MOVIE REVIEW [Capsule Fest] Da Vinci Code, Waiting, and MoH Incident On and Off a Mountain Road

by Chris   ⋅   May 21, 2006   ⋅   Comment now   ⋅    RSS

Here’s another round of quick throughts on recent mainstream releases.

The Da Vinci Code. Not bad. Not bad at all. I’m one of those elitist “I read contemporary literature” types that scoffed at reading Dan Brown’s novel, much like I continue to scoff at adults who read Harry Potter, so I did not run into any problems with the adaptation. Opie’s film was pretty solid. I liked the story, a sort of Indiana Jones for Math and History buffs, and I also enjoyed the stabs at the Catholic Church (I attended Protestant/Methodist churches while growing up but now I seem to be a religious independent). I also quite liked the fact that character back stories were applied sparingly, telling the audience only the information required to understand the character’s attitudes and current situation (see: Langdon’s claustrophobia). The two and a half hours flew by rather quickly, and I was thoroughly entertained. It’s a smart film, with a competent cast, and solid direction. You really can’t ask for more than that these days. Don’t believe the asshole critics spitting venom in response to Sony’s denying them a press screening. Check it out for yourself.

Waiting. So this isn’t a recent release, but we finally saw it last night. Much better than I thought it would be (ie: it wasn’t 2 hours of people spitting in food). A lot of the problems the characters faced were typical of my experiences working minimum wage jobs. Late night customers, incompetent bosses, obnoxiously rude customers, and spirit crushing work. Similar to one of the main characters, I had a boss that fired me a day after I submitted my two weeks notice. The penis-showing game sequences were pretty stupid and grew tiring very fast, but I did know guys who played similar pranks in high school. Ryan Reynolds did his Ryan Reynolds thing, but was pretty reserved compared to his other films. Believe it or not, Waiting is a decent comedy that actually amuses for the majority of its run time. Check it out if you have some extra time on your hands.

Masters of Horror: Incident On and Off a Mountain Road. Terrible. This has to be the worst masters of horror episode I’ve seen. Don Coscarelli’s entry is quite illogical, and the timeframe for character actions while in mid pursuit are wildly out of whack. I mean, when was the last time you had time to craft a spike from deadwood, place it at the bottom of a pit, and then cover the pit with brush while a mutant wielding a knife was chasing you down a hill? Silicon Valley residents and Deuce Bigalow fans may be interested in seeing Palo Alto born cutie Bree Turner play the female lead, and those interested in seeing a fat Ethan Embry may find something to enjoy, but all others should avoid this mess at all costs.

Chris Nelson is a Technical Writer in the Silicon Valley. He is currently studying for a Software Engineering degree at San Jose State University. He does his best to balance his cult and obscure film viewings with elitist-pig literature readings.

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