the last day of 2006

happy new year. been really lazy lately. gonna get even lazier soon. found out that school doesn't start until january 16th. how great is that? lots of time to spend on my xmas gifts. lots of good dvds and books and such. school ended up being alright i guess. i didn't fail out which is a plus.

santa brought some nice reading material. the road by cormac mccarthy, paradise lost by john milton, and fahrenheit 451 by ray bradbury. the broncos just lost and the good bowl games are starting. life is eh. utah was fun. family is good. next semester will be hard. and that's that. merry christmas and happy holidays.

Déjà Vu (2006): using magic or technology of the future, a program/machine can see back in time and using denzel's mad skills and the program, they try to figure out how to stop a terrorist act. the beginning is predictable in that you know something bad is going to happen. good suspense though. i've decided that i'm not really his biggest fan, but you gotta love the big denzel entrance scene. the really big bad thing that takes place and drives the story makes me wonder if the u.s. could ever be prepared for what happens (a packed truck in a passenger ferry). the movie is very fast paced. it's a movie where everything means something. or at least they do a good job of making us think that we have to pay attention to every detail. the movie is full of predictable events that happen throughout. i really liked the cambridge students who ran the machine. they had hard dialogue trying to explain how it all worked, but they did good. so denzel believes he can change the past, but each time he tries to make a change, everything keeps trucking along not in his theoretical favor. it's obvious nothing is changing so why does he even keep trying? a normal person wouldn't, but it's a movie i guess. the chick's fingers never got chopped off so that's something that was changed, but it's never talked about by denz. the movie is pretty reminiscent of arlington road. decent ending.
fair, B-

Apocalypto (2006): a father/husband/man and his village have a pretty crappy week when mayan baddies snag them, sacrifice most on the top of their temple, and give the main guy the chase of a lifetime. it's hard to believe that such a primitive world could be filled with laughter and joking just like friends of today. but why not i guess. we are all one in the same and have been for millions of years. oh yes we have. anyway, in so many movies you can watch it and never relate to any of the characters, or never really have a good understanding of who the person is. ten minutes in this movie and you totally see so much depth in the main actors. and they are freaking speaking another language! the fight scenes are very real and nothing short of brutal. it doesn't help that some of the violence involves women and kids. it still adds to the story though. and it gives a good excuse for revenge on the part of the good guys. there were some really powerful moments like when they had to cross the river as captives and leave the children behind. the "i'm walking here" was a nice hoffman touch. a good 75 percent of the movie is depressing. it's a story of pride, revenge, and love for your familia. oh yeah, and about 600 on screen deaths take place. there is very little predictability, perfect acting, unbelievable locations, and an imagination rarely seen in many directors today. so he's got some jew issues. but he makes damn good movies. best director.
almost perfect, A-

The Warriors (1979): a ny gang must reach their turf before the rest of the city takes them out for a murder they didn't commit. great way to start off a movie with a meeting. puts you immediately in the action. it's crazy how made for a video game this movie is. i totally want to buy it now. amazing characters. i liked how all the gangs dealt with one another. with official truces and rules about boundaries and such. the camera work is really good including lots of cool slow-mo. check out the knife shot at the end. this movie has a ton of quality to it and there is little to not like about it. everyone should see it.
outstanding, A

Pursuit of Happyness (2006): a man's loooong struggle to get out of poverty and raise his kid. good narration right off the bat. his character goes through the crappyest times imaginable, so you really feel for him and his struggles. my problem is that the entire movie is about him in the dumps on his pursuit, then things start going his way in the last ten minutes of the story. it's pretty cut and dry. the supporting actors were nothing great. except for the dean witter guys. it's a very personal story. the movie is good to watch if you want to learn about poverty in america or go make your own life seem good. i wouldn't consider this a feel good movie. more like a sad movie with a feel good ending. but the climax is worth the struggle it took to sit through the movie. see it.
flawed, but worth seeing, C+