Wednesday 12 November 2008

"PC or MAC?"

Posted by speedygeoff on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 with
Spring Series 2 - Black Mountain Peninsula 5k
34. Mick Horan 21:30
62. Neil Boden 24:54
63. David Baussmann 24:59
78. Caroline Campbell 26:27
82. Mick Charlton 26:46
89. Roger Pilkington 27:35
95. Ruth Baussmann 28:29
96. Thea Zimpel 28:31
114 finishers

I decided to have a rest day yesterday - haven't had one for a while, and the Spring Series race didn't appeal - and instead I went with Jenny to see "Burn After Reading" at Dendy Premium.

My favourite actors are George Clooney and John Malkovich. They, along with Brad Pitt, were the main actors in the movie.

My favourite actresses are Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton. They were the main actresses.

My favourite Directors/Producers are the Coen Brothers. This movie was their return to typical Coen Brothers inventiveness. Shades of Millers Crossing, Fargo, The Ladykillers, and other Coen movies. And just as good.

"I Have Gone As Far As I Can Go With This Body".
The Coens are at their most brilliant with their character development, and this movie is no exception, each unique character is drawn so well, in particular Clooney, Malkovich and McDormand who were so totally suited to their part (or, their part was so perfectly written to suit them).

A theme: each character was delusional: Malkovitch played the role of a character with a drinking problem. He also thought he could write, but it was drivel. Clooney played the role of a character with a running problem! He got very grumpy if he couldn't go out on his daily run. Hilarious! McDormand had a self-image problem! ..... I won't go on, you must see it.

Hardbodies
"Burn After Reading" lampoons spy movies. It was kind of an anti-"Mission Impossible". It was
.. a send-up of the spy industry
.. a send-up of the fitness industry. Genius is the art of putting disparate things together in a new way, and I don't recall a blend of spies and gyms before.
.. a send-up of the sex industry, in a brief but memorable scene
.. a send-up of internet dating. None of the sexual encounters were heroic as in the typical spy movie. They were disastrous.
And I don't think I will view "park benches" in quite the same way again.

"This disk contains numbers, it's the real stuff!"
Moral of the film:
.. Don't cut the labels off your clothes
.. Never plan to fly to Venezuela
.. And never ever let a CD you have burned get into the wrong hands!

"This is Drivel"
There are three kinds of movies in the world. Hollywood, non-Hollywood, and Coen Brothers. The Coens are, shall I say, unconventional. I love the dialogue-style ending, which they did so well in "No Country For Old Men", and repeated here. Hollywood can't do endings; the Coens have perfected it.




FOOTNOTES
1. I haven't provided a movie review before, so this was different. Five stars! ♥♥♥♥♥

2. The quotes I have highlighted will be nowhere near precise, they are my next-day-memory.

3. I recommend Dendy Premium. Very indulgent.

4. Asking "PC or MAC?" was as much "intelligence" as any character showed in the movie. And even then, did they get the answer wrong?

5. Of course it was about running! You should see Pitt on the treadmill! He runs like a goose.