Hmm...

My parents went to Comex yesterday, I wonder if they purchased anything. Did I ever mention my father is a gadget geek? He drags my mom to computer fairs, which is actually quite sweet. They watch tennis tournaments on TV, they go for walks, or rather, my mom has to pull him out of the house.

Anyway, I meant to write about Collateral, the movie which stars Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise, and is directed by Michael Mann, who did Heat, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Insider. The film has had mainly good reviews with several not-so-good ones. People either like it or come away disappointed.

I was thoroughly impressed by Cruise's bad guy character. I loved watching him make his kills, particularly at the night club. It's Tom Cruise after all, and you root for him to get his job done. But you also root for Jamie Foxx's Max. What drives the film is the intense and unusual relationship both men share for that one night. The bond is aptly suggested by the two coyotes that the cab encounters halfway through the film. Max, although he may not see it, isn't too far off from Vincent's anti-social, prowling character. As a cab driver, he moves around the city, seeing everything but engaging nothing. Vincent travels to fulfil contracts, but he does it unfeelingly, indifferently. They're both good at their jobs. Like the coyotes, they traverse the land, existing on the fringes of society, one following the other for convenience or for necessity. It's Vincent who spurs Max out of complacency, out of his bubble, galvanizing him into action, into calling the girl and seeking her out. By the end of the evening, you sense that each has taken from the other, although I'm hard pressed to determine what Vincent comes away with.

Vincent consistently deflects Max's questions and remains unfathomable. Yet you sense a magnetic quality about him. Despite his cold, exacting executions, he's impressively knowledgable, eloquent, even charming. This is definitely one of Cruise's better roles. I think I actually liked the salt-and-pepper shaded hair, even the strangely cut grey suit. I'll remember him for this role. This and, oh, okay, Jerry Maguire. He certainly had me at "Hello."

Speaking of Tom Cruise, my favorite lookalike (then again, the only lookalike I know of), Barney, and ex-boss joined me for a morning/night (my morning, their night) online conversation. Much later, I also got to chat with old friends Karen and Benny who happened to be online at the same time, although they now work in different offices.

Posted by Monoceros at August 26, 2004 9:03 AM