films!

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Movie time again! This time, an indulgence into "guy" films, though have I ever really strayed that far from the genre? Perhaps it's the cold weather, or the mind-numbingness of work, or the feeling that my life is accelerating away, like so much sand squeezed from my hands.

  • Food, Inc. (2008). It almost turned me off meat -- chicken, pork, beef, all of the scariest meats. The film highlights well the fearsome food-making machine that is the Monsanto Company; they are wicked and everything they touch is death, carefully formulated blight.
  • Inception (2010). Indeed, I saw this only a few weeks ago in the theatre but I still feel like talking about it. Or rather, mentioning that I loved it On an unrelated note, what's up with all these YouTube comment spammers? See for yourself! I think y'all know my opinion of them; may they suffer horribly, each and every one.
  • Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). My love of the Aubrey-Maturin series led me here, to a fascinating true nautical story, in a time when trips to other continents, while explored, remained perilous adventures. I enjoyed the acting, the sheer presence of Laughton and Gable, but the music and the whole Tahiti section detracted from what was otherwise a fierce battle of personalities and revenge.
  • Pan's Labyrinth (2006). Here's the thing about this film -- its original title, El laberinto del fauno, could be translated to "The Faun's Labyrinth". But no, they decided to call it Pan's Labyrinth, and so for the first half of the film I kept thinking "When are we going to meet or learn about this Pan character?" before I made the connection. Frickin' Hollywood, eh? Visually delicious, elsewise.
  • Paprika (2006). I was actually kind of let down -- I thought it was supposed to be this super creative anime about dreams and the like, but I found that aspect to be unoriginal. Perhaps I'm spoiled by all the good anime I've ingested over the years? The soundtrack however was excellent, right up my alley.
  • Patton (1970). I remembered a friend of mine in high school who was into all things military mentioning the film as one of his favourites, and, here, only some 20 years later, do I find myself agreeing with him. George C. Scott is George S. Patton! That opening speech sets the tone very nicely (the video in the link is reversed left-right, but is otherwise of high quality).
  • Serpico (1973). Corrupt police officers and, by extension, corrupt police departments, make me uneasy. So it was with wrenching hands and wide-eyes did I enjoy Serpico. I also love the sounds of those 1970 films -- so crisp the footsteps! Trivia: When Pacino asked Serpico, "Why did you do it?" Serpico replied, "Well, Al, I don't know. I guess I would have to say it would be because... if I didn't, who would I be when I listened to a piece of music?"
  • Sherlock Holmes (2009). Guy Ritche + Robert Downey Jr. + Sherlock Holmes = you can pretty much guess the rest. I thought Rachel McAdams, though always radiant, was a poor choice for his muse; no Sherlock in any universe would choose her Irene Adler.
  • The French Connection (1971). One of the greatest, most exhilarating chase scenes in movie history (so I've read). I really warmed to Gene Hackman's Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, a bulldog of a cop. And I mean, who doesn't like to see the French get hunted down? Nobody.

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