Wow – it’s very hard to believe that August is nearly over. It’s back to school time … the leaves are starting to have that wee bit of color that portends major changes … and my vacation is winding down.
Today I am at the “vacation wind down phase” where I struggle with all the things I did not get done. A few hours of that and I’ll be okay and prepared to appreciate the last couple of days before I head back to work.
The Olympics have wound down … the medals have been handed out … and now the Dem’s are wound up out there in Mile High City. Here’s hoping for a great bounce into the fall election season!
I’ve added a new blog to my “Blogs We Like” listing – Main St. USA – which is penned by “truth” and is focused on matters of interest to the reality-based-community … including liberal politics and women’s soccer … a combo I find difficult to argue with!
On the baseball front, the Phillies and the Red Sox both won in 11 innings. Good for them. Ah, but now I must go focus on lamenting what I have not done … so that I can get through that phase and move on!
Check out the video here on Main St. USA – including Sunil getting on his knees … and Christie giving Pia her own Gold Medal! (There’s also video of the post-match party in my previous post, along with Beulah’s post-match report!)
The Phillies won (Mets and Marlins lost) and Beulah has posted her match report! (Sounds like she had a tough time getting it onto her site .. but it’s up and a very good read as always!)
In other commentary, here’s Mark Zeigler on the game …
The rest of the women’s soccer world, though, likely is smiling in a perverse sort of way. Brazil is as ridiculously good as it is with minimal resources – only two professional clubs have elite women’s programs – and the fear was a gold medal might inspire soccer authorities to fund a bona fide women’s national program more than a few months before a major tournament.
Which is another way of saying, no one else would ever win anything again.
“I think gold was really going to transform women’s soccer in Brazil,” Barcellos said. “I really believed that. I don’t know about the future now.”
Meanwhile, it sounds like Greg Ryan did watch the game. And so did Abby … and here’s some video of the USWNT at their after match party … great stuff (and love Pia’s vest)!
But it’s a beautiful Sunday morning and … now that Beulah’s posted … I feel that my work is done! Here’s to the next-to-last soft summer Sunday of August.
I opened up MSNBC this morning and saw the news that Obama has picked Biden. Probably a smart move … experience and gravitas and whiteness and all. I was kinda hoping for something more interesting – but would rather win. So Biden seems good. Biden I can live with. (But wouldn’t Pia have been fun?)
I’m gonna have to shift gears eventually … but there are still some soccer tidbits worth sharing. (And, of course, we are still waiting for Beulah’s final word on the whole thing … so bear with me.) Come to think of it, I’d have liked a Pia/Beulah shared VP slot. Hmmmm … I digress …
There’s lots of new stuff on the WNT Blog, including some video … and the promise of more. (I’d like to see some footage of Sunil on his knees, offering a new contract to Pia … anyone get any photos of that???)
We’ve got Andrea Canales on Sideline Views, where her post prompted a discussion that turned into yet another argument about the whole Women’s World Cup fiasco. Lindsey Dolich has also weighed in with her match report and player ratings.
Here’s a sweet article from South Jersey’s Courier-Post about Carli Lloyd and her disciplined road to the Olympics. Carli, you definitely deserve some R&R at “the Shore.” Go for it, girl!
In another piece (from the NBC Olympics site) I love what Carli says about Pia:
“Everything about Pia is contagious — her smile, her laugh, her singing, her guitar playing,” Lloyd said. “She just believes in every single one of us and I never wanted to win so bad for a coach in my entire life. She’s is going to take this team and really change U.S. women’s soccer.”
I think that as a prerequisite for running for the White House (which is, after all, another home) candidates should be expected to know their baseline number of homes. Don’t you?
Here’s a nice write-up from Merrill in American Soccer News. It will, indeed, be interesting to see how the WPS shapes the look of US Soccer in the years to come. As for Merrill … philosophy professor, eh? Nice.
Next up for the WPS? WPS Teams submit U.S. WNT Player preferences to the League
Tuesday, September 02, 2008, San Francisco, Calif.
As part of the Allocation process, WPS teams must submit their U.S. WNT Player preferences to the League by Tuesday, Sept. 2. Please note, the U.S. WNT Players and members of the U.S. WNT Player Pool have already submitted their WPS market preferences to the League. View more information on the player selection process timeline.
Who do we want in Boston? Check out the prospective players at the Breakers’ site … and I’m sure they’ll be putting up a poll or soliciting some kind of feedback re. who to pick!
According to BigSoccer (thanks Dandal and the Swedish press) Pia will be with the USWNT through the 2012 Olympics. That is wonderful news! Here’s a thread about Pia’s performance … note how the comments “evolve” as the USWNT moves deeper and deeper into the tourney!
Also on BigSoccer, an interesting thread about Carli Lloyd. Who knew that Lloyd is now a verb (as in, “She got lloyded on that goal!”) The commentary on Pia’s coaching, in this thread, was informative – for example, this from “TSU Soccer” …
I think the real hero is Sundhage. The mark of a great coach is not someone with a great plan who steps in and imposes it on their team, but one who can look objectively at their team and how it stacks up against a team that is considered superior. Going into this game Brazil was the better group of women (note that I didn’t say team). Pia saw that the weakest part of her team was her midfield and that they wouldn’t be able to deal with the Brazilian attackers. She did however realize that her back line was more than capable of dealing with them. Crying about a team “bunkering down” to win a game is very silly. The US played forward and were always a threat but dealt with the Brazilian attack with numbers. The US let the Brazilians run their legs off and then struck. This is the only way that the US could minimize their vulnerabilities and use their strengths. Superior conditioning and a superior defense held sway.
Call it change. Call it luck. Call it redemption. Call it bravery. Call it what you will – it’s gold and it’s real and it stays! The USWNT defeated Brazil 1-0 yesterday in extra time after putting on a gritty performance on the pitch on a wet, humid, Beijing night. Pia Sundhage and her 18 players turned a rocky tournament start into Olympic glory, putting to rest memories of a Women’s World Cup debacle, and stepping out from the long shadow of glory days past into their own, golden light. This is a new team, an evolving team. They did it without Mia or Julie or Carla or Brandi … even Lil. And to cap it off … they even did it without Abby.
It’s an amazing accomplishment … testimony not only to their fitness and soccer skills but, perhaps most importantly, to their mental toughness. And lest we forget, testimony to the inspirational leadership of Pia Sundhage.
Kudos to everyone involved. Kudos, most especially, to Hope Solo – who came through in amazing fashion after a journey from October 2007 to August 2008 that has to have been excruciating. Kudos to Angela Hucles, who stepped her game up and stepped into an unfamiliar role and played herself into history! Kudos to Carli Lloyd for coming through when she needed to, even when struggling. Kudos to the staunch USWNT defense … and to A-Rod and Kai and HAO and Chalupa. I’m sure I’m forgetting people … it was a whole team effort. That’s the beauty of it.
Commentary about the match is all over the web … nice to see (and a tad overwhelming at the moment, I must admit)! I’ll just post a few items that stood out for me. (And I’ll post a link to Beulah’s write up as soon as it appears … it ain’t up just yet …)
Boltgirl did a great write-up on her site … once her breathing slowed down enough!
Here’s some PBP from the USA Today Blog … my heart rate is going up again!
Jere Longman writes in the NY Times about Hope Solo’s vindication (still a major storyline … but hopefully soon-to-be history).
Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post weighs in with his take on the USWNT story.
Mechelle Voepel of the Kansas City Star (another great soccer writer) writes of the team unity displayed by the USWNT – in contrast to the last time they played Brazil in a big tournament!
Meanwhile, David Ramsey of The Gazette (Colorado Springs) celebrates Pia’s work!
Germany-Japan are underway and Japan is looking goo so far (17th minute). meanwhile, I can’t imagine what the USWNT must be feeling right now. Hopefully they are focused and confident. Their making it to the gold medal match is a wonderful accomplishment and, at the very least, has brought the eyes and attention of many fans back to women’s soccer. A good game … and even better, a great result … will be awesome for the WPS, too! (Japan just almost scored and has a corner now … another FABULOUS shot and another corner … and another dangerous chance!) It’s nice to see former Atlanta Beat teammates Sawa and Prinz going at it!
Anyway, back to the USWNT … here are some articles …
From Women’s Sports Nation, a link to a great video that’s on the USWNT Blog. (It’s a video of a visit amongst the USWNT, the US Women’s Basketball Team, and the US Women’s Volleyball Team … great stuff!)
“I hear the people talking,” Lloyd said. “They don’t think we can do it. But it just fires me up. There are going to be critics, no matter what you do.”
Yeah, we didn’t come out strong against Norway and we lost the first game, but I think it worked to our advantage. We’re proving people wrong, and we’re going to prove people wrong with another good game of soccer.”
This is the most fun Lloyd has had playing the game. She loves the coach, who treats everyone “fairly.” Draw you own conclusions when she says that and then mentions her benching by the previous coach, Greg Ryan, midway through that World Cup tournament.
She loves Sundhage’s trusting style of play, which allows players like Lloyd, who aren’t big-name stars, to shoot and score and create. Oh, sure, Lloyd was a standout at Rutgers, and she has an ice cream flavor named after her at the hometown Lindy Hops Ice Cream Parlor in Delran – Carli’s Cake Batter Cookie Dough Kick – and the mayor has plans to name soccer fields after her.
But around here she is just a soldier, and she likes that, unlike U.S. teams in the past, everyone’s shoes are the same size on this team.”I want people to know we’re playing good soccer,” she said. “It’s not kick-and-run. It’s not longball. It’s not depending on one player to get it done.
“No, we don’t have Mia. No, we don’t have Abby. No, we don’t have all of those pioneers who built the program. But, in my mind, we’ve got 18 stars. And I’d rather have a team of 18 united people than a team with a few stars.”
So let’s go Japan … 0-0 at the half and dominating Germany (wih some let-up toward the end of the half) … and don’t forget to chat with Tony Dicicco on the Boston Breakers’ site at 8:30 ET!
Seeing Nicole Petignat on Monday reffing the USWNT-Japan game brought back some really, really bad memories. Having a moment or two, here, I thought I’d Google her and see what came of it.
But the most interesting thing I came upon was this You-Tube production titled “Têtes en l’air – Nicole Petignat – du 28 septembre 2007.” It’s long (@ 25 minutes) and in French. I would welcome any information or explications that you guys could offer!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAQx7LQOD3s
Finally … Tony DiCicco has offered up his thoughts on tomorrow’s Gold Medal game. You can get them by signing up for the Breakers’ “Breaking News” e-mail newsletter at the Boston Breakers website! I’ll just snag a piece of what he says …
Tony’s Take: Keys for the Olympic Gold Medal Match
USA must play compact defense and defend in numbers to neutralize the individual flair of the Brazilians.
USA must possess the ball because if they chase it for too long in the game…it will wear them out. The exception is if they play a counterattack defense allowing possession and then breaking out with numbers when they can. … and on to NUMBER 6 … this is merely a tease, after all!
… but first, congratulations to Usain Bolt on his phenomenal victory in the 200! He is just amazing to watch … how beautifully effortless and strong. Can’t wait to see it tonight!
On the USWNT front, we’ve got Lindsey Dolich with her pre-game report and Jeff Carlisle on the USWNT mindset heading into the match.
From Newsweek, we’ve got a piece about soccer in Mark Starr’s blog post about a number of the US Women’s teams in Beijing.
Here’s an interesting fact (cribbed from the USSF site):
“Brazil has never finished out of the top four in the Olympics, but has also never won the gold medal. In the first two Olympics, Brazil fell in the semifinals, first to China, 3-2, in 1996 and then to the U.S., 1-0, four years later in Sydney.”
Are the Samba Queens due? Or is the USWNT on a trajectory that will carry them through? Here’s Heather O’Reilly on facing Brazil :
“We’re pumped. We’ve played Brazil before and we know they’re a pretty awesome team with a lot of great personalities. But this team player for player is unified and strong, and we’re together. We’re looking forward to the game.”
Licorice Pizza: I'm starting anew here and have now been, twice, to Vax and Snax at Red River. These are Thursday night movies for vaccinated and masked folks, and you can get POPCORN! But I digress...Licorice Pizza was a sweet, coming-of-age in The Valley in the Seventies sort of movie that managed to include waterbeds and Jon Peters and two new stars -- Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour Hoffman).
If Beale Street Could Talk: Quiet, beautiful, heartfelt, devastating. America wears many masks. This movie strips a few of them away. It shines a light on quite a lot of ugliness. As well, it illuminates dignity and resilience in the face of a system built on the abuse of privilege and power. A perfect movie to see on the eve of what is hopefully Donald Trump's last SOTU.
Shoplifters: A beautifully honest, quiet movie that is at once uplifting and devastating. Universal questions are raised and left open for pondering. What is a family? How do people survive in our world today? And how do we judge their choices?
Green Book: Very enjoyable movie and yet deeply flawed. The white guy comes across as the hero in ways that are typical for the American movie industry, and comfortably misleading in terms of the realities of our culture. Especially in the current socio/political atmosphere, can't we do better than this?
On the Basis of Sex: We applauded, we cried, we felt so glad that RBG was as prescient as she was. And I felt personally glad that her love of opera clearly predates her connection with Scalia. What an inspiring woman -- and a good movie about her early years as a student, professor, and attorney.
The Favourite: Did I say that being a queen was no fun? This definitely seems to have carried forward to Queen Anne's reign. Strong performances again, and more belly laughs than you'd think. And right along with it, grief, emptiness, ambition, and gouty excess.
Mary Queen of Scots: Being a queen was no fun in the 16th century. Excellent, complex performances in this one. I found Elizabeth especially compelling. Very unclear who actually wins out in this one.
Another Year: Loved this one! It's about a couple, and their friends, and their lives – painful in spots, and wonderfully everyday and enriching, to my mind. Great performances – and who knew there was so much wine being drunk in England!?
Tiny Furniture: A young woman (aka Lena Dunham) comes home after graduating from college and tries to find herself – or not. A character study that I found humorous and touching – and sometimes a little disturbing and/or self-indulgent. It's definitely a privilege to have the leisure to "find oneself." After this..."Girls."
Rabbit Hole: Painful/powerful movie about loss and grieving. Hard to watch but well worth the effort, with a strong cast and an especially on the mark performance by Nicole Kidman. I continue to be glad to see that she is clearly outstripping Tom Cruise as an artist. You go girl!
The Kids Are Alright: Very enjoyable movie with great performances and an excellent cast. Two kids whose moms are lesbians decide they want to find out something about their "father" – and everything moves on from that point.
The King's Speech: Warm, funny, inspiring – and apparently a bit of a rewrite of history, to boot! Colin Firth puts out an amazing performance – and was well rewarded for it. Everyone else is great too, and if you're one of the few people left who hasn't seen it, it's definitely worth a look!
Black Swan: This is a disturbing movie that I really loved – and in case you haven't noticed, I do have a tendency to like disturbing movies. What's real and what isn't? You be the judge. Also, be on the lookout for Winona Ryder – you'll never recognize her!
Blue Valentine: A couple in trouble – how they started and how they got to where they are. A good movie with excellent performances that left me wondering, especially in Michelle Williams' case, whether she was thinking about what's his name (her partner who died suddenly – the guy who starred in Broke Back Mountain – for some reason I can't remember his name – oh yeah, Heath Ledger).
Shutter Island: A dark period piece that has the creepy feel of the 1950s (creepy to me at any rate) and has stayed with me more than I would've thought. A movie with surprises – definitely worth a look.
Cyrus: I don't remember this one so well, but have a vague recollection of walking out of the theater feeling not so enthralled. I believe it's supposed to be funny – but as you can tell it didn't really make an impression.
I Am Love: Really beautiful, sumptuous movie that made me hungry, just watching it. A keeper!
The Girl Who Played with Fire: The second in the three part series involving the girl with the dragon tattoo, this movie was much harder to watch than the first, as Salander's triumph isn't quite so clear at the end. Painful, painful, painful.
Scott Pilgrim Versus the World: I loved this comic book take on young love. Went to the movie on a whim and came away very happy to have seen it! Quite a few laugh out loud moments – and touching, as well.
Going the Distance: A very lightweight romcom that kinda left me feeling like I had just spent an hour and a half reading People magazine. In other words, pretty much a waste of time.
Never Let Me Go: Wow! This was an amazing, stark, and moving movie about kids who are basically raised to become organ donors. Very much worth seeing.
The Town: Ben Affleck's movie about bank robbers. It's okay. Not great, but okay. It does make me curious about Charlestown – will have to go there one day.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger: A Woody Allen movie that I honestly don't remember very well. It's pretty much about adults behaving badly – something that Woody knows a little something about.
The Social Network: The movie about Facebook. I found it very interesting and well done, and was especially fascinated/disturbed by the window on the incredible privilege and elitism still thriving at undergrad Harvard.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest: Number three in the Dragon trilogy. I found this, in many ways, the weakest of the three movies – although that's not to say that it was weak. Perhaps my enjoyment was affected by the fact that I hadn't read the book. Anyway, it's a great trilogy and I was sorry to see it come to an end.
Fair Game: The movie about the Valerie Plame affair. One of the things that I found most interesting was how it uncovered my own biases, as she was clearly a very serious and talented agent, but because of her blonde haired beauty, I pretty much assumed that she was a lightweight in real life. I appreciated, also, the depiction of her husband as a bit of a media hound, which was how he seemed to me at the time. And of course, there are the despicable characters of the Bush administration. Glad they were on display in all their glory!
City Island: This was a fine, if predictable, movie about a family in which everyone has a secret and is telling lies. I mostly loved it because it gave me a glimpse of where my friend CB lives!
Winter's Bone: Wow! Unrelenting, stark, and ultimately uplifting – at least to my mind. This is a painful movie about life when you're the daughter of someone who runs a meth lab. Winter's Bone is a perfect title. J-Law is amazing!
Please Give: Quirky, sweet, slice-of-life movie. I loved the low-key character development and good humor of it all. Enjoyable, with a great cast and few false notes.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Tho' parts of the book were missing, this was an excellent rendition of an excellent book. Not for the faint of heart, tho'! Lisbeth Salander is an Emma Peel for the 21st Century (watch for more from Noomi Rapace - I will be)!
Me and Orson Welles: Or was it Orson Welles and me? (If Orson had anything to do with the title, I'm guessing the latter.) I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, even as it reminded me of why the world of the theatre holds absolutely no appeal for yours truly! Nice to see Claire Danes back ... still have to finish watching Temple Grandin, too!
Crazy Heart: I left this movie thinking ... "Eh?" but it has stayed with me. Jeff Bridges does give a wonderful performance. The amount of smoking and drinking was nauseating - as I guess it was supposed to be - all in an understated, Jeff Bridges sort of a way.
A Single Man: One of the best movies of the year in my book. Haunting, beautifully acted and filmed ... marred only by an unnecessarily heavy-handed ending, IMHO. That was the only flaw in an otherwise brilliant bit of artistry. Colin Firth was perfect, and this was an amazing writing/directing debut for Tom Ford! See it!!!
Young Victoria: I am eternally grateful to have not been born the heir to a throne. Life was confusing enough! This was an enjoyable, tear-jerker of a movie that left me wanting to know more about the details. Perhaps a bio for Bookeaters?
Precious: Wow, wow, wow. Two weeks in a row - another amazing movie at Red River. This is a challenging and important movie ... about life in America ... every single day ... everywhere.
The Messenger: Wow, wow, wow. This is one of the best movies I have seen in quite some time. Its focus is on two men who notifiy NOK (next of kin) when a soldier dies. It is a raw, wrenching, unflinching and uplifting journey - not to be missed. Seriously
Damned United: This was a study in soccer, ambition, and friendship. For soccer buffs who actually know the players (I'm a late-comer to the game) the movie would be that much better. I loved it, though - and recommend it highly.
A Serious Man: The Book of Job envisioned by the Coen brothers evoked the early sixties and suburbia with humor, pathos ... and a slightly nauseating quality that tells me they pretty much hit the nail on the head. As one of the goyim, I am sure there were hundreds of nuances that were lost on me ... but I loved it (nausea aside) nonetheless!
Cold Souls: The premise of this movie is deeply strange, yet it is presented in an entirely believable way. It's by turns very moving and then hilarious (in ways that, in retrospect, are hard to capture/explain). The ending leaves a puzzled feeling - but that's not really bothersome. In many ways, puzzled is the appropriate way to walk out of the theater after "Cold Souls." Check it out!
Adam: Nicely done! Not a movie that will stay with you for a long time, but I liked it. The father (Peter Gallagher) seemed a tad overdone -and unnecessarily so. Unmemorable soundtrack - but since I mention it, does that make it memorable? Now I'm starting to feel like Steven Wright - not necessarily a bad thing!
Taking Woodstock: Even going in with low expectations, this offering from Ang Lee just wasn't good. Vilma was a high point in an otherwise shoddy effort. Harsh, eh? And watch out, world - it's only 6:30 AM!
Julie and Julia: I was not as bothered by Julie as some reviewers were - maybe because I liked seeing a blogger hit the big time. Meryl Streep was amazing as Julia .. and this is definitely not a movie to see on an empty stomach! Never have I enjoyed watching people eat as much as I did watching this flick!
500 Days of Summer: I think I wasn't supposed to, but I loved it. Engaging characters and script, great soundtrack. Not as quirky and lovable as "Away We Go" - but not far behind, either.
Whatever Works: People either like or hate this latest offering from Woody Allen. I must admit that it's a little weird to see this May-December relationship on-screen, feeling so creeped out by Woody's real-life choices. But I'd say he pulls it off. There are some really great lines throughout the movie, and while not entirely believable, I didn't mind being along for the ride. A pleasant diversion for sure.
Goodbye, Solo: Interesting movie that basically contrasts life energy and death energy, IMHO. Solo is the epitome of resilience - love him! Meanwhile William seems bent on being miserable, for reasons that the movie leaves mysterious. I didn't find him very a likable or compelling character - but Solo makes up for it.
Moon: I hesitate to write this one up, as I was tired when I saw it - and missed portions. But form my bleary vantage point, this seemed an intriguing movie set on the moon and exploring themes of identity, isolation, etc. It was not my usual fare - and I wasn't up to snuff - but at least had the wherewithall to be able tell that it was quality work!
Cheri: I liked this a lot better than Easy Virtue - maybe because I went into it having already seen EV and had my expectations lowered. Michelle Pfeiffer and Kathy Bates are fun to watch as always - and I liked Rupert Friend in the title role. It all got a little too serious at the end - a tone-shift that didn't quite fit with the bulk of the movie. Still - a pleasant diversion on a rainy July evening!
Away We Go: This was an excellent movie in every regard. Great dialogue and plot line, endearing cast/characters, heartwarming/funny story that avoids tipping over into overly-sweet territory ... and great soundtrack, to boot! See it, if you haven't already.
Easy Virtue: Not my cup of tea - but I suspect it would have helped, going in, to know that this was a movie based on a Noel Coward play. The characters felt stilted and unbelievable to me, as it was - and I couldn't muster much concern for what became of them. All things considered, I'd rather have been in Philadelphia!
Sugar: Sugar is a baseball flick that is sweetly and realistically done - and definitely like no Hollywood film on the subject. The characters are real and the life is hard - and the film depicts it all in a matter-of-fact way that brings the realities home more surely than something more "dramatic" ever could. Two thumbs up on this one!
Sunshine Cleaning: Director Christine Jeffs has a winner in this tale about the hard times and resiliency of the Lorkowski family. Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin shine in this movie about a bio-hazard clean-up company. Yes, that's correct. And the movie had the potential to cross the line into sappiness several times but demurred. For that I am eternally thankful. (Okay, eternally may be a little over the top.) Darn good flick, though - check it out.
Milk: Sean Penn deserves an Oscar for his amazing portrayal of Harvey Milk. It actually didn't even feel like a portrayal - more a channeling. Such a loss - that yet another creative and energetic and good leader, was senselessly murdered all those years ago. Fear, hatred and guns - why don't we remove at least the last ingredient in the tragic mix?
Doubt: Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman are amazing, and Viola Davis is a heartbreaking revelation in this battle royale. I was left with less doubt at the end than some of my compatriots ... but that took nothing away from the experience. Meryl Streep deserves an Oscar, IMHO ... and I definitely want her on my side, always!
Slumdog Millionaire: Just a great movie, start to finish. Magical,epic, and a nail-biter (even though you know what's going to happen ... pretty much. The dancing at the end did my heart good - and having M.I.A. in the soundtrack didn't hurt, either!
The Secret Life of Bees: Or was it The Secret Lives of Bees? Anyway, whatever - I want Queen Latifah to be my mother!!! (What was Bill Clinton thinking, throwing her under the bus all those years ago?) The movie was entertaining but not a home run by any means. Too predictable ... but Alicia Keys was wonderfully cranky-verging-on-scary and the Queen was queenly and the honey looked delicious and it was nice hearing India Arie in the soundtrack!
Happy Go Lucky: I think I was supposed to like this more than I did. Perhaps it suffered by being seen pretty much on the heels of Rachel. I found Poppy to be a sometimes intriguing and sometimes annoying character. The relentless joking and "upbeatness" felt distancing and unnecessary. I didn't hate this movie by any means - but something was missing for me.
Rachel Getting Married: Jonathan Demme and an amazing script and cast just blew me away with this effort. The characters are fascinating and complicated and most every interaction in the film left me engaged and wanting to know more! Debra Winger was stupendous - although it's been so long since I've seen her that I kept trying to find the bull-riding Urban Cowboy persona within the steely, distant mother of this wedding movie. (She's not there.) Margot at the Wedding was very good - but Rachel puts her in her place. I highly recommend this to everyone!
Religulous: Bill Maher skewers the rampant "illogic" of religion in this free-wheeling film. His wit is right on target and as barbed as you'd expect. I found myself squirming every once in awhile. I don't mind you picking on the Pope, Bill ... but same as with Michael Moore ... sometimes when you set up "common folks" to look like fools, I cringe. Still, Religulous is worth a look for sure. The best point Bill makes? That conservatives of a religulous bent are about finding answers - while liberals are about asking questions. I can go with that!
Roman de gare: This was an intriguing, surprising, suspenseful, funny, quirky movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters and plot lines are deftly developed. You should definitely check it out if you get the chance!
Young at Heart: YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE! It's a documentary about a choral group of octogenarians in Northampton, MA. Very inspiring ... definitely something to check out!
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: Enjoyable, light fare with a stellar performance by my favorite police chief, Frances McDormand!
The Visitor: Now this was an excellent movie ... from start to finish. It was similar to Smart People in that it had an academic as the main character. However, all similarities ended pretty much right there. In this warm, funny, and wrenching movie, the characters are well and subtly developed, the plot is (unfortunately) believable ... and there are no false notes. I would urge you to see it - you won't be sorry!
Smart People: Looks like we're getting back on track with our Tuesday night movie schedule ... for the time being. Smart People was enjoyable but left me unenthralled. (It probably didn't help that we ran into a totally enthralled movie-goer on the way in who was seeing it for the second time. High expectations may have killed this one for me.) Overall, I found the characters exaggerated and mildly unlikeable ... the dialogue stilted and self-conscious, perhaps just the way smart people talk. But then the lessons about loosening up and being less self-absorbed weren't exactly ground-breaking. Overall, it wasn't a wasted evening ... but not a movie I'll be putting at the top of my list, either.
4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days): Winner of the Palm D'Or at Cannes, this film by Romania's Cristian Mungiu certainly deserves the accolades it receives. It's a realistic and emotionally unflinching story of a woman who helps her friend obtain an illegal abortion in 1987 Romania. The story is harrowing, the acting wonderful, and the cinematography amazing. This film makes Juno look like Disney pablum!
Taxi to the Dark Side: This was a harrowing and eye-opening look at what our country has become under the leadership of Bush/Cheney after 9/11. The "road taken" has definitely been a trip to the dark side. Disgusting and important to see ... as we make our way back toward the light!
Michael Clayton: What an excellent movie! Engaging, engrossing, well-acted. Tilda Swinton certainly deserved an award for her protrayal of what I have to think must be the secret, inner life of Condi Rice.
Persepolis: This animated memoir is an engaging, heartbreaking, uplifting, realistic look at life in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Go see it! It humanizes what our current regime so consistently tries to dehumanize. An important movie, Persepolis is based on the book by Marjane Satrapi.
Margot at the Wedding: Dark, funny, tough to watch and very well acted.
I'm Not There: Bob Dylan's not my favorite, but this was a fascinating movie to watch (albeit long) and since he wasn't there, I couldn't very well feel annoyed by him. Cate Blanchette was just amazing - and I loved the surreal, Fellini-esque feel of the Richard Gere parts.
Atonement: Lush, compelling, painful - I especially loved Vanessa Redgrave's starkly powerful 5 minutes - and the Fellini-esque (can you tell I love Fellini?) flavor of the scenes of the evacuating troops on the beach - complete with ferris wheels - somehow depicting the disorienting horror of war in ways that blood and gore never could. Great movie!
Juno: Well, I went to see it. I totally agree with my friends who found the clinic scene extremely misleading, off-base, and gratuitously negative in its depiction of the women's health movement and its workers. In an otherwise nice movie, this was a thoughtless lapse ... and I was sad to see so many women in Juno's age group in the theater (one of them actually pregnant) ... who'll be coming away with a false impression that could so seriously affect their lives!
The Savages: Wow, what a good movie! Philip Seymour Hoffman has had an amazing run this year between this, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," and that other movie with Tom Hanks ... the name of which is escaping me at the moment ... Charlie Somebody's War. Anyway - he and Laura Linney are just wonderful as siblings dealing with their aging/ailing father. Painful and real ... and set in gritty, wintry Buffalo ... in perfect contrast to Sun City. (The latter looks like a setting that would do David Lynch proud.) Check it out if you haven't seen it!
Wow – it’s very hard to believe that August is nearly over. It’s back to school time … the leaves are starting to have that wee bit of color that portends major changes … and my vacation is winding down.
JordanCornblog 