A pair of good movies

One of the (admittedly minor) upsides of never seeing movies in the theatre is that I am no longer the fall guy for movies. By the time it gets to DVD, I have heard from plenty of people about good and bad movies. I also know who to ignore by this point. So my most recent viewings had high marks from people with reasonable rating histories.

Michael Clayton follows a few well worn Hollywood paths, but it has such fine acting, pacing and construction that in the end I really enjoyed it. I've tended to view Clooney as playing a similar character in many of his movies, but he plays a burned out lawyer well here. Tom Wilkinson is great, as is Tilda Swinton. The plot twists are interesting, so try not to read too much about the movie. Some may question whether the ending fits the rest of the film, but I accepted it. There is something to be said for avoiding the new and doing the classic very well, that is what director Tony Gilroy did with this movie.

Despite the exotic setting and use of Mayan language, Mel Gibson's Apocalypto is also a particularly well crafted chase film. The movie was overshadowed by his drunken anti-Semitic rantings, but if you can put that aside, you have a good movie on your hands. Newcomer Rudy Youngblood is excellent as Jaguar Paw, a forest dwelling Mayan whose village is attacked by city dwelling Mayans. The contrast between bucolic and urban reminded me of the Tolkein anti-industrialization message in Lord of the Rings. The city is a complex and cultured place, but also one where the effete elite titter while their functionaries commit brutal acts. Jaguar Paw manages to escape and is led on a not so merry chase that ends poorly for many. The film has a reputation for violence and it should. That said, it is no more violent than films like Eastern Promises and is similarly serious about the violence.