CarusoBlog

Which Movie First Gave You Nightmares?

People evolve based on their life experiences, including the books they read and the movies they watch.

I attribute my first nightmare to The Omega Man.  Of course, the movie seems dated as I watched it again this evening, nearly forty years after the first viewing. 

After all, the soundtrack to the 1971 flick was recorded before the first generation of Moog synthesizers.  So much of the music we recognize as "spooky" is not played on conventional instruments.  It's hard to make a ride cymbal sound scary.

The opening theme music is the breezy Summer Place, which immediately lulls the viewer into a false sense of security.  The orchestral strings become a stark contrast to the cackle of machine gun fire.  Dr. Robert Neville, played by Charlton Heston,  stops his red convertible to spray bullets at shadows in a window. 

The Omega Man plot is quite thought-provoking.  As a "last man standing" film, TOM is in good standing with Cast Away (starring Tom Hanks), the fantastic Children of Men (with Clive  Owen) and even Heston's Planet of the Apes.    

The film is based on Richard Matheson's I Am Legend novel, which was finally made into a movie a couple years ago.

It's late and I'm now thinking about hooded mutants that only come out at night, the  usually eternal Charlton Heston dying in a literal blood bath and the end of the world.

I'm going to bed.  I hope I don't have nightmares.

Tomorrow, I have to go to work.  I teach people how to get along. 

Attending the Academy Awards Is Too Cool

I attended the Academy Awards in 1997.  "Titanic" won a lot of awards that year and I really enjoyed the red carpet experience.  I was a cinema fan before meeting Oscar with my brother, Joe.  I've been smitten ever since. 

Here are some random observations regarding tonight's festivities.

"Brokeback Mountain" is favored to win best picture of the year in 2006.  I really enjoyed this movie and feel that director Ang Lee did an excellent job capturing the western idiom.

"Crash," however, gets my vote for the movie of the year.  I saw it early in the season and immediately tagged it as Oscar-worthy.  It features a multi-line plot that expertly weaves three or four social issues that won't go away.  Check out the similar and underrated "11:14," if you like "Crash."   

"Syriana" was one of most complicated movies that I've seen in a long time.  Sophisticated and global, the intricate plot will really make you appreciate George Clooney, who has had quite a year for someone recently recovered from back surgery.  Clooney co-wrote "Syriana" and his role in the movie won him a nomination for best supporting actor.  He is also nominated for best director ("Goodnight, and Good Luck"), but I don't think he'll win either.

I think that Paul Giamatti deserves to win best-supporting actor for his role in "Cinderella Man."

Attending the Academy Awards was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but I still look forward to going again.