Radworld at the movies (21 Grams, Whale Rider)
8/16/2007 9:22 PM
In a glimpse of what I’m viewing off the Blockbuster queue I present to you this weeks selections "21 Grams" and "Whale Rider". If you've seen either 2 films they are on of the opposite ends of the spectrum from each other. Both excellent movies for far different reasons. Starting off with "21 Grams" or as I subtitled it "One of the most depressing movies I've ever seen". I picked up on a signal in cinema with this movie that I hadn't noticed before…perhaps you can benefit from it. If Sean Penn is in the movie you're watching you can probably count on not feeling good for the next 2 hours. Its hard to believe the man that gave us the gift of Jeff Spicolli. You can also count on him smoking quite a bit. Don't mistake my observation as a criticism. The guy is an amazing actor and can plum some depths of people that most of us don't know exist. But he's just not a guy that I'd take to a picnic. Unless it was a picnic of mobsters and junkies. The story lays out as this Sean Penn needs a heart transplant and is on the fast slide to death. Namoi Watts, a former party girl is now a happily married with 2 kids and a husband with a healthy heart (hmmmm…hmmmm?) Bendicio Del Toro, is a a sunken eyed former felon who's fallen on hard times who is going to bring them all together. I think the happiest I was watching this movie was as the first credits rolled. Then I spent a major cringing and "oh no"ing my way through the film. Like I said it’s a very good movie and has a lot of Pulp Fiction-esque intertwining of story lines and that also must save a bundle on casting. It was a bold film to make but not one I'd recommend seeing at a low point in your life.

Contrasting with that is "Whale Rider". This was an independent film from New Zealand and like "21 Grams" its very good. It makes you take notice that in New Zealand many of the Maori's are on hard times which they attribute to not having a leader, a whale rider. It’s the story of a shy, strong girl willing to carry the weight of her people and her grandfather who could be the biggest dick on the planet. She yearns for his love and he wonders who this girl is he drives to school each day. Like I said it’s a good movie but they make him such a one dimensional character. I liked it most of all because it was against they typical Hollywood formula and again can show that good stories don’t need robots, pirates or robot pirates.