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E D I T O R I A L
Tuesday, October 10: The pauper must pay
* sigh * - A quick look at my bank book tells me I must stop buying new DVDs until I get some bills paid off. Why can't real-life money be like bullets in a John Woo movie, so you never have to worry about running out? I shouldn't complain, though, since I still have a stack of unplayed DVDs to savor.
Finally received The Mission to view. It is a wonder. I have it out on a rental, because I had heard about the image-imprint problem -- some image is evidently burned lightly into the middle of the picture on the DVD. It is evident many times, yet the movie is so good that I can almost recommend a purchase anyway. I watched it twice today, basically back-to-back, which I rarely do. I loved Anthony Wong and Francis Ng, and the way that director Johnnie To constructs scenes, and the overall pacing, and the dialogue, and that great understated shopping mall shootout. And the music. And the subtlety. And the editing, and the way the camera moves. I just hate that a film from 1999 looks so shoddy on DVD. Why is that? Is the budget so low that they can't afford to put aside a master print? Why must we see speckles and shimmering and imperfect colors and that blasted image in the background of one of the great films of the last few years? * sigh *
As for American films, I went to the cinema this past Friday night and saw Meet the Parents. I have no idea if the humor will translate, and the pacing is a bit slack, but I laughed a lot and it was just what I needed. Also saw Johnny Mnemonic on digital cable (audio and video quality are roughly equivalent to DVD on my system). It was released in 1995, barely did any business, and has been roundly bashed, but I wonder why. It looks fantastic to me, all dark and metallic and sleek. The screenplay by William Gibson is silly at times, and Keanu Reaves is sometimes painful to watch. There's probably too much reliance on computer graphics. Yet some of the attitude and pacing reminded me of HK action movies. Not a great flick, but a lot of fun to watch. Then for a change of pace, I watched Reversal of Fortune, a wryly told drama based on the real-life tale of a rich woman (Glenn Close) in a coma and the husband (Jeremy Irons) who may be responsible. Ron Silver plays the American attorney Alan Dershowitz. Great acting and a wonderful job by the director, Barbet Schroeder. Now it's back to work and HK movies!
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