much ado about da vinci

(and i don't really care about the negative reviews that the film has amassed so far.)

watched three movies: mission impossible 3 (because it was close to impossible to get a ticket for a da vinci code screening at the grove friday night) and poseidon (curiosity got the better of me) and da vinci code (finally, a secure seat (thank you arclight) for the 11:30 pm screening on saturday night).

capsule reviews: mission impossible was quite good, despite the lukewarm response to the film, which tom cruise inflicted on himself because of his weird, crazy, wild goin' bananas antics lately.

it was like watching a larger-than-life version of alias. damn. years of watching that show made me notice the kinda obvious references that jj abrams used in the film. first up. what was agent weiss doing there? heh. and felicity? she had a very short role, i was actually disappointed. i kind of hoped she had a meatier role. maybe i just miss watching keri russell.

alias was conceived right after felicity, when something crossed jj's mind - what if felicity were a college student and a secret agent at the same time? that's how sydney bristow's character started. anyhow, keri did well in her stunts, i now wonder if jj would have chosen her to be in alias instead of felicity. which is actually a rhetorical question since jj would not have conceived of alias if not for felicity. anyway.

poseidon was okay. hated the kid. he was just too hateable. hate it that they killed nadia. woohoo, another alias reference. but josh lucas was good. kurt russell is old. emmy rossum is whiny.

and the da vinci code? critics have been very vocal about the film, and as i said, i could not care less. some of their (critics) criticisms were actually valid and i shared them.

first. the film was way too long. some scenes could have been deleted. second, and i hope i am not alone here. i still cannot figure out (for the love of mary magdalene!) why tom hanks is robert langdon. third. audrey tautou's acting was bland. beyond bland, actually. it's as if her lifeblood was sucked out of her completely. fourth. hans zimmer really went overboard with his score this time. oa. fifth. some parts actually dragged and it felt as if the energizer bunny was there all the time. it just kept on going, and going, and going...

and the things i liked? could sir ian mckellen be any more better? that just sounded redundant, but mckellen was awesome in his role. paul bettany as silas was, i can't think of the right word, haunting? his performance was so nuanced the audience could actually feel his pain.

oh, and one more thing that i did not like? the catholic (as theyc laimed) protesters (around five of them) who had placards asking people not to watch the movie. they staged their protest on fairfax, on the spot where people/cars turn left going to the grove. sorry for them, all the screenings were sold out friday and a 1:00 am screening was opened just to accommodate the crowds.

come on. it's just a freaking movie!