Atonement

Ooooh, what a great, fitting title...

This movie (recommended by the Colmenaresessess) definitely lived up to all the hype. I actually think that it was similar to another "nickel and a penny" movie, but I don't wanna ruin it for anybody (although I probably already did).

Basically, this movie is about this security guard who gets wrongly accused of messing with this...

Wait, let me start over again.

ATONEMENT is about how the misintrepretation (purposely or not) of a situation can f@ck up the lives of everyone involved. It's about how perception, while NOT BEING reality, can still BECOME reality if there are enough STUPID-A$$ people around to BELIEVE in this reality. Hmmm...

At first, I thought this movie was slow and a little too Best Picture-ish for me. Plus, for some reason, I always have a hard time understanding English accents. However, it plods along, keeps your interest, and forces you to focus, lest you get lost in all the flashbacks. I don't know if I enjoyed the movie as much when I was watching it than when it was actually done. You'll see what I mean if you watch it. It was one of those movies that you appreciate more when you look back on it as a whole. It's definitely worth seeing though.

I like the message of the movie. Good drama. Can't say much more or I'll ruin it for you. Definitely worth all the accolades.

Oh, wait. Let me share a story.

I remember this one time in Japan as I was spreading the word...We were going around door-to-door trying to find people to teach. Anyway, as we were walking around, trying to figure out which building we would start at, these Japanese schoolgirls walked right by us, so we told them "Hi." Not in a flirty way, but in a cordial way. They always freaked out when that happened because I was usually accompanied by a White guy who could surprisingly speak Japanese. They'd laugh and get all giddy and $hit. You know how Japanese girls are.

Anyway, we decide to start doing our work at the top of this one building. We knock on the door, and this grandpa-looking guy comes out and starts screaming at us. He screams so loud that some of his neighbors come out to check out the action. I look at my partner and we get the hell outta there. He continues to follow us downstairs out onto the street. He's yelling the whole time. I finally figure out what he's saying.

His daughter was part of the pack of girls we said "Hi" to. When we coincidentally went to his house first to knock on the door, he thought we were following his daughter home. We had no idea. He thought we were after his daughter, and started screaming some $hit about foreigners and how we were there for that kind of shady $hit. Basically, by his yelling and misunderstanding of the situation, he was f@cking up our reputation in that area.

In the end, luckily, some other guy who knew us and our church came along and explained how we were the good guys, and eventually calmed this guy down. Whooo!! I remember thinking back then how silly $hit like that can f@ck people up. Made me think about it again as I was watching this movie.

Anyway, excellent movie. I give this movie two people arguing and everyone siding with the more likable guy. When it comes down to it, that's how the world works. People just don't like to admit their shallowness 'cause then that would make THEM wrong...