DrBacchus' Journal

Finally saw Soylent Green this evening. I was disappointed, to say the least. It could be because I knew the ending, I dunno. I found the whole premise impossible to swallow (no pun intended), and everything about the plot development was contrived and shallow.

Sure, global warming, destroying the environment, and all that, but I can't quite figure why anyone would find this movie particularly thought-provoking. I found it yawn-provoking, and more than a little hard to endure through to the end.

A while back, Tim posted a few articles about the theme of salvation in movies. An interesting idea. I responded that there were certain movies, such as Unforgiven, which were not about salvation at all, and that's what makes them so interesting.

Well, I just watched Unforgiven again, and remembered why I thought, when I saw it the first time, it was such an amazingly good movie. And, yes, of course it's all about salvation, but not really in normal ways. A pair of old killers, and a young killer, set out to kill some no-good low-down cowboys. Will, played by Clint Eastwood, spends most of the story insisting that he ain't like that no more. And the kid spends most of the story insisting that he's just as hard and unfeeling as Will was in the old days. Ned isn't really sure that he wants to go along, but does, for his friend, and for old times' sake.

I've always been a big fan of Eastwood's "spaghetti westerns", and this movie is, in a sense, a commentary on those movies, the values that they espouse, and the possibility of redemption. This is truly a great movie, and highly recommended. Not at all a traditional shoot-em-up western, but enough of that scattered around for those that like that sort of thing. It's a western that makes you think, if you can believe that.

Last night I saw The Third Miracle. I don't remember who recommended it to me. It was deeply thought provoking.

It's a story of the official process the Church goes through to acknowledge someone as a saint, which includes identifying three miracles. The process is led by a priest who deeply wants it to all be true, but who has had his faith shaken by leading this process before. Meanwhile, he must also struggle with his feelings for the daughter of the proposed saint. As always, the life of a saint is not so much about the amazing things they do, but about the way that they touch the lives of others, often long after their death.

Highly recommended. Stars Ed Wood as priest Frank Shore.

I recently signed up for the blockbuster.com movie-by-mail service. There were some movies I wanted to see, and some that had been recommended, and this seemed like a very cost-effective way to do that. So I've seen more movies in the last month than I've seen in the previous 6 months, probably.

Three of them stand out as worth mentioning.

First of all, Pulp Fiction. No, I hadn't seen it yet. But a number of people, horrified that I hadn't seen it, said that I absolutely had to. There was very little mention of what it was about, or why it was important that I see it. In retrospect, it seems obvious why that was the case. It's not about anything. And there's no reason for someone to waste their time seeing it. I was really very disappointed, since I had really expected that it would be good. But the title is appropriate. It has all the quality of a dime-store novel. I have to think that if less known, but equally talented actors had been in it, it wouldn't have done so well. I honestly can't understand why it was, and is, so popular.

On the brighter side, there was Babette's Feast and Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Babette's Feast is about a feast. It's also about love, forgiveness, and community. It's from a short story by Isaak Denisen (aka Karen Blixen), and was well worth the price of admission. Sorry, no guns, explosions, or blood. Brother Sun, Sister Moon is about the life of Francis of Assisi, and co-stars Alec Guinness as the pope. Ok, so it's a really minor part, but it was an interesting ending. Also worth seeing, if you're interested in Francis, as I am, is Francesco.

With the movies-by-mail service, I also get a coupon for one free rental in-store every week. Apparently when I go into a store and choose something spontaneously, I choose much less carefully then when I select my list online.

Sarah and I saw Curious George yesterday. It was a lot of fun.

Best quote in the entire movie, as The Man In The Yellow Hat accelerates his VW to 120 mph and prepares to launch it into the air. "Fortunately, movies have taught me exactly what to do in this situation."