A Long, Rambling Post in which I talk about a movie I saw

A Longish, Rambling Post in which I talk about a movie I saw

I sat down tonight to do nothing but watch a movie. It's been too long since I've done that. Far too long.

I've been writing a lot, lately. A goodly bit. If I made a New Year's Resolution, it was to buckle down just a little bit in the writing department. I've been too lazy in the writing department. It's meant a lot of early, early mornings, a lot of nights spent with my ears in the earphones to block out all the distractions, and a lot sitting in front of a computer screen ruining my eyes.

I've reached a stopping point. It's the stopping point, and that's pretty much all I know at this point. It's a frustrating point where I can't seen the forest for all these frigging trees. I'm at the a put it away in a drawer stage, and let it get out of my mind.

So, I've got a little time on my hands.

And I feel entitled to a break. This is maybe interesting, maybe not. I don't holler at myself when I watch the Sunday night Fox lineup of The Simpsons, Arrested Development, and the recently added Family Guy. I don't get ill at myself when I go to watch Monday Night Wrasslin'. (which tho I do enjoy it, I will grudgingly admit wrasslin is very nearly the most mindless thing on the teevee...entertainment at its most base...methinks thats why I like it...the mindless entertainment of it all...).

But if I want to sit down and watch a movie? Here lately, I give myself hell for it.

But tonight, since I was at a stopping point, I felt a little entitled to take a break. To do something like watch a movie. You know, make it worth the money I'm paying for that Netflix account.

I watched Collateral.

Quick word: Very good.

Let me say this before I ruminate on the flick.

Though there are many, many fine movie-viewing establishments in and around East Tennessee, I live quite a way away from the majority of them. Not so far so as it is prohibitive for me to watch a cinematic effort. But far enough way that it becomes difficult to be spontaneous and say to yourself "I wanna see a movie," and then go, especially if it's just me going. If I'm going with a group, or meeting somebody someplace, it's nothing at all. But if I'm just carting my own ass around, somehow, that trip becomes a little bit more of a hassle.

It's called living in the boondocks.

Second bummer? I live so far out in the sticks that there's no cable service, and I'm so deep in the tall, tall woods that I'd have to cut several trees to get reliable line of sight for a satellite.

I'm digressing.

The environment is decent for writing, and that's what I do. With varying amounts of success. This post being not the best example of such the success, I'd say.

Suffice it to say one of the things I gave up when I moved here was a nearby decent movie theater (there are a couple nearby crappy theaters...I don't know if I wrote the debacle that was trying to see Ocean's 12 here in my small town at the small theater....I'll just say that I had to wait until another viewing to see the last half hour or so...I got so fed up with the projection screwups that I went and got my money back....)

Anyway, being that decent sounding, decent viewing, clean, show-movies-all-the-way-through-with-no-breaks theaters are such a nuisance to get to, I've missed a lot of movies this past year. A lot.

Collateral was one of them.

That's what I watched tonight.

And it's been a while since I've been sucked into a movie like this one.

Gotta love that conflict between the soulful man with the hopes and dreams, but a lack of gumption to take them anywhere, with the man with all the gumption in the world, singleminded and direct, but who lacks a soul to have hopes and dreams. Vincent and Max complement each other nicely, in the pragmatic ways. It was interesting to watch the interplay between them.

A good effort from Michael Mann. This one jumpst to the top of the list of his works, for me. He takes on a lot of interesting subjects...but My Heavens can he be slooooooow sometimes. To the point of my losing interest (Ali is the big one tat comes to mind: I lost interest about halfway through). But Collateral manages to throw a couple of jolts into the generally slow burn of tension.

I also appreciated the camera work...the claustrophobic feel of being in a cab with Foxx and Cruise was excellent.

It's now 12:37, and this is probably not a coherent post, or review.

I'll just say that I recommend Collateral. It's a fine, fine flick....