As far as the recent little email wars, please, let's quit it. I am the
moderator of a church online forum and I get enough bickering and
name-calling and sarcastic barbs on that. I come to the JMDL for a
happy community with mature people.
Les told us to go out and get fresh air, so I went to the movies, where
the air was not fresh, but I finally got to see Pollack. Wait for the
video if you haven't seen it. Ed Harris was good and so was Marcia Gay
Harden, but the film somehow missed telling me what was really under
Pollack's talent and torment.
Speaking of movies, I have my Oscar picks all made, but rather than
start bickering over who actually deserves to win and whether the Oscars
are a sham and all that, I will make these observations for films
released in 2000:
one of the best movies that I ever saw: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,
although goodness knows we've argued about that and subtitles in here
two movies to see that are splendid films: You Can Count on Me (an
excellent movie, well scripted and acted and very thought provoking
without ever being heavy) and O Brother, Where Art Thou.
the movie I hope wins the big prize tomorrow: Erin Brockovitch. Hey,
its about legal assistants (which I am by day, the minsitry being for
the night and weekends) and even more, about legal assistants being
smarter than lawyers, and that won my heart! I normally cannot abide
Julia Roberts movies, but what an engrossing film and she was wonderful!
As well, Traffic was also engrossing, although not as much fun, but
Benicio Del Toro was wonderful and that idea about the bunny heads at
the end of the movie could make smugglers of us all.
biggest musical surprise: Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss, with Gillian
Welch, doing the intoxicating (as it should be, the were the Odessey's
Sirens) song "Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby" on O Brother Where Art
Thou. That song is mesmerizing, in the movie and just as much on the
cd.
Movie that I knew would be confusing and was: Before Night Falls, since
Julian Schnabel makes confusing films, but Javier Bardem was astounding,
and got me really interested in reading Reinaldo Arenas's poetry, which
I did get some of from Amazon.com. For people who don't mind confusing
films, it is worth it. I defy anyone to pick out the second role that
Johnny Depp plays in Before Night Falls (I know but I was tipped off),
and I'd like to know which role Sean Penn played as I missed that one
entirely.
movie that was the biggest disappointment: even more disappointing than
Castaway, was Chocolat with its gapping plot holes and garbled script
and utter predicatability throughout. The movie is lovely to look at
but it is like cotton candy, all sweetness but filled with nothing.
Happy Oscar watching to those who watch, and happy nonOscar Day to those
who don't.
(the Rev) Vince, remembering today Archbishop Oscar Romero of El
Salvador, who was martyred on this date in, I think, 1980 and I am going
to look that up now.
