Big Movie Saturday

Today, we celebrated my bother's birthday, so we saw 2 movies.

Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny: The trailers for this movie were pretty much dead on. This is a rock and roll comedy that is thoroughly enjoyable. It is probably the second funniest movie I have seen this year.

The Fountain: Some of my friends have seen this, and the first thing they have to say is "what did that movie mean?"

**SPOILERS TO FOLLOW!!!!** Unfortunately, the two other reviews that I have read are incorrect, The Fountain is NOT three stories. The Fountain is a surreal story about Dr. Tommy Creo's (Hugh Jackman) obsession with saving the life of his wife Izzie (Rachel Weisz) and how his life and spirituality matures through the experience. Most of the plot is driven by dialogue, so you have to pay attention. You can't be chowin' on hot wings, going to the bathroom, makin' with your S.O., talkin' on your cell or any of the other myriad things that people do other than WATCH the movie. That said, The Fountain does have three parts. The central part of the movie is the story of how Dr. Creo loses his wife to a brain tumor despite his brilliant research and experiments. He is so obsessed with curing his wife's tumor that he does not notice that he has discovered an elixir that reverses the aging process. The name of the movie and the 'past' conquistador scenes come from the title of a novel that Izzie is writing. It must be assumed that the novel was written during Izzie's initial struggles with her condition and her fears of death. The story of the conquistador gives the audience insight into the mind and character of Izzie and shows how she has come to accept her fate and now enjoys the simple things of life and lives in each moment. this is something that the movies repeatedly puts before the audience with repetitions of the same scene where Izzie asks Tommy to walk with her after the first snow. If I were teaching an English class, I'd have the class analyze this movie because of the repetition in the scenes. If you are wondering if a scene is important, or what it might mean, Daren Aronofsky, the movie's writer/director will surely show it to you again to help drive the point home. What about all that tree in the bubble stuff??? That is the most surreal aspect of the movie. What I gather from it, is that those scenes take part in the future after Dr. Creo has kept himself alive beyond the existence of earth, or maybe just till a time of space flight... the means makes no difference. However, in order to 'get' what Arnofsky is trying to say, you have to pay attention to the dialogue earlier in the movie. Izzie explains her spirituality in several scenes while talking about her research for her novel and Mayan Spirituality. In the last moments of the movie, Dr. Creo accepts this spirituality. When he finished Izzie's book, he believes that the tree of life is a fable and that it's sap is a curse disguised as a blessing and himself as a failure, but as he sacrifices himself and becomes the new First Father, he begins the cycle of destruction and rebirth all over again sending his and Izzie's essences throughout the cosmos.
I also liked the way this movie was shot. When you watch it, look at how star fields are worked through the scenes and the use of gold lighting. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.