Ultra-closeups, special effects, editing: not much fun anymore

Rating: 4/10 (14 June 2009)

Greetings -- Good expectation for a good bit of entertainment and perhaps even some edification. But... Just another darn night at the mega-theater, putting up with utterly atrocious previews of coming attractions. Both the previews and what they preview. If a coming attraction has quality, it's lost in this piling on of excess. I cringe and talk to myself and "whoever" in a mutter of high dissatisfaction. I pull my cap down. And I make me another promise to show up late next time. Swoosh!! Edit fast faster fastest. Swooosh! Disdain for the viewer. Swoooosh! Woosh! Distortions. Don't they suppose anyone with taste goes to movies anymore? Is that why movie makers do this to us? Why not have some regard for youthful intelligence and taste, too? Give us ALL some. Oh, well. Oh, Hell! -- Enough. It's on with the feature, and I take off my cap. -- Film language. The editing, the kind used during features, also comes near to hurting Angels and Demons. Closeups are vastly over used. Sure, they aid the ability to give us special effects. And that's part of the hurt -- special effects overused. --Let's try the plot and the film language which tells it. One review puts it like this: "... and Howard's excellence in directing ... make this film so superb. It also lies in the simple things that keep characters like Hanks true to life...." --OK, I can certainly buy that about Actor Tom, but not this example: "... with his wearing of a simple Mickey Mouse watch ...." --My guess is that Director Ron has so few chances for comic relief, he has to use this trite edit and 1 or 2 others. As we exited, a couple ready to enter asked. I said, "Oh, OK. It's a commercial about religion." And I was thinking about a lot more, including: --There are many Catholics and religious literalists in our world, and Hollywood wants their ticket money, too. So let's not offend. Wrap it up kinda like the end of Singin' in the Rain so's we wanna feel good and come back.