Before Night Falls
Watched this biography of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas last night. Lots of people had recommended it to me, and I finally put it on my Netflix list. While the photography was beautiful, there was good acting throughout and Javier Bardem was extremely easy on the eyes, as a biography I think it failed. I didn’t really understand much more about this man’s life after watching the movie than I did before it started. And the structure was so fragmented and dreamlike that at times it became more irritating than illuminating.
Still, it was atmospheric and interesting throughout, which is more than you can say for most theatrical releases these days. And how can you fault a movie that has Johnny Depp as a prison transvestite?
A sidenote: Is anyone actually interested in me reviewing movies that aren’t in theaters now? I don’t normally do reviews of stuff I see on video.
Since you saved me from ‘Master and Commander’ I’ve been interested in every movie you review.
Doesn’t matter whether or not it’s in theaters to me. A lot of times I hear about films the first time through your reviews.
Sure, I’m interested in video reviews. Sometimes there isn’t much worth seeing in the theaters, or I just feeling like staying home to watch a DVD while wearing sweatpants I’d never leave the house in. I’m always up for a good video recommendation. (Though I gotta say, I disagreed with your “Master and Commander” review. I wasn’t blown away by the film, but I hope your readers who like Russell Crowe will still give it a shot.) I consider it a sign of a skilled reviewer (that includes you, Adam) when I can enjoy reading their comments even when I don’t agree.