Thursday, August 08, 2002
Went to see Signs on Sunday. Here in Vicksburg, if you can believe it. I haven't tried the local cinema in years, but a friend said they'd been lately, and sound and picture were okay. Well, I thought the picture was too dim as usual. And what was I thinking going to see an M. Night on their dim screens? Sound was flat - all from the front, like the old days. At least I could hear the dialogue (all but some from the very cute, but mushmouthed little girl). Couldn't help but think of Night of the Living Dead without the guts. It seemed to be a nod to many of the old horror/science fiction pictures from before all the gore. I enjoyed it, but wasn't excited by it. But when M. Night makes another one, I will be in the theater.
Haven't seen Spiderman, Clones, Panic Room. MIB2, or much of anything this summer.
Saw Goldmember opening weekend. The first ten minutes was one of those teasers ala the Bond flicks. We all laughed a lot. Great cameos and action setpieces. After that, not so good until the end. They pulled a Get Shorty twist to set up another cameo. So, I'd have to say Austinpussy, the film within, was much more enjoyable than Goldmember. Shorter, too.
Road to Perdition was overproduced. Ultimately, maybe Tom Hanks really wasn't the right guy for this. The kid was good. The Jude Law character was an invention of the screenwriter, not part of the original graphic, but was more "comicbook" than any other element. It seems like comic books have fallen on hard times, lately. There are more movies being made from them than ever, but most people don't realize that From Hell, Road to Perdition, Men In Black, & Ghost World (what am I forgetting?) all started as comic books. I read the other day that Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen will soon be a motion picture, too. But where are the new comics and graphic novels that will be the source of movies in a few years? I guess the writers have all grown up.
Watched To Live and Die in L.A. yesterday on video. Tape was crappy, but this is a fun picture with a great cast. I got the CSI - Season 1, Part 1 DVD set from Amazon UK. I'd never seen the program. After 12 episodes, I'm ready for more, more, more. That's why I rewatched TLADIL - to see Petersen again from his youth. Such a change in persona. I think he is a better actor than we thought all these years. Time to rewatch Manhunter, I guess. Speaking of which, there was a trailer for Red Dragon with Signs. Edward Norton as William L. Petersen? I don't think so. Do they really need to make another movie from Red Dragon just to squeeze a little more blood out of Hannibal the Cannibal? Why not just digitally insert Sir Anthony in place of Brian Cox? How much could that cost? Thomas Harris must be rolling in dough. Not only have movies been made from all his novels, now they are remaking them.
Telluride's in about three weeks. Hoping to see Atom Egoyan's latest: Ararat. As usual, don't know what to expect.
