wind

White Squall
$9.99
I watched Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert review this Ridley Scott film. Ebert kept going on and on about how beautiful the boats looked and how extraordinary the storm sequences were. Siskel just listened and then said, "So what?" My sentiments exactly. What does one go to the movies for anyway, you'll have to ask yourself. Because if it's to see stunning visuals then "White Squall" is a must! But if you actually want something more than a screenplay hot off the Hollywood screenplay mass assembly line, then you can pass on this movie. All the cliched ingredients are there. This is basically one of those school boys yearn for adulthood and get taught the ropes on the high seas kind of deal. There is the underdog kid who comes through, there is the arrogant kid who gets taught a lesson and becomes less selfish, there is the skipper who teaches the youngsters and learns a thing or two about himself. I could go on and on. This screenplay seems like it was written by some dude straight out of college who has read every book on screenwriting ever published and decided that a great screenplay is all about how many formulas and cliches a writer can fit together into one movie.

A couple years ago I went through most of Ridley Scott's filmography because he is a one of a kind filmmaker who is all surface content. His style is flamboyant visual decadence, the kind that glossy advertisements are made of. In fact he was an ad man and directed many television ads including the famous "1984" Apple Macintosh commercial. He is a big-budget Hollywood director but since his visual style can be so overwhelming and identifiable, he is sometimes mistaken for an auteur, a genuine artist. He is not but he did hit a few home runs. "Alien" and "Blade Runner" would be at the top of the list. But watch some of his strike out movies to learn more. Movies like "Legend" with Tom Cruise, "Black Rain" with Michael Douglas and here "White Squall" with Jeff Bridges. Astounding visual feasts with little heart or soul beneath the gleaming, glossy veener. This is a director who needs to feed off a strong screenplay because all of his ideas are visual in nature, he does not understand anything else about filmmaking. So when you have a strong screenplay like Blade Runner, you get a modern sci-fi film classic. When you have a lousy, assembly line screenply like White Squall, you get a two hour advertisement for boats and oceanic getaways.

The big climactic storm sequence is a stunning feat of production wizardry. Afterwards I was utterly baffled by the denouement of the movie. It's a courtroom scene and one of some duration at that because that is precisely what a movie about boats, oceans and storms should end with... yes a courtroom scene where the characters recount their experiences with the captain on trial for negligence. But that's Ridley Scott, he is a slave to the screenplay even if it's not a good one.

This DVD of White Squall is not anamorphic, so keep that in mind if you have a widescreen TV. Furthermore a film like this would most certainly benefit from a Blu-ray release. It is definitely worth a watch just for the cinematography and production values alone. You never know, the assembly line screenplay might work for you more than it worked for me or Gene Siskel.

The Shadow of the Wind
$16.00
...but not by far. TSOEW might have fared well at novella length. Foreshadowing Zafon's second novel, this one, too, is completely bloated -- hundreds of pages longer than it should have been. If endless doors "ajar", sunrises poured like molten copper/gold/tin/iron across blood-red/coal-black skies, putrid/stinking/rancid flesh, and shadows -- my God, the shadows! -- are your thing, and if you love a pat ending, occasional moralizing and a pretense to intellectualism, then you're in for a treat. The second star in my rating is by comparison with Zafon's truly unbearable followup novel, and because the story at the core of TSOEW -- buried under Zafon's gloppily layered prose -- is at least a clever one.

What Borgesian book adventure will Zafon think up next? For my part, I doubt I'll make it past the title.

Feel the Wind (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
$5.99
This is a great book for teaching elementary students about the weather. The text is complimented by the inviting illustrations. It is a delightful book!

Wind
$14.94
This is the most incredible filming of 12-Metre racing and the one on one racing for THE CUP. I crewed on an 8-Metre ("Thisbe") on Lake Ontario in the early '60's. This flick brought back the chills of a win and the tears of a loss. Anyone with the slightest background in sailing would love "Wind", too.