Blog Entry

And damn, there was some fine cinematography in that film too. Wonderful panning shots, and several times they had incredible single-take scenes that last several minutes and followed characters in and out of buildings ... very effective.

I also enjoyed the movie's strong anti-abortion message ...

(Just kidding. :-)

Kim and I have recently been more responsible with our use of Netflix. That is to say: we're actually watching movies in a timely fashion and returning them so that we get our money's worth.

So, we ended up watching CoM a few weeks ago and admittedly I'm on the fence about this film.

Good:

1. It had *great* cinematography.
2. It had a point. Or three. This is important since so many films (e.g. the "Rush Hour" franchise) are simply gratuitous.
3. It was truly a 2+ hour-long fearfeat. Not since "Red Dawn" have I been so moved (kidding). But yeah, I agree with jjohn that I haven't seen many movies of this genre since the 1980s.

Bad:

1. It was way too violent for me. Seriously, I just can't handle this stuff anymore. Why does violence in movies need to be so graphic? Remember the old days when clever direction and a solid plot could convey the same message? Now every moviegoer is subjected to a first-person experience of the war zone (spattering blood, etc.).
2. I wished the movie gave a more clear explanation for why society was in shambles. I was able to "get" this, but I'd have preferred better framing.
3. I didn't like any of the characters because they lacked empathy. But maybe that was the point? Nobody's right? Nobody's happy? Everybody suffers? But still. I wanted that "Ben Affleck is crying on the crater" moment (yeah, kidding).