Ξ February 25th, 2010 | → Comments Off | ∇ Odd |
Remember that South Park episode where there was a controversy over the town flag? I present to you (really, this is the official town seal that can be found on the town website) the Whitesboro Town Seal:
Yes, it has been the subject of lawsuits, but they keep getting thrown out. It apparently is suppose to depict a famous (and friendly) wrestling match between the founder, a John White, and the local Indian chief. I think the artist failed to convey the nature of the event.
Ξ February 4th, 2010 | → Comments Off | ∇ Interesting |
What a fantastic movie. One of the top three most satisfying movies I can think of, the other two being Lives of Others and Patlabor 2. It was an action movie who’s actions scene were driven by the plot and not the other way around. It never felt the need to be flashy, but it never felt slow.
There is a plot twist, but the plot doesn’t revolve on it like it did in the Sixth Sense. It could have been left it out completely, and I would have still felt it was a great movie. In a lot of movies, plot twists almost seem to be attempts by the writers to fool the audience or make the script appear more clever than it actually is, and frequently the twist is foreshadowed a mile away. That’s not the case in The Book of Eli – the twist is there purely for the enjoyment of the audience. I don’t think I’ve come across something like that before.
Keeping in that line of thought, what happens to Denzel Washington’s character at the end feels right, but, again, something very different could have happened and it still would have been fine with me – it’s not what happens to his character that matters but what his character did.
I’m really glad I saw this movie in while it was in the theater. Blockbuster movies, I feel, don’t really need the immersion that a theater provides. Loud explosions and flashing lights – there’s simply too much happening to keep track of at once. But hearing the sand blow across the road as Washington walks across the wasteland – the stillness draws you in.
Beyond the technical merits of the movie, what really drew me in were the themes of the movie. I’ve always been more interested in what a movie is trying to say than anything else. And what this movie is saying is interesting and refreshing. Warning, some spoilers follow:
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