Whine & Cheese

Bush To Be Stoned

I am not sure when was the last time I had much anticipation over an Oliver Stone film, but having already tackled JFK and Nixon... but the casting on the often controversial director's next feature W., tackling the current POTUS an scheduled for a 2009 release, has me pretty intrigued. 

The First Family is set with Josh Brolin playing Dubya, Elizabeth Banks (best known to me as JD's baby mamma on Scrubs) as Laura ... and veteran actors James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn as George Sr. and Barbara.   While I am sure many would agree (myself included) that this is very kind casting, I can definitely see them pulling off the roles quite nicely.

Also pictured above, and in final talks to join the production are Thandie Netwon as Condi and Ioan Gruffudd as Tony Blair -- again pretty fine choices.  Still to be cast... the axis of evil... Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rove... can't quite think who would fit... any ideas?

Weekend Update: Sicko, Borders, and BB8

Instead of rambling on, I will try some brief-ish commentary on a few things from the weekend.

On Saturday night, we caught Michael Moore's latest Sicko (thanks, Scott... and I will just leave it at that... hee hee!).  As always, Moore does a bang-up job, this time on the American health care system, that manages to be (and at times, simultaneously) entertaining, infuriating, funny, heart-breaking, and embarrassing.  I still think Moore is a master manipulator and a tad bit of a sensationalist... but, if you tend to agree with his politics, it is easier to swallow (though this is far less partisan than his past few films).  But whatever you think of Moore, it is clear that our country's health-care system is FUBAR.  I dare any (American) viewer not to have to pick their jaw up off the floor after seeing examples of evil socialized health care systems in other democratic (and even one quite autocratic) nations.

********************

We "rented" our first movie to our TiVo via Amazon Unbox.  It felt quite like "the future is now" moment, to be able to download a movie right from our TiVo box... and for only 99 cents.  Each weekend (Fri-Sun ony), Unbox gives you 5 of these "special deals"... so for under $1, it seemed worth a try/experiment.  We are curious to see what the picture quality will be... the 2 hour, 10 minute movie (ok, it's Dreamgirls... haha!) takes up less disk space than a 30 minute program in HD.... so this has us slightly concerned, especially since we have officially turned into HD snobs (official word is that it is better than "Best" TiVo quality).  Why haven't we checked it out?  In a Big-Brother-ish way, rentals are deleted off your TiVo after 30 days or 24 hours after you start watching... whichever comes first... so since we decided on Sicko this weekend, we'll catch this one some other time.

********************

On Saturday, we were also stereotypical gay Democrats... a trip to Borders to pick up a couple of new book.  Even though I have four recently purchased books sitting on my shelf, I had to finally get the latest Armistead Maupin book, Micheal Tolliver Lives... and Todd picked up Al Gore's The Assault on Reason.  Even at lunchtime ("the morning after"), the store was still in a Harry Potter frenzy.  I was the only person in the checkout line who did not have a Harry Potter book (and nearly everyone walking around the store seemed to have a copy in hand as well).  I asked the cashier if I would be able to leave the store without a Potter book... she laughed and said she wasn't sure about that...

********************

Finally, Big Brother 8!  I am having some movement in my unofficial favorite houseguest list.  Dick is on the slide for me.  As often happens, a player gets HoH and their head swells beyond recognition.  We watched some of the ShoToo BB After Dark  show this weekend, and Dick pretty much thinks he's the best player ever to be in the BB house.  We lapsed into a coma listening to Dick drone on to Kail telling her all the ways she's messed up... which granted she did... but shut the f&ck up already... and I don't know why they even talking to each other since Dick would tell Kail approximately every 10 minutes that she was not going to be in the house next week. 

I still like Eric, but his America's Choice shtick with the raised eyebrow and the rubbing hands in preparation  "okay, America!" is getting old... fast!  Though I realize, he is probably coached by BB to address the camera in that manner.

Jen is on the rise.  Now, I still don't like her... but I do recognize her entertainment value.  Her line last night over "being bad about feeling bad" for the folks on slop was classic.  She's no Janelle, but there is some of that sass that makes her preferable to some of those personality-challenged hamsters.

Oh, we finally had a Showtime moment. BB After Dark promises us uncensored feeds... it usually doesn't take long for the F-bombs to start dropping... but we saw our first case of "real" nudity... i.e. something other than Jen almost wearing her bikini.  We're innocently watching Kail, Mike, and Jen talking around the hot tub... when suddenly there's a full-monty frontal shot of Amber drying off in the HoH bathroom.  The nudity wasn't the shock per se... it was just the sudden camera switch and that we had yet to see Amber (bathing or otherwise) prior to that on this session of the televised feeds... and it really was a very quick flash as she wrapped a towel around herself... but they caught it and we got to see everything... and let's just say it appears Amber maintains her nether regions pretty darn well.  I'm guessing most of the camera people (and decision-making feed producers) are men... so I have my doubts we'd ever see equal treatment when it comes to the guys... but who knows!

Fast Food Nation: The Movie

I am usually quite "up" on stuff like this (heck, it is one reason I am currently reading this classic novel... btw, almost wrapped up!)...

Having recently finished reading "Fast Food Nation", I had absolutely no idea it was going to be turned into a major motion picture coming this fall...

Curiously enough, it is not a documentary... they are fictionalizing it. 

I checked out the trailer and it appears Greg Kinnear is portraying author Eric Schlosser... though according to the film's listing on IMDb his "character" is Don Henderson... and the fast-food restaurant featured is called "Mickey's."   The trailer (available on the movie's official website) does seem to cover most of the topics in the book... interesting!   This may just drag me back to the movie theater!

Movie Mania Continues

If you are looking for something to add to your TiVo or Netflix queue (does anyone rent anymore?)... here are my thoughts on my latest round of movie watching:

House of Flying Daggers - I am a bit surprised that I am getting into these martial arts films.  But I guess I tend to like artsy stuff... but going back to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon I developed an affinity for this genre.  I guess I am saying the badly-dubbed, kung-fu type-stuff is what I really don't like.  I won't give too much of the plot away, but this one has quite a few plot twists... but the story is easy to follow (yes, it's subtitled).  It has all those gravity-defying type action-sequences... but heck, on the realism scale it is pretty much the disbelief equivalent of the bad guys having no aim, and the good guys knocking 'em off in one shot.   The film is like a piece of art brought to life.  And okay, the male lead Takeshi Kaneshiro is really quite striking at times.

The Wedding Date - Like the other romantic comedies I have seen of late, this one was realy no different... pretty predictable, not great... but light, fluffy, harmless and entertaining.  Basically these films only make it to the big screen thanks to the leads...and Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney made it an enjoyable and watchable hour and a half.  Messing plays Kat, pretty much Grace in an alternate Will-less universe, who hires male-escort Mulroney for $6k to accompany her to her sister's wedding in London.  I sent this movie off with my guy since he has a thing for Dermot (ok, I do too!)... and I am sure it kept him company... particularly since we got to see some Dermot chest... and even brief booty... yum!... but darn that Messing for getting in the way!

Napolean Dynamite - Finally got around to seeing this one... and I can really see why it has become a real cult-classic favorite.  That's said, I really don't know what to say about it... after it was done, I just thought... what an odd little movie.  But definitely fun and different.

Weekend Movies

Survived the weekend, the hardest part of Todd's business trips are the weekends.  During the week, I am alone most of the day anyhow... so weeknights it was a matter of just keeping myself occupied for a few hours (which I managed to do making major progress on my latest book)... but the weekends are the most challenging... a lot of time to fill!

Our TiVos are still quite anorexic... our main 140-hour one had 102 suggestions (which we use to gage how much free space we have) early last week.  Currently it is in the upper 80s, mostly thanks to some movies I have recorded off HBO (some of which I burned on DVDs and sent off with Todd), so that has been the major TV entertainment of late.

But thankfully, I did get out of the house and have some social time this weekend.  Scott was nice enough to lend me Buckaroo for dinner and a movie.  We ended up seeing the big-screen reunion of Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in The Lake House... a "suspend all reality," time-warp romance.  It was pretty good... but if it has Sandy in it, that's usually good enough for me... but we agreed that it was probably a good choice to see without our significant others.

A funny thing happend on the way into the theater.  We were looking around for seats and a group of women passed by us.  One of them said to us "Oh, you're seeing a chick flick, huh."  We were like "Yeah, I guess"... and then she quickly added "Well, that's a good way to meet girls."  We could only smile and suppress a giggle after that one... I guess it's not the way to meet very perceptive or smart girls.

At home, it seems I am in a "romantic comedy" kick... here are some of flicks I recently caught up on:

Wimbledon - No explanation why I wanted to catch this one... being a tennis fan, plus the fact that the real Wimbledon tournament is conveniently just a week away.  Pretty harmless, entertaining, and predictable flick.  The leads, played by Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany, were charming... though I didn't quite get what attracted them to each other in the first place.  But, I had some issues since I think I know a thing or two about tennis. First, I think it is highly doubtful that two players would start up a romance during a Grand Slam tournament.  Not saying it doesn't or can't happen... but no terribly believeable.  Ok, that one I can let slide... but a semifinal singles match would never be played on a outside court at the All England Club (which surprisingly allowed filming, even on famed Center Court).  Perhaps real-life tennis commentators, Mary Carillo, John McEnroe, and Chris Evert (appearing in cameos) should have set them straight on that one.

Monster-In-Law - Not expecting much from this one, other than the run-of-the-mill romantic comedy... but it was not so bad. Like Sandy and Kirsten, Jennifer Lopez is pretty palatable no matter what she's in... and this one was pretty easy to digest... though the handsome Michael Vartan deserves sopme credit as well.  Of course, this was Jane Fonda's big return to the silver screen and I give her props for having fun and doing something totally over the top... though Wanda Sykes does manage to steal nearly every scene she's in with the Oscar winner.  TV fans will also catch Will Arnett (Arrested Development's Gob) in a supporting role... and a brief appearance by Harriet Sansom Harris (the devilish Felicia Tillman from Desperate Housewives).

Bride & Prejudice - This is the Bollywood re-telling of you guessed it... Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice (a book that I have never read or likewise seen any of the dozens of movie translations).  Bollywood is the nickname of the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) based movie industry in India.  In the film, our heroine is a young woman trying to find love in a land of arranged marriages... which puts her on the bumpy road to romance with an American hotel heir, William Darcy. 

This was my first dip into Bollywood and I have to say it is a tad strange.  These films are known for their extravagant and colorful musical production numbers.  But it is not a musical per se... just a film, that occasionally breaks out into song... with the singing being not terribly well-dubbed by folks other than the actors.  Overall it was an interesting and different experience... there are some good looking boys (though the guy that plays Darcy has the charisma of a wood log)... but the strikingly beautiful (and "The Queen of Bollywood") Aishwarya Rai is certainly worth a look.  Oh, for Lost fans, Naveen Andrews also has a supporting role... see Sayid sing (well, lip-synch) and dance!

Academy Award Predictions

Taking a cue from JD and posting my Academy Award predictions... again not who I think should win, but will win.  We don't match up on 14 of the 24 categories (though only 2 of the 8 "biggies"), so I am not which one of us will help you win your Oscar contest!   Basically, I just handicapped the handicappers!

The biggies:
Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain
Best Director: Ang Lee
Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffmann
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon
Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney
Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz
Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain
Original Screenplay: Crash

"Like I really have a clue" predictions:
Animated Feature: Howl's Moving Castle
Art Direction: Memoirs of a Geisha
Cinematography: Good Night and Good Luck
Costume Design: Memoirs of a Geisha
Documentary Feature: March of the Penguins
Documentary Short: God Sleeps in Rwanda
Film Editing: Munich
Foreign Language: Paradise Now
Makeup: Chronicles of Narnia
Score: Brokeback Mountain
Song: "Travelin' Thru"
Animated Short Film: The Moon and the Son
Live-Action Short Film: The Last Farm
Sound Editing: King Kong
Sound Mixing: Chronicles of Narnia
Visual Effects: King Kong

Swans, Witchhunts and Birdies... Oh My!

We had quite the event-packed weekend... here are the highlights:

On Friday night, as part of our Broadway Across America season ticket package, we saw Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.  And this definitely was not your grandma-ma's Swan Lake...

As you may know, it was the groundbreaking take on the classic ballet... but the "swans" are male!  So think of it more as Brokeback Lake... as it turned out to be the a homo-erotic crossfire worthy of the OK Corral! 

So you are probably thinking this was a slam-dunk, "loved it" from us... well, not exactly.  I have to admit that the "high brow" arts (see also: "foo foo" or "la-ti-da") arts are not exactly my cup of tea.  So put ballet, opera, and even museums on that list (though there are certainly exceptions)... I know this is a shocking revelation from a guy whose life seems to swirl around reality television!   

But while quite well-done and truly quite visual stunning, this production, at several points, just seemed interminable!  Our eyes were rolling over into the back of our heads quite in step with Swan's famous music.  While you think the eye candy would counteract all of this (which ok, admittedly it did at times), the male cast seemed more like a bunch of eunuchs... as noted by the absence of any body hair in the above picture.  So again.. not bad by any stretch... and while nice to see something different for a change, just give me back our good 'ole fashion musical!

************************************************************************

On Saturday, we caught a matinee of the re-released because of Oscar nomations, Good Night, And Good Luck.  It was really quite a good film, that really as much about today's world as it did during the Joseph McCarthy witchhunt era of the 1950's... funny, you wouldn't expect anything currently politically from writer/director George Clooney, now would you!?  Haha!

So now we have seen 3 of 5 Best Picture nominees, which has to be some kind of record for us in the past couple of years.  While this was quite good, we would probably still put it in the third slot after Brokeback and Munich.

As mentioned, the movie definitley proves the old adage that history repeats itself.  After one of Murrow's (played expertly by David Stratharin) takes on dissent... a person in the theater actually applauded.  In their Oscar issue (out this week), Entertainment Weekly sums the movie up far better than I ever could... so I will leave you with their words...

"How shocking it is, this movie keeps reminding you, that there was a time in this country when politicians could get away with fearmongering and intimidation.  When they could rise to power by preying on people's paranoia.  When they could cow the nation into thinking dissent was somehow disloyal."

************************************************************************

Finally, on Sunday we headed up to Scottsdale and the FBR Open... the big PGA stop in town.  Now I am thinking you are pretty stunned that I would go to a golf tournament... well, Todd was "rewarded" with VIP tix through work... so the day did not cost us anything other than gas... parking was free (for everyone)... but we got also got tix which allowed us entry to "Member's Club" tents along the fairways with free soda, snacks, sandwiches... and even wine & beer!   So I guess that explains it!

This is pretty much one of the biggest parties to hit town.  This year another attendance record was set (over 82k on Sunday, which is always down because it falls on Super Bowl Sunday... over 168k attended on Saturday!) and it was the largest "gallery" for any PGA event ever.  Though I am pretty confident there is a pretty significant percentage of the crowd that probably never sees a golf ball struck - it is a "seen and be seen" event.  We did, however, watch some golf.   

I can probably count on one hand the number of golfers I could recognize by site (Tiger, as usual, was not here)... and we did get to see them... Jesper Parnevik, Vijay Singh, and of course our "local" hero... former Sun Devil, Phil Mickelson.  Otherwise, we had to figure out who was who by the names on the back of the caddies.

Probably the highlight of the afternoon was seeing Phil hit a tee shot about 5 feet from the hole at the par 3 Hole 16.  Hole 16 is legendary... it has to be golf's version of a Roman Coliseum... almost completely surrounded by sky-boxes and revelers who cheer the golfers as they enter thru a tunnel and yell (or moan) at every shot.  So Phil's birdie at this hole was particularly memorable.

So who won?  A fresh from college, 23-year old named J.B. Holmes.  We saw him and the other tournmanet leaders when we initially hung out at the par 3 Hole 4.  Now, I still couldn't pick him out of a police line-up if I had to... but I guess I should remember that name so I can say "I was there when..."   This was only JB's 4th tour event... so a major win so soon in his career (Tiger won on his 5th event), by an impressive 7 strokes, and the winner's check for $936,000 certainly seems like a hell of a good omen to me!

Brokeback: In Words

If you have been paying close attention to W&C you may have noticed that I have already moved onto another book... having quickly devoured Brokeback Mountain: Story To Screenplay last weekend.  Hands down, it is the most costly "book" I ever read if you go by a "cost per minutes read" ratio.  While, of course, physically a book... it is more a compilation of the original short story, the movie screenplay, and 3 essays... one each from Annie Proulx, Larry McMurtry, and Diana Ossana.

Having seen the movie, probably helped to speed up the reading experience just a bit... after all I had the visuals already in my mind (which, I guess is good and bad).  Proulx's original short story (oft quoted as an 11 page story, it takes all of 28 pages in this book) moves at break neck speed.  It is certainly unusual to read something where pretty much everything made it into the movie (but more on that later).  But at a leisurely pace, I still think I read the entire story in about an hour. 

The screenplay didn't take too much longer than that... after all a written direction of "montage of the moving sheep" takes seconds to read but minutes on film.  Most of Proulx's dialouge from the short story made it directly in the film... and even McMurtry and Ossana used Proulx's text as stage direction... but one McMurtry/Ossana addition particulary stood out for me.  After Alma accidentally sees Ennis and Jack's enthusiastic reunion... the direction is "Alma has seen what she has seen, having aged years in the space of a few moments"... thought that was a great line and something that Michelle Williams captured wonderfully in that scene.

The essays were probably the most interesting to read.  Needless to say, Proulx was ultimately thrilled with the film translation (something you don't hear all that often)... interesting Proulx believes her work as "a story of destructive rural homophobia" rather than "a tale of two gay cowboys."  McMurtry, despite not being a fan of the short-story genre, writes about the luxury of expanding and fleshing out the original piece and ponders why more short stories are not turned into films... again interesting, as the failure of most book-to-movie transitions see to lie with what has to be left out or condensed.  Finally, Ossana writes about falling in love with the story and her utter devotion in getting it onto the silver screen.

On a sidenote, I actually have signed books by all three authors... though it was so long ago, I kind of forgot all about it.  I have a signed copy of Proulx's The Shipping News and, back in 1994, McMurtry and Ossana both signed my copy of their novel Pretty Boy Floyd (which, btw, I never read!).  I am guessing the value of the signatures may have gone up!

And since I am talking about Brokeback, in today's local paper there was a USA Today article of how the movie has spurred (ha!) gay-cowboy jokes.  The piece starts off saying that "I wish I knew how to quit you" is the new "Show me the money." 

Oscar Nominations (And Winners!)

Ok, I wasn't planning on doing a post on the Academy Award nominations this morning, since I really have not seen many of the films (for the record: Brokeback, Walk The Line, Munich)...

But heck, the performance in the film (or the film itself) has little to do with why someone (something) wins.  So here are this year's nominees and who I think will win:

Best Picture
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich
Despite being a bit concerned about Crash winning at this weekend's SAG awards, I still think Brokeback will take home the biggie.  Was kind of surprised to see Munich here, but what's the Oscars without a Spielberg film?  I am guessing it probably nudged out Walk The Line.

Actor
Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"
Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"
Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"
Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"
David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
This one is a runaway for Hoffman.

Actress
Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"
Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"
Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"
Charlize Theron, "North Country"
Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"
A two-horse race between Huffman and Witherspoon... before this weekend, I thought Huffman had a fairly decent lead, until Witherspoon took home the SAG... still too close to call, but I think Huffman is showing signs of momentum loss.

Supporting Actor
George Clooney, "Syriana"
Matt Dillon, "Crash"
Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man"
Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain"
William Hurt, "A History of Violence"
Nice to see Gyllenhaal get a nod since he has largely be ignored during the award season (perhaps confusion about where to put him... is this really a supporting character?)... who would have ever thunk we'd see Academy Award nominee Matt Dillion?  But this one, I think will go to Giamatti... with Clooney being the only other nominee with a chance.

Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, "Junebug"
Catherine Keener, "Capote"
Frances McDormand, "North Country"
Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardener"
Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain"
No real thoughts on this one... but my gut (and the name I have seen most) in this category goes to Weisz.

Director
Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain"
Bennett Miller, "Capote"
Paul Haggis, "Crash"
George Clooney, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Steven Spielberg, "Munich"
Even if there is a Crash upset in the Picture category, Lee appears pretty safe to take home the directing trophy.

Adapted Screenplay
Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, "Brokeback Mountain"
Dan Futterman, "Capote"
Jeffrey Caine, "The Constant Gardener"
Josh Olson, "A History of Violence"
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, "Munich"
Again, a pretty safe call for the respected McMurtry and his writing partner Ossana.

Original Screenplay
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, "Crash"
George Clooney and Grant Heslov, "Good Night, and Good Luck"
Woody Allen, "Match Point"
Noah Baumbach, "The Squid and the Whale"
Stephen Gaghan, "Syriana"
Crash is gaining momentum... but I will still go with Clooney and Heslov as a way of honoring the film and allowing Clooney to win one of his three nominations.

A full list of the nominees can be found here.

Walk The Line

On Saturday, we finally got around to seeing Walk The Line.  We had been meaning to see it when it first came out (months ago?)... so while there were a couple of "new" Oscar buzz films released this weekend, we decided to play catch-up... particularly since the movie just took home the Golden Globes for best picture, actor, and actress in a musical or comedy.

Since it has been out for awhile, it was in one of those smaller theaters in the multi-plex, so with the limited seating I am guessing the Saturday matinee was sold-out (or pretty darn close)... apparently, we were not the only ones scratching the film off our "to-do" list.   

The movie was pretty much your standard bio-pic and, on the heels of last year's Ray, it was hard not to make comparisons between the two movies.

I determined that all you pretty much need to pitch a film these days is a Mad Libs template... do you remember Mad Libs?  I loved it as a kid... a cohort would have a story where you needed to "fill in the blanks" with such things as a noun, a verb, a fruit, a number... once those words were supplied, the story would be read back to you, often to comic effect.

My movie Mad Libs would go something like this:

Let's make a movie about (music genre) icon, (singer, preferably recently deceased).  We'll first go back in time and recount their years in (primarily rural U.S. state), where they experienced (early childhood trauma). This will provide the emotional core of the movie. Singer will face (initial setback #1) and (initial setback #2), but will slowly achieve success.  Ultimately, this will all be threatened by (type of addiction) which leads to (relationship problem).  Singer battles and defeats demons... becoming the legend they are today.  I think (young-ish actor not known for a singing voice) would be brilliantly embody the title character... and we should name the film either (singer's last name) or (singer's greatest hit song)! 

Voila!  I am a movie producer!

But, all kidding aside, this was really a wonderful film and one that we enjoyed immensely.  As with Ray, the performances likely outshine the film as a whole... again, no originality points when it comes to its "plot" and execution... though nothing wrong with how it was shot...  the prison sequence which anchors the film is simply electrifying, I got goose bumps. 

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are outstanding and are certainly deserving of all the critical praise/awards that have been heaped upon them.  And their singing (yes, they do all their own singing - no dubbing or lip-synching) was really quite impressive.  And sorry (well, not really) to the Brokeback devotees -- we both agreed, with little hesitation, that in a Heath vs. Joaquin Best Actor battle, our votes would be for Joaquin.

So, definitely a thumbs up... recommended if you haven't yet walked to movie theater line yourself!

Brokeback ... Finally!

Well call off the posse, we finally saw Brokeback Mountain this past weekend.

It has been a long time coming.  As you may remember, I wasn't terribly enthusiastic about seing it in the first place.  I have been reading about this movie for what seems like years and it just seemed as if the hype was somewhere in the stratosphere... even far beyond the soaring heights of the very peak that gives this story its title.  I knew the gay community would embrace it regardless, but beyond this peer pressure when it started getting all kind of critical praise and winning awards it was clear that this was something beyond the run-of-the-mill gay genre film.  That said, I still had some trepidation, worrying how I would come back on some Monday morning and write that it was "just alright" or "okay." 

Fortunate for me, I don't have to worry about that now.  I thought it was just incredible and beautiful film that far far exceeded my lowered expectations.  The movie has been reviewed to death in blogland, so I am really left without a whole lot to say that has not been said before over and over and over again... subtle, powerful, emotional, aching, haunting... it just washes right over you... I can't remember a film in recent years where the visuals so accurately captured the mood of the film... which was only further enhanced by the film's spare and heart-breaking score.  So, all in all, I hope there is still some room on the Brokeback bandwagon for me! (Though we'll have to wait and see if I get as obsessed by it as some others).

As Scott mentions, the movie has been out for at least a month here in the Phoenix metro area... and this was its second week of wider release and I would still guess that our Saturday night showing was sold-out.  I expected a sparse crowd and certainly not primarily hetero.  In our politically conservative state, Phoenix may be an island of "blue" but this particular theater was definitely in one of the "redder" suburbs. 

I have been cynical about this film being groundbreaking or a watershed... but now I am thinking it may create a subtle shift in people's attitudes, while certainly not those far off to the right (who probably avoid a 5-mile radius of any theater showing it for fear of catching something) it may affect those "undecideds"... and while I am certainly biased, I can't help but think that anyone walking out of the theater can not just come to the conclusion that love is love, no matter who or what we are.

While we on our leather reclines and watching something on TiVo on Sunday, I said one of the more memorable lines from the film "You know it could always be like this, just like this, always" ...

Of course I was saying this for comic effect since we were doing something quite mundane... but still it is incredible (and encouraging) to be living in time that is really not that far removed from Jack and Ennis... but eons away in so many other ways.  Sure there may be (and likely are) those whispers in the neighborhood about two guys shacking up, but we can and do do it.. and for that I am very thankful.

Movies, Movies, Movies

Have been quite active in watching movies over the past couple of weeks.  I think we went to the actual movie theater more in the last few weeks than we did for the first 11 months of 2005!  You already have my thoughts on Rent and Munich, so here are some thoughts on some others:

Currently Playing at a Theater Near You:

King Kong - First, I should add that we have only seen the first of Peter Jackson's LOTR trilogy, not quite into that whole story... but we do know that Jackson loves a big (huge!) picture, and Kong is certainly a movie of epic proportions.  As expected, the technical aspects and special effects in this film are astounding.  It is really hard to choose what was more impressive... Jackson's version of Skull Island or his recreation of early 20th century NYC.  Once the movie got going, it was pretty much an exhausting roller coaster ride... but it had to get going.  Saw this one with Todd and his sister and, after the film, we all admitted to dozing off during the movie's first hour.  While some of the first hour were certainly necessary to set-up the story, the movie could have easily lost an hour elsewhere.  Some of the action sequences were truly unnecessary, more of a "look what we can do" exhibition... that said, they were all pretty spectacular. 

The Family Stone - A pretty easy selection as I worship at the altar of Sarah Jessica Parker and certainly feel a side trip to the chapel of Dermot Mulroney is always worthwhile.  However, on a couple of occasions, this film was a bit too eerie.  Just like all couples, we occasionally do hit a few relationship road bumps in our house and we had a few of those in these past couple of weeks. Now while the on-screen issues were exponentially worse than our own, after some simmering on both our parts our "clear the air" discussion was almost a word-by-word playout of one that occurred in the movie. Very strange indeed!  But back to the film, it was a really wonderful ensemble piece... more dramatic than I expected (it seemed to be billed/marketed as a "holiday family gathering" comedy) and in the end a bit too unrealistic and predictable (predictably unrealistic!)... but it was a good look at a pretty quirky family with some issues (and I think we can all relate to that!).  Enjoyed SJP doing a much more brittle version of Carrie Bradshaw (sorry SJ, it is just impossible for me to separate you from Carrie).

On Cable or Available for Rental:

To Kill A Mockingbird - Todd recently read the novel and I had read it waaay back in high school, but this was the first time either of us saw the classic film starring Gregory Peck.  Obviously, I don't remember too much of the story... but Todd said it seemed like a pretty good, but condensed, version of the Harper Lee novel.  Good film, which I am sure was pretty racy (no pun intended) for the time... heck, with some of the themes and plot, I am guessing TKaM is not even on high school reading lists in these 'politically correct' times.

The Italian Job - This was a fun, brainless spy/action film starring Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg, and Ed Norton... but I wanted to watch it for one other reason... MINI Coopers are featured prominently in the latter half of the film... which was a lot of fun for me...  though I probably should not drive my Cooper like Marky Mark when my own Cooper arrives!  It was also nice to see Venice (the "Italian" part of the job) featured prominently in the first sequence of the filim, since I had just read the "all things Venice" John Berendt book, The City of Falling Angels.

Paper Clips - This was an HBO documentary about a school in Tennessee that did an interesting project - collecting a paper clip for every person who was killed in the Holocaust.  After receiving some national publicity, they easily accomplished (and far exceeded) that goal... with the rest of the documentary focused on making a lasting memorial.  Needless to say the film is quite emotional, Holocaust survivors visit the small town and tell their stories...and it is overwhelming to see bucket fulls of paper clips and think they represent just one person killed.  That said, the documentary has a bit more amateurish feel to it than other HBO fare... but I think that was just try to make it more accessible for people of all ages.

I Heart Huckabees - A very, very strange and quirky film so probably not everyone's cup of tea.  It features Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin as "existential detectives" who stalk their "clients" in hopes of figuring out what makes them tick.   The flick's ensemble also features Jude Law, Naomi Watts, and Mark Wahlberg.  I had a hard time with it at times, but kept an open mind.

Waiting For Guffman - After seeing Best in Show and A Mighty Wind, I finally got around to watching the first film from this particular acting troupe that features Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, and Fred Willard (among others!).  This one centered around characters in a small town in Missouri putting on a musical pageant to celebrate the town's 150th anniversary.  It is easy to see why those other two films were green-lighted (green lit?) after this one -- quietly and quirkily hilarious!

Munich

I don't read as much as I used to and we certainly do not go out to the movies all that often these days... so it was quite a surprise opening the year-end issue of Entertainment Weekly and seeing that I was reading the #1 non-fiction book of the year (The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion... blog review of that still pending) and that we had just returned from seeing Owen Gleiberman's #1 movie of the year - Steven Spielberg's Munich.

I am sure most of you are aware that this is the movie that recounts the aftermath of the killing of 11 Israeli athletes by a Palestinian terrorist group, Black September, at the 1972 Summer Olympic games in Munich.  Now I was a bit too young to remember the actual event... at age 5, I am sure my parents did not have me sitting in front of the television set as the tragedy unfolded... but over the years I have certainly seen footage of the masked terrorists on the balcony of the Israeli's apartment and Jim McKay's statement "They're all gone" still sends a shiver down my spine (as it just did again as I typed it).

While the hostage taking and tragic end are re-created on film (masterfully mixed with actual footage), the focus of the film is the team of Isreali special agents (assassins) that were sent out to kill the Palenstinians who planned and executed the attack one-by-one.

Now, I think there is probably no such thing as a "bad" Spielberg film... visually the film is amazing and there is certainly packs an emotional whallop... though I would say the tone is a colder than some of Spielberg's "serious" works such as Schindler's List, Armistad, or The Color Purple... but given the theme of vengeance that is pretty much expected.  Despite his Jewish ancestry, Spielberg is careful (almost too much) to not take sides... the Israelis accidentally meet up with a Palestinian crew during one stakeout and their take on the Israel is discussed... and the Israeli assassins are shown as emotionally tormented by their assignment given that it is not terribly different (or less heinous) than the attack that sets the events of this film into motion.

The peformances are incredible... and it amazes me that Eric Bana (as Avner, the group's leader) has not been talked up more for an Academy Award or even a nomination (no actors from the film were even recognized by the Golden Globes).  I am not terribly familar with Bana's body of work, but if Munich is any indication, he should have no trouble finding "leading man" acting gigs in the future.  And I would be remiss to say, that the guy is quite the stud.

That said, the problem I have with the film is that other than what that occurred in Munich at the Olympic Games, the rest of the story is truly unknown and likely never will be known .  While Spielberg notes at the beginning of the flim that what you will see is "inspired by actual events," a quick Internet search will dispute some very basic things shown in the film (i.e. there were several teams of assassins, Israeli PM Golda Meir's involvement, etc)... and the book on which the movie is based (George Jonas' Vengeance) has been dubbed by some as a "work of fiction" with much of the book's story supplied by a man who posed as an Israeli agent...  this Reuters piece goes into all this a bit more.

So while I have absolutely no problems with the artistic qualities of the Munich, it is just a slightly troubling side-effect to have to pan for facts amongst what is apparently a lot of fiction... and I am guessing most American moviegoers will view the events shown in the film as "gospel" since it comes from the lens of Spielberg.

Make The Yuletide Gay

It was quite the busy weekend... and, in retrospect, quite the gay one. 

We saw Evita on Friday night, Saturday spent most of the day "decking the halls" for our Saturday night visit with Scott & Buckaroo... and saw Rent.  Now while I didn't don any "gay apparel" to the best of my knowledge it was all quite merry.  It is quite nice to have some friends again (most of my old clan has picked up and left town over the years) and better yet it is nice to have a couple who are very much in the "same place" as we are... in fact, often times I think we are looking in the mirror... we have quite a bit in common personality-wise that is for sure.

Despite reassurances from Scott, I was determined to get the holiday decorating done before they arrived.  We did the outdoor light display a couple of weeks ago... but since then, the house has remained sterile... with the exception of the pre-lit tree being up but not decorated.  I  tend to need a little motivation every now and then... and a gay male couple coming over for a holiday visit provided the much needed impetus... dare I say, even more than a mother-in-law would!   It all fell together quickly (and in a comfortable amount of time) as you would expect from a gay guy... Christmas village imagined and created, stockings hung, halls decked, tree trimmed, ingredients for pomegranate martinis purchased and ready to go.

We had a great time... a nice spicy Mexican dinner to star things off, over to see Rent, and then back to the house to check out the neighborhood light displays and those pomegranate martinis (though I think I prefer my earlier martini "fuzzy fairy" concoction) and conversation.  It is hard to believe we didn't even know S&B existed a year ago... we look forward to more good times in the years ahead.

Ok, back to Friday night and Evita.  This was my third go-round with the stage production and I have seen the Madonna film at least a couple of times as well. Since this was my first ever Broadway musical back in the early 80s I pretty much know every word. 

Unfortunately, we had an understudy as Eva.  Now most of the time (especially in these touring productions where there is rarely a "name" in the major role) I don't really ever notice the subs and a lot of times I am impressed with them.  But not so this time around... it was pretty evident early on that the actress was miscast (even as an understudy)... she was quite diminutive (which could be overcome)... but she was just too "perky"...  an attribute often not associated with the former first lady of Argentina.  Now this gal was a capable singer, but just not for this particular role.

We have a couple of gay guys sitting next to us this season and we pretty much gay "bashed" the poor girl during intermission.  One of the guys said "I could do better" to which I turned my flame to high and responded "I have done better."

Our Evita came full circle on Saturday night seeing the movie version of Rent (if you have seen Rent, you know an Akita named Evita has a bit of an accident).  Now Rent has ascended to the top of my list of favorite musicals.  So I went into the movie with a bit of trepidation... I love the play, would the movie ruin it? 

Thankfully not... while it was pretty faithful to the stage version, it still took me awhile to get into it.  On the stage, you expect the characters to break into song... so it did not seem quite as natural seeing a character singing while riding a bike down a city street or in some other more "real life" setting.  I think it is even a tad more awkward in a "sing thru" like Rent (although some of the lyric were turned into spoken dialogue).  The movie took off for me deep into "act one" with Maureen's performance of "Over The Moon" and from there I was very much with it.

I thought all the performances were great... particulary the Broadway non-originators, Rosario Dawson (Mimi) and Tracie Thoms (Joanne).  Heck, a few more moments of Rosario dancing in the Cat Scratch Club may have converted me... she was H.O.T. (okay, a 'conversion' would be difficult since we were watching a musical!).  And, Idina Menzel (Maureen) really kicked ass.

So I give the movie thumbs-up, although I don't think it was quite as successful of a transition to the silver screen as Chicago.  But if you like/love the play, I am sure you will be a fan of the movie version.

Top 100s

Well, you know I am struggling for things to blog about if I do a babbling post about TiVo Season Passes and have to dub Adam Goldberg a "birthday stud"... I guess some days it is probably best to skip a day! ;-)

But I won't let that stop me... so today, I will get some inspiration from a couple of Top 100 lists that I stumbled across recently. The first is Time Magazine's Top 100 Novels.  I thought I would do pretty well with this list, since there are a couple of limitations working in my favor... first, the novels are English language... second, they were published after 1923 (when Time came into existence).

Alas, I only managed to scratch 14 of the 100 novels off the list... so not exactly a point of pride for someone who thinks he is reasonably well-read... here are the titles I have read:

Are You There God? It's Me Margaret - Judy Blume
Atonement - Ian McEwan
Beloved - Toni Morrison
The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
1984 - George Orwell
The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
White Teeth - Zadie Smith

So pretty sad, that one of my fourteen is a Judy Blume book... and that of the above titles there are probably only a handful that I can say I honestly enjoyed reading (many were from high school English class).

I did fair better on the British magazine Total Film's 100 Greatest Films of All Time... proving that it is easier to watch than to read something, I have seen 46 of the 100 films on the list.  I won't list them all out there.. but here is their Top 10 (with the films I have seen in bold).

1. Good Fellas
2. Vertigo
3. Jaws
4. Fight Club
5. The Godfather Part II
6. Citizen Kane
7. Toyko Story
8. The Empire Strikes Back
9. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
10. His Girl Friday

If you haven't guessed, this list is causing some conversation.  It is not often you see Martin Scorsese's Good Fellas heading the list (heck, let alone even ahead of Raging Bull -- which is ranked #28).  But there is plenty else to argue about... Gone With the Wind absent from the list... Sideways ahead of such 'classics' as The Graduate, Wizard of Oz, Psycho, and Casablanca?  Die Hard nudging out Blue Velvet (and heck, even any of the films just mentioned)?

War of the Words

We actually managed to get out to the movie theater this past weekend and given that it has racked up $112 million thus far... I am sure we were not the only ones who saw War Of The Worlds.

As always, I will give you a SPOILER WARNING... while I don't intend to give much away plot-wise you may want to avoid this post if you still plan to go see it.

So it was a pretty good movie... I think under the hands of a lesser director than Spielberg it may have had some problems... but it was very well done... and the special effects were really quite good.  I find it hard to be wow-ed these days.  Of late, the phrase "special effect, special effect!" tends to blink in my mind far more often than just allowing myself to suspend disbelief that I am witnessing actual destruction.  And perhaps even more shockingly, for two hours in a dark and cool theater, I was able to forget that Tom Cruise is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.   

So with that... here are some random (and purely in jest) musings about WotW:

• I am fairly confident that Tom Cruise's character Ray lived in Bayonne, New Jersey.  Both my parents lived there in their youth as well as both sets of grandparents... so I am quite familiar with the sites... so pretty sure that it is the Bayonne Bridge that is spectacularly destroyed by the aliens fairly early on in the movie. I tried to Google Earth the neighborhood and think I may have found it.  Sidenote: Google Earth is really quite an amazing thing (click the link and download it, it's free!)... was able to find our house no problem (could tell by the pool and front yard) and even saw my parent's car parked outside their house!  Kind of freaky, but cool!  Thanks to Scott & Buckaroo for introducing me to this fun "time waster."


• I have said it before, I am not a big fan of child actors... and until now I had successfully avoided a Dakota Fanning film.  Granted I have seen here in past movie junkets... and yes she annoyed me in her cute-sy, "wise beyond my age" ways.  The sadist in me was kinda hoping the that she would end up being alien food... but alas, this is a Spielberg film and he is not going to kill a little girl.  But I guess we'll wait and see what becomes of Miss Dakota ten or so years down the road... look what happened to Drew Barrymore after she was featured in a Spielberg alien flick!


• Ok, one quibble in the airplane crash set... again, spectacular... but what are the chances that there would be a relatively clear road for a TV crew and Tommy & family (with a conveniently working vehicle) to ride out of the neighborhood on?


• And what's the deal with Tom's ex in-laws at the end of the film?  Their city has pretty much been destroyed, but the aliens spared their oh-so lovely brownstones... I guess the aliens really showed them by blowing some leafs into the neighborhood!  With nary a hair or pearl necklace out of place, the mom-in-law was probably secretly pleased that surly BoSox fans took the brunt of the destruction.  And why the heck did Tom have to watch the kids for the weekend in the first place?  These people didn't even want to see their grandchildren?!?


• Finally, Tom's ex-(remarried?) wife is pregnant.. and all I kept thinking was...  I hope she doesn't suffer from post-partum depression... I don't know much about it, but will be running out to pick up a copy of Dianetics to see what all the fuss is about.

Trailer For Rent

No, this is NOT a classified ad... just a link to the trailer for the movie version of RENT.

I have to say I was a bit concerned about this "stage to silver screen" translation of what is probably my favorite Broadway musical... but the trailer gave me goosebumps... then again, the rousing "Seasons of Love" usually manages to do that anyhow.

I have to say the characters look a tad on the old side (much of the original/1996 Broadway cast are recreating the roles for the movie version)... but it still looks great... can't wait!  And, these days, looking forward to going out to see a movie in a theater is a very rare thing indeed!

New Sidebar Feature: Movies

I have managed to put yet another sidebar feature on W&C, two of them actually: Movies on TiVo & Recently Screened.  Right now they are on the lower right hand column.

Thanks to the major network shows going with repeats through most of March, we have remarkably caught up on 90%+ of our "regular" TiVo programming.  When that happens, I tend to load up the TiVo with movies.  As I have mentioned before, we don't get out to the movies all that much these days -- so there are many, many, many movies to choose from (and heck we are paying for all these premium channels!).  Thanks to TiVo it is quite easy to find a good movie that is airing at 3:15am on a Tuesday morning.

The list is quite long (and growing more over the next week).  Now keep in mind, this just means that the movie is on our TiVo... it doesn't necessarily mean we will get around to watching it.  I often find myself deleting and re-scheduling a movie for a later date (since we only tend to watch movies on Saturday night)... or just deleting a movie when the TiVo fills up again with other stuff.  Also, be prepared for some of the films to stick around... I confess that Mystic River has been on our TiVo since December!  Haven't quite been in the right "mood" for that one (hear it is a downer).

Underneath that list, I do list the ones that we have got around to watching.  We caught Ray recently on DVD and watched a TiVo'd Supersize Me this weekend.  Highly recommend that documentary... but be prepared to re-consider ever eating fast food with any sort of regularity.

Oh, how did I do the lists?  Well, just used the TypePad TypeList "book" feature... you can just copy in the ASIN for the DVD from Amazon (vs. the ISBN for a book) and still get the neat little thumbnail graphic.

Baby, It Was Close

Well, we survived the trip to Vegas -- but more on that later today.  I am still on my first mug of coffee, so I figured I'd warm up with a post about the Oscars.

If you skip down a couple of posts, you will see that my Oscar predictions were pretty darn good.  I was 7 for 8... losing my perfect batting average on the last award of the night, Best Picture.  How disappointing!  That is from a predictions standpoint... I could care less about what film won (didn't see Aviator or Baby), but missing the "biggie" puts a damper on the rest of the picks.

I was this close (insert some appropriate finger visualization here) to picking Baby for Best Picture.  I was pretty certain that Scorsese would be denied again, but I figured his film would still take home the top prize.  Early in the evening it looked that way -- Aviator earned 5 (mostly technical/visual-type) awards.  But alas in the Oscar battle of Hollywood (Eastwood types) vs. NY (Scorsese, Woody Allen, etc), Hollywood usually wins.

Due to my still somewhat exhausted state of mind, I haven't seen/heard much reaction from last night's show... here are some random thoughts:

Chris Rock - from what little I have seen this morning, he seems to have been a success.  Truthfully, I did not like him all that much... have never been a huge fan and maybe last night in my already glazy head, he was just too loud... his "yell it" type delivery is just grating.  And while he was "out there" at times, it was obvious that he reigned himself in.

Awards on stage/aisles - They should now have the announcer say something like "We still have another hour to the next major award, so please welcome Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons to give out another award you don't really care about."  That was pretty much the subtext this new "time saving" technique.  I think it is insulting to the people in these categories.  The "on stage" was a far better approach than "in the aisle", but if they really want to shorten the awards why even air these categories in the first place?!

Fashion - Again was probably too tired to notice, but didn't really go for the Hillary Swank ensemble... while she has pretty impressive back muscles, it just looked like she put the dress on backwards.  Julia Roberts breasts (they're called boobs Ed) still runneth over thanks to the Hazel and Phin and Barbra Streisand looked like she was pregnant (not very flattering, maybe time to reconsider those Donna Karans Babs!).

Ok, back later with the Vegas trip post and more... that is, if work doesn't get nasty.  It is okay right now, but there are some things lurking about that could get troublesome...

Oscar Predictions

Thought I would go ahead and make my Oscar predictions.  These days it is rare that I have seen many (if any!) of the nominated movies and performances -- but that rarely hinders one's ability (especially if you read/watch all the entertainment related stuff I do!) to predict who will win (vs. the "should win") ...

Best Picture - The Aviator
Million Dollar Baby is gaining momentum by the day, but I think the Scorsese directed Hughes bio-pic will hang on... especially since...

Best Director - Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby)
I think this will be one of those rare split decisions between the picture and director categories.  Clint is a beloved Hollywood icon, Scorsese is not... also helping out  Eastwood was his nom for Mystic River last year, but being rolled-over by the LOTR sweep.

Best Actor - Jamie Foxx (Ray)
The only slam dunk of night... that is if Academy members have not tired of Foxx's overexposure in the past few weeks (though ballots were probably due before then).

Best Actress - Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)
The only thing against Swank is that she is young and this win would make her 2 for 2 in this category.

Best Supporting Actor - Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby)
Clive Owen might sneak in (though w/out other major nominations for Closer, it seems less likely), Haden Church has been talked up for Sideways... but I think the Academy will ultimately give the now 4-time nominated, but yet to win, Freeman the nod for his "career" body of work.

Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett (The Aviator)
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.   Same story as supporting actor with Portman for Closer and Madsen for Sideways ... Blanchett seems well respected (though this is only her 2nd Oscar nom) -- it is another way to reward Aviator... and karma might help as she is playing one of the Academy's most honored actresses - Katherine Hepburn.

Original Screenplay - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Given its other noms, Aviator stands a chance, but the Academy does not seem to mind spreading the wealth when it comes to screenplays.

Adapted Screenplay - Sideways
Barring a Baby sweep, this will be Sideways' consolation prize for not winning in the four "bigger" categories (picture, director, supporting actor and actress).

A Mixed "Phantom"

Caught Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera over the weekend, my guess is that whatever your thoughts are of the stage production is what you will think of the film version.  It is a fairly faithful adaption (some backstory is added in and one of the big "ta-da" moments is shifted to later in the story), so I suspect their will be little movement on the "love-hate" scale for most folks.  I saw the stage production long after its Broadway debut (it sometimes takes a while for shows to hit the road)... it was good, but, at the time, I did not totally get what all the fuss was about.  Again, I suspect that this may be the reaction of Phantom first-timers of the movie version.

I have warmed up to Phantom a bit over the years.  It is still not one of my favorite musicals, but it is far better than the majority of new musicals that are landing on the stage these days.

There is little to complain about when it comes to the production value of the movie version.  Freed from the limitations of the stage, the sets are truly impressive and sumptuous - although director Joel Schumacher seems to have borrowed some of Baz Luhrmann's visual touches from Moulin Rouge... while the stunning opera house's lobby is probably something one can experience at a billion dollar Las Vegas hotel-casino.

Overall, I found the performances to be a bit robotic - though, once again, this is a similar issue I have with the stage version (and ALW productions in general, where the music definitely takes precedence over the characters). Schumacher wanted a younger cast of "unknowns" in the leads.  The results are a bit of a mixed bag. 

Emmy Rossum is deservedly receiving the most praise and attention for her role as Christine.  Only 16 at the time of filming, Rossum is the epitome of innocence in both appearance and voice. Stage veteran Patrick Wilson (most recently seen in HBO's Angels In America) is just fine as Raoul - one corner of the story's love triangle.  Raoul is not given all that much to do except be the "light" vs. the Phantom's "dark." But Wilson is certainly easy enough on the eyes to do justice to the role.  Then we have Gerard Butler as the Phantom.  Butler's voice echos that of the original stage Phantom, Michael Crawford, but here I think the movie may have been more well-served with going with a bigger name for the lead role.  While Butler does not do anything wrong, I think it would have given the film version a bit more oomph to see a major star in what has to be one of the best known roles of modern day theater.

She Got Game & Thirteen

I made it through to Sunday, so I guess I survived my "alone" time fairly okay.  Was not terribly productive, so I guess it is good that I did not promise myself that I would be!  Caught a couple of more films...

The first is a documentary that probably 99.95% of anyone reading this is not likely to see.  It was called She Got Game, a behind-the-scenes look at the women's professional tennis tour.  I was a bit involved in the world of tennis as a part-time journalist for several years - so this documentary was right up my alley.  I still keep on with tennis fairly well, but have to admit I was not even aware of this film's existence until this week.  It has a release date of 2003, but the footage appears to be from 2001...so watching it today, it seemed really quite dated.  Things move fast in women's tennis today... so it was strange to see footage or mentions of the likes of Martina Hingis, Mrs. Enrique Iglesias? (formerly Anna Kournikova), and Monica Seles.  Each hasn't played a match in a long, long time... and are pretty much officially retired (though Hingis is coming back for at least one match in early 2005). 

The film was most interesting when it followed Sonya Jeyaseelan.  At the ripe age of 25, she was at a crossroads in her career.  Struggling with injury, dealing with pyschological issues brought on by the all too typical nightmare  father-coach scenario, and just trying to make a living.  While tennis is the richest sport for women, the six-figure paychecks are not the norm for all.   Even if you are one of the Top 100 ranked players in the world, a $3,000 check for the week is not going to get you very far when you are flying around the world, paying a coach and/or physical trainer, and sometimes supporting your own family.  For every Serena or Venus, there are dozens of Sonyas on the tour.
************************
Last night, I watched Thirteen... a harrowing look into the life of a 7th grade as she descends down a path of sex, drugs, alcohol and even more horrors beyond that.  The film certainly made me glad I am not raising a child in this day and age... and also makes thankful that I probably grew up in what may have been the last "Mayberry"-type generation.

The film stars Evan Rachel Wood who was previously best known for her fine work in the ABC series Once & Again (also starring two of my faves, Sela Ward & Billy Campbell).  Wood's transformation in the film is extraordinary and she was rewarded with Golden Globe and SAG award nominations for Lead Actress (though an Oscar nod did not follow).  The always fine Holly Hunter plays her troubled and in-denial mother.  Hunter received similar acclaim for her role and did earn a Supporting Actress nom from the Academy.  Also, in the cast were supporting roles from Jeremy Sisto (Billy from Six Feet Under) and Sarah Clarke (the ever evil Nina Myers from 24).

As a snapshot of everything that can go wrong in a teenager's life, the film succeeds in droves... though at times it is certainly quite difficult to watch.  Keeping with its "realistic" vibe, the film does not tie things up in a nice & neat bow or take the leap off the deep end to make it a full-out tragedy. (I think, I am sure one can argue there may be clues to what happen next). But I was only left to ponder what will happen next, and that's life for you.  So while I admit to scratching my head a bit at the end, it was probably an appropriate way to leave things.

Heavenly Creatures

My movie watching began last night.  My first selection was 1994's Heavenly Creatures.  I had always heard good thing about this film.  I knew it was Kate Winslet's screen debut (hard to believe she has only been in movies for a decade), but I have to sheepishly admit that until the opening credits rolled I did not know it was written and directed by Peter Jackson of The Lord of The Rings fame.

The movie is the true-life story of two teenage girls coming of age in 1950's New Zealand -- both outcasts in different ways, the girls bond quite closely and create a ripe fantasy life that ultimately leads to murder.  It is definitely a smaller-scale, "art house" type film - multi-layered and I am sure quite rich with symbolism, etc. (I am sure I missed stuff, since I was not totally in the "interpret" state of mind) -- but it was really quite good.  I am glad I finally caught it.

The film also placed quite high on The Online Film Critics Society's "Top 100 Overlooked Films of the 1990s" at #5.  As a list lover, it is a good one to check out... to see how many you have seen, debate the ones that made the list, and create a new "to be seen" checklist of your own.

Rent: The Movie

Well if all goes according to schedule this time next year we should be getting ready to see (or have already season) the movie version of the Broadway musical Rent.  Rent is one of my all-time favorite musicals -- I have seen it three times and have pretty much worn out the original Broadway cast CD.  So needless to say I am looking forward to the film version.  However, doing some Internet research about the film version I am already having reservations.

The movie version has been talked about for years -- but thanks to the success of movies like Moulin Rouge and Chicago, Rent finally moved up the production list.  Spike Lee was once tapped to be the director, but now it is in the hands of Chris Columbus of Home Alone and Harry Potter fame.  There has also been much speculation about the casting.  Names like Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Lopez were bandied about, but in an interesting move Columbus is re-assembling most of the original Broadway cast for the film version.  The only exceptions are the roles of Mimi and Joanne.  The re-casting of Daphne Rubin-Vega with Rosario Dawson is already causing a stir among die-hard Rent-heads (Rubin-Vega is a new mom, but in all likelihood, could have been in shape when production begins early next year).  Other members of the original cast have become bigger household names since their days in the stage production: Jesse L. Martin ("Law & Order") as Tom Collins, Taye Diggs as Benjamin, and Idina Menzel (Broadway's "Wicked") as Maureen.

Like I said, I love the original cast recording ... but given that Rent is entering its 9th year on Broadway, I am assuming the original cast has aged along with it... and let me tell you that going from 20-something to 30-something is a fairly big jump.  Likewise, will the movie version succeed without some "star" power?  Would the movie version of Chicago have been the commercial success without Zellweger and Zeta-Jones?  I guess we'll see what happens later this month when the also much delayed movie version of Phantom of the Opera hits the big screen with barely a well-known name in the cast.

But the casting is probably the smallest quibble I have given what else I have read.  Columbus is said to be adding a gay marriage sub-plot to the film version (definitely out of place since the play is definitely set in mid-1990s -- someone help, what is that "literary" word I am looking for?) and adding in dialogue and dropping some songs. Eeek! Why tinker with what I think is a nearly perfect modern musical as-is? 

Here are a couple of links: the Chris Columbus interview about Rent and a much more eloquent rebuttal of that interview by Paul Wontorek over at Broadway.com.  I agree with much of what Wontorek has to say, including that regardless of what we think (or fear!) we'll be heading to the local cineplex when Rent hits the silver screen.

Slow Boil For Farenheit

We did the patriotic thing this weekend...well, perhaps more accurately stated the Democratic/Patriotic thing and went to see Farenheit 9/11. Of course, given our own political bent we loved it!

Granted this might get me in trouble, but I don't think Moore is any different than the Bill O'Reillys and Rush Limbaughs -- all just gleefully bashing the opposition party at any and all opportunity. Part of the "fun" of watching Farenheit was just watching and listening to Moore to see how far he would go ... and he certainly went quite far on a few occasions in the film.

However, with these guys (and heck lets throw in Ann Coulter while we're at it...I think she may just have a set of balls too), as the proverb goes they are just "preaching to the choir." I anticipated the number of "the converted" walking out of Moore's film could be counted on one's fingers. Definitely no more than those of us liberal-minded folks who tune into "The Factor" for a laugh (well, a laugh until you realize there are plenty of folks who are take it all very seriously). I don't think there is any president (or any "public" figure for that matter) who has "clean hands" these days. There is certainly no doubt in my mind that Clinton has enough fodder to be the subject of a documentary.

Now, before I am accused of being a traitor. I did enjoy the film, think Moore is a masterful filmmaker (and yes, manipulator -- but that's a skill), and was entertained with the Bush administration getting a healthy serving of "just desserts." I hope the film opens eyes (the box office $$ are quite encouraging) and promotes discussion and debate. I am surprised there has not been more inquiries thus far... but perhaps the sounds of silence from the other side of the fence is most telling.

Folks have said they have left the film outraged or sad ... I can certainly understand that. But my reaction was more temperate. Sure I get plenty pissed off at times, but I don't (and for my own sanity, can't) make it a full-time job.

As a country, we get the chance to change our leadership every four years -- and hopefully we will do just that in a few months time... but if not, we'll do it again. I think it works out pretty well. So no rapid boil for me over Farenheit, just more confirmation that was not necessarily needed in the first place. I think it is a testament to this country that a scathing documentary about the sitting president can be made, distributed, and watched by millions (and make a tidy profit to boot).
*************************************************************
Just a quick thanks to those who wrote me of Marius' passing. Even though we only know each other through our blogs, your thoughts were very much appreciated. I am glad I had a long weekend to work things out. Having been through this particular emotional roller-coaster three times in the past seven years or so (and the last time just last July), I dare say that my past losses have helped me with this one. While there is still a very palpable absence in the house, I know now that the tears do end and that time eventually does work its magical healing. I take comfort that Marius had a good and long life and hold onto the hope that these last few weeks were not too painful for him. As I said before, I certainly could not have asked for a better companion.

Swan & Shrek

Despite my reality television addiction, I did not watch The Swan. However, I did catch some of the big Swan Pageant finale last night before heading to the gym and also on the big screens at the gym (though I did not tap into the audio).

Given what I did see:
Beauty = Boob implants + Hair extensions + Capped teeth

Though I don't really want to crumble before a mirror proclaiming how beautiful I am, maybe I should try those Crest White Strips.
***********************************************************
Hopefully these man-made wonders who are mothers (which many seemed to be..."Daddy, why is Mommy strutting around in hardly any clothes in front of thousands of people?") are taking their children to see Shrek 2 soon. After this freak-fest, a lesson about "inner beauty" is due.

I know all the "inner beauty" stuff is a bunch of crap to make us normal looking, but terribly nice, folks feel better about ourselves -- but there is something to be said about a positive mental attitude. Sure I may never evolved into one of those perfectly lean muscle bound studs at the gym, but given my own commitment to working out and the lengths (or "shortness") of what I am willing to do to get there, at the end of the day I am fine with my progress and/or appearance.

But enough philosophizing about a computer animated feature! What did I think of it? I don't think it approached the original it was still a fine and entertaining film and most definitely worth a $6 matinee. The story took awhile to get off the ground, but once it did it effortlessly sailed to a fine conclusion. Lots of stuff for the adults to enjoy as well...believe it or not at our showing, there were not many children in the theater. But alas, a reference to "Flashdance" did make me feel old - as I realized that it was thrown in as something the parents would enjoy... egads! I know I am in my 30s and a great deal of my friends do have children, but I still don't feel very parental!

Drag Racing

Life can be a drag sometimes...

Tonight we are off to see Hairspray the latest show this season in our Broadway Across America series.  It was one of the shows I was looking forward to this season.  I remember enjoying the movie and have heard barely a bad thing about its Broadway musical incarnation.  Comedy writer/Advocate columnist/Hollywood Squares regular, Bruce Vilanch, is filling the dress as Edna Turnblad in the touring production.  I am sure he is no Harvey Fierstein...but I have no means for comparison...so I am sure Bruce will be fine

I would like to see Connie & Carla this weekend (not sure it is going to happen since my parents arrive next weekend and there seems like a lot to do).  I have seen commercials where they have the two are singing a variety of showtunes while doing their Victor/Victoria (woman pretending to be a man pretending to be woman) thing... and it looks like it could be fun.  Nia Vardalos pretty much said she wrote scenes in to just include her favorite Broadway music....considering her choice of leading men (John Corbett in "Greek" and David Duchovny here), maybe Nia really is a gay male trapped in the body of a woman!

And yet one more note.... on Friendster, I was curious to see how many of my 3000+ "friends" live in Arizona -- only 11, including 3 drag queens!   Their hometown city does not actually exist but the trio (masquerading as Celine Dion, Tina Turner, and Bette Davis) for some reason decided to plant themselves, at least cyber-ly, in Arizona.

Bored of the Rings

Perhaps being the last two people in the United States (the world?!) to do so, we finally watched the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy...The Fellowship of the Ring. Okay, I may have been was just "old man" tired for a Saturday night (I almost nodded off during hour two), but I just don't get what made this, as well as the sequels, some of the most successful films of all time. I certainly appreciated the production value and the amazing worlds that Peter Jackson and company created - but beyond that I was scratching what little hair there is left on my head. I won't embarrass myself by noting all the things I didn't "get"...but I am sure having not read any of J.R.R. Tolkien's works was part of the reason I had trouble filling in the gaps (i.e. who exactly some of these characters were ... Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler ... and how they related to everything else). I just don't think "fantasy" is really on (or is ever going to be) on my top 10 favorite genre list.

However, I did discover (and do understand now) what all the fuss over Orlando Bloom is... he is quite the hottie.
*****************************
Tony Soprano and the rest of the family returned last night to fill the Sunday night void left by Sex just a few weekends ago. I enjoy The Sopranos but I do not think I am the most rabid fan out there...as far as the "Sunday is HBO" goes, I'd personally put it after Sex and Six Feet Under...that said, it is still far, far better than 90% of traditional network offerings.

I thought the opener was a little slow...but by now, I know how David Chase loves taking his time to set things up. So I trust him enough to not make too many rash judgments based solely on this one episode. Like our local TV newspaper television guru, I thought the bear in the backyard replacing Tony's beloved family of ducks was pretty heavy-handed on the symbolism/foreshadowing front...but based on the previews for next week, it looks like things will be picking up speed.
*****************************
Just have to share this quote from actor Jim Caviezel who plays Jesus in this little film you may have heard of The Passion of the Christ...

"It was a little uncomfortable up there on the cross. Very Windy. I almost blew over."

Talk about a cereal-snorting way to start the day... just a reminder that this is just a movie folks!

Lord Almighty!

(...and I am not talking about the opening box office for The Passion of the Christ, though I have to admit that I was pretty stunned by the money it pulled in...)

No, of course, I am speaking of the Oscars sweep for The Lord of the Rings. Although I know it was probably richly deserved, I have to say it created a (more) boring Oscars show. Even though this was my first Oscars with TiVo, the show still seemed interminable. At this point, I should admit that I have not seen any of the LOTR movies. Just never got around to it (though we have the first film set to record on Encore, or one of the other 28 premium movie channels we have).

Besides the sweep, the show also lacked surprises in the categories where LOTR was not nominated. Geez, I made my predictions on the morning the nominations were announced... and I nabbed all the major awards (plus the two screenplay awards). Though my movie-going has dwindled over the years, it is never too difficult to predict which way the Academy will go...but usually there is some kind of upset.

Thought Billy Crystal was a little off... the opening was pretty weak and I think if he does it again he should retire the nominated movie song sequence (though his singing "voice" was not all that bad...for a non-singer that is). Crystal's "What Are They Thinking?" routine along with his running joke that everyone in New Zealand had been thanked were his best stuff of the evening.

Other good comedic moments: Robin Williams, Adrien Brody's pre-Best Actress announcement "breath spray," Will Ferrell & Jack Black putting words to the "wrap it up" music ("You're Boring"), and the presenter banter between John Travolta & Sandra Bullock (I am thinking these two should do a film together). On the bad side, I think I will be skipping Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in "Starsky & Hutch" if their Oscar "performances" on the pre-show and as presenters are any indication of the quality of the movie.

Lastly some fashion notes:

Winners: Nicole Kidman (just regal), Catherine Zeta-Jones (stunning in red)... in somewhat similar gowns Renee Zellweger and Jennifer Garner... Sandra Bullock (simply beautiful, but the dress could have dropped the feathery stuff)

Losers: Diane Keaton (by far...c'mon Diane...Annie Hall was over 30 years ago), thought both Charlize Theron and Julia Roberts looked "washed-out."

My Hottest Hotties: Male Division

Today, I turn my attention to re-ordering and analyzing the male side of VH-1's 100 Hottest Hotties. Unlike yesterday's female hotties, I had no shortage of candidates. It was a pretty difficult task...like having to choose between the Oreo Cheesecake and the Brownie Sundae. As I said yesterday, if I did this list again tomorrow it would probably come out entirely different. I am sure I am missing somebody (in all likelihood your favorite!)... but nevertheless, here it goes:

1: Brad Pitt (#6 overall/#3 male) - Ok, pretty obvious choice -- but obvious for a reason... if you asked anyone to name a hot guy (including straight men), I would think Pitt's name come up over and over again...just the epitome of beautiful. The only time he goes mildly astray is when he does the beard/scraggly hair thing... hottest looks on-screen: "Thelma & Louise," "A River Runs Through It," and "Ocean's Eleven" - I don't care what Shania Twain might say... he does impress me much!

2: Matthew McCounaughey (#72 overall/#31 male) - My biggest ranking order quibble on the VH-1 list... how could Matthew be so far down?! Great bod, wonderful head of hair and a southern drawl that makes one simply melt...and on top of that he has no qualms about hanging around the house naked...what's not to love?!

3: George Clooney (#16 overall/#8 male) - Back in his big-hair day's in the 80s (remember "The Facts of Life"?) he was cute...but "ER" and beyond he has beco