Monday, October 22, 2007

City of God (2002) (nat)

I have a terrible memory for movies. I swore I'd seen Fight Club only to find out while showing it a class of freshmen that I had not. I swore I'd seen Like Water for Chocolate, even bought it, but, no, I'd seen another movie (that I still haven't identified) with a somewhat similar plot. I swore I'd seen Emma with Gwenyth Paltrow and bought that one too, nope, hadn't seen it. And it works the other way around, too. I have City of God from Netflix and went to watch it tonight, to make 193 of the list. Ten seconds in, I knew I'd watched it before. And, not only watched it, but gotten it from Netflix. I looked and, yes, I'd watched it a year ago June. Nothing is more aggravating (at this moment, anyway) than getting geared up and settling in to watch a movie that's over two hours long and realizing that you've seen it. Grrr, but I guess that's a super great rationale for this blog. I'd end up watching the same three movies over and over while swearing I'd seen ten others that I haven't.

Anyway, I did like the movie last time I saw it. I'm not going to watch it again because I didn't think it was super. It's about two boys growing up in Argentina and having to navigate the violence in order to just be able to grow up. The movie is beautifully shot and, if I remember right (which we know may not be true particularly given the subject of this post), it doesn't seem like the two hours ten minutes it runs. Not one I feel the need to own but definitely one to watch.

Meanwhile, Netflix really should help a absent-minded girl out and say, "you already saw that one, sure you want it sent again?" Oh well, off to see what else I can watch. . . .

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