Random Yammering

Every year after the holidays, I long to just go through my house room by room, clean things out, throw stuff away and CLEAN. But because one or more of us has been sick since then, NOTHING has been done. Until this weekend. I am finally attacking the clutter monster. I usually try not to just throw stuff away. We either recycle, or find a charity to give stuff to. But this weekend I've been taking each pile/stack and relentlessly throwing stuff away or putting it where it belongs. Only clothes are going into bags for the charities. I'll work my way around the visible piles, then start working on the closets, drawers and cabinets. It feels really good to get this started.

Somehow this weekend I also managed to do some things outside that I've been meaning to get to. I moved the iris bulbs that I rescued from the monkey grass a few years ago. I had originally put them in our back corner bed, but they have never gotten enough sun back there and I've only had one bloom. Today I moved them to the front yard, under our Chinese Pistachio tree. We used to call this our "baby tree" but it has really grown and the name doesn't make sense any more. I also got our two Crepe Myrtles trimmed back, and started what I am calling my "mid-life crisis gardening project." I am attempting to pull up a huge section of Asian jasmine/monkey grass to have a bigger flower bed along the back of our house. I want to plant drought resistant perennials to have next to my bed of Turk's Cap, which has spread nicely the last couple of years. I also want to attract butterflies and/or hummingbirds. But the job itself is much harder than I originally anticipated. And I'm hoping I don't run into a hibernating snake, because I've seen little snakes in this area before. Yikes! But once again, it felt so good to start doing some of these things that have been on the "to-do" list in my head for a LONG time. There's nothing more satisfying than an afternoon of really hard labor in the yard on a beautiful day.

Except for perhaps solo grocery shopping. I've started a new routine that will last until Gabriel starts having Saturday baseball games this Spring. Because the weekly grocery store trip with two kids in tow was getting longer and longer, and more stressful because of bickering, I decided to start getting up early on Saturday morning to do my shopping while Jav watches the boys. My neighbor Helen usually comes with me, and we reward ourselves for getting up so early with a trip to Starbucks before our shopping. Chai - aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh. There are very few people shopping, usually plenty of checkers, and it is a mostly pleasant experience. It's also great because I can get the huge pile of groceries put away without being too rushed. The whole thing still takes most of Saturday morning, but so far I'm loving it.

Speaking of loving things, Jav and I went out for Valentine's Day last Sunday and went to see "The Descendants". What a wonderful movie. I've been a relatively big George Clooney fan, especially since his performance in Michael Clayton. But this movie puts him in the "Great Actors of Our Generation" category. His performance, the Hawaiian scenery and music, and the slight environmental message elevates this movie to greatness in my mind. The two actresses playing his daughters are wonderful also. After the movie we went for dinner at P.F. Chang's and while we were there it started snowing. Hard. How surreal is that? And the weirdest thing is the same thing happened to us last year on our Valentine's date. I guess if Fort Worth is wanting a little snow, we need to plan a date night! Which we plan to try to do more often. I have so much fun with my husband. I've missed spending time with just him.

Seeing one movie has made us crave movie-watching, which is something that has all but stopped since Joel first made his appearance. So Jav got "Moneyball" from one of those movie box rental thingies. We plan to get "Midnight in Paris" next weekend, which I've seen but Jav hasn't. That will mean that we will have seen three of the eight movies nominated for Best Picture before the Oscars next Monday night. Go Us!!!! Reviews to come.

And finally, I worried way too much about choosing the right book for my book club meeting in March. I had thought about baseball fiction, comedy (Tina Fey's "Bossypants" was at the top of the list), traditional English mystery, and a few other genres. But then I saw someone's "Top Novels of 2011" and downloaded the numero uno book into my Nook. It's called "State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett. I think I finally hit the jackpot on picking a book that almost everyone will REALLY like. I couldn't put it down. And when I finished I had a good cry, which I have now figured out is the best way to determine how much I liked a book. I cry because the story is good and I don't want it to end. I cry because I've grown attached to the characters and I want to keep finding out what happens to them. And I cry because of the subject matter, if it is something very near and dear to my heart. This book met all three of my Tears Criteria.

Oscars continued

Yay!!! The movie I was rooting for won Best Picture! And two of my favorite actors for years (him since 1995 , her since 1996) won Best Actor and Actress. Now Black Swan is a priority to see, followed by 127 Hours and The Fighter. Of course, we are still trying to catch up from last year's winners. We are pathetic.

Oscar contender?

We watched The Social Network over the last three nights. I didn't like it from the get-go. I didn't like how fast everybody talked and couldn't follow the techie language. Plus the main character is so unlikeable that it seemed impossible to root for him on any level. I guess the story was interesting, and the only character I did root for was the former best friend/partner that ended up suing him. That was the only reason I was still paying even slight attention by the end of the movie. I just don't see how so many people think that it was the best movie of last year. No way.

The ironic thing is that instead of paying total attention I decided to multitask and check Facebook.

Perfect weekend, and then some

The groceries for the week were all bought on Friday morning. The house was totally clean by 9:am Saturday morning. These are the first clues that this was not going to be an ordinary weekend.

First up on Saturday was a neighborhood Moms group playdate. We thought seven kids were going to be here, which would have been the biggest turnout ever. But the same two Moms (with one Dad) and their kids showed up, which was fine because we've gotten to know each other and it's comfortable to be around them now. It was nice enough to go outside, thankfully, and I think everybody had a good time. This was the 8th or so get together with this group, and I'm so glad it exists. It may not last long, though, as the other kids become old enough for public school. Their parents may decide they don't want to fork over the big bucks for private school and start looking for a better and safer school district. Can't say that I blame them.

After everyone left I had two hours to get the kids lunch, get Joel to sleep, and get myself ready. Because Ladies and Gentlemen, I was having myself a Saturday night. Ok, I guess it was really a Saturday afternoon and early evening. But still, the first date that Jav and I have had since Joel was born was going to finally take place, and I didn't really care what time it was. We love doing early date nights because we get home in time to put the boys to bed and still have some wind down time. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend had offered to watch the boys for us so we could go out for Valentine's Day. And now that I am weaning Joel, I finally felt comfortable enough to leave him for both a movie and dinner.

We went to The Movie Tavern, our first experience there. We ordered two beers and a basket of fried pickles and sat back to enjoy the show. And enjoy is an understatement, because we saw The King's Speech. Even with all the Oscar hoopla and multiple articles read about the movie, my expectations were blown away. It was so good that 45 minutes or so into it I was wishing I could watch it again. Jav and I both can't get enough of movies based on true stories, and we really didn't know much about this one. It was amazing to us how suspenseful it got leading up to the big speech (of the title), when it's already one of the most famous speeches in history. We spent any free moments the rest of the weekend looking up the true story to compare to the movie and answer a few questions we had. Any time I find myself thinking about a movie weeks afterwards, I know it was a good one. I anticipate thinking about this one for a long time.

Then dinner at So7 Bistro, located in the very trendy uptown Ft. Worth off 7th street (also where the movie tavern was). We had a Groupon for $40 worth of food for $20, plus I got $5 off because it was my first time to use Groupon. (I want to do a whole post about Groupon someday). Not a bad deal, and the food was really good. They bill themselves as French mixed with new American, but we thought it was odd that the awnings surrounding the bistro said, "pizza and burgers, bar and grill". It seemed like they were still trying to find themselves. But it was good, and we sat outside (something we never thought we'd be able to do in February). It reminded both of us of eating in sidewalk cafes in Europe. Without the 500 year old church across the street.

When we got home Gabriel wouldn't talk to us at first, and last night at bedtime I figured out that it was because his feelings were hurt that we didn't take him with us to see a movie. Tonight, after I told him a story and sang to him, he apologized for not talking to us when we came home on Saturday, and said he would try to do better next time. Apparently it was still on his mind!

Saturday night going into Sunday I got a full 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep, something that I never, ever get. After a big breakfast we took the boys to the park. It wasn't too crowded and the weather turned out to be cool and cloudy. Perfect park weather! After romping around for an hour or so, we got out Gabriel's tricycle so he could practice in the empty part of the parking lot. He has improved like crazy since the last time we brought him with the trike. When we got back home he was so tired he didn't even make lunch. He conked out on his bed. After lunch we all took naps. And after dinner I got to take Molly for a walk all by myself, another thing I love to do on Sundays.

Monday morning Joel, Gabriel and I walked Molly just as a front blew in. When we left it was muggy and warm. When we got home it was chilly with a blustery north wind. Gotta love Texas weather! Gabriel is doing really well on our walks, which are averaging 1.5 to 2 miles, with two really big hills to walk up. That's alot of steps for his little legs! Then we played in the backyard until lunchtime. It's so nice to be able to play outside again!

Well, Bust my Buttons!

We watched The Wizard of Oz with Gabriel for the first time about a month ago, and I didn't expect him to watch very much of it.  He surprised us by sitting through the entire movie, and asking afterwards one of his favorite questions, "Dude it again?"  He just loved it, and never was afraid of anything (that might come a few years down the road).  

I remembered how much I loved the movie as a kid, but some of it really frightened me (especially the first time they all meet the Wizard, and the part when the witch takes Toto from Dorothy).  I also remember that I only got to watch it once a year, because that's the only time it showed on network TV.  I'm the first to celebrate the person who invented the DVR, because otherwise I'd be stuck watching what's on every night from 9:3o to 11:00 pm, the only time I get to watch TV.  But it does sort of take away the specialness of only getting to watch something once or twice a year.  So I'm trying to at least limit him to about once a month.  

But it's fun to see him get excited about something I loved too.  In fact, besides seeing your kids get excited about learning something new or being proud of themselves, the best part about being a parent is sharing nostalgic things with them.   Gabriel's favorite phrase to show off right now is the title of this post, uttered by the frazzled Gatekeeper of the Emerald City when he sees the ruby slippers on Dorothy's feet.  He says it perfectly, and it cracks me up every time.

Movie review - Frida

I finally got Jav to watch the movie Frida with me last week.  He doesn't really like Salma Hayek (I know, does he have a pulse?), so was very hesitant to watch it.  But I kept pushing and telling him that Albert Molina, who portrays Diego Rivera in the movie, really should have shared top billing with her.  He ended up really liking it (which I knew he would).  

Julie Taymor directed the movie.  I had seen pictures, moving and stills, of her work on the staged version of The Lion King, and thought her work was pretty amazing.  Then I watched Titus, an adaptation of the Shakespeare play with Anthony Hopkins, which she directed.  It was an extremely bloody movie, but the look of it was so cool I couldn't stop watching.  So when I heard she was directing the story of tortured artist Frida Kahlo, I was roped in from the beginning.  I love movies about tortured artists.  

This movie has it all.  The acting from both leads is top-notch.  You feel like you are really watching these two artists and what they went through and totally forget you are watching a movie, which means terrific acting in my book.  Hayek was nominated for best actress but did not win.  Molina was not nominated at all, which is a true crime.  I can't put into words how good his performance is.  If you liked him in Chocolate, with his understated performance of a passionate man trying to quell his passions because of what people might think, you will be shocked by this completely opposite performance.  Diego Rivera was a man who didn't quell anything he felt or wanted to say!  And Molina makes not just his lustiness for women, but his strong political views and artistic perspective seem larger than life.

The movie also has a great supporting cast, including Edward Norton, Ashley Judd and Geoffrey Rush in a scene-stealing performance as Leon Trotsky.  The music throughout the movie is also wonderful, especially the tango between Kahlo and Ashley Judd's character, Italian-born photographer and political activist Tina Modotti.  The original score and the makeup won Oscars.  I also love the symbolism throughout the movie and the scenes showing the viewer how certain moments in Kahlo's life led directly to her art.  You will be looking at a still painting and all of  a sudden it comes to life on the screen.  Very, very cool.  

The late great Robert Shaw

As far as character actors go, if you remember more about them than the leads in the movie, you've found a great one.  Robert Shaw has been a favorite of mine even before I realized it.  Of course his most famous role was in Jaws as Quint, the salty sea dog hired to help Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss track down and kill the Great White.  He's also well remembered for his role in The Sting as a ruthless gangster, and the target of one of the most well-orchestrated snow jobs in the history of film.  I first loved him in The Deep, as yet another salty dog, this one a diving treasure hunter who helps Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset dig up a Spanish treasure and blow up thousands of bottles of morphine so the evil drug lord can't get to them.  Jav and I happened to catch this movie one night last week, and got hooked all over again, even though it had been about 20 years since either of us had seen it (although Jav pouted the entire movie because we missed the beginning with Bisset diving in only her very see-through white tee shirt and bikini bottoms.  God-get over it!).  Shaw was the glue that held the movie together, and not only that but he made it classier and much more interesting to watch.

I think the word I'm looking for to describe what he had is "charisma".  He had a turbulent personal life - married three times and had twelve kids between the three of them.  He seemed to be cut from the same cloth as other great English actors initially trained in the theater like Peter O'Toole and Richard Harris.  They were all so talented but drank way, way too much their entire lives.  He died at the relatively young age of 51 of a heart attack.  

I'm not sure why Shaw doesn't get the same props for his acting as some of those other English actors.  I just know I want to try to see everything he's been in, because at least the scenes he's in will be good.  I did have the pleasure of seeing his Academy Award nominated performance as Henry the 8th in A Man For All Seasons, which is a wonderful movie if you're in a historical mood.  And now Jav tells me that Shaw is in the original The Taking of Pelham One Two Three as the orchestrator of the kidnappings.  So it will be going on our Netflix list!

 

Movie cravings

Do you ever have a craving to watch a certain movie?  I've had one for about a month now to watch Rear Window.  It's like I need a fix or something.  Every day I've been checking Turner Movie Classics in the hopes that they were doing an Alfred Hitchcock night, but to no avail.  Today I finally decided to do a search on it, and lo and behold they are doing an entire Alfred Hitchcock day on June 27th!!!!  They are also showing Notorious, North by Northwest and The Man Who Knew Too Much.  I think I may ship Gabriel off to a grandparent or two and have myself a marathon!!!  (Jav can join me, I know he really likes them too.  As long as he provides me with food all day long).

Why hasn't anyone invented a service where you can go to some channel on your TV, find the movie you are craving to watch, and pull it up right then and there?  (For a small fee, of course).  You'd think someone would have come up with a way to do that by now.

Timely

We just finished watching "The Great Debaters" last night, based on the true story of tiny Wiley College, an all-black school in Marshall, TX.  Denzel Washington plays Melvin Tolson, professor, secret Union organizer and later poet who started the college's first debate team.  They go undefeated and become the first black team to ever debate a white team in the country, then later face the national champions at Harvard University.  There are some really potent scenes about what it was like to be African-American living in the South back then.  In one scene, the president of the college, Dr. James Farmer, Sr. has to bow down and apologize to some white poor farmers (who are completely uneducated) for running over their pig.  In another scene the team gets lost on a Texas back road and drives up on a just-completed lynching, with the corpse still smoldering from it's post high above everyone's head.  They barely escape when the group spots them, and the event changes everyone in the car forever.  

To go from this movie to today, when our country had its first African-American President sworn in, has been a very moving experience.  I've been carrying the weight of how monumental this is all day, but it feels good.   President Obama may not have been the most experienced person for the job, but I think he is smart enough to surround himself with experienced people in areas where he may be lacking.  I think I'm joining many people today in feeling much less jaded about politics than I have in a long time.  I actually feel like a miracle has occurred, and I played a very small part in making it happen.  I feel proud that this man got elected to lead us, and happy that people in nations all over the world are expectant about what kind of a difference this new leadership will bring to the world.  But I feel hope more than anything.  Hope for my son's future, my nation's future and our planet's future.  And it feels good.

Movie watching is a sport

I love to watch movies, and lately we seem to have caught a bunch.  We watched quite a few on our trip to Pennsylvania, but the only one I liked was Volver, a Pedro Almodovar movie that we only caught the first half of.  The DVR didn't pick up the rest because they had it set up to record several other things.  I've GOT to find out what happens in the rest of it!  The worst movie was The Happening, an M. Night Shyamalan movie that started out with such an interesting plot and ended in a ridiculous shambles.  We were all so disappointed I don't think I'll ever watch one of his movies again, although we were all still talking about it the next day to tell how we would've ended it better.  Maybe that was his goal.  

I've been on a real old movie streak since Thanksgiving.  I'll check to see what's on Turner Movie Classics, and get hooked and watch the rest of whatever it is.  I found a great movie one night with Alec Guinness called The Captain's Paradise, in which he played a sea captain who had two different wives in the two ports he sailed back and forth to.  Also lately Jav and I have been catching David Lynch movies on IFC (I'm guessing he's one of the featured artists this month).  They're interesting enough to keep me curious, but in the end I don't know that I'm better off for watching such disturbing movies.  I'm hooked on a series on TMC called Elvis Mitchell, Under the Influence.  He is now a high-tone movie critic, but once was the critic for the little ole Star Telegram.  He basically sits with different actors for an hour discussing what movies and actors they were influenced by and how it's affected his or her career.  So far not one has been a disappointment, with some true surprises.  You could have knocked me over with a feather when Quentin Tarantino said one of his favorite movies is Meet Me in St. Louis with Judy Garland (one of his greatest influences was the director, Vincent Minelli), and that he likes to show His Girl Friday with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell to the young actors he's working with as an example of what great dialogue sounds like.  This made me like him much more as a person, but I doubt I'll be running out to see any of his movies soon.  

Jav and I had a great date night this past Saturday night and went to see Valkyrie (not a typical date movie, but it's the one we both wanted to see).  It was excellent.  I didn't know the story, so it was very suspenseful.  Plus all the actors are wonderful. 

Which leads me to another topic.  There are certain actors who just make movies better by being in them.  I've had this list going for awhile.  The newest addition is Tom Wilkinson, who blew me away in Michael Clayton and was great also in Valkyrie.  The others on my list are Judi Dench, Chris Cooper, Gary Oldman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney,  Robert Downey Jr., Javier Bardem and Maggie Gyllenhaal.  These are all people whose movies I won't miss, even if they just have a small part.    

Best and Worst movies of my year

The year end is a time for lists, so I've decided to do my own year-end lists, even though they're coming a little late due to our trip and getting sick.  Up first is movies, based on what we watched during the last calendar year.  It doesn't matter when it came out, so it can be old or new to make my list.  That way when I'm really old and looking back on this blog, maybe I'll re-watch them and see how my perception of them has changed.  One of the good things about getting older is that a movie can seem completely different 5 or 10 years down the road, based on how you have changed.  

First I'll include Jav's best list, just so we'll remember one day.  If he wants to review them further, he can start his own blog.

5.  Ironman

4.  Almost Famous

3.  Into the Wild

2.  The Dark Knight

1.  No Country for Old Men

Now let's move to my Worst of the Year:  (or at least the most painful to watch)  

3.  No Reservations.  Just not a very good movie.  Nobody in it acted very well except for Abigail Breslin, and they didn't give her much to work with.  The only interesting thing about it was to see how grueling the life of a chef can be.  

2.  August Rush.  This time, a bunch of overacting (especially by veteran actor Robin Williams - ugh), a terrible script and the ruining of what could have been a neat idea for a movie.  But in this one even the kid overacted.   A bunch of sentimental hooey. 

3.  Before the Devil Knows You're Dead.  This one actually had great acting (with two of the best actors out there - Philip Seymour Hoffman and Albert Finney), and I guess was a good story about a heist-gone-completely-wrong.  But it was so sad that we almost didn't make it through.  SPOILER ALERT if you haven't seen this and want to, then don't keep reading.  The plot starts innocently enough.  Two brothers work out a plan to rob a jewelry store.   One brother has gone through a bitter divorce and thinks he needs money to keep his daughter happy, and the other one has a BAD drug addiction, thinks he needs money to keep his wife happy AND has been embezzling funds from the company he works for.  The problem is that the jewelry store they plan to rob is owned by their parents.  The "strong" brother orders the "weaker" brother to plan the whole thing, and he botches it.  There were supposed to be no guns and no one getting hurt, but their mother ends up getting shot and later dies in the hospital.  AND it goes downhill even from there.  I thought we were going to need therapy after we finally dragged ourselves up off the couch when it was over.  Maybe it's not fair to put this on a worse movies list, but it's my list.

And now moving onto happier topics - the Best winners:

5.  Almost Famous.  Here's a fine example of viewing a movie 5 years later and liking it so much better than the first time I watched it.  Funny, poignant, great music and acting.  And one of the funnies scenes ever during the almost plane crash.

4.  Once.  All the hype about how wonderful this movie is made me not want to watch it, a strange trait I have developed over the years.  But it is exactly that - wonderful.  The story, the way it's filmed, and especially the music.  That Glen Hansard has talent dripping off his fingertips.  Marketa Irglova is great too, the movie wouldn't have been as special without her, but it was him who left me wanting to hear more.  And so refreshing to have the ending be not what I was expecting.  

3.  Michael Clayton.  Tom Wilkinson just about steals the movie, but everybody in it is terrific.  I love cerebral films where you have to pay such close attention it almost makes your head hurt.  There were several spots we had to rewind to make sure we caught everything.  It's also one of those films that doesn't make sense at the beginning at all, but as it's going on, it starts to make more and more sense and you realize what a gem you are watching.  People had warned me that it was slow, but I found it extremely suspenseful, even though you sort of know what's going to happen.  And I like the message.  Big giant evil corporations can be exposed for what they are if the right hero sniffs them out.  

2.  Into the Wild.  There's so many working parts to this movie that make it good.  The story is true, which I always find intriguing.  The acting is superb, with standout performances by Hal Holbrook and Catherine Keener.  The music soundtrack by Eddie Vedder profoundly adds to the movie.  But it's the ideal that Chris McCandless was trying to live by that feels very close to my heart, so I could really empathize with his character.  Humanity has gone full circle.  We started as cave people living off the land, then slowly moved into the Industrial Age, reaping all the supposed benefits, and now we are slowly moving back to simpler times.  But we are so pampered and conditioned from the modern-day conveniences we've enjoyed for so long, it's much, much harder than it may first appear to throw away all of our material possessions and go back to our roots.  That idea, and the music, are what made this my almost favorite move of last year.  I guess Sean Penn deserves much of the credit for transforming Jon Krakauer's book to the screen in a way that touched me.  I love it when movies surprise me, and this one did.  I figured Jav would really like it, and I was just along for the ride.  But I find myself (now months later-we watched it in June) still thinking about this movie and what a powerful effect it has had on me.  

1.  Witness for the Prosecution.  When I started compiling my list about a month ago I had Into the Wild as my numero uno.  But I after I watched this in December (for the second time) I knew I had a new winner.  I think it's been around 10 years since my first viewing and I remembered really liking it back then.  But this time it had me riveted to the screen like no other movie I watched last year. In this 1957 Billy Wilder-directed gem Charles Laughton plays an aged and unhealthy barrister on the verge of retirement, when he decides to defend one last case.  Tyrone Power has been accused of murder, and to make things worse, his wife (played by Marlene Dietrich), has decided to testify against him.  This is truly one of the best courtroom dramas ever, with lots of twists and turns in the plot and a huge twisted ending that I had forgotten from my first viewing.  The wonderfully engaging Elsa Lanchester is thrown in for comic relief (and was the actual wife of Laughton), but it is Laughton who steals this show and makes it so enjoyable.  How can you go wrong when you take an Agatha Christie play and adapt it into a movie?  

So there's the first of my 2008 year-end lists.

Sad day

The more I think about it, this man could possibly be my favorite actor of all time.  I had just decided last night to try to catch some more of his movies, and today I hear the sad news that we lost him last night after a long battle with cancer.  When certain actors pass away, it really feels like you've lost a friend.  It also seems to be when the human presence they had in real life outweighed the stage presence.  Paul Newman seemed to be a no-nonsense, giving, talented and private person who loved his family.  He used his celebrity in all of the right ways.  He will be very missed.

Another movie review

Michael Clayton was not what I expected. I'm not sure what I expected, but my expectations about thinking I'd like it were low. Boy, was I blown away! I will try not to be a spoiler if you haven't seen it. What an opening to a movie! I knew the ramblings of Tom Wilkinson would be important later, and tried to really pay attention. But I still ended up going online to find out exactly what he said after we finished the movie. And then I thought, oh no, another movie that tells the story backwards. I thought I was tired of that concept. But they really pulled it off here. I had heard that it moved really slowly, but I completely disagree. The thing is, I like thinking movies, where there's a great deal of talking and you really have to pay attention. The dialogue drives the plot in Michael Clayton for the most part, not the action. So I loved this movie and found it really suspenseful.

I think they got the Oscar wrong, though. Tilda Swinton won for her role as the lead cutthroat attorney for the big, mean corporation in the movie. She was good, but I thought Clooney, as the downtrodden former trial lawyer was better. Clooney's face spoke even more than his words. He was able to convey a huge unspoken range of emotion. And I thought Tom Wilkinson out-acted both of them. His performance wowed me so much that I want to look up all of his movies and start watching them one by one. I also think this movie should have won for original screenplay, even though I admit that I haven't seen the winner, Juno, yet. Focusing on the law firm representing the big, mean corporation, and whether or not they are liable for doing so, was such an original idea. Or at least was done originally. I know there have been a few movies before this one along the same line, but I don't remember any of them being as smart as this one.

On a side note, one of my favorite scenes in the movie was between Clooney and his young son Henry, played by 11-year old Austin Williams. He is trying to tell his son that he will never have to worry about being like his uncle Timmy, a drug addict, because he has such a big heart. I looked over at Jav and saw that he had tears in his eyes during the scene, and so did I. It made me wonder if we would have found the scene as moving if we didn't have a child.

We're still so behind on this last year's Oscar nominees. We need to watch Juno, Atonement and There Will Be Blood to get caught up.

No Country for Old Men - my review (finally)

I hesitated to see this. I think the Coen Brothers' movies are brilliant, but they are also so violent that I have to really get my brain ready to see one of their movies. And it was very worth the effort. These two just know how to make the total package: the scenery and look of the movie, the music, the story and the acting all fit together so beautifully. The plot for this one is simple and has been done so many times. You find a bunch of money, you decide to keep it, you think you can outsmart the rightful (?) owner. But Cormac McCarthy (the original author of the book) and the Coens (who wrote the screenplay) come through, making it all seem new and current.

Javier Bardem is just chilling. It makes you wonder if he had to spend a month at Disney World decompressing and feeling jolly again after he got finished with this role. But my two favorite performances are Tommy Lee Jones as the world weary sheriff trying to get to the good but greedy guy (Josh Brolin) before the bad guy gets to him, and Kelly MacDonald as the wife of the good but greedy guy. She is from Scotland and somehow masters the West Texas, trailer park-living, halfway given up on life drawl down to a tee.

The Coens' movies spoil you and turn you into a movie snob. You will find yourself thinking about the movie for weeks, maybe even months. My favorite Coen Bros. movie (and one of my favorites of all time) is still Miller's Crossing, about Irish and Italian Gang warfare in Prohibition Chicago. O Brother Where Art Thou, their deep South, bluegrass-ridden take on Homer's The Odyssey comes in a close second. I'll put No Country as a close third. Then the very wonderfully goofy The Big Lebowski, with Jeff Bridges as a stoner/bowler involved in a case of mistaken identity. Then Fargo - which is actually alot like No Country (but with snow) with it's sparse landscape, undertones of humor and extreme violence. Genius, genius, genius, genius and genius. I am so glad these guys are finally receiving their just rewards.

You can't beat a good old movie

Last night I got hooked on a movie on Turner Movie Classics called The Clock. It starred Judy Garland, who I just finished watching in Meet Me in St. Louis. The movie was about a soldier who was on leave in New York City for 48 hours, was set up on a date with Judy Garland's character (they met under the clock at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, hence the title), fell in love and got married just before he shipped out again. I was so wrapped up in this movie it was ridiculous. I think Judy Garland is just about the best crier as far as actresses go (it makes you wonder just how tragic her actual life really was). There's one scene where the two have become separated, and she doesn't even know his last name and realizes she has no way to find him... Well, suffice it to say she had me reduced to a big puddle of tears. Sometimes it feels good to have a good cry while watching a movie. And it had a good ending-at least I thought so.

It's showtime folks!!

One of my favorite movies of all time is All That Jazz, which is based on the life of choreographer Bob Fosse, but in the movie his name is Joe Gideon. Yes, it's a dance movie, but it's also about human weakness, drive and creativity, and ultimately facing your own death. It's a bit haunting also, because the entire movie is focused around the probability and then reality of Gideon dying from a heart attack, and Fosse actually died from one some time later after this movie was made. Gideon is brilliantly portrayed by Roy Scheider, who chain-smoked, pill-popped and tail-chased his way through the part. There is a recurring scene of Gideon getting himself going every morning with his morning routine. Hot shower, morning cigarette, popping the upper-of-choice for the day, splashing cold water in his face, and finally looking at his reflection and murmuring, "It's showtime folks" while listening to the same piece of classical music-I think it's either Bach or Vivaldi.

Trying to deal with a baby at my age has caused me to feel as if a truck ran over me every morning. It's taking more and more effort to get myself out of bed in the morning. Then it dawned on me this morning that I already have to have the hot shower and the cold water splashed on my face to get me going. I also have found that lately I crave drinks with LOTS of caffeine during the day, and a glass of wine to unwind in the evenings. I have this fear that if we try to have another baby, the uppers aren't far behind.

Critic's Corner

We've watched several movies over the past few months that I never commented on. I think we've finally caught up on watching the Best Movie nominations for last year's Oscar's (except for Munich, which neither of us wanted to see).

We had already seen Crash, which won Best Picture. I now can say with a clear conscience that I agree with them, although I must admit the reason is more about the themes of racism they explored more than anything else about the movie.

We saw Good Night, and Good Luck about three months ago. Here's where I have to admit pregnancy may have affected my normal movie watching skills. I thought there was waaaaayyy too much talking and was slightly bored by the movie, even falling asleep for a part of it. I loved the jazz singer all the way through, though. Jav thought it was better than I did. I probably need to give it another chance one day to see if it was just hormonal.

Truman held my attention all the way through, and I thought it was the next best nominated movie after Crash. You should watch just to see Phillip Seymour Hoffman's amazing transformation into Truman Capote. He is great - and deserved to win every Best Actor contest for last year. The story itself is riveting, especially since it's based on actual events. I found myself thinking about the movie for weeks afterwards, especially pondering the question - how would it make you feel to know that your biggest success, including money and fame, was caused by other people's tragedy? It got me to thinking about all the books and movies coming out about 9/11 right now. Any movie that gets my brain juices flowing that much will be always well-remembered.

We watched Brokeback Mountain last weekend. It was as good as everyone's told me, and the acting was tops. Heath Ledger's performance was so subtle and understated, but SO moving and powerful everytime he was on the screen. Seeing this movie definitely made me a fan of his for life. I thought the story itself was sweet, sad and poignant.

A couple of other Oscar nominated performances are worth a mention:

I tried to watch Syriana, but found it so complex and all-over-the-place that my muddled brain couldn't take it. Jav and my Dad both fought it through to the end, but were still confused about parts of the story. Plus it's hard for me to watch something that's so close to actual events taking place right now that are so upsetting.

The Constant Gardener, with Rachel Weisz that won Best Supporting Actress, was an example of a complex plot that was followable (is that actually a word?) It had a very intriguing story, amazing acting and directing, but the horribly upsetting subject matter of the African people and their daily life amidst war and poverty. I'm still really glad we saw it, though.

Now, the best movie we've seen during this time period came out in January 2006 (and the fact that we agreed on that point says alot). Match Point, directed by Woody Allen, was unexpectedly brilliant and totally not what we were expecting. First of all, I figuired Woody Allen would be in it, which he is not. I am a fan of some of Woody Allen's movies, and this movie most reminded me of Crimes and Misdemeanors, which is my second favorite behind Hannah and Her Sisters. But it's even better. I thought the movie was very much like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. You were on the edge of your seat the whole time. And the way the story plays out with the narration of the main character is just genius.

Preview of Coming Attractions:
We have a French thriller called Cache, The Wedding Crashers and Finding Nemo (no, believe it or not we haven't seen it yet) to watch and review soon.

Movies, movies, movies

We've been trying to catch up on some of the movies we missed recently. We watched Crash. What a movie! There is a scene that will remain with me as one of the best scenes ever in a movie. I'm glad it's getting recognized. It's weird because while we were watching it, I kept thinking it was a little over the top, but I'm still thinking about it almost a month later, if that tells you anything. And the actors are all great. (Well, except Brendan Fraser).

We'll have The Constant Gardener to watch this weekend. I'd like to try to cram in three or four more before the Academy Awards ceremony. Walk the Line, Brokeback Mountain, and Good Night and Good Luck are the top three on my list, with Capote a runner up. I have no desire to see Munich after hearing about it.

I'm in the middle of watching Adam's Rib at home. I think the best performance in the movie is Judy Holliday - who I don't really know anything about. But I'm always fascinated by Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn movies. I can't tell if they were just superb actors or if they couldn't hide how much in love they were, but their relationships on screen are more real and more believable than any others I've seen. If you ever get a chance - watch this one, State of the Union, and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. They just don't make 'em like that anymore.

ADDENDUM TO ORIGINAL POST:
Amazingly enough, Born Yesterday with Judy Holliday was on TCM last night. She was great in this one-and won the Academy Award for her performance as a woman who never really stopped to use her brain until William Holden opens up the grand doors of history and learning to her. I think she would have gone on to become one of the greatest actresses of her day if she had not died from breast cancer at the early age of 43.

Great movie, great music

While doing some last minute shopping at Target on Christmas Eve, I suddenly found the soundtrack from Garden State in my buggy. That Santa - he really knows his stuff. I had wanted that CD for months! The entire CD is very cool, very mellow songs. Perfect for driving, or for background music if a few friends are over for dinner. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you need to. My favorite scene is the party scene - which happens to correspond with my favorite song on the CD (In the Waiting Line by Zero 7). I'm not sure if the song makes the scene great or vice versa, but it really doesn't matter. Hollywood needs more of what Zach Braff has to offer.

Suggested Films for Your End-of-Summer Enjoyment

We have done really well renting movies lately. We've rented 4 very different movies in a row that I thought were worth mentioning, plus one I saw last winter that was also unique enough to deserve an honorable mention.

Honorable Mention - The Company. Can you recommend a movie based on one scene? This movie is the creation of Neve Campbell (yes, that Neve Campbell from the Scream horror movies). She wrote the concept, which follows the lives of dancers in a ballet company for one season. Robert Altman liked it so much he wanted to direct it. Campbell also stars in it, and dances in it. And does a darn good job dancing in it. I kept watching my favorite scene over and over to make sure it was really her. The movie is a little choppy, the dancers aren't really film actors, and the one recognizable actor besides Campbell, Malcolm McDowell, has an over-the-top performance that will leave your eyes rolling. But it still isn't horrible. In fact, it's a pretty entertaining movie if you like ballet. All of the performance scenes are outstanding. But my favorite is the outdoor amphitheater performance by Neve herself and a partner. The Kronos quartet is on stage playing "My Funny Valentine", (a hauntingly beautiful classic that Campbell decides to use all through the film - but is performed by different artists.) A thunderstorm starts kicking up, but the dancers keep performing through the wind and rain. It's just a lovely scene, in a movie that made me want to get tickets to the next ballet performance at Bass Hall.

1) The Sea Inside. This is most serious of all my suggestions today. This is a Spanish film based on a true story starring the amazing Javier Bardem in the lead role. It deals with the right-to-die issue. I was NOT looking forward to seeing this movie, and told my husband I had the right to bow out at any moment if I thought I couldn't take it. But Bardem's performance is so riveting that I couldn't possibly turn away. He was so likeable, so sad, angry, funny and determined - so human, that I had to know how his story turned out. And although there are some gut-wrenchingly sad moments, amazingly enough, we had a good feeling at the end of it. I won't explain why, because it could possibly sway someone else's viewing experience.

2) The Chorus - Another foreign film, this one from France. The story line takes place just after WWII has ended, and revolves around a French boarding school for boys ranging in age from 6 or 7 to 15 or so. These are not good boys. You could call it a reform school, but unfortunately there's not a lot of reform going on. Until a teacher is hired, hears them singing a taunting verse they've made up to ridicule him, and realizes some of them have pretty good voices. Apparently he used to be a conductor, and still writes music - they never go into his past. He organizes them into a boys choir and rehearses them until they become really good. The headmaster's role is very predictable as a mean-spirited ogre who gave up hope on the boys a long time ago. But the actor playing the teacher is wonderful playing a rather sad character. He has many broken dreams, you sense, when he starts this job, but is transformed by the music the boys start creating, and by the changes that occur in them with some discipline and attention. The actors playing the boys are also great. But the main reason to see this one is the music. The boys have such pure voices - and the scenes of the choir will give you goose bumps. I have added the soundtrack to my wish-list.

3) The Aviator - The only big-budget film in the group. I am not a Leonardo DiCaprio fan at all. But I loved The Age of Innocence by Scorsese - in fact it's one of my favorite movies, so I was willing to see what he did with the early Howard Hughes story. I wish we'd gone to see it on a big screen. I don't think seeing it on television did it justice. But it was still great. The cinematography and special effects are great. The music was great (I loved seeing Rupert Wainwright singing in front of a big band!). And even Leonardo did an outstanding job. I forgot how much I dislike him, and was totally roped into the story. And what a wacky story it was! I've heard snippets about Howard Hughes's life towards the end, when he was already loony with the long beard and nails and living in a sterile penthouse, but that's all I really knew about the man. It's fascinating to see someone with such a forward thinking and brilliant brain go slowly insane. But the best part of the movie for me, without question, was Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Katherine Hepburn. I was a little hesitant about this going in, because I am such a huge Katherine Hepburn fan. I really didn't see how someone could play her. I could see someone totally mimicking her, or not quite capturing her strength and individual nature, with the performance falling flat either way. But Blanchett nails it so wonderfully, so effortlessly, I was stunned. I wouldn't mind seeing the movie again just to watch her.

4) The Upside of Anger - This little gem stars Joan Allen as a VERY angry and bitter wife and mother whose husband has just left her. She has four daughters, ranging in age from early teens to early twenties. Kevin Costner stars as one of her neighbors who starts to move in on Allen. He is an alcoholic ex-baseball player who makes a living these days autographing baseballs and doing a radio call-in show. I had read some about this movie going in, and knew there was going to be a lot of drinking by Allen and Costner. I don't usually enjoy movies about people addicted to anything because sometimes it hits too close to home or dredges up bad memories. But this movie held a few big surprises to rope me in and keep me there. The first thing that caught me off guard was the humor. There are a lot of belly-laugh moments all throughout. And all four daughters give great performances. I knew Joan Allen would be good. She's one of the best actresses out there today. What I was unprepared for was Costner's performance. He has some unforgettable scenes that my husband and I are still talking about. He starts out small and brash and pitiful, but grows (like a virus at times) into someone the family starts to need without even knowing it. And he ends up needing them too. There are a few small holes in the plot, but this is a movie worth seeing. You will be thinking about it long after the credits roll.

I have Bridge on the River Kwai to watch. I've looked forward to seeing this movie for years because 1) it's directed by David Lean, and 2) it caused my parents to have a huge argument when they saw it in the theater years ago. I'm hoping they will finally tell me about it. I will be doing an entire post on David Lean movies once I've seen it. We have some more foreign ones coming up in our queue, and I hope we can keep this good roll going! More to come later.