December, week 3 - mini reviews

Just got back yesterday afternoon from trip number 2 of 3 in 2 weeks. Vegas! Seems to me I will have to write something on Vegas and its preoccupation with the visual delights, and indeed voyeurism, but that will have to wait. Owing to the fact that the trip was short and interrupted by a family death, I didn't get to see any of the shows or the 3-D IMAX like I hoped. Next time. I instead focused on the gastronomic titillations that the city had to offer me. And they were many. Consequently my waistline has grown significantly in the last four days. Meanwhile, I have only seen one movie over the last week, so I only have one mini titillation to offer you:

The Island (Bay, 2005)
Ewan McGregor (my new crush as of Trainspotting) and Scarlet Johansen discover they have been brainwashed and unknowingly living as slaves. Now that they know, will they escape the clutches of the evil doctor that controls them?
There are some nice things going on in this movie. It's fun and exciting and there is some thinly-veiled political discourse presented here. About a third-way into the movie, I leaned over to the hubby and said, "You wanted to know what a republican movie looked like, well here you go!" It seems apparent to me that the filmmakers want in on the discussion over stem-cell research. But the hubby reminded me that all the "Big Brother" themes of The Island are more like the ravings of a paranoid liberal. True. So it began with a mixture of thought-provoking themes and fun plot (and a couple of real cutie-pies to follow on their journey), but fell completely flat as it abandoned anything interesting and began to resort to violent action (one of the most intensely violent car chases ever) and corny one-liners. SPOILER! There are so many more interesting plot-lines and themes left unexplored. Could the clones integrate into society after their release? How would society react once they heard of the company's methods? Also left untouched were interesting moral dilemmas. How much more interesting it would have been if Johansen gave up her flight and sacrificed herself to be harvested organs for the survival of her owner! Yes, on the one hand it was wrong for the company to create life to be sacrificed willy nilly for other life, but on the other hand, that is still the purpose that these clones were meant to fulfill. Her owner was dying, she saw the little son that would be left behind by Mommy's passing, she has a generous heart. So few people ever find a concrete purpose in life and even fewer are able to realize that purpose. She could have, but the film glossed passed that in favor of empty action sequences and implausible plot points. End Spoiler! Still prefer Ewan as a scrawny Scot. I think I am going to bump Shallow Grave up in my Netflix queue.
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