Trance

So far I've enjoyed all the Danny Boyle (which is admittedly, not that many) movies I've seen. Trance was no different. Well, it IS different in the way it's pretty weird, but I definitely enjoyed it. I appreciated the fact that even though it's a mind fuck of a movie, it all gets properly explained and tied up at the end. Yay for few plot holes! The acting and writing was top notch, but the main attraction of it to me was the visuals. Doesn't really use any special effects but relies on lighting. It's been a while since I've seen a movie on the big screen that struck me as so vivid. Probably helps that the cinema I went to up here in Wellington is better than the Invercargill one though. Sadly down there the projectors are kinda out of focus and possibly dirty. Anyway, I digress. Trance was great. I must admit, part of the reason I like the way it looks so much is due to it's huge usage of the colour red, which really is my favourite.

Other than that, I got locked out of Mum's house today. My phone was inside too, so I had no way of contacting her. This is what lead me to seeing the movie. I also ended up picking up a small notebook and pen to write in as a cheap way of passing time. I've found I quite enjoy it and I think I'll continue. It's probably not writing I'll ever show anyone, but it's still writing. I used to write quite a bit, especially when I was around 12-14. Not sure why I stopped, I just kinda did. Now I'm inspired by my English course amongst other things and I think I shall take it up again. Got friends wanting me to be a D&D dungeon master, so maybe I'll write a few of my own campaigns. Could be fun.

The Host (teensy spoilers ahead)

So yeah, the Host was as bad as I expected. It wasn't really any of the actors' fault, Saoirse Ronan and Diane Kruger were actually pretty good. It was just let down by a poor script and a poor story. Very little was properly explained. The entire movie would have sat with me a lot better if there was actually a good reason for the aliens wanting to eliminate all human resistance. The humans aren't doing particularly much to harm the aliens, so the fact so much effort is put into hunting them down doesn't make much sense. Yes, Seeker did have a personal reason for wanting to hunt Wanda down, but the rest going along with her just didn't seem right.

Another thing that irked me was visual. Low saturation. I'm getting really tired of this trend. Some movies use the effect well, and it's great when that happens, but when it's low saturation for the sake of it, it's lame. Yes, a lot of it was in the desert, but that doesn't call for artificial looking desaturation. On the upside, the effect they used on the actors' eyes to show alien possession looked kinda cool.

Anyways, this isn't a full blown review or anything, so I'm not gonna say much. Over all the movie had poor story, script, visual effects and direction. It's definitely not the worst I've seen, but meh.

Off to go see the Host with my fiancee. Be warned, a rant may or may not follow when I get home. On the upside, it's a good excuse to get snacks. Bring on the chocolate and fizzy drinks!