Spontaneous Summer Film Festival

Leaving my abode at 1:50 in the morning, my car decided that it did not want to go anywhere. At all. So I got an unexpected three day weekend while my car was being repaired. I took advantage of this opportunity to clean my house, do laundry and watch an impromptu summer film festival.

The first film was one I swore I would never see, but things happen, and it seemed to be perfect for lounging on the couch on a warm summer morning. The film is Open Water, and the blurbs from Sundance on the cover were the final straw that convinced me to give it a try. The film was actually quite engrossing, and unnerving. And watching the "Making Of", in which it is revealed that the husband and wife filmmakers shot the film on the weekends, flying to the Caribbean from New York for two years, and filmed with real sharks, made the film truly impressive. I will not ruin the ending for you, because for me it was incredibly powerful...so much so that I sat up straight on the couch in disbelief, and replayed it. It is a very subtle and underplayed scene - and it is very haunting. I thought I was well aware of the true story it was based on, so the events of the ending conflicted with what I thought I knew - turns out I was wrong anyway. So, the film festival was off to a great start. Open Water: A-

Next came the "summer" film I REALLY wanted to see : After the Sunset. Why? Salma Hayek and Pierce Brosnan sipping rum drinks in the Bahamas while planning a diamond heist and wearing almost nothing? Perfect. A perfect little entertainment, if you don't think about the reeling amount of impossibilities, and concentrate on Salma Hayek building a patio in her overalls. The "action" is, at best, not too strenuous, and for my film festival, it had the added benefit of the intrigue climax taking place while scuba diving. I appreciate these little synchronicities.
After the Sunset: C- Salma Hayek Building a Deck: A+

The final film was pretty bad. In fact, I can't really come up with any reason whatsoever to watch it.
Ocean's Twelve: D

The surprising thing about life is that to quote from my friend Mary " you don't know 'til you get there - and that's for sure." My expectations were: After the Sunset: A, Ocean's Twelve: B+ and Open Water : C-. Shows you what I know.