Rennie's Landing (Aka Stealing Time)

Just thought I would drop this movie title in here to see if anyone has seen it, if not I would check it out.
Stealing Time or Rennie's Landing. Directed by Marc Fusco, he takes you in to the college days of 4 friends who suddenly reunite a year after graduation and then...... well guess you'll have to watch it to find out. Let me know what you thought, be honest. It stars Ethan Embry(Can't Hardly Wait), Peter Facinelli(Also Can't Hardly Wait), Scott Foley(Felicity), Charlotte Ayanna(Training Day).

Despite all my Rage

It's a million dollar shot, Nicolas Cage with a frosty spilled all over him. It's from the film "Weather Man" which Mandy and I just watched last night. This post isn't about the movie, I don't want to ruin it for anybody. All you need to know from me is that I liked it a lot.

This picture represents the new Nicolas Cage that has been reformed over the past several years. Starting with the film "Leaving Las Vegas," Cage has actually impressed me in lots of films, all characters with one thing in common... he's not cool. Raising Arizona, Matchstick Men and Adaptation are a few that you could look to.

The films in which he loses my respect are ones like Con Air, The Rock, Snake Eyes and Face Off. He's an action hero who women are attracted to, and who guys are supposed to think is cool. Trouble is, I'm just not buying it. And I hated him and his fake movies that tried to sell this image. This picture above is of the Nicolas Cage that is more accurate, more believable.

Another great example of an actor finding their darker side is Bill Murray. Notice the kind of films Murray was in during the 80's and early 90's (Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Man who Knew Too Little). Then Wes Anderson gets ahold of him, and all of a sudden you've got films like Life Aquatic, Lost in Translation and Broken Flowers. His performances are brilliant.

The point is that in both cases the early movies made them famous, then they branch out and find their true niche with these movies that are more somber. I love to see it, I guess that's my main point here. So if you're a superstar actor reading this, don't make the "National Treasure" films that bring in the dough. Stick to playing washed up has beens b/c that's what I love seeing.

Red Means Stop, Do Not Go!

Last night, we watched the film "Run Lola Run" and had a great discussion afterwards which helped me understand it better than I ever had (this was my 4th time seeing RLR). We talked a lot last night about Lola seeming to have control over some situations, and definitely how her choices and actions had a domino effect on the world around her. In her discussions with Manni, you get the impression that she's the kind of person who always relies on herself and her ideas to solve all her problems, and has no doubts about the power she possesses. Manni asks her "What would you do if I died?" Lola responds "I wouldn't let you die."

The scenario of 20 minutes kept playing until the 2 characters got the desired result. They made a conscious decision (lying on the pavement thinking about prior conversations with each other) to not leave each other. What's interesting to me is that the last scenario is the only time when she (and Manni, with the blind woman) really opens herself up to outside intervention, and renders herself helpless w/out it (running w/ her eyes closed). In the first 2, she relies completely on herself to try to get what she needs, and it doesn't work. But then, after her options are exhausted, she opens herself up for serious help. she gets the message, goes into the Casino (the place of blind luck) to win the 126,000 in 3 minutes. But, did she realize that she needed outside intervention in order to get the ball to fall on 20? No, she screamed louder and longer than ever, once again believing that if she just wanted it badly enough, the world would bow at her feet and give it to her. and in the movie, it did.

This movie maker (Tom Tykwer) touched less on what he thinks actually makes everything happen, and more on how your perceptions on those matters change the way you behave. One could argue that it wasn't true intervention when the bus almost hit her in front of the Casino, that it was actually just another occurrance that had the effect of making her go to the Casino. On the same token, one could argue that it was actually intervention that made the ball fall on the 20, and that Lola just believed it was her power that was making that happen. These things are not the point of the movie, but it's fun to think about.

So how does our perceptions on these matters effect the way we behave? Anybody? This goes to the core of how we perceive actions and decisions, so how does it effect us... and how can we learn if our perceptions are correct? Any examples of times we would make decisions differently if we interpreted the world in a different light? ready... go
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