Okay. Lots of movie stuff to write about tonight. I saw or finished three films yesterday (while preping for class). First, I finished Tampopo. I wasn't sure if I'd seen this film or not. About half way through I decided that I had probabaly seen it on Bravo one night back in Ontarion and didn't pay that much attention. While the film has a certain charm, I was left feeling dissatisifed. Were I sum this film up in a single word, that word would have to be disjointed. Too much time was spent following stories that had nothing to do with the main plot. It gave the impression of a less amusing Monty Pythonesque, sketch-based film. While some of these side stories provide the majority of humour, they drag the film down by diverting attention from Tampopo and her noodle shop.
Saw Neil LaBrute's Possession in the theatre. Being a huge fan of the novel, I had my reservations about going to see this film. The novel is a huge, multi-charactered work that is as much abouit literature and writing as it is about anything else. Whatever the filmmakers would do with the material would have to omit this. What's left is a rather intersting little film, though Labrute is able to allude to a multi-genric work through the use of voiced over letters. My one complaint is the decision to change the lead charcater from a native Brit academic to an American academicx working in Britain. The switch in national identity isn't so bad (actually the actor impressed me), but so much is made of his being an "American" that it's distracting. Anytime Roland does anything sponteneous the other characters, who are all British, make some crack about the stupidity or rashness of all Americans. It's a cheap joke that might have worked once or twice, but is beaten like the proverbial dead horse.
FInally, I saw Traffic, which, I must admit, I really liked. I've been a huge Soderbergh ever since Out of Sight. While I found Erin Brokovitch manipulativ and heavy handed, Soderbergh's films are usually top rate. While I liked the movement between storylines, some storylines didn't holdup as well as others. As enjoyable as it was to see the kid from That's 70s SHow freebasing, I found his storyline, and that of Michael Douglas's daughter, to be tettering on the cliched - rich kid takes the drugs, life falls to crap. For my money the real stand out performance is Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman, despite all the critical praise heaped on Benicio del Toro. I could have watched a two plus hour film of Cheadle and Guzman talking in the van - the dialogue about the patch was hilarious!!!