Whew! Finally got the TV repaired and it set me back 2 thou for 2 hours of repair. Tsk, tsk. Why does it happen that things seem to be in collusion when they break down. The TV repair wasn't at all on sked, while the car maintenance repairs were. The weekend turned out to be a day of chores instead of rest which is why I'm so ho-hum today. Besides being a bit on the financially-challenged with 9 days to go before the next payday. Oh well. At least, was able to catch up on movies I missed during their theater run (boy, do I hate going to the movie house anyway) to relax.
THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW - Finally watched the last 45 minutes of this epic disaster movie. The effects were great. The moral lesson is still the same - we can't keep abusing nature; sooner or later, it's gonna fight back, and fight back hard. The movie improves on the all-too-used-up idea of "America is the greatest" when American evacuees get their turn to be illegal immigrants on "Third-world" soil (Mexico).
COLD MOUNTAIN - Great movie with poetic dialogues, quaint countryside visuals and great storytelling. The violence is graphic as war itself is. It's not the typical happy-ever-after story alright but it's a great film deserving of the praises lavished on it. Nicole is great as usual; Renee gets her just reward for her strong portrayal here. Natalie Portman was a pleasant surprise (so was the upper body exposure, eherm!). Director Anthony Minghella is as expected, great.
SPIDERMAN 2 - Wouldja believe I let this pass on its theater run? It's even better than the first one. It's not comic-bookish in a sense that Spidey was rendered as very human, going through the pains of a normal young adult torn between assuming a hero's role and living a normal life with Mary Jane. I really understood why Toby Maguire is tailor-fit for the Spidey costume -- he's very normal-looking and vulnerable, so believable. Any other actor may be better-looking but Spidey is not supposed to be so. He's a young adult trying to make ends meet, struggling to juggle studying, working, caring for his aunt, trying not to fight with his best friend, and hiding his love for Mary Jane.
SAVED! - The moral lesson is down pat but I sort of expected a lot more from this film especially that Ebert & Roeper gave this film two thumbs up. It's just too simplistic and the laughs are really sooo far-in-between.
