Star Trek film

My day off today - just returned from seeing the Star Trek film (out now in theatres) with some friends. I wanted to post quickly to recommend it, as a non-Trekkie, to anyone looking for an entertaining film. Plenty of excellent CG, and packed full of action with a solid cast. It was pleasantly surprising for me, someone who has probably never seen an entire episode of the Star Trek series before. It's directed by J.J. Abrams, aka the co-creator of the Lost series.

Sundays are excellent and it feels great outside. Cherish these fine fleeting moments before the humidity moves in full-force.

Waltz with Bashir

I went last night to see Waltz with Bashir (a friend and I wanted to catch it in theatres before it stopped showing), an Israeli animated film about a character struggling to regain memory of his time serving as an IDF during the first Lebanon War - specifically, the night of the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Such a political animated film about war may seem contradictory, but director Ari Folman treats it artfully. This is not to say it's ever anything less than tragic... it's absolutely devastating.
I noticed the color range in the film contributed much to its effect, leaping from almost monochrome to sharply brilliant. It's an interesting way to illustrate the way our memories, especially those of the horrors of war, can be so vivid whether or not they're "correct." We construct stories to seal the gaps, and similarly, we construct stories to conceal what we've experienced. Digging into the rifts can be valuable even when it uncovers a terrible truth about oneself. But the context of war strips away the human element, and that's probably the most detestable part about it.

Film sidenotes;

Quickly going to jot down some film notes before I head to my next class. I like to have my initial reactions in writing and I've been watching more movies than usual lately. Though I'm certainly behind on seeing the Oscar nominees for this year - out of the nominees for Best Picture, I've seen exactly 0. Ahem.
Onto my recent views:

No Country for Old Men (2007): A brilliantly written and suspenseful thriller, directed by the Coen brothers and based on its namesake novel by Cormac McCarthy. Javier Bardem is absolutely bone-chilling here as a murderous sociopath.

Chunhyang (2000): This is a Korean film that I found notable for its mix of both modern storytelling features as well as the traditional pansori musical poetic style involving a singer and a barrel drum player. It's a universally known tale of love and loyalty in Korea that has been made into a movie for modern audiences by director Kwon-taek Im. Great way to experience Korean culture and history.

As for movies that are currently out in theatres, I'm excited to see Coraline (a surreal animated film which opens tomorrow, based on a Neil Gaiman book), as well as The Wrestler and Slumdog Millionaire. My housemates and I tried to go to see Slumdog last week, but it was sold out at E St Cinema. Sad.
Anyway, I'll sum up by saying I'm pleased that I am getting plenty of respite from my academic- and job-related duties so far this year. My friend just got me a DVD of Shakespeare Behind Bars which I'm excited and curious about - it's about Kentuckian prison inmates performing Shakespeare. Reminds me of the episode of This American Life (which I loved) in which Missourian prison inmates get together to put on a staging of Hamlet. You can listen to that one online by following the preceding link.