BEFORE: My on-and-off feud with the cable company is back ON (I won't say their name, but their initials are Time Warner Cable). Every single time that my cable box switches off and reboots at 4 am (yeah, I'm awake, I notice...) it means they're downloading a software "upgrade" to my DVR, and every single time, that makes my system worse. Forget the fact that the guide to recorded shows looks like ass now, and live TV is reduced to a small postage-stamp sized corner of the screen while I'm searching for shows - every time this occurs, I lose some feature.
I used to be able to type an actor's name and find all movies and shows he's in, but I lost that feature about two years ago. Now I seem to have lost the ability to watch one recorded show while recording two others - but that's how I usually spend my entire weekend. What's the deal, Time Warner? Why does my service keep getting worse and worse while the bill keeps going up? Why can't you test the software before uploading it to my DVR (and by extension, to millions of others, although mine is really the only one that matters...)
To make things worse, on Sunday my DVR went from being 11% full to 91% full, after recording two hours of a non-HD football game, which is mathematically impossible. The last time this happened, I called the cable company and their suggestion was to unplug the cable box and do a hard reboot, after which I lost ALL of my recorded shows. This time I called and was given the same advice, so I said "no dice". I then located which recorded show was taking up 1100 hours of space (again, shouldn't be possible), and deleted it, and my service improved. Why does the technician's advice always represent a "scorched earth" mentality? Why can't they be trained to try to save the shows I've recorded and want to watch?
Linking from "Immortals", John Hurt was also in "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" (a war film I have no desire to watch) with Christian Bale (last seen in "The Fighter")
THE PLOT: The story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
AFTER: Speaking of first-world problems, I've got to find a way to link the last few films, which were all about armies invading foreign lands, and somehow tie that in with the European settlers coming to America. Where's the link there? JK.
I didn't feel comfortable commenting on the work of Terrence Malick after seeing just one film ("The Thin Red Line"), but noting the similarities between that film and this one, I can start to see some common themes - like a ton of internal monologues, and these random beauty shots of nature. I know it's only two films, but if I were to watch "The Tree of Life" now, I think I'd know a bit more about what to expect.
But tonight it's a look inside Pocahontas' head as she meets Capt. John Smith, intervenes and spares his life (every schoolchild in America is taught this story) and they learn to speak each other's language - so together they represent what the relationship between the Native Americans and the European settlers could have been, but ultimately was not. When Smith is recalled to England to lead a new expedition, he pulls the old "tell her I died" routine, and after a prolonged depression, she eventually forms a new relationship with John Rolfe. See, love triangles are nothing new, they've been a part of our country's heritage from the beginning.
Rolfe is offered an opportunity to visit London (though I suspect the King wanted to meet Pocahontas more than him...) and Pocahontas gets to meet Smith again while in England. Will she once again choose the man who rejected her, or remain with the faithful father of her child?
It's obvious why I chose to watch this film this week, two days before Thanksgiving. It's not only a celebration of the harvest, it's a reminder that the European settlers were really crappy farmers. There's a bit here where the settlers are saved by food and clothing from the Native Americans (called "naturals" by the Jamestown residents) - and look how that led to such a long, healthy relationship. The new world also represents a fresh start, as seen in Smith's pardon for his mutinous ways (we don't know what happened on the trip over, but there must have been trouble).
And we've got the contrast between the two societies - Smith regards his time spent among the naturals as a "dream", then later regards it as "the only truth", and it's with great regret that he looks back on his rejection of Pocahontas. I'm still not sure what the overall lesson is, because the film seemed to go out of its way to be oblique, unless the contrast is the whole message.
Also starring Colin Farrell (last seen in "Fright Night"), Christopher Plummer (last seen in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"), Q'orianka Kilcher, David Thewlis (last seen in "War Horse"), Eddie Marsan (ditto), Wes Studi, Ben Chaplin (last seen in "The Thin Red Line"), Noah Taylor (last seen in "The Proposition"), Brian O'Byrne (last seen in "Season of the Witch"), Irene Bedard, August Schellenberg, with a cameo from Jonathan Pryce (last seen in "Tomorrow Never Dies").
RATING: 3 out of 10 tobacco plants
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