Capote

Well we saw Capote tonight.

I was captivated with Phillip Seymour Hoffman's characterization of Truman Capote. It was amazing and flawless. He truly earned his Golden Globe, and perhaps a Best Actor Oscar is on the horizon for him.

Now, as for the film itself..well it must have done its job because I found my disbelief totally suspended to the point that several times during the film I thought to myself "Jeez this guy is SUCH a self centered, manipulating, lying SHIT!"

Capote is a must see film. It provides insight into the untimely death of one of our country's most gifted novelists. One cannot drink away one's personal corruption.

Penny

Brokeback Mountain

Hi there

First let me say that this post is NOT directed to any idiot moron homo-phobes out there. As far as I'm concerned you are all inbred morons incapable of independent reason or enlightened thinking of any kind. In many ways Fundamental Christians also fall into this category.

Well, all I can say about this film is WOW! And, coincidentally or not this is the same comment from the author, Annie Proulx, had when asked "what do you think of the film version of your short story?"

If this film does not move you there is something wrong with you. I won't bog you down with a plot synopsis, everyone knows what this film is about. I'll concern myself with the tragedy of it. Herein lies the emotional connection.

The film starts with a man who is so emotionally destroyed - Ennis - that he couldn't bear to truly give or receive love in a healthy way from anyone who misses out on the love of his life and all the richness a life with that love has to offer. How many of us have been there? Next is a subtle statement of the sociological angst of a life of being "out". The "world" will reach in and fuck with you no matter how hard you try to mind your own business. Have we changed that much really in this time of homophobia? And last is naive youth -Jack- destroyed before its time because he just can't accept that the world is not as he wants it to be.

After seeing this film I was weepy for the rest of the day.

Once recovered, I sought out the short story. I found Ms. Proulx's web site: http://www.annieproulx.com/
and read about how she created the characters, then I downloaded the story from http://www.audible.com and listened to it on my ipod..their audio books are wonderful..I was stunned. EVERYTHING from the story is fully fleshed out in the film. Most of the dialog between Jack and Ennis is taken directly from the story with no alteration.

I came out of the audio book knowing that the film would win cudos at the very least for best screen play. I was very pleased that it did so well on the Golden Globes. I have high hopes for Oscar nods as well.

I do not really understand why jake Gillenhal was left out of the awards. The reason the film works was the team. I don't think Heath Ledger's performance was particularly better than his. That was wierd.

This is a must see film, and a necessary addition to my DVD library.

til next time..

Penny

The Island

Ok, this one is a while in coming..but for Jes: The Island.

The biggest difficulty with this film is that it never really knows what it wants to be. Action? Sci-Fi Thriller? Futuristic Social Statement? All elements are present, and committment to any one genre would have moved this film from meandering to unqualified excellent.

That being said..I found the content very compelling. It is yet another consideration of the point of sentience. Without the bleakness of Bladerunner, it considers the power of life in the light of day. In this case the "light of day" are the truths of our time: Money drives research and development. Money is everything, and Money is above ethical thinking or moral positioning.

I'm reminded of Jeff Goldblum's character in Jurrassic Park's comments about life as a machine once started, runs on its own power. Once started Nature will take its course in spite of the will or the money men throw at it.

my 2 cents.

If you didn't see it, I suggest PPV or DVD

til next time.

Penny