Movies – Four in One

We have X2, Road to Perdition, One Hour Photo and Panic Room today. All three I’ve seen during the last two days. Firstly, lets look at the new movie on the block.

X2 was particularly interesting. I saw the first. The first was interesting. I for one have seem some X-Man comics and TV shows. Some of the powers in question aren’t too easy to create in a realistic manner for a movie that’s meant to bring the comic world into the real one. But the first movie pulled it off.

X2 did better, I believe. One particularly intriguing portion of the movie was Nightcrawler’s melee foray, which is part of the theatrical trailer. The scene was quick and a touch hard to follow, but that was the point. I’ve no doubt mixing the live action with the effects was a difficult thing.

The story picked up rather well from the last and seems, to me, to be further build up. The plot isn’t too deep, though we get to see a little more of Wolverine’s past, but not enough to get a full view of just why he was made what he is.

Most of the character development focuses on him and secondarily on Nightcrawler, with the rest getting lighter treatment. some cameo appearances in this one are by a Colossus mutant and what might have been Kitty Pryde, though she had no more than a cameo bit of action, unlike the last movie.

An interesting aspect I caught a few times in the movie are flashes of flame when it came to Jean Grey. Personally, I have a hunch that it might be foreshadowing for a potential third movie. There is a resolution of the current conflict, but there remains more than enough room to create a third movie with tie ins from this one to interconnect future events.

If there will be a third, I couldn’t say. But I think it might be interesting to see what might be in one if it were made.

Now, I’ve seen the next three before, but I recently got them on DVD, so I had a chance to watch them all again. And I still enjoy each one.

Road to Perdition was, in effect, a different kind of gangster/mob type of movie. It didn’t focus so much on the family as a single string of events. at the core, it’s a movie about a father and son and events which, though dire, do bring them together in the end, just in time. It’s also a story of revenge. You’re given a portrait of a man. The truth of his existence and left, in the end, to decide for yourself if he is a saint or a sinner. Or both.

One Hour Photo was simply strange. Robin Williams is not a man you’d look to for a part in a frightening personality. Someone that makes you think and shiver in the same moment. The movie also makes one think. The story of Sy the Photo guy and his obsession with one family. Having watch them for years, living vicariously though their photographs. When his perfect view of them is broken, he takes steps. And again, as the movie comes to a close, you are left to decide what his actions say about him.

Panic Room was a good mix. There was both action and suspense, with a dash of humor here and there to keep things from getting too heavy. The plot is simple, yet extendable enough to make a full movie. A lady and her daughter move into a new house, a large one that would normally be well beyond their means, but the price was right for it. One of its features being a Panic Room. A room that’s fortified against entry to protect one’s self from intruders. Lo and behold, intruders come, three with different motivations, which eventually lead to splintering. The end is simple, leaving a choice for one of the characters to make. All hinges upon it and in a way it also leaves you to decide that one’s ‘character’.

I like movies like this, where you aren’t given all of the answers. Only information to make your own evaluation of the characters and decide their worth for yourself. Movies too often tell you what to think about characters rather than, in the end, leaving you to decide if this person is good or bad at the core based upon past and actions.

Enjoy your weekends.