I took Monday off, and so I’m going to cram some movie stuff and some football stuff into this post. And since I haven’t gone to the movies, here’s some film capsules.
“Timecrimes” This intriguing Spanish science-fiction film explores the paradox of time travel, while also toying with slasher movie conventions of the sort you might see in “Halloween” or “Friday the 13th.”
Interesting, right? Well, somewhat. This 2007 movie held my attention for about 45 minutes, but then my mind began to wander. It concerns a middle-aged man who has just moved into a country house; when his wife is at the grocery store, he sees a shirtless woman through his binoculars. He wanders into the woods in search of her, and a scary looking dude with a bandage wrapped around his head stabs him in the arm with scissors. He runs to some sort of scientific laboratory, where the lone employee advises him to jump into a big tank filled with water. When he emerges, he has been transported one hour into the past. Soon SPOILER ALERT! there are several versions of this man running around, wreaking havoc. Around this point, my brain began to ache from trying to understand what was going on, and I lost interest in the overall premise. But before the film flies off the rails, it does some neat things.
ALSO WORTH SEEING: “Timecrimes” reminded me of another film I didn’t really like that much, the low-budget 2004 time-travel film “Primer.” So, I wouldn’t say “Primer” is really worth seeing, unless you’re totally into low-budget time travel movies. I mean, who isn’t, right? The main thing I remember about this film is how the characters kept climbing in and out of a cardboard box.
“Dear Zachary: A Letter to A Son About His Father” Director Kurt Kuenne tells the story of his childhood friend, Andrew Bagby, who was murdered by his ex-girlfriend while she was carrying his unborn child. Initially conceived as a way to help young Zachary learn about his slain father through interviews with friends, photos and home video footage, the film becomes both an indictment of the legal system and a moving tribute to Bagby’s parents after a horrific twist that I was totally unprepared for.
Emotional and involving, “Dear Zachary” builds to a devastating conclusion that’s almost too terrible to be believed.
ALSO WORTH SEEING: In its use of old video footage and after-the-fact interviews, “Dear Zachary” is reminiscent of the 2003 documentary “Capturing the Friedmans,” about a suburban family in which both father and son were accused of child molestation. Both films are quite good, but require nerves of steel.
“The Lost World” Not the sequel to “Jurassic Park” but the 1925 silent film, which I caught at the Albany Public Library last week. (They’re showing F.W. Murnau’s “Sunrise” at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, with live accompaniment by Todd is New Each Moment.) “The Lost World” is not a great film, but it’s worth seeing for three reasons: special effects that were cutting edge for its time, thematic elements that make it something of a precursor to the far superior “King Kong” (the original, not the overrated Peter Jackson remake), and a jungle plateau that I swear to God was the inspiration for the plateau in “Up.”
Oh, and the plot — a crazy scientist and eager reporter travel to South America to look for dinosaurs.
ALSO WORTH SEEING: The original “King Kong.” Nobody screams like Fay Wray.
“SKINS” and “THE POLITICIAN’S WIFE”
There’s some really good stuff on British television, and recently I watched two programs that were quite good. A miniseries from 1996, “The Politician’s Wife” stars Juliet Stevenson as a woman who discovers that her husband, a powerful politician, has cheated on her. Initially, she believes him when he says it was only one time, but the more she learns, the angrier she gets, and eventually she enacts a pretty diabolical revenge. An American remake starring Felicity Huffman is in the works, but anyone who wanted to see, say, Silda Wall Spitzer or Elizabeth Edwards do something other than stand at a podium looking sad during an embarrassing press conference will find this immensely satisfying. It also has some similarities to the new hit TV series, “The Good Wife.”
A racy British TV show about a group of teens, “Skins” has a lot more sex and drugs than its American counterparts — it’s kind of like “Kids,” but with mostly likable characters and a heart — but it’s well-written, well-acted and extremely addictive. The series revolves around Tony, a manipulative creep played by Nicholas Hoult from “About a Boy,” and each episode is told from the point of view of a different character. Dev Patel, the star of “Slumdog Millionaire,” got his start here, playing a Muslim teen who doesn’t take his faith very seriously.
SUNDAY FOOTBALL
This was my worst Pigskin Pick’em week; I fared the worst of everyone in my group, and dropped into a two-way tie for third. Egad.
But, honestly, the Broncos are going to lose at some point, right? They’re not really this good, right? Which is why I picked San Diego to beat them — the Broncos just don’t seem like a 6-0 team to me. But I guess they are. I also can’t believe the Jets have lost three in a row. Come on Mark Sanchez — you're the golden boy!
I watched the Patriots destroy the Titans on Sunday, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. Had I been transported back in time? In a time machine made out of a cardboard box? Maybe, because now all the ridiculous 2007 storylines are being trotted out. Are the Patriots running up the score? Was Belichick out to humiliate Jeff Fisher because he made some mean comments about Spygate? Did Tom Brady stay in the game too long?
I’m sorry, but are we talking about the NFL or middle school girl’s soccer? Because the only time I was ever instructed not to run up the score was while playing this really awful soccer team when I was in the seventh grade; after our star forward scored a goal in an especially dramatic fashion, our coach put in all our scrubs and told us to only score goals that were obvious. Is this what we expect Bill Belichick to do? Really? I’m sorry, but if you don’t want to get beat to a pulp, play some defense and get a quarterback who can manage to post a passer rating that’s better than 4.9. Here’s Yahoo NFL writer Dan Wetzel writing like it’s 2007.
Got a comment? E-mail me at sfoss@dailygazette.net.
