Quick catch up

Seems like there are a few movies that we've seen recently that I should comment on.

Caché was interesting until they decided to run the closing credits without bothering to finish the movie. I suppose I should probably mark this as spoiler-ish, but when you have to watch the interview with the director for the movie to make sense, that's a bad thing. I don't mind movies that make you think. I don't mind movies that are open ended. But Caché simply didn't have an ending. It was a mess. Which is a shame as I really liked aspects of it. This film does an excellent job of ratcheting tension. At almost the exact moment when you start to get frustrated with the way things are going, the movie delivers an absolutely shocking sequence. Truly well done and it gets you right back into the thick of things. Unfortunately it's squandered.

The Greatest Game Ever Played wants to be Searching for Bobby Fischer only for golf. It mostly succeeds. It's a nice movie and you feel good by the end and there are some nice camera shots.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was recommended by a friend and was pretty good. I was lured in by the love fern and that was admittedly my favorite bit. Matthew McConaughey is becoming a favorite actor and Kate Hudson is growing on me quite a bit as well. And boy is she starting to look like her Mom...

Which leaves us with Infernal Affairs. The more I think about this movie the more I like it. Excellent, excellent crime drama. They're remaking it here in the states as The Departed and I'm not sure why. The link takes you to the trailer and it makes me cry a little inside, which is strange. When I first heard Damon and DiCaprio I was pretty skeptical. I like Damon and figured he'd do a good job, but they didn't cast him in the part I thought they would and I still don't see DiCaprio in the undercover cop role. The rest of the cast is pretty amazing (Nicholson is an inspired choice) but it seems Scorsese just couldn't keep from monkeying with a story that worked. Infernal Affairs is a taut, tension building crime drama, also featuring an excellent cast. There are a few mistakes (mostly revolving around the female cast and their underuse or not really needing to be there in the first place) but overall a great show. Scorsese seems to think we need more characters, more plot and more sex... Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I don't suppose I have a problem with remakes in general, but I don't really think they're necessary. The only really positive thing they do is draw attention to something you might otherwise miss. Fortunately it's becoming easier to track down some of the original films. I have a sneaking suspicion that The Departed won't nearly match up to Infernal Affairs.

And finally, I have no idea what to make of this.