Thursday, August 18, 2005

A Few Good Films

Sometimes it's nice to take a break from reading and watch a movie or two. I've seen some pretty enjoyable ones during the past few weeks.

First, Cindy and I went to see War of the Worlds on Saturday. It's been out for a few weeks, so I was pretty surprised to see a packed theatre. (Of course it was a Saturday and it was also hot as blazes outside.) I'm a sucker for Spielberg; I'll pretty much go see anything he does (although I haven't seen them all). There are some incredible visuals going on as well as good storytelling. Not a "great" film, but quite good.

I didn't really expect much from the Battlestar Galactica mini-series (on DVD from NetFlix), but was pleasantly surprised. The effects were quite refreshing, especially for a TV show. Sure, most of it is formula - not only formula, but formula generated to 1) get the SciFi Channel to back at least one full season and 2) to get you to watch it - but it's formula done well. I'll probably rent at least the first disc of Season One.

The real viewing experience of the past week has been The Decalogue. I've only watched Decalogue One, but it is an incredible film. The first film was so sad, yet so well done I have an inner struggle whether to watch it again or go on to the second film. It's hard to describe. The film deals with human problems, problems for which there are no easy answers. You won't leave the film and wander around the house looking for something to eat; it'll stay with you, it'll make you think, it'll make you ask yourself many questions. You may not like the answers, but The Decalogue is a collection of films you can't ignore.

Sort of makes Must Love Dogs look like dust bunnies in your basement.

Now Playing = "Space Oddity" - David Bowie

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Battlesta Galactica mini-series didn't do much for you?

I LOVED the mini-series! So I bought Season 1 DVD and finished it last week in three days. I think it's one of the best television shows running today. I was watching through the Buffy seasons, but stopped to watch and finish BG.

I can see what you mean by formulaic, but the real attraction for me was the characters. The characters get a lot more development in Season 1. Not to mention there are some nice plot twists, especially in the two part season finale. It's also cool how everything continues; there is nothing in the way of filler, unlike so many other television shows, especially Buffy.

I also like the ambiguity of the Cylons, which is played up and expressed more in the actual series.

Some seem to aid the humans, some want to kill them, but I won't reveal more specific details in order to avoid spoilers. It also gets a super-religious dimension.