Movies

I saw Solaris last night. Like Missy, I left the theater thinking that I needed a night to sleep on it before I decided whether or not I liked it. I agree with her comments on the shooting of the film and the score. The music the first time Kelvin (George Clooney) falls asleep is great, and all in all the score adds a lot to the movie. I think that, generally, if you enjoyed Vanilla Sky, you'll enjoy Solaris. There's a bit of dreamy-other-worldliness to both. I found myself thinking during Solaris that Penelope Cruz would have probably been great as Rheya though she may have been too short.

The movie raises - again as Missy points out - interesting questions about the chance to make the same mistakes again, questions about the accuracy of our own memories (I'd post Superchunk's I Guess I Remembered It Wrong here, but I can't find it on Kazaa and I only seem to have it on vinyl), and the things that feelings of intense grief can cause us to do and feel. The last twenty minutes or so of the movie wasn't as well integrated with the rest of the film as it should have been. I think that's what made me walk away without any initial strong feelings one way or another about the film (other than I really liked most of the music). All in all I liked it. The acting and music and photography were good. The story could have been just a bit more polished.

I also just saw Moulin Rouge! the other day. I watched in the, err, proper frame of mind, over at my brother's house. I thought that I liked it when I watched it on an airplane, and confirmed so upon re-watching. The first half of the movie is definitely more interesting and up tempo than the second half, so I would recommend a half-time break to refresh your frame of mind. I think it's rather clever how they worked the various versions of modern pop songs into a tale spun by the green faerie. I haven't seen many musicals other than this and The Sound of Music. If you haven't seen it, go get yourself in the right mood and watch. It's a fine way to pass two hours that you're gonna be wasted for anyway.

Jonathan 12/05/2002 02:59:00 PM