James’ Blog

I'm at a friend's house, having just watched Bobby. It's amazing how a movie set in 1968 can be such a period piece now. By coincidence, this morning I saw Easy Rider, that came out in 69. It was interesting to see how a recreated late 60's can be so artificial when compared to the real thing. Maybe that's why I could not buy Ashton Kutcher's hippie, I don't know. It would have taken a lot more effort from the director to make his 60's recreation feel more authentic, but it would have been worth it.
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So I went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 the other night… and I'm there, enjoying my movie, when out of the blue, there's this huge Sergio Leone moment, straight out of Once Upon a Time in the West. I mean, the pirates are walking on this sand bank in the middle of the sea, going to meet the English for a parlay, and suddenly, extreme face close-ups, slow motion walking, and the same music, almost. They only changed the instruments, a couple of notes, but 90% is the same, the tempo, the instrument changes, everything, and it was nice, I was blown away. I loved watching that… but the theater was quiet. To them, it was just another scene. There was no one to share the moment with.

 So I'm sharing it with yous.