Meanwhile, there’s healthcare and all. Maddow had a great rundown of the bill and the bizarre and persistent craziness of Bart Stupak as he continues to tilt at windmills. I feel very torn about the whole thing … which is why I can’t understand Bart’s unhapiness. You pretty much have what you want, Stupak!
Obama walked into the lion’s den (errr, the rabid fox’s den more like it) doing an interview on Fox News. You can read the transcript here.
Looks like most follks are getting their picks in order for the Madness to begin. Just a quick reminder that the Men’s bracket closes at @ noontime tomorrow … women’s same time on Friday. Are you ready with your picks? Me – I keep changing mine whenever I have a free moment … that’s how sure I feel about ’em!
One thing I am quite definite about … I always root against Jerry Falwell’s Liberty U (because I don’t want to see the idea that God actually has a hand in all this reinforced at the Big Dance). It’s one and done for Liberty … because God thinks you are wrong!
Speaking of liberty (never one of my favorite words) – isn’t it interesting that Clarence Thomas’ wife has come out as a tea bagger? Here’s her website … inspiring as all get out, eh?
How hypocritical that Obama’s friendship with a radical of some 30 years ago is grist for right-wing outrage … but this current activity by the bedmate of a member of SCOTUS is … okay?
America’s fittest cities according to Gallup, are almost all in states begnning with a C. The two anomalies? Massachusetts and Nevada (both of which border on C-States). This obvious and important factor in your fitness has not yet been studied, but I expect it soon will be.
Meanwhile, as you get your brackets set (there’s still time to change your mind, Mo) here’s some nice info about Breakers old and new … be sure to check the slide show and meet the team!
And have you wondered what became of Epiphanny Prince? She skipped her senior year at Rutgers and has been playing in Russia … and now Turkey … as she works on her game with an eye to making it big!
Kagawa, Prince’s agent, said Prince should follow the lead of Cappie Pondexter, another former Rutgers guard. Pondexter first played for Fenerbahce, a powerhouse in Turkey, before moving on to UMMC Ekaterinburg of the Russian league, where she is believed to be one of the highest-paid female players in the world.
Prince has become something of a trailblazer, one of the first players to forgo her senior year of college to earn money and face tougher, more physical competition overseas.
Before she left, Prince’s family gathered for a celebration. Her grandmother cooked all of Prince’s favorite foods, including macaroni and cheese. Her mother gave her thermal underwear to help ward off Moscow’s cold.
As Prince stood in her living room, looking at the family she hopes to move from low-income housing in Brooklyn with the money she will make playing professionally, she thought about how much her decision had changed everything.
“If I was in school, I’d be taking the conditioning test right now,” Prince said she thought to herself.
Instead, she trained with perhaps the best women’s professional basketball team in the world, then packed again and went to Turkey, where her international odyssey continues.
As the rain pelts and the wind howls outside, I’m on my second cup of coffee, contemplating a blank screen and toying with the idea of writing something really silly.
JordanCornblog has been feeling rather rudderless of late. (Talking about the blog here, not the actual person.) Being “ruddered” was never what I’d call a strong suit of the blog, but lately things seem especially aimless.
Maybe it’s because healthcare reform is too complex for early morning writing. (Note the implication that, were JordanCornblog to tackle it later in the day there’d be no problem.)
Maybe it’s the fact that at least one reader gets annoyed every time I bring up Ms. Palin … so I am a little shy about that particular obsession.
Maybe it’s the just plain predictable, deadening-yet-terrifying boringness of the far right and all their machinations. I mean, how many times can you come up with creative ways to call them idiots?
Or maybe I can blame it on UConn and the fact that they have removed much of the drama from the women’s side of the March Madness equation.
On the plus side, March Madness will soon be underway. (Note to Mo and RPE … can you reach out to your bro/cousin on FB and get him the links for playing? We need the perspective from Sicily to liven things up!)
And the WPS springs into action next month … brrrrr … those cement seats at Harvard stadium sure are inviting on a damp April evening!
Here’s a snippet for Boltgirl … the Red Stars have signed Engen and dropped two as they put the team through its pre-season paces. Nice to see that Kate Markgraf is back in the mix for the Red Stars (But not yet for the USWNT – wonder what Kate’s plans are on that front – anyone heard?). Still puzzled by the Red Stars’ release of Tarpley … but the proof’ll be in the pudding, I guess. The Athletica look scary good to me!
Here’s the preseason game thread … and partial schedule (below) from BigSoccer … where I also read that Atlanta beat Auburn 3-2 this past week on the strength of goals by Latham, Thompson, and Zerboni:
3/12 – Chicago Red Stars vs. Washington Freedom (Vero Beach, FL) (Freedom 2-Red Stars 1 … DeVanna for the Freedom is the only goal-scorer I read about.)
3/13 – FC Gold Pride vs. TEPCO Mareeze (Mustang Soccer Complex, Danville, CA)
3/17 – Boston Breakers vs. US U-20 National Team (Univ of Florida?)
3/20 – Boston Breakers vs. Sky Blue FC (Univ. of Florida?)
3/20 – Philadelphia Independence vs. University of North Carolina (United Sports, Downingtown, PA)
3/23 – Boston vs. Atlanta (Univ. of Florida?)
3/24 – Boston vs University of Florida (Gainesville, FL)
3/25 – FC Gold Pride vs. University of San Francisco (Negoesco Stadium, San Francisco, CA)
3/27 – Philadelphia Independence at Washington Freedom
4/1 – FC Gold Pride vs. Santa Clara (Buck Shaw Stadium)
4/1 – Philadelphia Independence vs. Penn State University (Downingtown, PA)
4/3 – Saint Louis Athletica vs. Atlanta Beat (University of Tulsa, OK).
The USWNT is prepping to play Mexico later this month … so here’s a bit about the Mexico team … including ex-Breaker (and Mexico captain) Monica Gonzalez … who’s got a modeling gig going, too.
We are heading down to Nashua to watch Mo and his Twin Valley teammates win their second-in-a-row State Championship in ice hockey (fingers crossed). Stay tuned – and don’t worry, RPE – I will NOT use the word minions when I write this one up – promise!
It is with great sadness that I report that, while following the USWNT and WPS and getting ready for March Madness, JordanCornblog entirely missed the fact that Texas was finally and unequivocally losing it. The State’s ultra-conservatives have apparently succeeded in injecting their skewed world view into school curriculums … beating back what small progress had been made there on the intellectual front.
“Some board members themselves acknowledged this morning that the process for revising curriculum standards in Texas is seriously broken, with politics and personal agendas dominating just about every decision,” said Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, which advocates for religious freedom.
Republican Terri Leo, a member of the powerful Christian conservative voting bloc, called the standards “world class” and “exceptional.”
World class, indeed. More discouraging, I’d say. Reality is a subjective thing … but I guess that’s the issue, isn’t it. Some people just don’t see it that way. Those dudes in Texas, they see it as cut and dried – my way or the highway. Guess we’re lucky they don’t insist on a different outcome to the Civil War.
On to happier things … like celebrating Alice’s birthday … 😉 and watching Mo play hockey this weekend … and getting ready for March Madness. While the winner on the Women’s side seems kinda predictable … EVERYTHING else is looking wide open to me. I am looking forward to some crazy upsets in the coming weeks.
Wow, as I look out my window I’m struck by the inveterate greyness of March. Isn’t that what you think of? March … November … winter’s leaden book-ends.
Back in Philly I remember that March always also spelled the beginning of lacrosse season … wooden sticks and muddy fields and the joy of being outside again after 3 1/2 months of smelly, sweaty gyms. No boundaries to the fields back then … and days lengthening and the sounds of children’s voices outside of an evening. Yup, “lacrosse weather!”
Of course it’s “baseball weather” as well. Different, younger feel to that for me. The feel of baseball weather takes me back to elementary school, when Johnny Callison was my favorite Phillie. Now as I age (and some might say, regress) I find myself having “favorite Phillies” again … and wishing we hadn’t buried the damn baseball cards all those years ago. In a fit of grammar school paranoia, we hid them so well from our neighborhood “enemies” that when we went back to find them later, even we couldn’t ferret them out again.
And DAMN … if we had them in hand today, the Cornblog sibs would probably all be able to retire quite comfortably.
Baseball weather. Thinking of that I see my father on the patio, Harry Kalas … or By Saam … droning as he smokes and snoozes after a day at work. (Mom is prowling inside … but we won’t think about that right now.) There’s Dad, steady, predictable, mysterious in his way. Or I see him working in his garden, little transistor radio perched precariously on the fence. The magnolia is blooming, and the radishes are coming up.
Ah radishes – always the first produce in the spring … proudly presented, and not-so-happily eaten, at least by yours truly, as I recall. (Always felt a little guilty about that … can still feel it here at my desk in Canterbury.)
Here’s to a March Morning … as the Madness approaches … and dark winter recedes. And Dad, seriously … thanks for the radishes! I appreciate them now!
Randomly speaking (it’s that kind of morning) … for Twitter aficionados, here’s a site where you can find various athletes on Twitter. It’s a big help … especially if you care about following the real people! 😉
And I am feeling my age … as I have absolutely no idea who Corey Haim is/was and didn’t even recognize him. Don’t quite know what to think about that but, believe me, I am thinking!
I just sent out my initial March Madness e-mail … as the excitement builds. We had some blog readers participate last year … so be sure to be in touch if you’re interested again and I haven’t contacted you! 😉
I am mulling my post about anger … need to set aside some time for it. Maybe tonight. Meanwhile, I’ve added a local legal group to my list of annoyances (sorry, AMR). They are an advocacy group who I would normally be very much in support of, as their mission is to defend the rights of people who might not otherwise have a voice.
In practice, however, they are too often unreasonable and prone to insert themselves where their activities are actually quite counter-productive from a clinical point of view. The fact is that good mental health treatment can sometimes put providers and clients at odds … and working that through is part of the process of recovery. Insert an attorney and things get all f-cked up. But they don’t see it … and man can that ever be a pain in the butt. Especially when they cop an attitude, too.
Ugh – let’s talk soccer.
England is playing in the Cypress Cup, where they are not having the tournament they’d like … but did pull out the win against Italy (with 2 goals by our own Alex Scott)!
Here’s a profile of Breaker newbie Katherine Reynolds … as the season draws nigh … 😉
So UConn survived a small first-half scare from Notre Dame and are now set to face West Virginia in the Big East Final tonight (7PM ET). They also secured their 71st straight victory – eclipsing the streak that ended in 2003. It’s kind scary to think about how long this might go on …
Pia has called Lil back into camp … first time since 2008 for the former captain. Congrats. Lil – and good luck making the roster! “If Lilly makes the game roster and gets into one of the Mexico matches, she will have represented the USA in four different decades. ” Yikes, is all I can say. Here are the 24 players .
Goalkeepers (3): Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride), Jill Loyden (Chicago Red Stars), Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica)
Defenders (8): Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Stephanie Cox (Boston Breakers), Whitney Engen (Chicago Red Stars), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Philadelphia Independence), Meghan Schnur (Sky Blue FC), Brittany Taylor (Sky Blue FC), Cat Whitehill (Washington Freedom)
Midfielders (7): Yael Averbuch (Sky Blue FC), Shannon Boxx (St. Louis Athletica), Kristine Lilly (Boston Breakers), Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Megan Rapinoe (Chicago Red Stars)
Forwards (6): Lauren Cheney (Boston Breakers), Alex Morgan (California), Casey Nogueira (Chicago Red Stars), Kelley O’Hara (FC Gold Pride), Amy Rodriguez (Philadelphia Independence), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)
Writing this just reminded me that I dreamed about soccer … and about former coach Greg Ryan playing in goal and making a series of hapless, dunderheaded plays, humiliating himself and kinda making me a wee bit happy, have to say. Weird, huh?
Got me thinking about how much anger I drag around with me … unprocessed, sapping energy and snagging me at inopportune times. Grist for a future post. 😉
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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