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curtiscrowell
Reviews
The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Very Enjoyable
Good adventure story, reminded me of the better Bond films before they became campy extensions of late 1960's puerile television shows. Curiously I found the book had a better adventure feel to it, in the sense that it was not very difficult to suspend a sense of disbelief. The film, on the other hand, and it's use of very graphic special effects and gadgetry, seemed to be upstaged by these devices and lacked a certain amount of "believability" - regrettable, to my way of thinking.
Two things came to mind: 1- there is a scene where the British shoot someone, and they fire single shots in succession. This is contrary to the "double tap" rule used by British police. Also, there is a religious reverence to the film at times that seems out of place.
Very glad to see it do so well at the box office opening weekend, in spite of critics that seemed to consistently pan it.
Riding Giants (2004)
Three Cheers for Greg Noll
Noll's comfortable way of rolling out blunt comments, often with expletives, to describe things that he is more knowledgeable about than most is quite refreshing. There is one other character in the film that constantly tries to verbalize complicated issues, using more language than necessary. This guy should never have been given a Thesaurus. Cut to Noll and you know you're in for a treat!
The way the pioneers of big wave surfing are portrayed is very evocative of a "lost era". Nevermind the fact that no one knows how these guys made a living, much less took care of issues like medical care. The use of old film clips throughout was masterfully done.