Speaking of movies.

I managed to catch a few things on DVD over the past week or two. I was in a place that had a deal of two DVDs for under $10 so I availed myself of some things I had wanted to see but, didn’t feel like getting to the theater for.

Saw Constantine which was passable and a bit of a popcorn film. Good casting even if the script was a little weak and strayed a bit far from the original concepts (Los Angeles can never match London in my book)

The Aviator was very interesting even if it did seem to end a bit abruptly (before Hughes got to Vegas). A visual treat for the viewer.

Miss Congeniality 2 - what?!?!? Yes, I enjoyed it. It was funny. I don’t want to hear any guff for it.

Catwoman, not as insipid as expected given the reviews but, certainly could’ve been much, much better. Again it was a matter of just having a bad script and not really being sure of who you were trying to get into the theater. It wanted to be everything to everybody and managed to fail miserably because of it. I don’t know if it was supposed to appeal to preteen girls, women or men. It didn’t seem the filmmakers knew either.

Alexander was just horrid - I‘ve never been a big Oliver Stone fan and he just confirms my distaste for his movies.



Finally, there was Million Dollar Baby. I wasn’t surprised by any of the movies’ “twists” or “turns,” finding the story direction heavily telegraphed and having been told it was a sad movie in advance without knowing the ending. I must admit though, it still got to me even with the foreknowledge where it was going to wind up so, saying something of the power of the film. It truly is one of those “must sees” but, I was thinking after watching it, it was the kind of movie that at one time was the rule as opposed to the exception. It had a quietness about it that reminded me of another movie I saw long ago, The Shootist.



Movies nowadays are all about quick cuts, lots of camera movement and visual clutter in the frame. Eastwood’s career and experience seem to have proven to him the strong power of the stark image and it shows in his work. There is a minimalism going on, a very straightforward way of shooting without all the cacophony prevalent today. The camera looks at the actors the way you would look upon art in a museum, lovingly with a strong unblinking gaze. Light and shadow are as important as the actors themselves in conveying the emotion and thrust of the story. Really classic work and not surprising it received the awards it did. See it if you haven’t.