A Cheap Victory
So, I've reached a higher plain in my frugality. Now I like finding movies that I can check out for free! Unfortunately though, looking for movies there seems a bit like animals fighting at the watering hole during a drought: mass chaos!
The movies are supposed to be organized by genre, but because you can only take two movies per library card, people pick up anything that sounds good before they narrow it down to their final picks. Once they've done that, they just drop them wherever they happen to be standing at the time. You should try and experience the adventure...
Recent Picks
My most recent picks have been Fires In Kuwait (a documentary), Lifeboat (an Alfred Hitchcock film based on a John Steinbeck novel), and Rescue Dawn (A Vietnam era piece with Christian Bale and Steve Zahn)
Do you want to hear about Rescue Dawn? Okay good, because I'm going to ramble about it...
The movie follows the story of a downed pilot who gets captured and put in a Vietcong prisoner camp. The movie makes him look like a perfect Boy Scout. He eventually escapes with a fellow prisoner and lives in the jungle eating bugs and snakes. Christian Bale plays the main character. I have to say that his American accent is pretty cliche and fake, but ignoring that fact, you'll be impressed by his ingenuity. The story itself is a little slow moving until toward the end you will be shocked by an intense random act of violence. I'll just say that you may be disappointed, but I enjoyed it.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Where the Wild Things Are
Last week I made an exception. I strayed from my usual rule to go see "Where the Wild Things Are." I grew up loving the children's book. The simple story follows a young boy on his imaginary journey from his bedroom across the sea to a jungle. There, he is crowned a king by giant monsters. Eventually he becomes homesick and returns to his house in time for dinner. THE END
The book is beautifully illustrated and it captured my imagination. I think that's what made it so great: you could make the story far deeper by falling into the story yourself.
Sadly, watching the movie as an adult didn't have the same effect. The monsters are pretty amazing and the world Max constructs is fascinating. However, you are left feeling empty, like the movie was pointless. This isn't a coming of age story. You merely get a glimpse into the mind of child. The characters all represent different emotions in Max's life: anger, jealousy, love, kindness, fear, adventure, etc. By the end of the film you get the sense that Max has worked out his feelings about the driving events that cause him to leave, but he is still just a kid. He hasn't changed, he hasn't grown up over night. This leaves the audience kind of feeling unfulfilled.
The book is beautifully illustrated and it captured my imagination. I think that's what made it so great: you could make the story far deeper by falling into the story yourself.
Sadly, watching the movie as an adult didn't have the same effect. The monsters are pretty amazing and the world Max constructs is fascinating. However, you are left feeling empty, like the movie was pointless. This isn't a coming of age story. You merely get a glimpse into the mind of child. The characters all represent different emotions in Max's life: anger, jealousy, love, kindness, fear, adventure, etc. By the end of the film you get the sense that Max has worked out his feelings about the driving events that cause him to leave, but he is still just a kid. He hasn't changed, he hasn't grown up over night. This leaves the audience kind of feeling unfulfilled.
I loved the music; I enjoyed the adventure. Honestly though, I would have been content paying a dollar at red box and then eating some Western Family Popcorn.
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