November 12, 2003 - 12:53 AM

Four Movies and an Episode

Despite my shrinking pockets ("my pockets hurt"-Ralph Wiggum), I've been able to see 4 movies since Friday. No, my fiscal responsibility did not go to Fiji for the winter. Although, it did seem to be a bit out of sorts Friday. That's when I paid good money to see Matrix: Revolutions. Money I'd like to get back.

I'm a fan of the first Matrix. I liked the guns, the kung/wire-fu, the twisty story, the mystery, the special fx. The second one was a let down, but an additional viewing brought a little more enjoyment as questions and theories burbled in my mind. Seeing how things played out, how close my own ideas were to the truth, these were my primary, perhaps my sole reasons for seeing the last installment. Sadly, it did not answer some of those niggling questions, and the answers that were delivered on other points proved to be much less gooder than what I'd posited. Overall, I was colored unamused that afternoon.

The next day, after my fantabulous session with Sara Lieb and company, I ambled down the alley from my apartment to the end of the block where my friend from Berklee Mike lives. He made some fries and sausages and we watched a Hal Hartley film called Trust. Thorough enjoyment on that one. A light-black romantic comedy, kinda reminding me of Heathers crossed with Fargo as performed by theater actors.

Sunday, after a short-ish session at work, I went out and rented The Italian Job for $1.07 from Blockbuster (thanks to a mailer coupon). Now that movie I dug. It wasn't so much the story or the storytelling or the execution since those were all fairly average as far as I could tell; it was a combination of the clean, clear, realistic action and the shit-grinning glee that permeated the entire movie. F. Gary Gray, the director, handled the action sequences with minimal CGI that you couldn't spot if you tried (not that you'd be trying because you were being sucked into what was going on), which helped in keeping a flow of realism. He also didn't resort to Michael Bay-isms such as the constant Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder camera movements and quick edits that too many Action "directors" latch onto.

In comparison to recent heist films, I'd say it's not as good as Ocean's Eleven, but definitely better than The Heist or The Score. Much more satisfying.

And tonight, Tuesday; Matt and Sharon invited me to an advanced screening of Master and Commander:The Far Side of the World Where There Be Dragons and Cormorants and Other Fun Stuff, And a Slightly Pudgy Russell Crowe, Too. If a clue was needed as to how this movie would be, the screening was sponsored by A&E television as a way to promote the latest in their installment of the adventures of Horation Hornblower: Much Skinnier Master and Commander of the Small Screen. The best thing I can say is that the movie didn't suck. It was, as I told Matt, the kind of movie that if you were home on a Saturday afternoon and there was nothing else on tv, you'd watch while every so often flipping around to see if anything interesting had started. Occasionally it was rousing and occasionally it was suspenseful, but mostly it just floated there.

*******

Episode 4 or season 3. "Crosetti"

We get to see why Jon Polito is no longer in the cast of Homicide.

Something I loved about this series was how much it concentrated on showing who the characters were. Sure, the cases to be solved losely formed the skeleton of the episodes, but often times those were put on the back burner just so that we could have atypical experiences with the detectives that revealed another layer of their personalities. Here, in the pre-credits teaser, we get Detectives Munch and Bolander coming out from having their lunch, seeing bird crap on the windshield of their squad car, and discussing whether it is a splutter or a dejecta from a land-based or marine-based aviarian. They trade some barbs, Munch waxes poetic on how he is the "new man" for the millenium, embracing the Avant, the over-looked, and that's it. No dead body, no crime scene, no story-advancing contraptions, no narrative exposition to get us caught up on some previous happenings. Just some talk about shit.

The next thing we get after the credits is something else that Homicide did so well. An extended sequence, not just a montage of images, but scenes that tell a story, set to music (and not incidental soundtrack music written for specifically for the show, no siree..."you have to go out and get the album and get permission from the songwriter to use" kinda music). Sure you see this kinda thing on teen shows all the time, but usually the scenes are brief, or the music is in the background. On Homicide, the music almost becomes a player, a character in the show, and they let it continue for 20, 30, 40 seconds so that we can digest it.

This episode could be a total downer through and through. It could've been a dramatic force of fury from beginning to end. But it doesn't fall for the showy bluster. It balances grief and anger and confusion with humor and pride and love, all in the main storyline. And it does so with the goal of character, not story, development in mind. I'm sorry if this sounds vague, but I don't want to reveal too much for those of you who want to watch the series.

But believe me, you become invested in these people, you feel for them, or you loathe them, or you laugh wih them. And at the end of this episode in particular, your heart nearly bursts and you cry. How often can you say that about a cop show?

Now Listening To : Gemma Hayes-Night on My Side (thanks for the loaner, Matt and Sharon)
Random Thought : Who wants to go see Susan Werner Friday of next week with me in Santa Monica? She's better than sliced bread.

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