Thursday, September 20, 2007
BWB is now a B Corporation
Just heard the internal announcement that we'll be officially be enrolling as a B-Corporation instead of an S- or C-Corp. Check out the homepage of B-Corp.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
If Prizio did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him
~Gauche is back in town. He's infuriating and indispensable. The world is right again, as I can view the Solip and reassure myself of our existence on a regular basis.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Go see the Bourne Ultimatum right now
Seriously, drop what you're doing and go see it. You owe it to yourself to catch this on the big screen. I'm going to have to go back and re-watch what I previously considered to be the all-time best action flicks (The Killer, Hard-Boiled, Die Hard, etc), but walking out of the theater last week I had to rank Bourne 3 at or near the top of the list.
Basically, B3 makes the decision that you're already invested in the characters from the first two movies, so they're free to devote the entire movie to absolutely brilliant action sequences. And they're some of the best I've ever seen. The first of the three big sequences, in London's Waterloo station, is a fantastic game of fast-moving chess in terms of trying to lose a concerted tailing effort. The second, the motorcycle/foot chase in Tangiers, is one of the best action sequences I've ever seen, in terms of set-up, editing, direction, action, music - everything. Absolute work of art. And the third big one, the car chase in New York, is a pure adrenaline that's right up there with the car chase in Ronin, even if it never slows down long enough for you to catch up to it.
If you love well crafted action, like I do, go see this NOW!
Basically, B3 makes the decision that you're already invested in the characters from the first two movies, so they're free to devote the entire movie to absolutely brilliant action sequences. And they're some of the best I've ever seen. The first of the three big sequences, in London's Waterloo station, is a fantastic game of fast-moving chess in terms of trying to lose a concerted tailing effort. The second, the motorcycle/foot chase in Tangiers, is one of the best action sequences I've ever seen, in terms of set-up, editing, direction, action, music - everything. Absolute work of art. And the third big one, the car chase in New York, is a pure adrenaline that's right up there with the car chase in Ronin, even if it never slows down long enough for you to catch up to it.
If you love well crafted action, like I do, go see this NOW!
Friday, August 10, 2007
On the association of girls with music
One of the reasons I love Wong Kar-Wai is that any time I start to get interested in a girl, there is a 95% chance it ends in ruin, depression, and humiliation for me as I go through the process of acquaintance, infatuation, and subsequent rejection once I get up the balls to make a move. Also, in one memorable instance (thank you Megan), before I got up the balls to make a move. Pre-emptive rejection - it makes for a funny anecdote.
Anyway, the piece that is always the most interesting and terrifying, the infatuation, in the best cases, leaves behind a legacy for me in the form of the one song that comes to express that girl to me. What follows is a list in no particular order of those girls and those songs. Enjoy.
1 - Jen, "Umeji's Theme", aka the main waltz from In the Mood for Love.
How did Jen, who I never even tried for because I was too busy crashing and burning with Bethany, end up being linked in my mind with what I consider to be the most romantic piece of music I know? Simple answer - we danced to it. It was after one of the winter dances, we'd just watched the movie with B&S, and the theme is of course what plays on the DVD menu. Jen and I went out to smoke in the driveway of the Mustard House - the snow was drifting down through the light, big flat lazy flakes of it like you see in a John Cusack movie, the cello was aching its way out through the open upstairs window, she looked brilliant wrapped up in her coat with snowflakes melting in her hair, and we ended up waltzing in my driveway. A perfect moment, absolutely disconnected from the rest of the year.
God knows I'm a moron with women, but I'll settle for being a romantic fool and end this first one with a WKW quote from Chungking: "If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries."
2 - Bethany, "All That Jazz", Chicago Soundtrack.
This non-relationship's already legendary (it was responsible for Prizio's great double-disc mix on un-requited infatuation he made for me out of pity that year, along with a few other moments I know there are stories about), but I spent a fair amount of time that year drinking at Bethany's place watching her, Jen, and occasionally a couple of others dancing around belting out the lines to accompany the CD. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was there when she bought the damn thing. It's funny, I didn't have a song in my mind for BB when I started this post, but then this popped up. The association isn't as strong as some of the others, but it's there.
3 - Lexy, "Don't Feel Right", Game Theory by the Roots.
Mostly just a simultaneous timing thing here. I've been listening to this album pretty much non-stop the last couple of months, thinking about whether or not it was viable as brainy dance music, and at the same time I was wondering that, I was wondering if there was anything except the alcohol talking when Lexy and I were flirting by text message for a couple of weeks.
4 - Megan, "Sweet Child of Mine", Use Your Illusion by Guns'n'Roses
This is a call-back to a band I don't listen to much anymore, because this one lasted a good 8 years with me skirting the issue before she finally dropped the pre-emptive rejection (and who can blame her? 8 years is a long-ass time to wait for a guy to finally ask you out so that you can clarify the issue by saying no.) This song first crystallized as being Megan (and was also the first time a song became inextricably tied to a girl) for me when we were in D.C. for Senior Trip in High School. I remember sitting on the steps outside the National Cathedral, having ditched the tour to get some alone time, listening to Use Your Illusion on my walkman, and feeling that great, sweet rush of terrified yearning that I would eventually feel towards so many women through the years. All centered on one brown haired Hispanic-Irish girl in my class in H.S.
Ah, the good old days.
5 - Katie, "Girlfriend is Better", The Talking Heads.
Katie's dating Dan right now, and I'm very happy for both of them and have zero regrets. But two years ago, I'd spent a few months quietly crushing on Katie, getting some vague but positive-seeming signals back, and we ended up making out for an hour on the dance floor at a gay nightclub in Chicago. That ended up being the breaking point for what might-have-been, but the next morning, driving out of Chicago, I remember feeling pretty damn happy, pumping my fist in the air while I blasted this song on the car speakers. Whenever I listen to this now, I remember that drive, full of adrenaline, happiness, and crisp February air shooting through the open car window. It was a pretty damn good drive. :)
6 - Ariana, "Beautiful Day", All That You Can't Leave Behind by U2.
For Ariana, there really isn't a song that encapsulates it. I mean, it was 2 years of her being my other half, there's a thousand things associated with her. The one relationship that actually went somewhere, even if it didn't work out in the end. I can't sum all that up in one song. But this song does always bring her back - it was the tail-end of soph. year, Scott was out somewhere, and we spent an hour just lying in my bunk in the dorm kissing each other. It was back when everything was still fresh and new and wonderful and tender, and I remember her liking the album way more than I did, but I was happy that she liked it, so I liked it.
Eh, what can you say about that? I think this is a good place to end.
Anyway, the piece that is always the most interesting and terrifying, the infatuation, in the best cases, leaves behind a legacy for me in the form of the one song that comes to express that girl to me. What follows is a list in no particular order of those girls and those songs. Enjoy.
1 - Jen, "Umeji's Theme", aka the main waltz from In the Mood for Love.
How did Jen, who I never even tried for because I was too busy crashing and burning with Bethany, end up being linked in my mind with what I consider to be the most romantic piece of music I know? Simple answer - we danced to it. It was after one of the winter dances, we'd just watched the movie with B&S, and the theme is of course what plays on the DVD menu. Jen and I went out to smoke in the driveway of the Mustard House - the snow was drifting down through the light, big flat lazy flakes of it like you see in a John Cusack movie, the cello was aching its way out through the open upstairs window, she looked brilliant wrapped up in her coat with snowflakes melting in her hair, and we ended up waltzing in my driveway. A perfect moment, absolutely disconnected from the rest of the year.
God knows I'm a moron with women, but I'll settle for being a romantic fool and end this first one with a WKW quote from Chungking: "If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries."
2 - Bethany, "All That Jazz", Chicago Soundtrack.
This non-relationship's already legendary (it was responsible for Prizio's great double-disc mix on un-requited infatuation he made for me out of pity that year, along with a few other moments I know there are stories about), but I spent a fair amount of time that year drinking at Bethany's place watching her, Jen, and occasionally a couple of others dancing around belting out the lines to accompany the CD. In fact, I'm pretty sure I was there when she bought the damn thing. It's funny, I didn't have a song in my mind for BB when I started this post, but then this popped up. The association isn't as strong as some of the others, but it's there.
3 - Lexy, "Don't Feel Right", Game Theory by the Roots.
Mostly just a simultaneous timing thing here. I've been listening to this album pretty much non-stop the last couple of months, thinking about whether or not it was viable as brainy dance music, and at the same time I was wondering that, I was wondering if there was anything except the alcohol talking when Lexy and I were flirting by text message for a couple of weeks.
4 - Megan, "Sweet Child of Mine", Use Your Illusion by Guns'n'Roses
This is a call-back to a band I don't listen to much anymore, because this one lasted a good 8 years with me skirting the issue before she finally dropped the pre-emptive rejection (and who can blame her? 8 years is a long-ass time to wait for a guy to finally ask you out so that you can clarify the issue by saying no.) This song first crystallized as being Megan (and was also the first time a song became inextricably tied to a girl) for me when we were in D.C. for Senior Trip in High School. I remember sitting on the steps outside the National Cathedral, having ditched the tour to get some alone time, listening to Use Your Illusion on my walkman, and feeling that great, sweet rush of terrified yearning that I would eventually feel towards so many women through the years. All centered on one brown haired Hispanic-Irish girl in my class in H.S.
Ah, the good old days.
5 - Katie, "Girlfriend is Better", The Talking Heads.
Katie's dating Dan right now, and I'm very happy for both of them and have zero regrets. But two years ago, I'd spent a few months quietly crushing on Katie, getting some vague but positive-seeming signals back, and we ended up making out for an hour on the dance floor at a gay nightclub in Chicago. That ended up being the breaking point for what might-have-been, but the next morning, driving out of Chicago, I remember feeling pretty damn happy, pumping my fist in the air while I blasted this song on the car speakers. Whenever I listen to this now, I remember that drive, full of adrenaline, happiness, and crisp February air shooting through the open car window. It was a pretty damn good drive. :)
6 - Ariana, "Beautiful Day", All That You Can't Leave Behind by U2.
For Ariana, there really isn't a song that encapsulates it. I mean, it was 2 years of her being my other half, there's a thousand things associated with her. The one relationship that actually went somewhere, even if it didn't work out in the end. I can't sum all that up in one song. But this song does always bring her back - it was the tail-end of soph. year, Scott was out somewhere, and we spent an hour just lying in my bunk in the dorm kissing each other. It was back when everything was still fresh and new and wonderful and tender, and I remember her liking the album way more than I did, but I was happy that she liked it, so I liked it.
Eh, what can you say about that? I think this is a good place to end.
Spook Country
Thank you Salon for reminding me that the new Gibson is out, and for the decent interview with the man. Here's a quick excerpt:
" I've always felt a serious obligation to be absolutely agnostic about emergent technologies. I think a case can be made for technology being morally neutral. I think what scares people most about new technologies -- it's actually what scares me most -- is that they're never legislated into being. Congress doesn't vote on the cellular telephony initiative and create a cellphone system across the United States and the world. It just happens and capital flows around and it changes things at the most intimate levels of our lives, but we never decided to do it. Somewhere now there's a team of people working on something that's going to profoundly impact your life in the next 10 years and change everything. You don't know what it is and they don't know how it's going to change your life because usually these things don't go as predicted.
To get back to Fredric Jameson, I find that both dreadful and exhilarating."
Gibson is one of the handful of people who actively inspires and propels me to better myself occasionally. If only so that I can get a fragment of his references. :)
" I've always felt a serious obligation to be absolutely agnostic about emergent technologies. I think a case can be made for technology being morally neutral. I think what scares people most about new technologies -- it's actually what scares me most -- is that they're never legislated into being. Congress doesn't vote on the cellular telephony initiative and create a cellphone system across the United States and the world. It just happens and capital flows around and it changes things at the most intimate levels of our lives, but we never decided to do it. Somewhere now there's a team of people working on something that's going to profoundly impact your life in the next 10 years and change everything. You don't know what it is and they don't know how it's going to change your life because usually these things don't go as predicted.
To get back to Fredric Jameson, I find that both dreadful and exhilarating."
Gibson is one of the handful of people who actively inspires and propels me to better myself occasionally. If only so that I can get a fragment of his references. :)
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
On things that are cool
Kanye West is making you harder, better, faster, stronger; also he has sanctioned a great video by Zach Galifianakis.
Dresden Codak walks without rhythm, so as not to attract the worm.
Our long national nightmare is almost over: enjoy these choice bits of Kissing Suzy Kolber to get you back in the mood for football.
Dresden Codak walks without rhythm, so as not to attract the worm.
Our long national nightmare is almost over: enjoy these choice bits of Kissing Suzy Kolber to get you back in the mood for football.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Yay!
Whoooooooo Hoooooooo!
It is the return of Metzger drunk-blogging!
Item A) I love the Midwest/South Bend/my local bar - where the fuck else can you get a Jim & Coke, 8 beers, and a shot of Jameson and have the tab come out to 20 bucks even?
Item B) I pulled the trigger over 20 bucks worth of booze - that has to be a first, even for me.
Item C) Not this drunk night, but the night before, I induced Team Larry to watch Dave Chappellle's Block Party w/ me. That is officially my 2nd favorite concert video after the Stop Making Sense video by the Talking Heads/Jonathan Demme. Portions that give me chills every time I watch it:
I) When Erykah Badu's wig starts to blow off in the wind, and she goes "aw fuck it" and chucks the wig and goes crowd-surfing
II) During the Roots set, when Jill Scott pops in to do some vocals, and then they talk Erykah into hopping in for some guest vocals as well.
III) When the fucking Fugees re-unite for the Block Party, and Lauren/they do "Killing Me Softly" - fucking goosebumps, man.
In conclusion - I LOVE BEING DRUNK AND NOT HAVING TO WORK THE NEXT DAY!!!!!
It is the return of Metzger drunk-blogging!
Item A) I love the Midwest/South Bend/my local bar - where the fuck else can you get a Jim & Coke, 8 beers, and a shot of Jameson and have the tab come out to 20 bucks even?
Item B) I pulled the trigger over 20 bucks worth of booze - that has to be a first, even for me.
Item C) Not this drunk night, but the night before, I induced Team Larry to watch Dave Chappellle's Block Party w/ me. That is officially my 2nd favorite concert video after the Stop Making Sense video by the Talking Heads/Jonathan Demme. Portions that give me chills every time I watch it:
I) When Erykah Badu's wig starts to blow off in the wind, and she goes "aw fuck it" and chucks the wig and goes crowd-surfing
II) During the Roots set, when Jill Scott pops in to do some vocals, and then they talk Erykah into hopping in for some guest vocals as well.
III) When the fucking Fugees re-unite for the Block Party, and Lauren/they do "Killing Me Softly" - fucking goosebumps, man.
In conclusion - I LOVE BEING DRUNK AND NOT HAVING TO WORK THE NEXT DAY!!!!!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
. . .
Rough day today. Checked a friend into rehab yesterday, had a bad day at work, went to visit him this evening. Came home depressed from that. Threw in Syriana, got more depressed. Decided to surf the web, saw the usual reports on death in the Middle East, went to ESPN, and saw that my 2nd favorite pro wrestler from back when I cared about wrestling was found dead in his home along with his wife and 7-year old son: "investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed Nancy and Daniel over the weekend, then himself on Monday". (My favorite wrestler died last year of a drug overdose - that seems to be the way most of them go - OD or a heart attack from steroid abuse).
I'm emotionally vacant - I have no response to any of this tonight. I'm going to sit here for another hour or so, waste time, and then go to bed and hope I get up on time in the morning, which is kind of a crap-shoot since I mis-placed my second alarm.
Why the fuck do blogs always turn into whiny ass bullshit like this? Something about the nature of the medium.
Good night.
I'm emotionally vacant - I have no response to any of this tonight. I'm going to sit here for another hour or so, waste time, and then go to bed and hope I get up on time in the morning, which is kind of a crap-shoot since I mis-placed my second alarm.
Why the fuck do blogs always turn into whiny ass bullshit like this? Something about the nature of the medium.
Good night.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Essay Question/Borat
So this one's less about a movie as about movies. Lukey and I were coming back from the 'Boo, both pretty tired. He had a pretty sweet idea for a short-story/film about a toll booth worker, and I was thinking about that and other things, so I threw this at him: "Essay question: Discuss whether the road trip is an echo of the classic heroic quest, or whether both are echoes of something deeper".
We batted it around for an hour or two - I won't try and put words in Luke's mouth, but in the end, my feeling was that there are two types of heroic quest stories - the type that end at the end of the quest, and the type that end with the return home. Road trips echo the 2nd type, 99% of the time. I'm sure a lot of it is reading the here and now into it, but that second type I think is a metaphor for growing up - we're not sure exactly how to transcend into adulthood, so we create these stories where the young hero leaves his normal world and gets to encounter exotic dangers; strengthened and matured by her trials, she returns home and is now an adult, capable of ruling over/guarding the original home. Road trips echo this to a certain extent, in that whatever worries at home are left behind and traded in for strange new adventures - however, you are not guaranteed to return from a road trip as a strong and capable adult/ruler.
Fulfilling my contractual obligation to mention a movie, I finally saw Borat recently. It definitely falls into the quest/return motif; I thought it was a nice, sentimental take on that motif. Had some funny bits too. I wasn't really shocked by anything - I don't know if that's a result of hearing about the movie for so long before I saw it, or just my natural unflappability (I'd like to think it's that second option).
We batted it around for an hour or two - I won't try and put words in Luke's mouth, but in the end, my feeling was that there are two types of heroic quest stories - the type that end at the end of the quest, and the type that end with the return home. Road trips echo the 2nd type, 99% of the time. I'm sure a lot of it is reading the here and now into it, but that second type I think is a metaphor for growing up - we're not sure exactly how to transcend into adulthood, so we create these stories where the young hero leaves his normal world and gets to encounter exotic dangers; strengthened and matured by her trials, she returns home and is now an adult, capable of ruling over/guarding the original home. Road trips echo this to a certain extent, in that whatever worries at home are left behind and traded in for strange new adventures - however, you are not guaranteed to return from a road trip as a strong and capable adult/ruler.
Fulfilling my contractual obligation to mention a movie, I finally saw Borat recently. It definitely falls into the quest/return motif; I thought it was a nice, sentimental take on that motif. Had some funny bits too. I wasn't really shocked by anything - I don't know if that's a result of hearing about the movie for so long before I saw it, or just my natural unflappability (I'd like to think it's that second option).
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Infernal Affairs v. The Departed, Round 2
Opening note - tired and need to get to bed, so this will be brief.
Infernal Affairs was better than I remembered it. It's much shorter, so it grows on you with repeated viewings. The characters don't get quite as much development, but the acting gets the same amount done as the American all-star cast, with less lines to work with. Lau and Leung are even better on repeat viewing, and I like their interpretations of the characters better than the re-make's interpretation. I was right about Lau's character vs. Damon's - Lau turns on his boss after the cop takes the roof dive - there's nothing about Feds. Lau wants to be a real cop - as is drummed home by I.A.'s ending, which is a nice repetition of one of its beginning scenes.
Final Score - Infernal Affairs has better acting, better story in a shorter time, better themes, better framing and shot selection. The Departed is funnier, develops more characters, has slightly better music, and better editing. Infernal Affairs is the clear winner, even before you factor the whole "it's the original" factor. Its only real weaknesses are its short run time (under 2 hours) and the fact that the editor likes to splice in flashbacks at key moments so you remember why these moments are important. Other than that, it's a better film by far. I still like The Departed, but I don't think there's a real comparison.
G'night and good luck.
Infernal Affairs was better than I remembered it. It's much shorter, so it grows on you with repeated viewings. The characters don't get quite as much development, but the acting gets the same amount done as the American all-star cast, with less lines to work with. Lau and Leung are even better on repeat viewing, and I like their interpretations of the characters better than the re-make's interpretation. I was right about Lau's character vs. Damon's - Lau turns on his boss after the cop takes the roof dive - there's nothing about Feds. Lau wants to be a real cop - as is drummed home by I.A.'s ending, which is a nice repetition of one of its beginning scenes.
Final Score - Infernal Affairs has better acting, better story in a shorter time, better themes, better framing and shot selection. The Departed is funnier, develops more characters, has slightly better music, and better editing. Infernal Affairs is the clear winner, even before you factor the whole "it's the original" factor. Its only real weaknesses are its short run time (under 2 hours) and the fact that the editor likes to splice in flashbacks at key moments so you remember why these moments are important. Other than that, it's a better film by far. I still like The Departed, but I don't think there's a real comparison.
G'night and good luck.
Opening Statement/The Departed
So . . . been a long time since I played this game. December 20th, 2005 officially. And at least another year before that since I stopped doing this in any real sense. Any way, out sick today, let's give this another go. New rule - every post is at its heart a movie review - I may ramble a bit around before and after, but every post is a movie review. So first on the list, Marty Scorsese's only Oscar winner, The Departed.
Personal history - I saw Infernal Affairs back in . . . damn, when did I see that? Let's see, I was in A-Squared at the time, so . . . late '04/early '05? I was in the middle of a man-crush on Andy Lau (still active, just dormant at the moment) at the time, and it also had Tony Leung (the short one), so I was pretty excited. Stephanie Zacharek, who is a whole series of posts in and of herself, wrote a great review of it. Rented it, watched it two or three times, loved it. When I heard that there was going to be an American remake, I was depressed. When I heard it was Marty, I got a little interested. I'd also started to come around on Leo - he almost single-handedly crippled Gangs of New York, but he'd gotten better since then. Anyway, I'm rambling - long story short, I went and saw The Departed as soon as it came out. I walked out, I said it was great. Recommended it to all my friends, said it was one of the best re-makes out there, etc etc etc.
Anyway . . . it suffers on re-viewing. Watching Jack Nicholson make rat faces and wave his plastic dick around . . . that hurts some. It was funny on the first viewing, but I get the feeling each successive viewing, Jack-O's gonna get just a little bit more annoying (which hurts, because I like seeing more of his character, having the movie be broader than just the central two).
The themes bugged me a little bit - they kept a lot of the strong themes from I.A. - identity, trust, lying, not being sure who you really are - the no-brainer stuff the movie is built around. But the additional themes - fatherhood, sexual strength - weak additions, in my opinion. The contrast between Leo (impregnates Matt's girlfriend)/Marty Sheen (son at ND, the Holy of Holies for the fucking Mick race of which I am a member) and Matt(see note on Leo, also victim of "it happens to a lot of guys")/Jack("Is that what this is about? All those murders, all that fucking, and no sons?") . That stuff didn't move me at all - maybe because I don't have a ton of Daddy issues, I dunno.
Anyway, a LOT more sex in the american version, most of it to little or no point - surprise surprise. On to my next major quibble - Matt Damon's turn/the ending. Now I'm going to have to re-watch I.A. to check, but in my memory, there was a little more blurring - Tony Leung definitely got a taste for the work, definitely had a little more fun being a mobby than he should have. Andy Lau offed his boss because he loved being a cop and wanted to get out from under - there's a lot of that in Matt Damon, but he's made a lot less rounded - Matt Damon is much more about the money and the power. He shoots down Nicholson because he's afraid he'll give him up to the Feds - watch the D. again - the sequence goes like this:
01:51:54 - Damon and Nicholson argue over tactics, after Sheen's death. Still pretty clearly on the same side, even if they have been starting to squabble.
01:52:25 - Nicholson and his girlfriend have an exchange in which she implies that he's gay and he defensively over-reacts
01:52:49 - Leo and Vera (the all-american psych counselor) have a touching (and very heterosexual) "I can't see you anymore" moment
01:53:58 - Matt find's Sheen's phone (getting Sheen's blood on his hands - one of those subtle moments that doesn't try and brain you over the head with anything) and calls Leo. This actually leads to a great bid that I truly enjoy with the two of them on the phone afraid to speak, followed by the tense moments leading up to Leo calling back, and Matt trying to land him. Good cat and mouse.
01:57:00 - The money shot - Matt finds a photo in Sheen's files of Jack meeting with the FBI, along with notes to the effect that Jack is an informant.
01:57:27 - Long tangent with the "was Delahunt an undercover officer as well?" sub-plot. I don't know on this one - it was a mystery to me in I.A., it remains so in the re-make - I lean towards No both times.
01:58:40 - Cue the Dropkick Murphys, it's time for a bunch of people to die. At the start here, you still get the feeling Matt is not quite sure what to do about Jack-O.
01:59:15 - Jack screams at Matt. Music stops. Shot of Matt collecting his thoughts. Matt decides to fuck Jack. Re-cue music (I do really enjoy the use of music in this - great music, great music editing).
02:01:17 - One of the little moments that I love - Leo tries to warn Jack that he's been set up and is going down tonight; he can't say too much of course, but it just flares up in him suddenly - loyalty, a sense of fair play, who knows. "Do you always know why you do things?"
02:01:57 - Extended well-choreographed violence.
02:03:29 - Big final scene w/ Matt and Jack - "You were gonna sell me out" "who, me? never!" "bla bla bla" "bla bla bla" *exchange of shots with pistols as even more over-done symbols of sexuality than normal*
Okay, that went on a little longer than I thought. I may need to hire an editor if I keep doing this shit. Anyway, long story short, after I first saw le Departed, I was of the opinion that it was equally good as I.A., just different and that you couldn't really pick between the two. Now I'm of the opinion that Infernal Affairs is clearly the better movie - I still like the Departed, but it doesn't measure up anymore. Just to make sure, I'm going to go rent I.A. now and see if it holds up to my rosy memories of it. Part II of this post to follow.
Personal history - I saw Infernal Affairs back in . . . damn, when did I see that? Let's see, I was in A-Squared at the time, so . . . late '04/early '05? I was in the middle of a man-crush on Andy Lau (still active, just dormant at the moment) at the time, and it also had Tony Leung (the short one), so I was pretty excited. Stephanie Zacharek, who is a whole series of posts in and of herself, wrote a great review of it. Rented it, watched it two or three times, loved it. When I heard that there was going to be an American remake, I was depressed. When I heard it was Marty, I got a little interested. I'd also started to come around on Leo - he almost single-handedly crippled Gangs of New York, but he'd gotten better since then. Anyway, I'm rambling - long story short, I went and saw The Departed as soon as it came out. I walked out, I said it was great. Recommended it to all my friends, said it was one of the best re-makes out there, etc etc etc.
Anyway . . . it suffers on re-viewing. Watching Jack Nicholson make rat faces and wave his plastic dick around . . . that hurts some. It was funny on the first viewing, but I get the feeling each successive viewing, Jack-O's gonna get just a little bit more annoying (which hurts, because I like seeing more of his character, having the movie be broader than just the central two).
The themes bugged me a little bit - they kept a lot of the strong themes from I.A. - identity, trust, lying, not being sure who you really are - the no-brainer stuff the movie is built around. But the additional themes - fatherhood, sexual strength - weak additions, in my opinion. The contrast between Leo (impregnates Matt's girlfriend)/Marty Sheen (son at ND, the Holy of Holies for the fucking Mick race of which I am a member) and Matt(see note on Leo, also victim of "it happens to a lot of guys")/Jack("Is that what this is about? All those murders, all that fucking, and no sons?") . That stuff didn't move me at all - maybe because I don't have a ton of Daddy issues, I dunno.
Anyway, a LOT more sex in the american version, most of it to little or no point - surprise surprise. On to my next major quibble - Matt Damon's turn/the ending. Now I'm going to have to re-watch I.A. to check, but in my memory, there was a little more blurring - Tony Leung definitely got a taste for the work, definitely had a little more fun being a mobby than he should have. Andy Lau offed his boss because he loved being a cop and wanted to get out from under - there's a lot of that in Matt Damon, but he's made a lot less rounded - Matt Damon is much more about the money and the power. He shoots down Nicholson because he's afraid he'll give him up to the Feds - watch the D. again - the sequence goes like this:
01:51:54 - Damon and Nicholson argue over tactics, after Sheen's death. Still pretty clearly on the same side, even if they have been starting to squabble.
01:52:25 - Nicholson and his girlfriend have an exchange in which she implies that he's gay and he defensively over-reacts
01:52:49 - Leo and Vera (the all-american psych counselor) have a touching (and very heterosexual) "I can't see you anymore" moment
01:53:58 - Matt find's Sheen's phone (getting Sheen's blood on his hands - one of those subtle moments that doesn't try and brain you over the head with anything) and calls Leo. This actually leads to a great bid that I truly enjoy with the two of them on the phone afraid to speak, followed by the tense moments leading up to Leo calling back, and Matt trying to land him. Good cat and mouse.
01:57:00 - The money shot - Matt finds a photo in Sheen's files of Jack meeting with the FBI, along with notes to the effect that Jack is an informant.
01:57:27 - Long tangent with the "was Delahunt an undercover officer as well?" sub-plot. I don't know on this one - it was a mystery to me in I.A., it remains so in the re-make - I lean towards No both times.
01:58:40 - Cue the Dropkick Murphys, it's time for a bunch of people to die. At the start here, you still get the feeling Matt is not quite sure what to do about Jack-O.
01:59:15 - Jack screams at Matt. Music stops. Shot of Matt collecting his thoughts. Matt decides to fuck Jack. Re-cue music (I do really enjoy the use of music in this - great music, great music editing).
02:01:17 - One of the little moments that I love - Leo tries to warn Jack that he's been set up and is going down tonight; he can't say too much of course, but it just flares up in him suddenly - loyalty, a sense of fair play, who knows. "Do you always know why you do things?"
02:01:57 - Extended well-choreographed violence.
02:03:29 - Big final scene w/ Matt and Jack - "You were gonna sell me out" "who, me? never!" "bla bla bla" "bla bla bla" *exchange of shots with pistols as even more over-done symbols of sexuality than normal*
Okay, that went on a little longer than I thought. I may need to hire an editor if I keep doing this shit. Anyway, long story short, after I first saw le Departed, I was of the opinion that it was equally good as I.A., just different and that you couldn't really pick between the two. Now I'm of the opinion that Infernal Affairs is clearly the better movie - I still like the Departed, but it doesn't measure up anymore. Just to make sure, I'm going to go rent I.A. now and see if it holds up to my rosy memories of it. Part II of this post to follow.
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