And so we begin one of my favorite films. I promised that I wouldn't stop the film after every shot and so far I have kept my promise. Of course, I'm in misery the whole time because there's plenty to talk about already. Even now I want to point out a few things. Like the first time we see Manny in the cell. Steam is escaping from a heating pipe, giving the dungeon the aura of an engine room. From out of the dark we hear the hissing and puffing a locomotive, only it's not a train at all, its' Manny doing push-ups in the dark.
Warden Ranken's speech. "Listen to you [clowns] hiding there in the dark. Let me tell you where it's at. First there's God, then the warden, then my guards. Then, there are the dogs out in the yard. Finally, there's you. Pieces of human waste, no good to yourselves or anyone else."
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Yes, Mr. Bennett, I agree, that was a brilliant speech. Much of the dialogue has been awesome and crafted so far, especially for humor.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up on the engine room. I missed that.
I like the film so far, but I guess it would be unwise to judge it so far, as you say that it is important to judge a work as a whole, not by parts.
I already have a post in mind for this movie Mr. Bennett although I don't know if you will approve of my comparison in it. I have a lot of unfinished posts I must put up. Runaway Train already has got me excited. The dialogue and setting has me hooked and Voigt really does not seem anything like the former semblance of Joe Buck
ReplyDeleteI have been wondering if your idea to run your classes like runaway trains came from this movie?
ReplyDeleteI really can't say much about the film because the first 20 or so minutes of a film is hardly enough to judge it, just look at 2001: A Space Odyssey with the ape scene. However, so far, the most interesting thing I noticed is the mixture of humor, violence, and chaos. It will be interesting to see what happens next, especially with the potential usage of planes, trains, and automobiles.
Obviously final judgement cannot be passed at this point, but I do know that I have a genuine interest in seeing the rest of this film. So far, Jon Voigt is completely different than I have ever seen him, and I like it. This is the only movie I've seen with Eric Roberts other than The Dark Knight, which he had a minor role in, so I can't compare this to his other roles. So far though, I'd say he's doing a good job. But 20 minutes of a film is hardly enough to say these things with certainty, so we will just have to wait and see.
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