Saw IV
SPOILERS
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Lyriq Bent
Plut outline: Yet another police officer will have to reevaluate his life in order to survive Jigsaw.
At first I was thoroughly confused; is this before or after Saw III? It wasn't until like the last 30 minutes that I realised that the plot of Saw IV runs parallel to that of Saw III, but everything still didn't fall into place the way it usually does. I think this was mainly because it'd been a while since I'd seen the third movie, and I didn't have the plot fresh in mind. So that's a recommendation to those of you who haven't already seen it. I kind of resent the fact that they so obviously left an opening for a fifth movie; almost to the point where you got the feeling that this whole episode of the series was just meant to explain the beginning of Saw V. I still like this better than the third, though; it feels like they've gone back to the more thrilling traps of the first and second movies, with a little less gore. I don't mind the gore so much, but in the third they relied completely on disgust rather than fright, which just feels cheap. So kudos on that, fourth! All in all a highly enjoyable movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0890870/
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Cast: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Scott Patterson, Lyriq Bent
Plut outline: Yet another police officer will have to reevaluate his life in order to survive Jigsaw.
At first I was thoroughly confused; is this before or after Saw III? It wasn't until like the last 30 minutes that I realised that the plot of Saw IV runs parallel to that of Saw III, but everything still didn't fall into place the way it usually does. I think this was mainly because it'd been a while since I'd seen the third movie, and I didn't have the plot fresh in mind. So that's a recommendation to those of you who haven't already seen it. I kind of resent the fact that they so obviously left an opening for a fifth movie; almost to the point where you got the feeling that this whole episode of the series was just meant to explain the beginning of Saw V. I still like this better than the third, though; it feels like they've gone back to the more thrilling traps of the first and second movies, with a little less gore. I don't mind the gore so much, but in the third they relied completely on disgust rather than fright, which just feels cheap. So kudos on that, fourth! All in all a highly enjoyable movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0890870/
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
Year of publication: 1891
Plot summary: The young and beautiful Dorian Gray sits for a portrait by the painter Basil Hallward, which completely changes his life. (I trust you're all familiar with how the story goes?)
I actually started reading this right after I'd finished Gulliver's Travels, even though I was interrupted by some forced reading, and it seemed to me then to be incredibly modern for a novel written in the late 19th century. I now realise that was simply because Gulliver's Travels had been so incredibly old-fashioned by comparison (310 pages and no dialouge!) and when I picked up reading it again after some modern literature, I got a better feel for the style typical for its own age. I find "The Picture of Dorian Gray" fascinating, not just because of the setting and manner of speech, but because of the story around it and the scandal it caused. On the first page of my edition there's a picture of Wilde with an explanatory text saying it was the last picture taken of him before his trials, with him looking competely at ease sitting in an armchair, smoking a cigarette. The author gives life and more depth to his characters, I find; in the photo, Wilde resembles exactly my mental image of lord Henry, and when lord Henry speaks in the novel, I can easily imagine that his opinons represent those of the author himself. The witty dialouge is as intriguing as the many cultural references made; they mark the characteristics of the Victorian Age as well as the novel does.
Year of publication: 1891
Plot summary: The young and beautiful Dorian Gray sits for a portrait by the painter Basil Hallward, which completely changes his life. (I trust you're all familiar with how the story goes?)
I actually started reading this right after I'd finished Gulliver's Travels, even though I was interrupted by some forced reading, and it seemed to me then to be incredibly modern for a novel written in the late 19th century. I now realise that was simply because Gulliver's Travels had been so incredibly old-fashioned by comparison (310 pages and no dialouge!) and when I picked up reading it again after some modern literature, I got a better feel for the style typical for its own age. I find "The Picture of Dorian Gray" fascinating, not just because of the setting and manner of speech, but because of the story around it and the scandal it caused. On the first page of my edition there's a picture of Wilde with an explanatory text saying it was the last picture taken of him before his trials, with him looking competely at ease sitting in an armchair, smoking a cigarette. The author gives life and more depth to his characters, I find; in the photo, Wilde resembles exactly my mental image of lord Henry, and when lord Henry speaks in the novel, I can easily imagine that his opinons represent those of the author himself. The witty dialouge is as intriguing as the many cultural references made; they mark the characteristics of the Victorian Age as well as the novel does.
El día que me vaya no se lo diré a nadie
or "The Day That I Leave I Won't Tell Anyone"
Author: Kiko Amat
Year of publication: 2003
Plot summary: Julián works in a second hand bookstore and Octavia records her voice for the subway and answering machines. Both of them hate their lives, so what will happen when they meet?
I'm going to totally disregard every rule about motivating your opinions and boldly state: I love this! Then I can move on to the why and how. Amat has that humorous quality that makes reading every sentence a pure pleasure, and also makes my parents and friends worried about my mental health because I laugh quietly to myself while reading it. If you know me you might be lucky enough to be exposed to my translation (if I ever finish my project) but I would rather advise you to learn Spanish, because no translation (nevermind my newbie-work) will do this justice.
Author: Kiko Amat
Year of publication: 2003
Plot summary: Julián works in a second hand bookstore and Octavia records her voice for the subway and answering machines. Both of them hate their lives, so what will happen when they meet?
I'm going to totally disregard every rule about motivating your opinions and boldly state: I love this! Then I can move on to the why and how. Amat has that humorous quality that makes reading every sentence a pure pleasure, and also makes my parents and friends worried about my mental health because I laugh quietly to myself while reading it. If you know me you might be lucky enough to be exposed to my translation (if I ever finish my project) but I would rather advise you to learn Spanish, because no translation (nevermind my newbie-work) will do this justice.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry
Director: Dennis Dugan
Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel and more
Plot outline: Larry's wife has passed away, and in order to fix some legal matter (can't remember what) he marries his best friend, Chuck. They're both firefighters, and prejudices ensue.
Funny at times, but very inconsistent. Also, a thing that bothered me (to the point where it almost ruined the movie) was that even though this movie supposedly makes fun of the prejudices about gay people and the macho community around firefighters, police or other careers dominated by men, there are many scenes where the director doesn't seem to be aware of that he underlines the stereotyped Man with a capital M. That would have been okay if it'd been a conscious move, to make fun of it, but it isn't, or at least it doesn't come out that way. So to sum it up, some good parts, some less good parts and some really bad parts. Okay to see once, but not again.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0762107/
Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Jessica Biel and more
Plot outline: Larry's wife has passed away, and in order to fix some legal matter (can't remember what) he marries his best friend, Chuck. They're both firefighters, and prejudices ensue.
Funny at times, but very inconsistent. Also, a thing that bothered me (to the point where it almost ruined the movie) was that even though this movie supposedly makes fun of the prejudices about gay people and the macho community around firefighters, police or other careers dominated by men, there are many scenes where the director doesn't seem to be aware of that he underlines the stereotyped Man with a capital M. That would have been okay if it'd been a conscious move, to make fun of it, but it isn't, or at least it doesn't come out that way. So to sum it up, some good parts, some less good parts and some really bad parts. Okay to see once, but not again.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0762107/