopsis is that a man and his wife are out nekkid swimming. She goes back to the shore, he hears her scream and goes towards her. Unfortunately, he's knocked unconcious by an unknown assailant before he gets to her. When he wakes up, he's informed that she is dead, the apparent victim of a serial killer. Six years later, he receives an anonymous email with a link to a webcam. As he is watching, a woman appears on screen who looks a hell of a lot like his dead wife. He receives an email infoming him to "tell no one." The rest of the movie follows him as he tries to piece together what really happened 6 years ago and what is happening now.
This movie sets up the atmosphere perfectly. Despite running over two hours, I felt engrossed the entire time, waiting for all the pieces to fall together, which they do within perfect timing and context of the story. I also was struck how visually the movie built up tension and atmosphere to work along with the story. The cast worked well in their respective characters, especially the leds. As I've seen on other sites, this movie feels like a combo of "Vertigo" and "The Vanishing". This movie was what Cache should have been, but stick figures aren't too frightening really. (If you saw Cache, you'd know about the stick figures.)