Wsbr Reviews

Nowhere to Hide (1999)

I find myself viewing it for the second time in a row

[8/10 · 11 August 2009]

I saw a trailer on an obscure DVD (don't remember which though) half a year ago. The trailer made use of the Bee Gee's song that's in two of the scenes in the movie. Then I read most of this IMDb comments.

A month ago I found the DVD (I'm always searching secondhand stores) and yesterday I put in in my DVD-player. Watched the trailer on the DVD again. It was a different one. Not as catchy as the one I saw earlier that made me want to see (want to have) this film. Then I watched the opening scene/titles and the 40 steps scene. My wife and I where about to start watching another film (Wanted, 2008). I asked for her patience and showed her the 40 steps scene first. She agreed with me that that was a beautiful scene and she was positively surprised by it hypnotic style. Then we watched Wanted. (Which had cool special effects but didn't convince me in any way: could have skipped that one...) Half an hour ago I finished watching Nowhere to Hide.

I think it is a fascinating movie. Storywise it's not very deep or wide, but that's alright with me. The acting, the photography, the directing and so forth I find very very good. The 40 steps scene reminded me very much of the better Miami Vice (televisionseries) episodes: music framing something horrible, continuing through the whole scene (not fading right after the dramatic climax, but going on for minutes and breathing out inevitability).

Now (while writing) I am playing the movie again.

One could say I really like it. I agree with most of the very enthusiastic reactions I read on IMDb.

Serenity (2005)

Positively surprising

[8/10 · 1 January 2009]

Every once in a while I rent a bundle of DVD's. I usually pick one 'probably nothing and therefore fun to watch'. Serenity was placed in a rack they called 'Asiamania'.

At home I sat down, ready not to pay close attention and meanwhile doing something else. I never came to doing something else. The movie was nicely shot; I was sucked into the story and ended up a positively surprised person.

Of course I went through all the extras on the DVD (luckily there were extras on the rental version I had). Then I learned the whole background of this being a Sci-Fi television series that apparently got cancelled but fortunately got to do what most cancelled series never get to do: the made a full motion picture that took care of all they had wanted to tell in the series.

Loved it. Recommended it to the guy from the video store (who hadn't seen it, based on the same assumptions as I had).