Word: inert
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...directors whose movies upset the complacent status quo. Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain were demanding and rewarding in various ways: the first whacko, the second gritty, the third sumptuously romantic, and all marvelously dense with imagery. The Wrestler is the first Aronofsky film to be visually inert. His main camera habit is to follow Randy, just his imposing back, as he trudges through corridors toward another fight. (Martin Scorsese virtually patented that shot, in Raging Bull and Goodfellas). The trope does pay off later in the film, when Randy, briefly retired, winds up behind a deli counter...
...Saal is a prominent member of a group of researchers who have raised worrisome questions in recent years about the safety of some common types of plastics. We think of plastic as essentially inert; after all, it takes hundreds of years for a plastic bottle to degrade in a landfill. But as plastic ages or is exposed to heat or stress, it can release trace amounts of some of its ingredients. Of particular concern these days are bisphenol-a (BPA), used to strengthen some plastics, and phthalates, used to soften others. Each ingredient is a part of hundreds of household...
...from being inert, excess fat, researchers now know, is actually an active participant in the body's biological ballet--particularly if it's visceral fat, which can surround and even suffuse organs like the liver. Relatively shallow subcutaneous fat, which sits just under the skin, imposes a weight burden on the body but remains biologically dormant--more a repository for energy than anything else. Visceral-fat cells can secrete hormones and cytokines that help control inflammation and guide energy use by all the body's other cells. Normally this regulation of cellular fueling is maintained by a well-balanced relay...
...difficult to play against the Romanians. The men in gold stacked 9 or 10 players behind the ball at times and dared the French to break them down. "It was difficult," admitted Claude Makelele, "there was no room to play." Instead, the French sent pass after pass toward the inert Nicolas Anelka (Thierry Henry was unavailable) without much hope of making a connection. But they would not be the only fancied team to struggle...
...afraid she has run over someone. Her husband tries to assure her it was just a dog she hit, but gradually her fear festers into dementia. As with Three Monkeys, the plot of this Argentine non-drama makes it sound more interesting than it is. The film is inert, visually tiring, utterly lacking in suspense; nothing changes except Onetto's hair color. Martel won some international converts for The Holy Girl in 2004, but this time the acolytes are likely to become apostates...