I'm uploading the new version of my portfolio site right now. The content is mostly the same as it was but it looks totally different... I got rid of that Flash deal. I'm probably not quite finished with it yet... but I wanted to get the hosting set up.
My back has been messed up for most of spring break. Consequently I haven't gotten much done other than the website. I did watch a few movies though.
BREACH: Based on the true story of Robert Hanssen, this movie was surprisingly really good. Most of the movie consists of a couple of guys working in an office, but it is really intense.
THE DEPARTED: The video store finally had this one in stock. I rented the fullscreen version because #1: our TV is not that big and #2: our couch is pretty far away from the TV. I know fullscreen is wrong and heretical and unfaithful to the director's vision, but I just don't like having to look at such a tiny picture.... enough about that though... the movie is really good. It was quite a bit better than I thought it would be. Most of the people that watched it here in town said that the end was really disappointing... I thought it was good though.
THE PRESTIGE: Another DVD that was finally available to rent. I have to say I was pretty disappointed with this one. It was entertaining and well done and everything, just not nearly as genius as everyone has been making it out to be. Whatever.
ZODIAC: A three-hour-long movie has to have gotten pretty stinking good reviews for me to see it. Zodiac has an 87 on RT so we figured it'd be worth the long sit. It was. Not once did I find myself wondering when it was going to be over (except when 3 people got up and left about 2/3 of the way through). Jake Gyllenhaal always does a good job (in my opinion). I wasn't a huge fan of the main detective character... he always seemed like an actor saying lines, not a real person talking. But everyone else was pretty convincing. There were somewhere around 85 paragraphs of epilogue at the end of the movie, which I find somewhat sometimes. I think a good movie should come to a good conclusion without spelling out the following 30 years of the characters lives.
STRANGER THAN FICTION: There's a lot to like about this movie, but overall it was also pretty disappointing. There are a lot of cool effects to portray what is going on in Harold Crick's (Will Ferrill's) head. This was probably the best part of the movie. The acting was all pretty decent, but as Mic pointed out, it's really hard at times to tell whether or not your supposed to take it seriously. I dunno. The music seemed really awkward to me... full volume to transition between scenes and then suddenly quiet when the characters are speaking. A lot of critics have said that this movie is "Adaptation for Dummies". I'd have to agree with that. All and all that is the biggest problem with this movie. If you're going to do something that's been done before, at least do it better!
What does everyone think of the new Arcade Fire album? My favorite track is definitely "Intervention" (track 4). That organ is so cool.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
The Untouchables
Although our cars were stuck in a mountain of snow on Friday (mine is still there actually) we made it over the the video store to grab some movies.
Last night we watched The Untouchables. I really liked it. It's pretty much like a western that takes place in Chicago. I know... it's not a western, it's a gangster movie... but still... the characters, the pace, the plot, and even the music made the movie very much like a western.
I guess the music had more of an urban feel to it, but it had a lot of similarities to Morricone's other work... especially Once Upon a Time in the West. There are some wacky drum synths at times that seem really out of place in a 1930's Chicago settiing and make it all to obvious that the movie was made in the 80's. Other than that, the soundtrack is very effective, most notably so during the tense scenes.
In a comment on my last post Jon asked what I thought Morricone's best work is. I'd have to say for the overall movie, probably Once Upon a Time in the west. The music for that movie was so haunting and beautiful. As far as an individual song... probably "The Ecstacy of Gold". This is the song that Metallica opens with on the album they did with the San Francisco Symphony.
But back to the untouchables... Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro all have big parts in this movie and they all did really well. I think a little bit more of De Niro (who plays Al Capone) would have been good, but that's just me.
The one thing that bugged me is the bizarre scene where the nerdy accountant suddenly becomes Rambo or G.I. Joe or something. It was amusing, but completely killed any sort of believability. But as soon as Connery takes over the scene, the story and characters become believable and real again.
Last night we watched The Untouchables. I really liked it. It's pretty much like a western that takes place in Chicago. I know... it's not a western, it's a gangster movie... but still... the characters, the pace, the plot, and even the music made the movie very much like a western.
I guess the music had more of an urban feel to it, but it had a lot of similarities to Morricone's other work... especially Once Upon a Time in the West. There are some wacky drum synths at times that seem really out of place in a 1930's Chicago settiing and make it all to obvious that the movie was made in the 80's. Other than that, the soundtrack is very effective, most notably so during the tense scenes.
In a comment on my last post Jon asked what I thought Morricone's best work is. I'd have to say for the overall movie, probably Once Upon a Time in the west. The music for that movie was so haunting and beautiful. As far as an individual song... probably "The Ecstacy of Gold". This is the song that Metallica opens with on the album they did with the San Francisco Symphony.
But back to the untouchables... Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro all have big parts in this movie and they all did really well. I think a little bit more of De Niro (who plays Al Capone) would have been good, but that's just me.
The one thing that bugged me is the bizarre scene where the nerdy accountant suddenly becomes Rambo or G.I. Joe or something. It was amusing, but completely killed any sort of believability. But as soon as Connery takes over the scene, the story and characters become believable and real again.
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