The things that stick with you...

Have you ever seen a movie or read a book that just stuck with you long after you left the theatre or finished the book? Something just sticks with you and makes you constantly think about it at random times. This has happened to me on more than one occassion.

I recently saw the movie Atonement and it just hasn't left me. If you haven't seen it you need to. It just makes you think about the consequences of misunderstandings, of lies, and if redemption is ever a possibility. A week and a half after seeing the movie I'm still thinking about it. It's amazing how one lie can affect so many people, how a misunderstanding can escalate to so much more.

I guess, in the end, whenever I have these moments I feel as though in a way, it's changed me. Like I'm different in some way because of this. Do you ever feel that way?

Music Takes Me Back...

I have always found that music is one of the best triggers of memory. I can hear a song that I haven't heard since 3rd grade and suddenly I'm transported back to that time and a particular moment I heard that song. It amazes me just how one song can do that. I once read one of my favorite directors, Cameron Crowe talking about his film Almost Famous. The movie is semi-autobiographical and so he was talking about how he remembered that time in his life. He said something like, "I just pop in records and I'm immediately transported back to that time and place. There's no need for journals or written records of any kind. All I need is the music." I know exactly what he's talking about.

Once More, Please!

This weekend I rented the independent film Once. I had read numerous reviews about how wonderful it was and how is was the film of the year. I am usually a sceptic when it comes to these things so I decided to check it out for myself. I am happy to report that it exceeded my grandest expectations!

The film is set in Ireland and follows two people, one a heartbroken street musician trying to get a record deal, and a talented immigrant whom he meets. They begin to make music together that illustrates the progression of their relationship during this one week.

The movie itself is no major Hollywood production. It's simple. Just two people singing and walking through the streets of Ireland. It's fascinating to watch the progression of their relationship. They are two, very real, very normal people trying to express through song what they can't express through direct conversation.

This movie, to me, represents what a lot of films nowadays have lost. The story is simple but heartwrenching. It's realistic and makes you relaize this thing happens everyday. It takes a moment in time and magnifies it for the world to see. That's what the Transformers, Harry Potters, and Superbads of the industry have failed to do. Now, I'm not trying to knock these movies but what I'm trying to say is that film used to be about showing people things that happen everyday, but in the process depicting something that we don't pay attention to, that slips by unnoticed. That's what Once has achieved and I have to agree, it is definetly one of my favorite films of 2007.