fine whine

I don't think I really paid much attention to movies until about six or seven years ago. I mean, I went to them and watched them but I didn't really keep track of them nor express very much preference for any one over another. I went to a decent number of them but generally did so based on what my friends (or parents) wanted to see. Thus I ended up seeing everything from Batman to Batteries not included. Here and there I managed to happen across less mainstream movies, including Leonard: part 6 and In search of the wow-wow-wibble-woggle-wazzie-woogle-wood and The peanut butter solution, but only from the library and other sundry places of rental. Likewise the feature-length Wizard of speed and time and the New Zealand Navigator.

You know, when I put it like that I didn't do too badly as a kid after all. My plan was to lament on a childhood largely devoid of good cinema, but I, um, can't. I was going to talk about not really caring about which movies I watched until the last six to seven years, and then apparently becoming some sort of film snob. Now I seek out subtitled movies and (gasp) independent films and worse, and yet I find myself enjoying movies like Formula 51 and The transporter.

Well, it happened again. On a lark I checked out John Woo's Paycheck, despite my near-loathing of Ben Affleck. I'm glad I did, since I enjoyed it rather quite a bit. It's not a classic but I can think of far worse ways to spend a couple hours (in fact next time I check it out I want to listen to the commentary tracks, which would kill yet more time). I knew how it would end but enjoyed seeing how the characters got to it (and by knowing how it ends I do not refer to the "foreshadowing" amply sprinkled throughout the proceedings).

Maybe I'm just a bigger fan of Paul Giamatti than I am an Affleck anti-fan.

Speaking of Giamatti, there's a scene early on in the movie where Ben is beating up on some posts with a stick. Let me describe it better: There are three posts arranged in a triangle that is probably ten or twelve feet to a side. The posts consist of four or five black rubber things (smaller than tires) with translucent lights between the black things. These lights light up and Ben hits the rubber thing above them with his broom handle. The lights speed up and so does Ben. It really looked like fun.

All the while Giamatti is timing him with a stop watch. At first I thought "What a cool game. I want one!" and then I thought "They still have stop watches in the future?"

I still want one. But I think I'd build a clock into mine.