Thoughts on: “Source Code”

Why did it take so long for me to find this film?  When the trailers for “Source Code” came out I was excited.

Then the inevitable drop in expectation thanks to the internet geek community. While I appreciate their inability to accept anything less than greatness, they often fall victim to their own over-hyped expectations.  Why should they be different from you and I?  That expectation may not be fair, but since they get early access to all the film we want to see I feel like they owe it to us to underline what they were expecting from a film so we can put their criticisms into context.

They dented my expectations for the film, something that helped out “Source Code”.

Is the science behind the science fiction premise of the film too vague?  Perhaps.  My guess is that if the concept was fleshed out it would fall apart.  Besides this English and Media Studies (Documentary concentration) graduate, who works in a Humanities Library has very little use for scientific details.  Plausibility is important, fact-based science…not so much for this guy

So while I can agree that “Source Code” feels like a less polished effort than Duncan Jones first film, “Moon” ( which was brilliant), “Source Code” is a great film in its own right.

A confession: I am a sucker for the themes of the film which include, but are not limited to father-son conflict and connections. Those themes need to be well-done, and be an organic part of the story.  “Source Code” succeeds on all those counts.

What could have been a redundant, boring mess (Jake Gyllenhaal’s character mentally transports to the same 8 minute period of time over and over to solve a bombing) was engaging thanks to the varied introductions that Jones works in.

I am not sure that “Source Code” is on my ‘must see again’ list, but given the dearth of free time there are not many on that list anyway.

Highly recommended.

 

A Night With Starz

There are few things in life that compare with the joy of watching your parents play with your kids.  I still remember the first time my parents met both James and Anna.  It was the ultimate “Hey Mom and Dad, look what I did.”

Adding to that sublime joy every time I visit my parents is that I get a chance to watch Starz.  I know that sounds lame, but I am behind the times on films.  I rarely get to see them in the theater and as easy as RedBox is I always pause at the kiosk and wonder whether I am really going to feel like taking the plastic wafer back the next day.  The answer is almost always, “probably not”.

I refuse to buy both Netflix and HBO, and HBO wins out.  Yes I know that I will have access to many more films if I get Netflix.  But if I chose the current choice of most people then I would be without “Real Time with Bill Maher”, and “Boardwalk Empire”.  I find that idea without any merit, HBO wins out.

That does not mean that I do not long for any other distribution of media, of course I do.  I feel very strongly about staying in budget for things that are not fundamental needs.  So one premium channel or service it is…

Except when I am at my old haunt in the T.O.T.  I curl on the coach and horde the remote.  No longer am I any part Smeagol, I am all Gollum.  Sleep is sacrificed in the name of catching up on films.  This past weekend I caught two really good ones on Starz on Demand, “Armored” and “Moon”.

“Armored” is the inferior film of the two, but I thought it was excellent for what it was: an extremely well-produced caper movie.  There is an economy to the storytelling that I think is missing in most films today.  Director Nimród Antal does not repeatedly hit you in the face the plot threads.  He states the case of the main character, Ty, and lets him react to the action as it unfolds.

I recommend it if you are looking for a nice short,tight and well edited action film that clocks in at a very lean, tight 87 minutes.

“Moon”, what can I say?  I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but it is the best science fiction film I have seen since “Children of Men”.

Sam Rockwell plays “Sam Bell”, a contract worker who harvests moon rock, the future of clean energy in the 22nd century.  Rockwell nails his role.  I really do not want to speak on the film that much as I feel that you should go in fresh.

It is smart, well shot, and feels like a film from a different age, to me that is a good thing. I look forward to seeing more films from first time director Duncan Jones; he made a great film in “Moon”.  It is among my favorite films of 2009 with “A Serious Man” and ” District 9″.*

* List subject to change as I am constantly catching up with last years films.  I hope to be able to watch more when I visit my in laws next month.  They have Showtime…yeah buddy.