I was met with the sickening cries of hate and fear as I passed through Downtown Concord today. The teabaggers were in town (see here for a full definition of these folk), ranting and raving about our overtaxed system and “socialist” president. They wore buttons, flew flags, passed out pamphlets and promoted the likes of Jennifer Horn and Ovide Lamontagne. Despite my recent bout with the flu, this wave of nausea was attributed to the thick fog of disgust that filled the air. And, in fact, there was an awfully foul smell making its way down Main Street about that time. Hmmm….I digress!
New Hampshire is in the throes of a major budget crisis. The programs and rights that people have come to rely upon are being cut down before our very eyes. DHHS is set, yet again, to bore the brunt of the budget cuts. Millions of federal dollars cannot be used as we, as a state, cannot match the gifted monies. People are pointing fingers, wondering why the cuts are higher in some areas and less in others. Our judicial branch is, most literally, dying. We scramble to find money and swallow the fact that we are forced to put another agency, another life, in dire straits to meet our constitutional obligations.
The state continues to make cuts to satisfy the cries of the “no’s” and neglects to recognize the urgency of finding a steady source of revenue. For the first time in New Hampshire’s history, legalizing gambling is a real possibility. As frightening as this may seem, many legislators feel as if there are no other viable alternatives. There is no more fat to cut from this slim budget. Without this potential (I use the term VERY loosely) revenue stream, they fear more programs for the elderly, disabled and others will be compromised. But there are the imbeciles standing on the street corners, protesting an overtaxed system. They ranted about overspending and health care. Many held signs about “no more welfare” and “return to work”. Ironically enough, this was at 2:00 p.m. on a Tuesday. Why weren’t they at work? Again, I digress…
What would happen if we could work together to resolve the issues? Does one have the right to complain about what is wrong if they cannot offer a solution to make it right? I, too, am losing faith in my government. Not because I am sick of their “tax and spend” behavior but for exactly the opposite. When will we realize that it’s no longer feasible to continue down this path? What will it take to stunt this small state from its gripping fear of a broad based tax? One can only go so deep with a cut before they do irreparable, even fatal, damage.
Move on to your next stop, TeaParty Express. Pack up your buttons, your flags, your “fact” sheets, and, most importantly, your mouths and get outta town. Your message is of no use here…..
PS – on a lighter note, the beat of music that plays when visiting JordanCornBlog really gets the head bobbing!!
Rather than pony up and cleanse its collective soul with the much touted power of the confessional (apparently what’s good for the goose ain’t good for the gander), the big hats at the Vatican are now casting the spotlight on homosexuality as the culprit in their sex scandal issues. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, shame on you. What an immoral and misguided ploy as you try to slither away from taking responsibility! How’s your immortal soul doing?
Meanwhile, another bishop (Giacomo Babini) is apparently blaming the Jews for the criticism of the Catholic Church and its response to sex abuse claims. Paranoia reigns, as things continue to unravel in the pontificate. Even Catholics seem to be questioning the heirarchy in its handling of these matters … a sign that there is intelligent life in the church!
A new Pew survey shows that while Catholics are still more positive than Americans in general about Pope Benedict XVI’s handling of the abuse scandal, they have grown more critical of how he has addressed the issue.
In a telephone survey of 1,001 adults conducted April 1-5, more than one in 10 Americans, or 12 percent, said the pope has done an excellent or good job in handling the abuse scandal and 71 percent said he had done only a fair or poor job.
Out of all the Catholics in the survey group, 32 percent said the pope has done an excellent or good job, but 59 percent rated his handling of the scandal as fair or poor. Of Catholics who said they attend Mass weekly, 44 percent gave the pope a rating of excellent or good, while 49 percent said he was doing a fair or poor job.
Power surely corrupts, doesn’t it? This is an ongoing and ugly display of it, that’s for sure.
On a MUCH happier note … Boltgirl has a Droid … and I am definitely just a month or two behind. Check out the review at her place … it’s exactly what I hoped for on all fronts!
And what a beautiful weekend! These are the kinds of days when I can sometimes struggle with the feeling that I am not adequately appreciating the gifts of the moment … talk about finding a way to sabotage oneself!!
The daffodils are in full bloom here, and the buds are bursting … and the bugs are just starting to stir, but haven’t yet made outdoor activity virtually untenable. In short – it’s been an incredible string of days!
I learned, over the weekend, about a fun travelogue blog that I’ve added to my sidebar … An English Education. Check it out – it’ll make you want to travel and/or go back to college … and/or both! Nicely done, Emily!
On the SCOTUS front, I’m struck by Arianna Huffington’s suggestion that Elizabeth Warren be selected by Obama. I think she is awesome, but would hate to lose her services in the Executive Branch … or even as someone who might run for office. Of the names I’ve seen bandied about, the one I like best is Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm. She’s smart, savvy, and (as a Canadian) precluded from other high office … so let’s get her situated where we can best use her smarts and skills over the long haul! That’s what I’m thinking.
Turning to more mundane matters, the Phillies won a close one yesterday, as the Doctor posted the first complete game of the year in MLB. Today’s the Phillies’ home opener, with Hamels on the mound. The Red Sox won … and sadly the Yankees did, too. In WPS play, Sky Blue defeated the Red Stars, the Athletica (with Lori Chalupny back) handed it to Marta and her FC Gold Pride, while our two expansion teams … Atlanta and Philly … played to a 0-0 tie out in West Chester, PA!
HollyCornblog and CharlieHopbrew are heading to Galax, VA for some trail biking and (I’m guessing) beer tasting.
And me? I’m looking at a brief run … maybe a walk with the dogs in the woods … and sending off my taxes. I owe money this year and you know what? I don’t mind sending it in. I get so anoyed with the teabagger types who get all het up about paying taxes. Where do they think the roads that they drive on come from? What exactly is it that they don’t think they should have to pay for? I mean, really! And what ever happened to the idea of sharing?
Ahhhhh. Okay, just breathe in, breathe out. It’s a beautiful day and there’s room enough in the world for me and ten or twnety teabaggers. You have a right to your opinions. I’m gonna just enjoy the day and let it go.
This comment from my friend over at Nourishing Words was helpful and eye-opening for me … a worthy challenge. Read on:
JC – I had to rush in from my digging and weeding (really!) when this thought came to mind, regarding your focus on (distraction by?) Ms. S.P. I make a conscious effort to mention Ben Hewitt on my blog and on twitter as often as reasonably possible, so that I can play a role in raising awareness about him and his new book (The Town That Saved Food). I’m contributing to his google ranking in doing that and, in my own way, his notoriety. You’re contributing to S.P.’s also, every time you mention her name, even if you’re tearing her apart.
I wonder, if all of us who wish she would go away got together and ignored her by never mentioning her name again, could we have any meaningful collective effect on diminishing her importance? Would she (or someone smart enough to see it, who advises her) see her google rankings go down? Just a thought. I’m trying so hard to believe in the power of one; I’m going to try it. At the very least, we could pour that energy into something or someone more deserving.
I responded as follows:
Thank you – I think you are absolutely right and I will try what you suggest. It will be cleansing and I thoroughly agree about the power of one. Starting today … no more adding to the SEO for Ms. you-know-who!
There are far more useful things to do with my energies … and I’ll use the same clear-eyed and well-grounded thinking when it comes to the other bottom feeders that it is so easy to get caught up in ridiculing. Why incrementally increase their Google rank? Why, indeed!
Sounds like Lil was stellar with 2 assists for the B’s (goals by Lauren Cheney and Kelly Smith). The Phils sit atop the majors with a nifty, early April team batting average of .337! (Top that, damn Yankees!)
The WNBA draft netted Tina Charles for the Connecticut Sun. (I’m thinking it’s time for a trip down to Mohegan Sun, eh, Dewd?) Here’s how it all shaped up …
The retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens creates another opening on the Supreme Court for President Obama to fill. Quickly elevating the discussion, as one would expect him to, Glenn Beck has speculated in predictably sophomoric fashion that POTUS will choose a gay, handicapped, black, female immigrant to serve. The comments following the post are, as always, very entertaining! And Mr. Beck is, as always, just shrill and stupid. I wonder if he would see Sarah Palin as qualified?
Sounds like Elena Kagan is a front-runner – smart, and without a large paper trail of legal opinions for the GOP to tear into. I hate it that it’s that way – and that Obama may, from a practical standpoint, have to go more conservative than many of us would wish. After all, look what just happened with Dawn Johnson … someone that any reasonable legislators would have approved a long time ago!
Enough – it’s a beautiful morning and deconstruction of shallow political bickering is just going to depress me. How about some good soccer news … like the fact that the WPS season kicks off this weekend!? How does it all shape up? Who’ll be fast out of the gate? Who’ll falter? How will Marta do up the coast with FC Gold Pride? Will the Breakers’ develop some scoring punch to go with their defensive prowess? We shall see! The Breakers play the Freedom tonight at 7PM ET in DC. You’ll be able to follow it on MatchTracker at the Breakers’ site. Tomorrow night it’s Sky Blue vs. Boltgirl’s Red Stars on FSC … and off we go!
Check out the Set Piece podcast, previewing the coming WPS season (or use the player below …)!
I know that there are billions and billions of people out there, some even readers of this blog, who have better and/or more pressing things to do than think about Sarah Palin. (Yes, jpe, I am thinking of you and I do apologize.)
Truth be told, I do, too (have better things to do). And I will be engaging with each and every one of them momentarily.
But you know what, Sarah is like a magnet for me. Or maybe more precisely, like a bad tooth that I can’t leave alone. The kind of tooth that’s a little loose, or cracked, or decayed. You know, the kind where you go to the dentist and want to say, “Drill Baby, Drill!” The kind of tooth that wants a crown. Yeah, that’s what Sarah P is like for me … a loose, cracked tooth looking for a crown.
Anyway, I was very pleased to read this morning on Huffpo that she kinda bombed in her latest speech. This was a $75 – 100,000 engagement addressing the Wine and Spirits Wholesellers Expo. In reading the description of the event, I am flabbergasted that they chose her … and flabbergasted that she would apparently be so ill-prepared and lame. With all the money she is raking in, why doesn’t she at least hire better speech-writers?
Well, that got me wondering about who writes her speeches. A google of “Sarah Palin Speech Writers” doesn’t yield a whole lot … but then again, would you want that on your resume? I did net one guy – Matthew Scully. He’s an Arizona State grad and the author of Dominion – a book about animals and animal rights that seems severely out of sync with the rest of his resume. The irony of his connection of the gun-slinging Palin is hard to wrap one’s head around … check out this passage from his Wikopedia bio:
Scully is the author of Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy (2002), described by Natalie Angier in a book review published in The New York Times (October 27, 2002) as a “horrible, wonderful, important book,” in large measure “because the author, an avowed conservative Republican and former speechwriter for George W. Bush, is an unexpected defender of the animals against the depredations of profit driven corporations, swaggering, gun-loving hunters, proponents of renewed ‘harvesting’ of whales and elephants and others who insist that all of nature is humanity’s romper room, to play with, rearrange, and plunder at will.[3] Nichols Fox in a review published in the The Washington Post wrote that Dominion is “destined to become a classic defense of mercy.”[4]
Of course there were lots of Nazis who were very sentimental about their Dobermans. Anyway, with the exception of her acceptance speech at the 2008 GOP convention, Scully seems to have had no association with Palin (at least none that he’s public about). So who’s doing the heavy lifting now? Who’s putting words into that pretty mouth?
Anyone? Or is it just Palin her ownself? Whoever is doing it, the appeal is confounding to me … and yet reflective of our culture … as John McWhorter writes, in his excellent piece in TNR:
I don’t think Palin’s phraseology is actively attractive to her fans. Rather, what is remarkable is that this way of speaking doesn’t prevent someone, today, from public influence. Candidates bite the dust for being untelegenic, dour, philanderers, strident, or looking silly posing in a tank. But having trouble rubbing a noun and a verb together is not considered a mark against one as a figure of political authority.
It used to be that a way with a word could get you past the electorate even if there was nothing behind it. Did you ever wonder why, for example, a mediocrity like Warren G. Harding became President? It was partly good looks, but partly that he had a gift for making a speech. If he had stood on daises talking like Sarah Palin day after day and there existed the communications technology and practice to bring this regularly before voters, James Cox would have become President.
The modern American typically relates warmly to the use of English to the extent that it summons the oral — “You betcha,” “Yes we can!” — while passing from indifference to discomfort to the extent that its use leans towards the stringent artifice of written language. As such, Sarah Palin can talk, basically, like a child and be lionized by a robust number of perfectly intelligent people as an avatar of American culture. And linguistically, let’s face it: she is.
But this still begs the question of who puts the words that she mangles on the piece of paper (or, I guess, writes them on her hand)? Who’s got this gem on her or his resume? That’s what I want to know.
With the end of March Madness, the WPS season not yet started, the baseball season still young, and the NBA and NHL effectively off my radar … I find myself looking at news of the real world this morning. What’s been happening since those two Selection Sunday’s back there in mid-March?
Well, Sarah Palin has been raking in more bucks than I care to think about, for starters. That voice alone, never mind the quality of her ideas, should be raking in no more than the minimum wage (that she probably would not have supported, had she had a say in the matter). Then again, if you subscribe to the notion that we get what we deserve … Sarah is a good barameter of the state of this nation’s collective soul. I comfort myself with the news that she remains “noncimmital” about the 2012 election. So long as her crassness is netting more with her self-promoting gigs than she would as POTUS, I’m confident she’ll keep doing what she’s doing!
So what does POTUS earn? Here it is, from Wikipedia …
“The president earns a $400,000 annual salary, along with a $50,000 annual expense account, a $100,000 non-taxable travel account and $19,000 for entertainment.[17][18] The most recent raise in salary was approved by Congress and President Bill Clinton in 1999 and went into effect in 2001.”
And what’s her crassness worth at this point? No, let’s rephrase that … how much money is she making (as she exploits the hell out of John McCain’s frivolous choice way back when)? Here are some educated guesses from The Atlantic.
Ugh!!! It never pays to come up for air!
The Phillies are off to a 2-0 start … let’s keep it up today! Meanwhile – here’s a nice piece about Roy Halliday. Each year his goal is to have more starts than walks! The video is worth a look.
Finally … sorry about the Sox. You’ll get ’em next time!
Well, it sure wasn’t pretty, but the Huskies pulled out the win (as did tylerdewdney in our women’s bracket). I guess this means that our winner will be able to afford to fly home … and maybe even buy a new pair of soccer cleats! 😉 He can thank Maya Moore, who took over in the second half. The rest, as they say, was history-in-the-making. Geno is 7 for 7 in NCAA Tournament Finals, and jbd can relax now … as her team has done it again!
Meanwhile (darn it all) the Yankees beat the Red Sox 6-4 last night. Phillies play their second game of the new season tonight at 7.
Yeah, it was Duke. But congrats to afboyny23 on winning it all (don’t forget to report the $$ in your taxes)! You hung in and pulled out the win after a maelstrom of messier-than-usual March Madness. And sorry, reades … you gave it the old college try, quite literally!
POTUS, if you’re reading this … well … congrats on winning your game of POTUS on the White House Court. Oh yeah, and health insurance reform, too.
Here’s the list of top scorers in the NY Times Bracket … I am amazed that anyone could have gotten the Final Four right this year. You deserve an iPad … or whatever the prize was!
Meanwhile, we’ve got a game tonight, down in San Antonio! Check out the post game quotes at NCAA.com – just click the links toward the bottom of the page for interesting stff from both Stanford and UConn! Same page … if you click “Pressers” you get lots of different video options. Who will win it all? (I mean our bracket game … not the final, silly!) Will it be tylerdewdney or beeg23?
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!
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