I spent last night watching two movies. The first, We Own The Night (Movie Patron Review) was pretty much forgettable. The second, Michael Clayton (Movie Patron Review) may just be my favourite movie of the year. Watching both in the same night really highlighted something for me.

     In order for a movie to be memorable it needs to have at least one memorable character. I don’t care how beautiful a movie or how well filmed or how scary it is without at least one character that stands out I will forget about the movie pretty much as soon as I leave the theatre. In We Own the Night I didn’t find any of the characters interesting. Truthfully, I can not even remember their names. In Michael Clayton, Michael, Arthur and Karen are all extremely memorable. I cared about what happened to these characters.

     I can not think of a single where the characters were completely forgettable yet the movie was still good. Maybe I’m wrong but I do not think so.

I should warn everyone that there will be a spoiler or two in this post, but since its about 28 Weeks Later (Movie Patron Review) I figure its okay.

I was trying to decide on what would be my DVD Pick for the week and there were two movies that came to mind the first is 28 Weeks Later and the second is You Kill Me (which I ended up picking). I’m pretty sure that Andrew will be picking the former on the Cinecast. While I was mulling it over I started to remember a few things that really ticked of in 28 Weeks Later. If it weren’t for the following two things I would have enjoyed the movie.

UNWRAP TEXT or SHOW **SPOILER**

Both of these really lessened my enjoyment of 28 Weeks Later to the point where I’m thinking I might just not by it on DVD. Is there anything that ruined what should have been a good movie for you? Often these peeves are small little things that don’t really impact anything but they still just seem to ruin the movie.

Oh and I just changed my movie pick for the week. It is no longer You Kill Me which is a fine movie. It is now Twilight Zone: The Movie. A co-worker just pointed the fact that it is finally getting a DVD release today.

     If you look back at the Movie Patron Archives of the past year, you’ll see I wasn’t a huge fan of Wisit Sasanatieng’s Tears of the Black Tiger. I remember being a little bored and feeling like it was just trying too hard to be something different - which, ironically to its credit, it was.

     Ever since that theatrical experience, I never gave it a second thought until I stopped by Eternal Sunshine of the Logical Mind and found a post praising the director’s second chance at film making, Citizen Dog.

     Having read nothing else about the picture and judging only from the pictures below, it looks to be more of the same colorful style, but a bit more on the surrealistic side. Just because I didn’t think a whole lot of Tears of the Black Tiger, doesn’t mean I’m not intrigued by more of what this director has to offer. To put it shortly, I’ll watch this as soon as I can dig it up…

 

     This is just a general post to express my annoyance at something that people of the UK and the rest of Europe (for the most) part get films a lot later than the US does. For example my favourite film of the year so far, Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, has just been released on DVD in the US. Whereas on UK websites and the like the release date for it is set at 14/01/2008! That’s almost 4 months after the States and some other places. Now what am I most likely (and plenty of others I suspect) going to do? - Wait what is now 3 and half months for the UK R2 DVD or am I going to import it from the US? The latter seems the more logical, but I bet if I do that the R2 release will be much better (usually what happens - coincidence? I smell a conspiracy!).

     So just from a general point of view - don’t you think they should have a universal release date for both theatrical releases and DVDs? Wouldn’t that add massively to the battle against that little thing called PIRACY? The main reason that piracy happens is people who aren’t getting access to films widely are resorting to downloading and purchasing uploaded and imported ones. I think a universal release date will be one of the more effective ways of combating piracy - what are your thoughts?

     A couple of days ago I came across a top 100 list Andrew had created on his MySpace page about facts about him. And I was thinking of doing the same. But then I thought it would be more fun to do a “top 100 movie facts about me” list and post it on the ever diverse Movie Patron Blog as opposed to the now irritating MySpace. I won’t do a 100 all at once, I will opt to do 10 every few days, adding to the list as I go. So hopefully I will have 100 in a few weeks. So here goes - the first 10 movie facts you may not know about me!

1. I have yet to see Jaws.

2. I was one of the few who LOVED Death Proof.

3. I am in the minority in not thinking all that much of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

4. I have only ever seen one documentary (film) in my entire life – guess which one!

5. The first movie I remember watching was Evil Dead at age 3.

6. I tend to love ‘weird’ films i.e. Donnie Darko, Lynch flicks etc.

7. I never saw Citizen Kane until 2007.

8. I dislike movies set steeply in the Scottish culture i.e. Braveheart, Trainspotting etc.

9. The only “type” of film I have never seen at least one of is a ‘Bollywood’ film…and I probably never will.

10. My favourite genre of movie is Crime/Gangster.

I understand the logic behind limited releases but it sure makes it difficult to create a nice list of all the movies that are being released and what their release days are. I just have a quick question for you guys. Do you prefer to know the date of when movies are released limited or wide? I personally prefer wide because Saskatoon usually does not get limited releases.

     Andrew’s recent reviews of Resident Evil:Extinction and Eastern Promises got me thinking. I’m not knocking on Andrew or anything but his 3.5 out of 5 for Resident Evil and his 3 out of 5 for Eastern Promises made me go huh whats up. So I sat down and thought a bit of how I rate movies. I can not really comment on Resident Evil at all since I’ve yet to see it but I can comment on what he said and the rating for Eastern Promises.

Andrew had this to say about Resident Evil: Extinction

…the sort of popcorn fun that one can enjoy. Should you be looking for anything else, try another screen in your local multi-plex.

     Now since I haven’t seen it I’ll go right along with his opinion and truthfully from the previews I’d say thats pretty much what I expected. So it succeeded at being mindless entertainment. Not a great movie but as Andrew said there is no real attachment to the characters.

Okay now on to Eastern Promises

Having said all of the above, the movie is not a total meltdown. It definitely has its moments and the intensity of a couple of scenes really impact hard enough for some emotional craters.

     So, both movies ended up being okay for Andrew, I’m curious which movie Andrew would watch again personally but really that isn’t the point of this post.

     The point of this post is to see if anyone has a way we could rate movies that would actually be fair to the movie. Is Resident Evil: Extinction really a better movie than Eastern Promises or was it simply the subject matter plus his expectations that lowered the rating for Eastern Promises. I went into latter with lower expectations than Andrew. While I enjoyed History of Violence (Movie Patron Review), I thought the third act was rather weak and it almost ruined the movie for me. History of Violence is actually a perfect example, I had my expectations of the movie and when Cronenburg deviated I really started to dislike the movie. I found that Eastern Promises did not deviate and even though the story was not complex it told it really well. I sympathized with all the characters (even Vincent Cassel’s). If I were rating the movie I’d probably give it a 4 out of 5.

     Andrew generally likes Zombie movies. He has said this many times and therefore as long as Resident Evil: Extinction wasn’t total crap there was a good chance it would get a good rating. I’m not faulting Andrew, I’m the same way when it comes to Asian crime dramas.

     So is it basically my lower expectations and the fact that I could sympathize a bit more with the characters that allow me to enjoy the movie more. If so then perhaps I am rating movies in the wrong way. Should we (and by we mean anyone who rates a movie) take a more clinical approach. Should put a numerical value to things parts of the movie like Acting, Plot, Characters, Action and Emotional Impact to name a few. If so how do we actually come up with something that can apply to all movies. One review might find the plot of a movie distasteful while another might find it intriguing.

     Would it be a good thing to look at movies clinically or should they be looked at, studied and reviewed in an emotional way. Can we really compare movies of different genres with the same rating scale and finally is Resident Evil: Extinction really a better movie than Eastern Promises.

     Let me set the scene for you; I get on the bus, making sure I have plenty time to make the 12:40pm showing of Death Proof. I take a backpack with me as I have stuff I need to get from the shops surrounding the cinema. I buy my ticket, go and do some shopping for a while and come back in more than enough time to catch the showing. I go to give the guy my ticket to let me into the screening and he, out of nowhere, asks to see in my backpack. I have my jacket in there as the day is hotter than I expected it to be, and I realise that the guy is looking for a video camera. But funnily enough when he asks me to take my jacket out so he can investigate there is no camera to be found! So he rips the ticket, gives me my customer copy and lets me into the screening just in time.

     I hope you got the sense of sarcasm and resentment towards to the guy who searched my bag, and the title of this post. Now I know it is the guy’s job, and he was a manager from the looks of it. Piracy is the film industry’s biggest problem at the moment and the people who work at the cinemas have to enforce the law. And to add to that it was an advanced screening where according to the guy is where/when a lot of the piracy happens, at least round these parts. So ultimately I can see why they did it and agree with them. But it just shocked me, as it had never happened to me before. It was embarrassing for me to be seen in front of a queue of people being searched, as if I was some sort of criminal. At least we know that the measures that cinemas take to curb piracy are actually working!

     So my question to you is this - has anything like this ever happened to you before and if so did you think it was justified?

     Kurt mentioned this short in the most recent Cinecast so I went over to Twitch found the link and here it is embedded for your viewing.

 

     I can pretty much guarantee that both Andrew, and I will be at the theatre watching Like Moles, Like Rats as soon as we get a chance. Both of us were pretty big fans of Behind the Mask (Movie Patron Review) and we all thought Nathan Baesel did an excellent job in the lead role. Quiet Earth via Todd over at Twitch just posted up a link to the official site for the movie.

     Everything that could go wrong did go wrong: War, Terrorism, Natural Disasters. Evacuees were ushered from the cities to refugee camps in rural areas. In-fighting, famine and disease took their toll on the survivors. Now, twenty years after the bombs fell and the plagues ran their course the few that remain live in fear and without hope.

     This is a post apocalyptic fairy tale about a young woman’s journey to deliver the first child born in 15 years. Sarah’s refusal to give up is inspired by a lone voice on her radio. Michael broadcasts distant messages of hope mixed with the music he scavenges from the dead. Forced from her basement home by drought and relentlessly pursued by those who want her baby, Sarah crosses paths with Michael in a strange and enchanting refuge of disparate survivors. Together Sarah and Michael will begin a journey that will take them beyond the desolate Southern Corridor and into the unknown future.

     It looks like the trailer is only available from the official site although I’m sure someone will put it up over at youTube shortly. After watching the trailer and reading the full synopsis I really like the look of this. I love how the radio (as shown in the trailer and also focussed on over at the site) is being used to bring the characters together. The thing that really draws me in though, is that this doesn’t just seem to be a zombie flick or anything of the sort but a post apocalyptic movie about fear and hope.

     I have been doing a bit of traveling for work this past week and I brought along my laptop with some DVDs to watch. One of the movies that I brought with me was Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter. I threw the DVD in and I made it to the opening scene and I had to shut it off. Somehow I have managed to turn this movie into something more than it probably is. There is just something about the subject matter that has made it impossible for me to watch. I know it is going to be a good movie but ever since I became a father I have found it harder to watch shows where bad things happen to kids. This is really the only subject that I’m squeamish about. I can watch gory horror movies, realistic war dramas, and depressing movies about death but soon as you bring children into the situation I have trouble watching it.

     So my question to all of you is there any subject where you just can not bring yourself to watch simply because of the emotional impact it would have on you?

     Stumbled across this little clip today and thought it worth posting for several reasons…

1) Naked chicks getting it on.
2) I like Robert Forster
3) The last 5 seconds of the clip intrigues me and gets me to want to see what happens next (much like the hockey puck scene in the surprisingly decent Paul Walker film, “Running Scared.”
4) Kevin Wheatley is in the movie and I got to meet him last year at Toronto After Dark. He’s a super cool guy who wrote, directed and starred in a potentially great movie that unfortunately fell a little flat, Beach Party at the Threshold of Hell (MP review)

     Anyway, here’s the clip. Rise (aka Rise: Blood Hunter) will be released on DVD October 9th.

 

     Cormac McCarthy seems to be a really hot author right now for film adaptations. First, there was All the Pretty Horses (which I can’t believe I haven’t seen - my future wife, Penelope Cruz is in it for God’s sake!), No Country for Old Men has just hit the festival scene and will be released wide later this year, Ridley Scott will be directing Blood Meridian for a 2009 release and later that same year, if everything goes to plan, The Road will be getting a silver screen adaptation.

     As one of the few books I’ve actually had time to sit down and read in the past six months, I can say that The Road will likely be a difficult story to put to film. But having said that, the best movies are the ones that are challenge to put together in my opinion. They may fall flat, but if they succeed, they usually work really well.

     The story of The Road is that of a man and his young son travelling across a post-apocalyptic world, struggling to stay alive. Along the way, they must battle hunger, cold, the elements and of course the most dangerous of all: other humans.

     Now I’m no critic of novels, but I have to say, the book seems fairly pointless. That’s not to say it’s boring, because it’s not. It has some strange sort of attraction that encourages you to keep reading, even though nothing terribly exciting is happening. It has one or two moments of legitamate tension and emotion; but for the most part, it explains nothing and has very little to actually say. However it is well written and again, for some strange reason that I can’t put my finger on, it’s compelling.

     Anyway, Entertainment Weekly is reporting today that Viggo Mortensen is in talks to star as the father. If he officially signs on, the producers will start their search for a studio and distributor. But the best news of all is that John Hillcoat, director of last year’s MoviePatron top 10 list inductee, The Proposition is slated to direct. Here is what EW had to say…

     …the producers, Nick Wechsler and Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz, were waiting to cast a star in the role of the father before seeking a distributor. But signing Mortensen may require some tricky scheduling since the actor, who currently stars in David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises and is next set to head to New Mexico to shoot the Ed Harris-directed Appaloosa, recently told EW, ”I’m a busy person.”

     So yeah, I think this is a do-able film with the right director. And since the film is 90% only two characters, the cast has to be just right as well. Viggo is a great start for that cast in my opinion. He is exactly the guy I can picture in this role… borderline perfect for it actually.

     Among my top 3 actresses is none other than the great Jodie Foster. A woman who has been making movies for over 25 years and turns out a terrific performance time and time again. Just look at her filmography and it realy is astonishing if you remember her character in each and every role.

     So reading an interview with her over at USA Today, I’m not at all surprised by her brash, opinionated ideas of life and movies. However, she made some weird statement that did surprise me a bit. She criticized Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers for what she considers “glorified sadism.” Whether you like the film or not (I do), she obviously completely missed the point of what the film was trying to say if she thought it glorified sadism.

     She then moves on to one of my favorite and one of the most entertaining pictures of 2005, Sin City, which she claims she turned off during the viewing.

“That was so painfully cartoonish I was offended,” says Foster, the mother of two, young boys. “I don’t know how you enjoy or laugh about a child abduction and molestation. What part of that sentence is funny? I can’t get beyond that. I don’t know if everyone understands the impact of a movie’s message.”

     Again, I remember young Nancy Callahan being abducted and it is Bruce Willis who must rescue her. But I don’t really remember her being molested, and even if she was, I’m sure I wasn’t laughing about it or thinking it was funny. And the “cartoonish” comment turns me off a bit as the movie was based of a comic book. Duh. I don’t really think the film makes light of, or glorifies this story idea any more than any film noir picture of the 50’s and 60s does it? Sure, there’s more language and comic book violence, but how does that make it more “offensive” in the way in which she describes?

     Hey I get it, the movie might not be everyone’s cup of tea; but to say it glorifies or makes light of child molestation goes a bit far. Also, this coming from the woman who starred in Silence of the Lambs. There was FAR MORE sick shit in that movie than in Sin City. I guess I’m just puzzled by some of her statements. Anyone care to clear it up for me? I love Jodie Foster, but these statements don’t seem educated or even correct to me.

I think everyone has probably noticed by now that I have not posted as much as usual during the past two weeks. There are a couple of reasons. First I’ve been working on something that I can not really talk about yet (I saying that because it makes everyone wonder), I either bruised or cracked a rib last week goofing off (don’t worry other than pain and a lack of feeling like sitting at a desk typing I’m fine) but more importantly I’m finding myself somewhat bored with most “regular” movie news. Sure I could post about Toby Maquire and Robotech but really other sites have already covered it well enough or I could provide a link to the new Iron Man trailer but every movie site has already done that. What I really need is a shot in the arm when it comes to my movie reading right now. That is why I’m posting this post, no I’m not going to quit posting news and my opinions but what I would like is for people to point me to their favourite non-mainstream movie sites. My favourite is Twitch but I’m sure there are others out there. So come on everyone help me out and point me to some cool sites about independent and foreign film please.

     One of the movies I’m looking forward to most this fall is Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution. A short while ago it just won the Golden Lion (or best film) at the Venice Film festival even though some of the reviews have been pretty poor. Kurt even called it the “largest disappointment” at TIFF so far. There is just something about a movie that splits the audience that really makes it interesting for me. The last time a movie was like this for me was The Fountain. I thought the Fountain was one of the best movies of 2006 but it could have just as easily been something I hated.

     I guess in my mind I just love the uncertainty of it. So far Kurt has been spot on with his recommendations. Every movie that he has posted on his blog I have really enjoyed so will this be the first one where I think he is wrong. I hope so but I’ll probably have to wait a while to find out. I have a feeling the NC-17 rating means that I am not going to see this until it comes out on DVD next year sometime. I’m curious have the poor reviews convinced anyone to not watch Lust, Caution or is everyone here still willing to give it a shot?

     In an interview I just found from a few days ago that John Cusack gave with The Guardian UK, he claims he’s only made 10 good movies. He doesn’t list what they are, but he says, “I’m sure you know which ones they are. The ones that suck I tend to blank out. It’s like I never even made them.”

     First off, I love John Cusack. Even if the film he’s in sucks, I like him in them. Here’s a list of movies I like that star (or at least co-star) John Cusack. Let’s see if it’s more than 10.

Better off Dead
Eight Men Out
Say Anything
Grosse Pointe Blank
Con-Air (guilty pleasure)
The Thin Red Line
Being John Malkovich
High Fidelity
1408

And these films rocked, but don’t really count because he was barely in them: Stand By Me, Sixteen Candles, Broadcast News and The Journey of Natty Gann.

     So that’s nine on my list, wow. He’s about right with his 10 number! Of course he knows his career better than anyone I suppose. Still, there are a few movies in his filmography I have yet to see (e.g. Bullets Over Broadway or The Grifters, is that any good?). So I’m sure there are some more films that are maybe decent. Plus, I suppose cases could be made for films like City Hall, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil or The Road to Wellville. But even so, give or take a couple of films, he pretty much hit the nail on the head with 10 good films (out of about 40 starring roles). “But that’s fine. Ten is a good batting average, don’t you think?” he said.

     Basically the interview is him discussing 1408 (MP review), since that was recently released in he UK. Putting all that info aside, here are some other interesting tid-bits Cusack had in the interview regading his career in general:

“I suppose I have a certain thing I do well that people seem to like. Not everyone likes it, of course. The guy in the Guardian last week certainly didn’t. So there you go,” he smiles. “Some people like it, other people don’t.”

re: Sure Thing, Say Anything, High Fidelity: “I’m aware of the affection those characters inspired. I feel close to Lloyd in Say Anything. He was like a super-interesting version of me. Only I’m not as good as him. Whatever part of me is romantic and optimistic, I reached into that to play Lloyd. Of course, now it’s all gone. Now I’m just bitter.”

“People who offer me work,” he says. “There’s this brand that they think I am, and I get sent stuff that corresponds to that. I have to do it. It’s not like there are 10 projects on offer at any one time, and six of them are brilliant. No one cares. The movies have got more corporate, they’re making fewer movies in general, and those they are making are all $200-$300m tent-pole releases that eat up all the oxygen.”

Then he says seriously, “I think I’m pretty brave, I’ll take risks. I can look at my career and point to the movies that were risky. Being John Malkovich worked out great, so people tend to forget what a risk it was - first-time writer, first-time director and so on. I read that screenplay four years before it got made. I’d said to my agents: ‘Show me scripts that are fantastic and crazy.’ I love getting up on that tightrope. I wish I could do it more, but I have to balance what I want to do with what people want me to do.”

     After all that, there’s another “risk” movie Cusack has coming that should gain him some attention in the actors critics circles out there. It’s called Grace is Gone and not only won the audience choice award at Sundance this year, but looks extremely emotional, heartfelt, beautiful and best of all, Cusack looks to be amazing in it. You can check out the trailer below.

 

     So today as I went through my daily movie-website visits I came across Total Film’s list of The Greatest Directors Ever. The directors are listed from 100 to 1. Each is given a nickname and dedicated a paragraph on his/her work, and it’s decided what his/her best film is.

     As I go through the well planned list I notice a couple noteworthy inclusions. Sofia Coppola, for example, makes the list at #99, a talented and promising underrated director who’s latest film Marie Antoinette I consider one of last year’s best.

     I scroll further down the list and I’m more or less satisfied and as I get to the top ten I say to myself: “Alright! Antonioni has yet to come up. He must be in the top ten.” At times severely underappreciated, Antonioni generally makes top 100 lists but rarely makes the top ten. I scroll down further: Kubrick, Welles, Fincher (what? at number 10?!?!?!), Bergman, Coppola, Spielberg, they’re all there. And so I’m expecting Michaelangelo Antonioni any minute, and to my total surprise not only is he not in the top ten, he hasn’t even been included on the list! Abel Ferrara sits happily at 100 while Antonioni is nowhere to be found.

     Sure there are other directors they forgot. They remember contemporary directors such as Baz Luhrmann, Ferrara, and M Night Shyamalan but forget the likes of Alejandro González Iñárritu, Alfonso Cuaron, Wes Anderson, and two-time Palme d’Or winning Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne? They include Hollywood blockbuster machines Bryan Singer and Tony Scott but leave out classic filmmakers Charlie Chaplin and Alain Resnais? As is the case with any such list (the recent OFC Top 100 comes to mind), some deserving candidates will get lost in the shuffle.

     But these otherwise egregious oversights pale in comparison, fully eclipsed by the total ignorance of leaving out one of the 20th Century’s brightest and most important artists. Antonioni’s films are just as, if not more, important to cinema history than the films of Welles, Bergman, or Coppola; much less George Lucas or John Woo (both included).

     Personally this terribly obvious oversight strips away any and all validity Total Film’s list at one point held.

Current Mood: Angry & Angry

Here’s a fairly poorly written ramble I wrote on my personal blog a couple of years back. It may not be well written, but I still agree with its contents…

07/05/05

     Here’s a rant about something that has bugged me for a while now. As you may or may not know, I’m a fairly impatient person. Whether that’s a product of our “fast-moving” society or just who I am, I don’t know. Part of what I love about DVD technology, is it’s speed and simplicity; but of course studios have to make their products flashy and annoying…like Budweiser billboards. This is what I hate: overly elaborate and complex user menus. Long, drawn-out and completely useless animated menus. They’re supposed to look flashy and fun, but all they are is annoying and slow. It’s bad enough that I am forced to read through the FBI warnings in several languages; of which I used to be able to fast forward through on my VCR. Granted I can still do that on some of my older DVDs, but many of the new ones do not allow you to skip them.

     So anyway, after I get through reading the French version about how I will go to jail and how much money I will be fined if I hook my DVD player up to my VCR then sell the tape for $5, I have to watch a public service announcement about how bad it is for society and the poor Hollywood community if I download a movie on the internet. Not to mention how guilty I’ll feel for committing such an atrocious crime. By the way, this is on a DVD that I bought and/or rented. Thanks for giving me an idea though. You mean I could’ve just gotten this mediocre crap-fest of a movie for free!? On the internet!? Why didn’t they tell me so before!? So after all this general nonsense, I get to watch previews for movies that came out over 3 years ago. At least these I can fast forward through.

     So finally I have arrived at my destination… the main menu. But wait, what is this? My TV screen is flashing various parts (usually dramatic or funny lines) of the film in front of my eyes before I’ve even seen the picture yet. Also, is it me, or is this taking a really long time to get to the usual choices? Anyway, after finally seeing the building explode, the villain make some nasty comment regarding the plot of the film and our hero flying an airplane that he made from old parts from a Huey 370 and a ‘79 Ford Mustang, I finally see my choices on the side of the plane. How clever! So since I’m watching this movie with my latina girlfriend, I click my remote control on the language options icon. WHOOOOSH! The plane starts moving again and this time we follow along in a harrowing chase through the caverns of Necros and into the belly of the beast (which we’re not even supposed to be seeing as it is supposed to be a major surprise antagonist towards the end of the film). Here are my language choices. I hit Spanish and hope to continue; but not without some theatrics of course: after narrowly missing a giant stalactite, the plane containing our hero sweeps out of the opening of the cave with a witty remark straight from the film by the rear-seat passenger. Now we’re back to the main menu again and all I have to do is click the “start movie” button. I do this as an amazing orchestral extravaganza begins playing and a witty line from the film is spoken, i.e. “If you’re going to go that way, you should’ve brought the telescopic lens!” Well, that line in the film has just been ruined for me. Plus, all of these shenanigan’s have taken approximately 2 minutes of my time on top of the 10 minutes of FBI warnings, PSA’s and movie trailers.

     I am tired of this nonsense. Maybe it is a trivial thing for most, but for me, it is bonkers up the wall and through the roof! Just show me the menu with my choices and get on with it. I don’t need all of these half-ass theatrics and sound from the movie that I’m about to see. I don’t need to see the dramatic photo-montage of all the characters merging together in a blurry fashion that inspires awe and wonder at the greatness of Cate Blanchett and Jason Statham. In conclusion, stay away from any DVD that, on the back, says something along the lines of fantastic 3-D interactive menus. Just steal that movie from the internet; because chances are, the studio is trying to make up for something by incorporating these neat-o menus that make you think, “Wow! This is taking forever and I wish I could just start watching the film.”

This post is mostly just me rambling about how good my library is and to make sure everyone else thinks about checking their libraries out for DVDs. Yesterday I had to drop some educational type videos at the library for my wife. While there I decided to check out their selection of movies. They had an amazing selection of older movies and I’m sure if I browsed through their computers I’d find even more terrific movies.

Here is what I ended up taking home with me yesterday:

• 3:10 to Yuma
• Aguirre: The Wrath of God
• Solyaris
• The Sweet Hereafter

I don’t really have the time right now to watch them all so I just ripped them to my hard drive and will watch them coming up shortly. I returned them this morning and picked up:

• The Battle of Algiers
• Bicycle Thieves
• Blow Up
• and I reserved for later pickup as it was out Yojimbo

I think I’m going to stop hitting the Blockbuster Video for a while and just hang out at the Library. They don’t have all the new movies but damn they have some good old ones.