Michelle and I watched “Enduring Love” this morning, starring Daniel Craig. (We also watched “American Psycho” this weekend, and I loved it, but I don’t have much else to say about it.)
(The truth is, I don’t have much to say about “Enduring Love” either.)
But I will say this: It’s a pretty standard “paranoid obsession” thriller, wherein the protagonist attracts the obsessive attention of the antagonist, whose actions slowly cause the life of the protagonist to deteriorate, until in the end every believes the protagonist is just going nuts. It’s been done. So what’s the difference? Well, there are subtle subplots about love and trauma that are pleasantly under-developed. (I hate when every single subplot ends up being crucial and integral to the main plot. It’s just so lazy.)
But anyway, the real strength of this movie is that it is beautiful. The characters are all beautiful but flawed. They have (somewhat) normal lives, and (somewhat) normal relationships. The camera pauses when it needs to pause and follows the action when the action calls for it. The crazy obsessed guy is allowed some time to actually build a character and define a reason for his obsession, so when the final confrontation does come, we know a lot about each of the characters in the room, what they want, and what they have to lose.
Plus with every picture I see Daniel Craig in, the more I think he’s fantastic.
A pleasant way to spend a blustery Fall morning.
Originally uploaded by cjzeigert.
Ah, my bro’s mad photographix skillz. My favorite subject, Ironically Dilapidated Signage, or IDS as I like to call it.
So I played through RE4 again last night, being my 5th or 6th time through. I’ve got the Chicago Typewriter, the Infinite Rocket Launcher and the Handcannon, not to mention about two million in hard Pesetas in my pocket. Let’s just say the game’s not much of a challenge with that arsenal. My time was 5:43, which is no record, but it is a far cry from my first playthrough, which was 21:36.
I’ve pretty much used up everything the game has to offer. I’ve gotten 5 stars with all characters on all of the Mercenaries levels, I’ve beaten Assignment Ada, and I’ve tried every possible way of decapitating a human body. I still haven’t gotten all of the bottle caps, but as I see no end benefit (i.e., no unlockables), I have no motivation to do so. And I haven’t run through on professional mode, either, but I can’t keep my awesome weapons, so I’m not really looking forward to that.
So I’ve decided to set RE4 aside for while. I know, I know, it is an awesome game, but I don’t want to make myself sick of it. I think I need to get something new. Plus I still have a couple of other games to beat, too, such as Pikmin and that damn Bounty Hunter game.
[Zombie Preparedness Institute statistician Dr. Milton] Cornelius recommends that Pittsburgh residents prepare a “go-bag” containing a Glock 17 pistol and 50 rounds of ammunition. If leaving the house is not an option, Cornelius advises residents to barricade all first-story doors and windows, and have at least one method of suicide prepared, should zombies successfully breach the home.
From “Study Reveals Pittsburgh Unprepared For Full-Scale Zombie Attack”. I’m sure this is true of most every American city.
So I’m sitting in front of the TV watching the Handcannon revolve on my RE4 inventory screen. It’s a .50 magnum that — now fully upgraded — has infinite amunition. It’s firepower is 99.9. For those of you who don’t know what that is, you start the game with a pistol that has a firepower of 1. It looks mean. I can’t believe I finally got it. I had to get 5 stars on each Mercenaries level with each of 5 characters. And believe me, that wasn’t easy. If I never play the Mercenaries levels again, it’ll be too soon. Right now, I’m starting through the game again with my new toy. Demons and devils, pray that I miss…
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