You know, Saturday Night Movie Night at my place is becoming something of an institution.
Seriously, an institution.
Possibly …
After all, me, Movie Adrian and Kevin D — minus his wife, Sarah — and Squeaky, are either getting to be a regular fixture, here …
Or we’re all collectively going slowly gaga: slightly bonkers, in other words, rather than dressing up in fantastically revealing outfits and glossy make-up!
But also an institution, tonight, that got mildly interrupted.
Did you know I’m on Facebook … ?
Well, I am.
And I have a few of my FB friends updates sent to my phone.
Including one update from Trevor — he of Teaser fame — that announced that snooker player — and two-times world champion — Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins had died, of throat cancer.
At 61.
Unbelievable, in a way.
But also unsurprising, somehow, given that he’d smoked 80 a day ever since he was young.
Still, it’s something I find saddening, in a way.
Granted, a lot of the damage his body may have taken was largely self-inflicted.
But, much like Muhammed Ali, to whom he’d been compared, he was a product of both a time and a place.
And a giant of his sport.
‹‹‹~›››
But, sad though I might find it, it’s not what I was going to tell you about …
Or write about*.
I was going to tell you about tonight’s movie night.
And, bless her, Squeaky brought along a little something that got Kevin D, Movie Night Adrian, and I, all talking.
And, as shy as Movie Night Adrian actually is about having his photo put anywhere online, BOY can he talk, when he has something to say!
I think, actually, the same’s true of all of us.
Actually, I think the 2008, David Moreau/Xavier Palud co-directed, The Eye, is certainly an inspiring film.
“Inspiring,” I hear hear you say … ?
Absolutely!
It certainly got us all gassing a mile a minute, afterwards.
The Eye — a US remake of an earlier film — sees Jessica Alba playing Sydney Wells, a concert violinist who has been blind since a childhood accident: and a lucky violinist at that, who receives a sight-restoring cornea transplant.
One that allows her to see, for the first time in many yearsº.
And a surgical procedure that has the unexpected side effect of letting her see things.
Not what you’d expect, either, before you tell me that’s the point …
Sydney starts to see …
Things …
Things ‘Men Was Not Meant To See’, if you’ll excuse the cliché.
And things that take her, eventually, to a small village in North Mexico, to find the family of the young woman who’s supernaturally gifted eye’s have now been transplanted into Sydney’s head.
‹‹‹~›››
Now, maybe ‘cliché’ is the wrong word to possibly use, here.
Maybe …
Maybe has to be one of the biggest word in the language, doesn’t it … ?
But it’s not one I think that applies to The Eye.
Because, although the actual story comes ’round, full circle, with Sydney being blinded by an accident that the visions are a warning for, it does so in a reasonably entertaining way.
The Eye isn’t an intellectually demanding fill.
But does make for an entertaining evening.
‹‹‹~›››
Which, actually, is possibly a cause for debate, I’m thinking, here.
Mostly where I think Kevin D, bless him, might just disagree with me.
I know that — film buff that he is — Kevin has already seen the original and near enough stated, tonight, that he felt it didn’t come up to the standard of the original.
I’m not sure that I can argue with him, there …
He may well have a point: of the two versions I’ve seen, I know that I preferred the Luc Besson original of Nikita to the Bridget Fonda version, The Assassin.
But, for myself … ?
I’m going to stand by my recommendation.
This version of The Eye may not be as good as the film it’s a remake of.
But does stand on its own, if you’ve not seen the original.
‹‹‹~›››
And that’s not where the nattering ended, I should add … !
Dear me, no!
Phew … !
Something I know that Adrian, Kevin and I have long chewed the fact over about, is where we think the movies are going.
After all, this is a technologically changing world.
If you’ve not noticed that, you’ve been stuck in a cave somewhere … !
And one point of discussion is whether — as Adrian maintains — is whether cinema is dead …
Something which I think both Kevin, Squeaky and I all disagreed with.
But we could see his basic point, despite having valid counter arguments.
Adrian’s main point … ?
Comes from his very simple idea that, with advances in home media technology, we now have the capacity to have any given form of entertainment downloaded to our TVs, as and when we want them. And that media companies can cut huge costs in the process.
Whether that entertainment is a film, a big sporting event, what have you.
I think that both Kevin D and I’s counter argument … ?
Was the equally simple point/s that we, as humans, are incredibly social creatures, and that — however disturbed by popcorn throwers that we may be — the temptation to head some where in a big crowd will always have appeal!
And that media companies love selling us tickets for, and DVD copies of, the same film.
‹‹‹~›››
Which leaves me thinking one thing.
That I’d like to ask you one thing.
Can you — yes, YOU — leave me a comment to let me know what you think … ?
I’d like to hear your point of view!
* You know, it’s suddenly occurred — bizarrely — that the keyboard I’m using — one of the wired aluminium Apple keyboards, with the built in USB ports — has very sensuous feeling keys. You can tell it’s getting late, can’t you … ?
No comments:
Post a Comment