"Men" and "Munich"

The Men Who Would Be King chronicles the inception of Dreamworks in the early 1990s and its fall and reorganization just a year ago.

Munich is one of the last films Spielberg made under the umbrella of the old Dreamworks.

Having finished reading the former, I had a hankering desire to view the latter. (Trust me, it all makes sense.)

Men is essential reading for those who enjoy keeping up with the endless circus of Hollywood hubris and power plays, or put more simply: film buffs and anyone that enjoys ruining rose-colored glasses.

I could write essays about this book; about why Dreamcast failed to live up to expectations, what drove the three giants behind the company (filmmaker Steven Spielberg, animation pro Jeffrey Katzenberg, and multi-billionaire music mogul David Geffen).

I won't. I had some drinks and I'd like to sleep.

But I will say that I sympathize with Spielberg (yes, I had to put that image in here, shut up you know it's cute)

especially the chapter on Munich, when it was blasted in the press, and he was accused of everything from elitism to making a film that was essentially anti-Isreali (it wasn't). The movie follows a group of Isreali assassins on a mission to avenge the slayings at the 1972 Olymics in Munich. I won't go into a review here, though there's much to praise and a couple of things that bug me. I will say that the movie was beautiful to watch, from the rich retro sepia tones to the often heartbreaking performances. Technically, there are marvels in terms of camera work as well.

When I was young, I was afraid that watching the behind-the-scenes of movies on VHS or TV would ruin the magic. Now, having followed the logical course (BTS on VHS leads organically and naturally through film school) I can safely say that it has NOT. However, when I see a shot where a camera is tracking focus on a character's reflection in a car's window, only to pull focus to a character beyond the glass inside the car, then to pull focus back to the reflection passing by, all the while keeping lighting on all subjects perfect and making it all look effortless, I can't help but shake my head and want to high-five Spielberg or cinematographer Janusz Kaminski.