The One With No Other Choice

 

 

Earlier tonight, Kiff and I made a voyage into the Coolidge Theater to see No Other Choice, a foreign movie with subtitles (my favorite) that Kiff wanted to see. I found the premise - a guy loses his job and will do everything he can to provide for his family - intriguing. So, I went along.

Overall, the movie was okay. I'd give it a B. The acting was solid and the lead's wife was amazing, trying to hold the family together. Part of the premise was a bit ludicrous - the lead was trying to eliminate any of his potential competition for a future job at a South Korean paper mill. And indeed, he does eliminate three. In the process, he sees a bit of himself in all of the victims.

Their is subtle humor that helps the viewer overcome the darkness of the movie, which helps during some of the disturbing parts. And, some of the visuals were stunning, including the opening sequence where the family is seated outside their house with red cherry blossoms falling down from trees. Exquisite!!!

The One With the Secret Agent

 

 

Emmie got Kiff and I tickets to see the movie The Secret Agent at the Coolidge Theater. Ironically, it was a movie Kiff wanted to see - and had asked us to get tickets - but Emmie had already done that.

The movie was an interesting look at the era of a corrupt Brazilian government from the past. There is a dispute between a college professor and a business leader that leads the business leader to send assassins after the professor.

Although the movie was a bit slow to start as they built the characters, momentum grew and the movie was good...though long. And, it did have a bit of a sad ending.

However, after the movie, we had a chance to hear from the director, who had come to the Coolidge Theater to speak about the movie. He was an interesting fellow and shared a lot about his process as well as his own views on the actors.

Overall a great show! To add to the fun, it was snowing when we left.

 Gotta love December.

 

The One With Frankenstein

 

 

Tonight, we ventured into Coolidge Corner to catch the latest edition to the Frankenstein movie franchise - the updated Frankenstein.

It was one of those artsy movies that Kiff enjoys going to, with the guy from Star Wars last three movies in the lead as the doctor.

I did not know what to expect - and coming into a crowded movie theater late didn't help (though Kiff made a deal with the other people in the row to make sure we got to our seats. However, as the movie would prove, I was pleasantly surprised. It followed the canon of the novel more so than typical Frankenstein movies...incorporating elements of Mary Shelly's classic tale including the tale of the blind man and the ending in the Arctic. But, there was plenty of homage to classic Universal Frankenstein as well.

In the end, it was a spectacular movie and one I would give an "A" to. In fact, it was so well done that people applauded in the theater when it was done. What a great movie.