...on conversations

...and enemies

i just got finished watching a little gem called the conversation which stars one of the industry's most interesting actors, gene hackman. hackman plays harry caul, a paranoid man who taps peoples phones for a living. in this film caul, tapes a conversation between two people for a client and becomes convince that the couple are in danger. this causes him to become more and more paranoid as the film progresses.

this comes on the heels of watching another hackman vehicle called enemy of the state three times since i moved back into the the apartment. in this one hackman plays a paranoid retired NSA agent who helps will smith get his life back from the NSA. i first caught part of "the conversation" a year or two back and i knew i had to see it in its entirety so i bought it with my winnings from a skeet shooting contest that the publisher essentially won for us along with "the italian job" (michael caine version) and point blank.

the ing i found most enjoyable about both films is not only how brilliant hackman is in both roles but how "enemy of the state" is a little homage to "the conversation". hackman rocks similar glasses in enemy from the conversation. one of the bad guys rocks harry cauls raincoat from conversation but, it's also the good old fashioned paranoia in both films that rounds out my enjoyment. yes, yes, both films also give strong commentay on the nature of surveillance in society which seems like a big hot button issue these days with the tapping of terrorist phone calls and conversation did come out not too long after watergate so it still stands strong on the topic these days as it did then but then again at the end of the day, films are just entertainment. is this mike on?

—the bastard

P.S.: while i'm thinking about it, left hand rob made mention of another brilliant film called kiss kiss bang bang which prompted me to purchase it entirely on his sayso. it was good. i forgot how compelling that junky robert downey jr can be in a film. he should try staying off the junk for longer periods of time, he has a gift.