Movies We've Just Watched discussion
Untraceable
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i have not yet. but a colleague here at work did. she says it kept her attention...not her type of movie, but could see how, if it were, she would have enjoyed it more. some spotty writing, and she didn't like the end, but did not spoil it for me, and so i won't for any of us!
Very interesting review of it in the NYT.
I haven't seen it yet, but our local paper (Phx.) trashed it!
Hey Judith,I had to laugh at your comment. I lived in Phoenix for quite a while and the "critics" trashed everything that wasn't one of the 'mainstream blockbuster-shoot everyone-blow everything up' movies, so it doesn't surprise me that they trashed this one.
Is that the library downtown you're standing in front of in your profile photo? That's such a great library.
I saw Untraceable a couple of days ago, Karen, at the Lloyd Center here in Portland. :) As a Stumptowner, I suggest you see it. If you don't like the writing that much, you'll still enjoy spotting all of the locations around town. I didn't expect the film makers to focus on Portland as much as they did. The city became a brooding character on its own. The flat, cloudy lighting with heavy rain in Untraceable contrasts with the cheerful, bright color saturation in What the Bleep Do We Know, another (much smaller) film shot here. Another film shot here is The Feast of Love, with Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear. It was filmed at The Fresh Pot in No. Po. It came out last September, but I haven't seen it yet.
For non-Portlanders, I wouldn't pay full-price for Untraceable, but it's worth a early afternoon (lower price) ticket. The beginning is a bit slow, with lots of filler shots of people walking, etc. Luckily, in the second half, the pace picks up, and you really get into it. I thought the script and conceit were creative, and I enjoyed the indie choices in terms of plot.
Great review, Colleen. Greg Kinnear was in town and I didn't know about it? May that's a good thing, I would have been scouring the town like a mad woman looking for him! :-)Portland is great for filming movies, there's so much character here. A few years ago a movie, that ended up coming out just on video I think, was being filmed across from my office in the Pearl. It was fun to walk over on my lunch hour and watch all of the behind the scenes work. The working title was Donut Hole, but I heard they changed the title; the main people were Kathy Najimy and Peter Pace. I never did check it out.
I know! It's so much fun to know that our humble hipster town is becoming such a movie mecca. Actually, I have a friend who moved here specifically to get involved with the film scene. "What film scene?" I initially asked, but I think he had tapped into the trend even before it became apparent to locals. By the way, if you're at all interested, I run a blog at 97217.net for my neighborhood. There's a longer review of Untraceable there.
Colleen, I read your 97217 blog...nice articles! And I agree with your list of what makes PDX wonderful. The minute I came across the Broadway bridge from the airport a few years ago I realized I was home. All of the other places I've lived have never struck me as "home" the way that Portland does. I'll continue to travel, but I'll never move...unless it's to another area of Portland.
I know, I know! The Phx reviewers pretty much stink! But I think I saw a trashed review of this on in USA Today as well, a little more credible source. Still, reviewer giving bad reviews sometimes stimulate my interest to see a film rather than avoid it!No, the picture if not of the library -- just an unidentified office building downtown Phx. My daughter took the shot while studying photography in H.S. She went for the reflection of the sky in the glass on the building. Nice, isn't it!
I could have sworn that I saw Colin Hanks downtown one afternoon. But then I laughed and thought, no, he looks like most every young man in Portland.