Weekend Musings
Too confused to actually post something worthwhile. I’ll just ramble on for a bit.
Saw Premonition. It was confusing too as I thought of it as a thriller going in, but in reality it was a science fiction story.
3 of 5 stars.
Saw TMNT. Turtle power! Adequate. I should’ve gone with my nephews or in a later showing as it was all kids on a sunny Sunday matinee.
3 of 5 stars.
Bought Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds on DVD. Something about ‘Tippi’ Hedren that’s got me fascinated. It’s a fun movie. Starts as a rom-com and ends in terror. That you got to love.
4 of 5 stars.
Spring is here.
I feel like shit.
“Reading from top to bottom. Lisa. Carol. Fremont.”
Lisa: How’s your leg?
Jeff: Hurts a little.
Lisa: And your stomach?
Jeff: Empty as a football.
Lisa: And you’re love life?
Jeff: Not too active.
Lisa: Anything else bothering you?
Jeff: Mm-hm. Who are you?
Is there are more dramatic entrance than Grace Kelly in Rear Window? She’s beautiful.
Rom Coms?
Tossing and turning last night so I put on Can’t Buy Me Love to help me to get to sleep. Loved that movie as a kid. It’s pretty stupid. Yet I feel that’s a classic. Whatever happened to Amanda Peterson? She fell off the face of the earth or what?
Anyway, I was thinking about why there isn’t any good romantic comedies. There’s plenty, but I don’t like much. Maybe it’s just me. I get so cynical about it that light-hearted screen gems don’t do much for me.
Zodiac
Season 3 of The X-Files had one of the most memorable episodes of its run, Jose Chung’s “From Outer Space.” In it the titular author, Jose Chung is writing his non-fiction science fiction account of the abduction of two teenagers. He interviews Agent Scully (Wow!), but the whole abduction thing has a Rashomon effect and the truth is not so cut and dry. In fact no one knows exactly what happened. It is a mystery. As the interview with Agent Scully (Woot!) wraps up, she tells him that at least it has an ending, which is more than she can say for the rest of her cases.
That’s how Zodiac seems to have been. At least it has an ending. And at least we get some kind of closure. But (SPOILER ALERT) if Arthur Leigh Allen didn’t do it, there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence to have the fingers pointing at him.
What I found as I watched is that, in this very age, detective television shows such as the X-Files, CSI or Law and Order make it tough to watch police procedurals at the cinema. Each week Law and Order solves a crime and brings to justice the perpetrator. Zodiac neither solved the crime or brought to justice the perpetrator, but it had an ending whether satisfying or not Scully would’ve approved.
Zodiac still felt like an episode of Law and Order. It was divided into two parts. The “Order” part wherein Mark Ruffalo’s detective tries to piece together a case, and the “Law” part with Jake Gyllenhall picks up the case and identify the true killer and his motives so that he can be brought to justice. And that’s just the story’s structure.
Again like detective television shows, I expected the CSI to nail the villian. He couldn’t have been too smart to get away with it. There is always evidence that will incriminate. Yet, the detectives couldn’t find any. I was wondering if they didn’t have decent crime scene investigators in the 70s.
All in all, Zodiac felt more like television. It strikes out trying to be a film because it feels too much like crime shows on tv. If only they put the ominous chords associated with Law and Order, it may have been good.
3 of 5 stars.
UPDATE:
Matt Zoller Seitz really captures exactly what I wanted to say with his review.
Spidey senses tingling
Check out some extended scenes from Spiderman 3. Can’t wait. For the HD download that is. Be careful it’ll take a while and clog up your CPU usage. But enjoy it.
Beauty and the Film Geek II: The Secretary Takes the Lead
If you remember, I was wondering who’ll host the Oscars for technical achievement. It was Maggie Gyllenhaal. While she’s not what I consider hot, she’s still female. Easy on the eyes as well, but she’s no
Rachel McAdams.
Isn’t it romantic?
Well, it’s St. Valentine’s day. Here’s to all the fools taking their significant other out to town, dinner, and a movie. If only I could. *sigh*
Yet, when romance is involved, I get my thrill from the cinematic projector. And one of the more romantic of movies that I love is It’s a Wonderful Life. Wha?
Most people see this movie as the ultimate sentimental Christmas holiday movie. How can it be romantic?
Easy. It’s filled with scenes that’ll make you feel love.
Remember the scene with the young Mary Hatch whispering in George’s bad ear, “George Bailey, I’ll love you until the day I die.” Try that on a girl. She’ll appreciate it.
Remember the scene of the recently graduated Mary Hatch bored at the graduation dance. She listens the guy talking to her, but she doesn’t seem to hear him. Then she catches a glimpse of George Bailey coming her way and she lights up. “Well, hello.” That’s electrifying.
Remember the scene where George and Mary throw rocks at the old house. “What did you wish for, Mary?” The coy look she gives him. “Buffalo gals, won’t you come out tonight? And dance by the light of the moon.” You’ll chase after girls that give you that sly run around.
Remember the scene on the phone. “Tell him it’s a chance of a lifetime.” Yes. It is. To love and be loved. “Now you listen to me. I don’t want any plastics and I don’t want any ground floors. And I don’t want to get married *ever* to anyone! You understand that? I want to do what I want to do.” And she wants to be there with him. The raw emotion of the that scene.
I could go on, but you get the picture. There are many of them in it. So on this day of romance, pop in your DVD of It’s a Wonderful Life. Replace the Christmas holiday feelings with romantic thoughts thanks to George and Mary’s romance.
Pleine de Poisson
Kate: Do you believe in love? The kind that lasts forever?
Luc: I loved my mother.
Kate: No, everyone loves their mother. Even people who say they hate their mothers love their mothers. My question is, one man for one woman?
Luc: It is not a very interesting question. It is the question of a little girl who still believes in fairy tales.