About two weeks ago I wrote a weblog entry about the Guy Ritchie gangster movies. In a nutshell, I said that I would put up Guy Ritchie's two gangster movies against Tarantino's two gangster movies. Not to say that I don't enjoy all four movies, it is just that I liked "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels," and "Snatch" better than "Pulp Fiction," and "Reservior Dogs." Not much better, just better.
On a similar note, I decided to visit the video store this morning to rent the movie "Jackie Brown." I had only seen JB once, and the sound in the theater was too low to catch all the dialog. (That happens sometimes in Japan -where I watched the movie. Since people mainly read the subtitles to follow the story, occasionally the volume on the dialog is turned too far down to understand what's being said.) Needless to say, I was les than impressed with the movie. I left thinking that it was among the lesser of Tarantino's movies.
Seven or so years later, I decided to give the movie another shot. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the movie. I think that the movie is one of those that is best watched in the comfort of one's home. There were a lot of subtle points of "clever" dialogue that passed by unnoticed the first time through. (Such as luring a guy into the trunk of a car by promising him chicken dinner, and calling out the names of who the pitch people on the gun promotional videos resemble.) Funny stuff...
So, for those of you who are going to skip the Superbowl tonight: maybe give "Jackie Brown" a shot.
Miscellaneous stuff:
I just got in the house from shoveling my driveway and walkways. We got another few inches of snow overnight. We've been getting an awful lot of snow lately. I am really thankful to have come into a power shovel this winter. (My dad found one at Goodwill for me.) I actually enjoy going outside to clear off the driveway now. -Just like I enjoy cutting the grass with my new lawnmower.
This afternoon, Kazuko and I saw a hawk in our yard. That was cool. It was reasonably big. It was trying hard to chase away the sparrows who apparently were bothering it. I hope to see the hawk come back some day. I have seen bald eagles along the river near our house. I wonder whether one will ever venture into our yard.
Like I mentioned earlier, the Superbowl is on tonight. I am not necessarily planning on watching it. I'd watch it if I were at a party, or if the Vikings were in it. It is just hard to get excited about two teams that I haven't seen play this year. I think that my interest in pro football has waned considerably since I lost my spot in a fantasy football league a few years ago when I left the country for a few years. That's okay. I get pretty intense once the baseball season starts. I love the Twins!
That's all I've got to say. It seems that I have one more point that I have forgotten to mention. Oh well, some other day...