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Big screen & small screen weekend
We spent quite a bit of time in front of one or the other of those sorts of screens this weekend. We rented several DVDs:
Sunshine - Director Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Trainspotting) made about 2/3 of a good movie, I thought. I felt like it had a lot of promise to be a thoughtful sci-fi piece, but it just didn't seem to deliver when it came right down to it. Philosophically, there wasn't as much to it as it would have appeared at first glance. All in all, not a bad film, just not as good as it leads one to believe at first blush.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - This was one Lauren picked out, and I have to admit that I wasn't paying full attention when we watched this (I was grading). From what I saw, it was pretty good. Lauren seemed to enjoy it (and then spent an hour reading about English history). The costumes were very good (I mean, the Oscars folks thought so) and the performances seemed very good as well.
The Shield: Season 1 - I'd heard about this show from a friend a couple years ago and caught a random episode from what was then the current season, but only checked it out this weekend when Lauren was at Blockbuster and looking for something to rent. We're really getting into this one. The series takes us inside a police station in the fictional Farmington district of L.A. Central to the show is the experimental "Strike Team" and its charismatic and controversial leader, Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis). They not only use illegal and unethical methods to stamp out--or at least control--crime, but by the end of the first episode, Mackey has murdered a fellow cop who was going to investigate him and the strike team. One of the things that makes the show work is the complex and nuanced character Chiklis portrays. There's no doubt that Vic Mackey is a crooked cop, but he's also a passionate defender of the innocent, a family man, and fiercely loyal. We can't quite like Mackey, but we can't quite dislike him either. He lives by an unorthodox moral code, but there's still clearly a moral code there. The show also works because Mackey isn't the only character focused on, and so many of the others are well-written and well-acted as well. At least, that's how things look after five episodes.
Jumper -For some reason I can't find an image on Amazon for the only thing we saw in the theater this weekend. At any rate, we found Jumper to be compelling enough to watch happily for however long it went on. Was it a great film? Not even close, but it was a competent sf action-adventure story that didn't do much more or much less than I expected.
I've become uncomfortable with heroes who are bad, not just superficially
bending the rules, but killing and beating and blackmail and suchlike.
These characters send the message that it's ok to do all these terrible
things so long as you have a good side, too. No, it's not. And kids and
adults shouldn't be told it is.
I have to say that I love, Love LOVE "The Shield". The anti-hero has a
long tradition in literature and in film and i find it refreshing to see it
on TV. The writing and acting on the show is simply amazing. I've often
described it to people as a blending of "NYPD Blue" and "The Sopranos".
We rented "Gone Baby Gone" this weekend. I think you would really like it.
It's one of the best movies I've seen in a while with some great twists
you won't see coming and talk about an unorthodox moral code. We also went
to the theater to see "There Will Be Blood". I didn't really like it. The
acting and cinematography were great. I just didn't like the story and
character.
We watched Michael Clayton. I loved it a lot. I'm still thinking about it.
Thanks for the reviews. :)