“Hello there, gentle readers. I hope there’s still some of you out there. Apologies for the unexpected hiatus. Shit happened that I had to deal with. Been on the fence about how full disclosure I wanna be about it. Not that it something I need to hide, but at this time I dont feel my movie blog is the appropriate venue to discuss. Nothing to worry about. Life goes on.
I actually got to go see this Repo Men on Thur, but am just now getting around to doing the write up. Not sure if Ive mentioned this before (I feel I must’ve) but Im now on a later schedule at work. Im in from 11-7, and how that affects my movie-ing is that I typically can’t make it back in time for showings in the 7:00 hour, but I can go to a 10:00 hour one and make it back before bedtime. Downside is its either bedtime on time or immediate write up. Since then, I’ve realized after the fact that I had time to do it. Sort of a “”hey that 30 minutes that just went by, woulda been great”” So, sittin’ down and hittin’ it now.
I’d been really disappointed that life got in the way of seeing Repo Men right away. I’d been really psyched for it. Sadly, extended excitement equalled extra disappointment (dammit, couldnt think of a synonym started with “”e””). The pacing and structure sorta killed it a bit for me. Given that’s been my typically complaint lately, it makes me wonder if Im just getting too picky about movies or there really have been that many with that issue.
So, why was I stoked for the movie to begin with? I love shoot ’em ups. No secret there. ‘Specially love ’em when they’ve got an interesting premise. Bonus points if its a messed up on. Add a very promising cast on top of that (Jude Law, Forrest Whitaker, Liev Schriber) and you got a very good formula for a possible Dawn movie, and it was to some extent.
The first bit of it was very quick and streamlined, which is typically a good thing. You dont have too much excess and dont spend needless time on scenes people couldnt give a \m/ about. But, care needs to be taken that the movie doesnt feel like it has a false ending. I thought we were reaching the end, then I looked at my watch and realized we had another hour to go. If you dont quite get what Im describing, a classic example is Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. THe last 45 minutes had like 10 places where you thought the movie was ending. You get mentally prepared for it to be over, tie up the lose ends in your head (or justify why they’re there), and start thinking of what snack is waiting for you at home. But instead you realize its not over yet, and it takes a lot of effort to reengage. Or maybe Im the only one. Either way, there were several times it felt like it was building to an end, and each was harder to come back from than the last.
The action scenes didnt disappoint, except maybe for their quantity. I really coulda used a few more. Word of caution: this film is definitely not for the squeamish. I’m pretty tough when it comes to that sorta thing, so if I was getting borderline grossed out that tells you something right there. Bear that in mind if you’re sensitive to that stuff.
No complaints about the cast either, but not really much special to say about ’em.
Anyhoo I guess thats all the majors for Repo Men. I think I might like it better on a second watch, once I know what Im in for. Unclear how Im gonna proceed movie wise this weekend. I should try to get in a couple AFI’s but Im lacking motivation. Im taking off for my cousin’s wedding next weekend so that’s also gonna put a major halt on the movies. Hopefully after that I really will get back on track and finish that damn project already. Im so close.
Repo Men – \m/ \m/ \n