Movies Scene
After a long day of editing still more photos from my last trek to the Mont Blanc area I was looking forward to heading out with my room-mate to meet a friend and his companion for dinner. They were only going to be in town for one night and we hadn’t seen the friend for a few months. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding on my part concerning the meeting arrangements and we were not able to get together. Perhaps next visit. No, make that definitely next visit.
Not wanting to waste an entire evening, my roomie and I decided to head out for dinner and a movie. And an excellent movie it was.
Atonement:: The first movie I have seen in quite a while that might actually be worthy of awards. This is not a movie to see if you are looking for something light hearted or spirit lifting. It is very emotional and dives to the root of your being. The movie centers around Briony, a girl of about 13, who witnesses an incident that she believes she understands, but her perception is colored by emotion and the lack of adult knowledge and judgement. She does not lie when she reports what she has seen to her parents, but in doing so she creates a seemingly unmendable rift between herself and her older sister. While serious, what Briony has done is the sort of thing that might normally heal and be forgiven with time. The trouble is that the time needed never comes. Most of us have memories of what we perceive as a horrible and unforgivable act on our parts, committed when we were children. In most cases our families forget the incident, but often we never do. Briony too cannot forget what she has done. In Briony’s case though, there is no one left to forgive her. She spends her life trying to find a way to repent, to forgive herself. Does she succeed? You must judge the answer for yourself.
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale:: There is potential here for a good movie. An excellent cast was chosen for the main characters. The story, though not deeply involved, has the possibility of being interesting. Unfortunately, the actors were not given enough to work with and little attention was paid to character development. Nor was much time spent on making the plot of the story feel like more than a drop curtain on the front of the stage. Instead most of the attention was placed on the battle scenes, including Ninja like warriors. The result was a movie filmed more for hack and slash than story. The hero lacked the heroic effect. Even the villain did not feel evil. If you intend to see this movie in the theater, see it as a matinee. Better yet, wait for it to hit the $2 theaters, or dvd.
Not wanting to waste an entire evening, my roomie and I decided to head out for dinner and a movie. And an excellent movie it was.
Atonement:: The first movie I have seen in quite a while that might actually be worthy of awards. This is not a movie to see if you are looking for something light hearted or spirit lifting. It is very emotional and dives to the root of your being. The movie centers around Briony, a girl of about 13, who witnesses an incident that she believes she understands, but her perception is colored by emotion and the lack of adult knowledge and judgement. She does not lie when she reports what she has seen to her parents, but in doing so she creates a seemingly unmendable rift between herself and her older sister. While serious, what Briony has done is the sort of thing that might normally heal and be forgiven with time. The trouble is that the time needed never comes. Most of us have memories of what we perceive as a horrible and unforgivable act on our parts, committed when we were children. In most cases our families forget the incident, but often we never do. Briony too cannot forget what she has done. In Briony’s case though, there is no one left to forgive her. She spends her life trying to find a way to repent, to forgive herself. Does she succeed? You must judge the answer for yourself.
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale:: There is potential here for a good movie. An excellent cast was chosen for the main characters. The story, though not deeply involved, has the possibility of being interesting. Unfortunately, the actors were not given enough to work with and little attention was paid to character development. Nor was much time spent on making the plot of the story feel like more than a drop curtain on the front of the stage. Instead most of the attention was placed on the battle scenes, including Ninja like warriors. The result was a movie filmed more for hack and slash than story. The hero lacked the heroic effect. Even the villain did not feel evil. If you intend to see this movie in the theater, see it as a matinee. Better yet, wait for it to hit the $2 theaters, or dvd.
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