A friend lent me three films to marathon watch this weekend: Changeling, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Body of Lies. Over a steaming cup of coffee, I, unbathed because of the cold weather in Saudi, locked myself in my room for almost seven hours and saw three films: one rewarding, two forgettables.

Here are my rotten (tomatoes-ish) thoughts:

I admit I didn't like to watch Changeling (a true to life story) because I hate films where children are killed or molested or tortured. But then I saw its preview on tv and I thought I'd give the movie a try. I'm glad I did. Jolie, even though I keep seeing Madonna in her throughout the film, was credible in her portrayal of a mother who lost a son and found herself causing a change within the police system of 1920's Los Angeles. Jolie was so sedate throughout the film (which was difficult for me because I keep remembering her as Lara Croft). This is also the first Jolie film I saw where she didn't pose with her too wide-smile, pouty mouth, perfectly-chiseled teeth. Because of this, she is now in my five favorite actresses. Really. (Clint Eastwood is a director to beat in this season's Oscar's. I heard too that his Gran Torino is excellent.)


I thought, while watching Body of Lies, that there were other better films which tackled the subject of terrorism in the West and the Middle East. I even thought the scenes from this movie were rehashed from other films: zooming in and out of spy satellites over the Iraqi desert, slow-mo scenes of building being bombed, etc (because I've seen such scenes ten times from ten other films, I am no longer amazed). I even thought the love story part between DiCaprio and her Indian-looking nurse was an after-thought to inject something warming about the movie. I personally think The Grid is far, far better than this film.


The last film I saw was The Day the Earth Stood Still (a remake of a 1951 film, I later read). Didn't like it a bit and had a thought of re-titling it to The Film that Bored Me to Death. My friends and I were meaning to watch this last December at Mall of Asia IMAX theater (at P400 per seat). Good thing we didn't! Midway in the film, I was taken aback after hearing the alien's reason for visiting the earth: to annihilate mankind and save the planet's resources. The way to get rid of mankind? Feed them to a swarm of what I thought were locusts but later read that they're self-replicating nanites (locusts would have been a better idea, I think).

Next weekend, I hope to find something more fruitful things to do (or better movies to watch).