Crash

Ok. I don't usually get into the whole Oscar's thing. I keep track of best picture because usually it's something I've not seen and I try to catch up when it comes out on DVD later. This year I'm ahead of the game.

I saw "Crash" a couple weeks ago. I won't spoil it for you by giving away any plot details, but this is a movie about stuff that almost happens -- a kind of a cross between "there but for the grace of God" and "somebody's watching over me" meme. It was kinda interesting for the interlocking plot twists, but I saw that gimmick on CSI a long time ago. By and large I pulled it out of the dvd player with an "oh hum."

The reason I bring it up is that there's another movie with the same name that has a heck of a lot better plot and character development. It's also got a lot more sex and violence so I'm not sure what that says about me. It's not a movie you'll want to show in Driver's Ed class -- or any class for that matter, unless it might be a Graduate Seminar in Abnormal Psych. These people are sick ... but the movie itself is fascinating for what it says about America's automobile based culture. If you have to choose between the two crashes -- and you don't have to worry about kids seeing it -- I'd recommend the older one.

But that's just me.