We have the technology!
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| Octopus Hat We have the technology! |
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Sunday, February 02, 2003 Matinee Jules and I took a strole downtown and checked out a showing of Spike Lee's "25th Hour" yesterday. I was excited to see the film pretty much on the strength of the cast (Ed Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Brian Cox, and Anna Paquin) alone, which tends to get me into trouble. "Road to Perdition" comes to mind as a film with a super cast that doesn't rise above all of its parts to become a film that stands out. But I feel that "25th Hour" does stand out. The script is a wonderful example of what doesn't happen in Hollywood much anymore: A simple story with great dialog, and an engaging cast of characters. Spike Lee takes a group of actors at the top of their game and gives the room to move around in their characters and settings to produce some wonderful interactions. Edward Norton played the quiet rage and despair of his character on his last night of freedom before leaving his beloved New York to serve a 7 year prison sentence. But Philip Seymour pretty much stole the show with his portrayal of a thirty-something high school teacher who lusts after one of his students (played by a sweaty, sleazy Anna Paquin.) While the film can be heavy-handed at times, I feel that this is Spike Lee trademark. He is first and foremost a New Yorker and his films have the rough and rude attitude of New York in fused in every frame. All and all the film lived up to my expectations, and surpassed them in nearly every department. One thing that I thought was odd was in reading a few reviews of the film it was mentioned that it was the first film to "directly deal with the events of 9.11." But I didn't feel this to be true at all. It was simply set in a post 9.11 New York and contained some of the sentiment and anxiety of the times. Julie isn't sure if she liked it or not, but did say that she felt it was very topical and she feels the film will feel "dated" 4 or 5 years down the road. I agree with her, and feel that it will have a kind of "time capsule" feel when it is viewed in the future. If you are looking for a fresh and challenging film to see I can recommend "25th Hour" with confidence that even if you don't immediately like the film, it will at least make you think. In other new of the weekend... ...the loss of the Shuttle Columbia saddens me. Much like the inverse of the feeling I get when I see sci-fi tech being realized, I am saddened when I hear news of something that will set back the progress of technology and science. The loss of another shuttle is a tremendous blow to NASA and the space-program, and probably the death blow to the international space station. The ISS was something that excited me very much. What is more Sci-fi than a friggin space-station? I can only hope that the recent news of a Chinese space program will keep the US interested in pushing the boundaries of human explorations into outer space. Perhaps it is time for new re-designed reusable space craft. In happier news, Gibson's new book streets tomorrow. I'll be heading down to Borders after work to pick it up. I am quite excited! I have also updated the Projects section of OH with some new ideas, both for the site and some film projects.
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