films x4

i saw 4 films recently. here are some thoughts about them.

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind: this film gives me hope. it gives me hope that films can really be a worthwhile experience and not just something to pass the time. it gives me hope that actors that have had mediocre performances in other films can have stellar performances in particularly brilliant films. it gives me hope that film can fulfill it's prophecy, walk 40 nights in the desert and return wiser and learned. it gives me hope that if there is a celestial cinema they will be playing films like this.

favorite scene: the very beginning and the very end and every moment in between.


napoleon dynamite: this film is very quirky. the characters are quirky. the scenes are quirky. it has quirky tattooed all over it's funny shaped head. people talk in a quirky way and do quirky things. people have quirky haircuts and quirky facial hair. he does a quirky dance at the end and his brother says "peace out" which made me laugh, as well as funny bits with the smashing of the pinata and the time machine. there's only one human part in the whole film.

favorite scene: when napoleon touches deb's hand and he says sorry.


sweet home alabama: this is a romantic comedy with a difference. not really. this is a romantic comedy. it's like a parfait. it looks fun and colourful. you always look forward to eating it. you don't really have to wait too long for them to prepare it. you always know what you're getting, roughly. there are some quaint variations but you'll probably never try the curry one or the one doused in tabasco.

favorite scene: when the bride hits the mayor of new york. in the face.


forgotten: this is a good thriller with a difference. that it's actually crap. they build the tension well: they make you ask questions, they crease your brows and make you bring your finger to your lip and hum. and you start where you should start. in the middle. juliana moore does well as a mother in peril. but as day becomes night, from one scene to another it loses it. it's lifeless and dour, so much so that when inexplicable and fantastic things happen the characters can't even be bothered to arch an eyebrow. the only person that reacts to anything is swiftly whisked away. the plot need dollops of disbelief from us which is squandered. (i can't really explain without giving away the plot but i do want to say this: why are scientists in films so evil and stupid? don't they know that the best thing that can happen to an experiment, after it working perfectly as expected, is it absolutely not working at all? you either want to prove the theory right or wrong, not some namby pamby inconclusive bullshit.) the end should have returned to the beginning.

favorite scene: moments after the black police woman walking toward the white mum on a cloudy day.