Movies

I don’t get to much chance to watch movies these days. With the busyness of life and Gemma controlling the TV a lot there just aren’t many opportunities. However a couple weeks ago i carved out some time to watch a couple flicks. The first one I watched on the Nov.1 as a part of my annual Halloween scary movie watching. The show was called “23” starring Jim Carrey. It was an interesting show about a man becoming obsessed with the number 23. He’s reading a book about a character who becomes obsessed with the number 23 and eventually becomes a killer as the craziness eats him alive. Just to clarify it’s not necessarily the number itself but how things such as dates and addresses correspond with the number 23 or sometimes the 23rd thing like word on a page, page in a book, house on the block etc. Without boring you with too many details I want to say that it was a good film that explored the idea of life imitating art imitating life. I have a weird fascination with thriller type movies and this one fit the bill. It blurred the line of reality and fantasy and brought it together in a great finish. It is scary to think that this happens to real people, many people allow some of the distractions of life to eat at their state of mind until it takes over and they lose themselves entirely.

The other movie I saw was “Once”. It’s a film set in Ireland about two people who are struggling to get through life and happen to meet as they are both working on the streets of Dublin. The guy is a singer songwriter busker and the woman has odd jobs throughout the show. Their whole connection is based on their passion for music but they come to develop a friendship as they learn more about each other. They are both broken and clinging to past relationships and this allows them to write and perform some beautiful songs with raw emotion and intense lyrics. Throughout the movie they draw closer and closer and the movie taunts us with the impending romance. The music laces everything together as it allows them to explore emotions and moments of honesty. Near the end the finally take the big step of recording their music. The studio scenes are brilliant and the music is amazing. With musical success now inevitable the only thing left is to solidify the romance but this is the kicker...they don’t end up getting together. They both go back to the old partner and their connection becomes just a fond memory. Hated that ending but what can you do, that’s real life...it doesn’t always tie up in a nice bow. Despite the ending being a let down I really enjoyed the movie. I would recommend it to indie movie fans and anyone who loves raw passionate folk singing (ie: Damien Rice). I’m always a sucker for an Irish made movie, I try to see any movie that comes out and has an Irish connection. After the movie I looked up the names of the actors only to find that they are actually both famous musicians, it did look like they were really playing and singing in the movie. I jumped on iTunes and bought the soundtrack right away. I’ve been listening to it constantly for a few weeks now...great stuff!