paclingan Reviews

Rendition (2007)

Mature dramatization of extraordinary rendition

[9/10 · 5 November 2007]

Constitution? What constitution? All's fair in love and war.

Really? "Rendition" does a wonderful job of challenging the viewer to go beyond the obvious and makes one connect the dots to reach the conclusion that a wrong number to a cell phone was enough to make a resident alien a suspected terrorist.

Beyond the basic plot elements, which are plausible enough, the movie nails the tone just right.

I was braced for an overly emotional drama that was either too liberal or too conservative and I was relieved that as the story unfolded it became clear that it was far more like THE INSIDER and less like a host of bad movies that use terrorism as a prop.

And the clinical precision with which the story was executed did leave it feeling flat in spots, but it's a breath of fresh air when held up against the overcharged, amped-up movies that are released now.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie a great deal and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

Friday Night Lights (2006–2011)

Fantastic show

[10/10 · 18 October 2007]

I'd read the book and loved the movie, but I put off watching the show because I didn't think that there was any way a TV series could deliver the same emotional impact.

I was wrong.

The show is fantastic and I hope it has a long and healthy run.

It's melodrama. It's soap opera. That being said, it rings true and captures the tone and angst of small-town, middle-class America, which is the backbone of its culture.

And the show is beautifully shot.

Actors don't have to worry about hitting their marks in what feels like an artificially stillness in most shows. Rather the camera chases the story and captures the emotion as if it were unfolding right before our eyes through a fractal of hyper-realism.