Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Story: Will (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), and crew team up with Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) and Singapore pirate Captain Sao Feng (Chow-Yun Fat) to find the world's end and rescue Jack (Johnny Depp), so he can help put a stop to Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) and Davy Jones' (Bill Nighy) reign of terror.

Even though the pre-credits sequence aimed at "political" and ended up hitting "reminiscent of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves*" and even though The Hater has proclaimed the movie/franchise unbearable, I am here to tell you that it is the opposite of unbearable. This third installment is downright . . . tolerable! It's occasionally enjoyable! Sometimes good!

What? If you may recall, the second one was awful. Anything better than insufferable is an marked improvement.

*Which rocks, so they've got that going for them.

Mind you, the movie's far from perfect. The movie's really Elizabeth heavy. Listen, writers Ted Elliott and Ted Rossio, you cannot convince me that absolutely everyone is hot for Knightley. She's got no shape to her. Her hair was slightly better this time around (bad dye job, better styling), but her unflattering lipstick remained in place. Also, still not much going on in the acting department for this one. Her big rousing speech? Had me rolling my eyes. Her credulity straining interest in Jack (still, again, some more)? Impossible. It's the same problem every time: Knightley over-reaches. The best way to approach most of her scenes would be with subtlety and nuance, and she blows them nearly every time. It's odd because her scenes with Bloomers work really well (they have a sweet, understated chemistry), and her desire for adventure comes across clearly. Putting the focus on her only emphasizes how under-prepared Knightley is to carry the bulk of the movie.

Will and Elizabeth are apparently not talking when the movies opens, although the first scene with both confirms their love for and fidelity to one another. Elizabeth is in some danger or vaguely sexually threatened? Cut to Will clenching. Elizabeth does something smart/clever/inspirational? Cut to Will looking all kinds of turned on. Hee. Bloomers gives a great reaction shot. Yes, young Bloomers remains one of the greatest enigmas Elfin April has ever faced. When he's silent, when it's simple, Bloomers hits the mark. Anything more complex, and he tends to veer off course. It makes him the perfect candidate for these sort of movies, actually, as they run straight. Maybe typecasting wouldn't be such a shame for him after all.

As for Depp, what's left to be said? He's fey, and we all love it. His hair was still more dready and less braidy, but I can live with that so long as I can watch that scene with Keith Richards as Captain Teague over and over again. Elliott and Rossio, however, need to cool it a bit with their love of Jack. You'll see what I mean.

Also: Cutler is totally hot for Jack (admit it, you saw it, too). Rush appears to be having a ball. Norrington got boring again after putting back on the powdered wig. The one-eyed man and his scraggly haired companion finally get names. Stellan Skarsgård steals every scene he's in, breaking hearts along the way. This FAQ makes the post-final-credits sequence confusing.

In all my writing on the subject, I have failed to mention Hans Zimmer's delightful score. It's catchy in a way that you don't mind having in your head for days, allowing you to recall the best parts of the high seas adventure and dump the rest.

Despite the fact that it's too long and way too heavy on elements and sub-plots best left to the fishes, it's still a far more palatable entry than the second. If it were to end here, I think it's something we could all look back on and smile. Not a bad way to lose an afternoon. B+

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

I went to see PotC: At World's End yesterday, but I don't want to write about it until I get my thoughts about the middle child down. It's RE-view time.

The movie remains long and largely boring, but it works better if you break it up into chunks, like I did. A finger on the fast-forward button would also do the trick. Mostly, I'd skip a lot of the stuff on the island, a lot of stuff with Elizabeth, and some of the Cutler/Governor Swann stuff. I love Tom Hollander in the role, but so much of what he does is just set-up for the next movie. You'd do just as well to wait and catch up then.

As for the island stuff, it's kind of funny the first time around, but it loses it's charm on subsequent viewings, and it feels more like filler than genuine dramatic tension (will they save Jack? Gee, I don't know!)

Oh, Elizabeth. You know, when it came to the first movie, Bend it like Beckham, and Love Actually, I would I have said that I liked Knightley alright. She's not spectacular, but she's serviceable when she's not over-reaching. Plus, as I have long said, she's got a pretty face. But here? Why the focus on Elizabeth? She's childish a lot of the time, and her "attraction" to Jack is possibly the most unbelievable part of the entire movie (of the many I could choose). Her signature line, "Oh, Jack," with a little sigh at the end? Plays like he's her screw-up older brother. If it's supposed to be a more carnal interest, it doesn't show.

To be honest, I don't buy the attraction going either way. Depp can play anything at any time in any way and make me a believer, but the sub-plot groans under the weight of the tacked-on tension. It's upsetting but expected that Jack trade Will's life for his own. But try to steal his lady? Never. Jack knows he could never come back from that. Mind you, all of this speculating is possible because Depp plays the most fully fleshed character on the screen at any given point.

No matter which chunk I was watching, I was consistently impressed with Will's character development. No, seriously. Will is the central character, the tie that binds the mainland lives of Elizabeth, the Governor, and Norrington (Davenport is so foxy when he's a rogue) to the sea-faring world of the pirates, and the movies' moral centre. When he lights that sword on fire? I found myself thinking, "Will's ingenious." During that amazing, best set piece of the movie, water wheel fight? I hoped Will would come out on top. Bloomers bugs in a lot of ways a lot of the time, but here? He's quick on his feet, and I can get behind that.

It's still too long, too exposition-y, too reliant on call backs instead of new material, but it didn't turn me off of going to see the final (?) installment. That's saying something. Not a lot, but something. I'm sticking with my original grade. C+

Knocked Up (2007)

Premise: Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) is promoted at E!, and she heads out for the night with her sister, Debbie (Leslie Mann), to celebrate. Alison meets cute with Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) while he is out with his stoner roomies (Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, and Martin Starr). Eight weeks later, Alison is preggers.

Hurrah! I have returned from my little hiatus refreshed and ready to review. Miss me no longer, gentle reader. I'm back.

Naturally, I'm back with some sweet Judd Apatow (writer/director here) action. Yes, people, naturally. I have a love for M. Apatow that knows no bounds. F&G rocked, I own Undeclared, and I spent weeks begging my friends to go see The 40-Year-Old Virgin with me. He's the main delivery service for an addiction known as Seth Rogen (Ken! Ron!).

First of all, he's cute. Secondly, and most importantly, he's funny. He's wonderfully sarcastic, and he obviously can see the humour in a lot of different things, like the first time you get sick away from home. All in all, Rogen made a great TV boyfriend, and it seems he is on his way to make a great movie boyfriend.

Oh, Heigl, they really made Izzie reprehensible this season, no? It's too bad 'cause Izzie was my favourite intern. Of course, no matter what ridiculous speech the writers throw at you, you carry it off with aplomb, as you are far, far more talented than they seem to realize. You are also a delight here with deft comedic timing and a winsome screen presence. You know, in addition to being really hot. Hope there's more big screen roles in your future, as I am about ready to abandon the show you currently call home.

Much like with the outlandish Virgin premise, Apatow succeeds in taking something that, by all
rights, is creepy and icky and turning it into something hilarious and sweet. Carrell's subtle performance did it for the first, and Rogen and Heigl's budding relationship, contrasted with Debbie and Pete (Paul Rudd)'s marital strife, does it for the second. It's too bad about the way that the abortion discussion gets the bum's rush, but, in a movie whose premise is so clearly stated in the title, what do you really expect?

Anyway, must be time to go read what Dana Stevens says they got wrong about women. I'm sure I'll be incensed when I am finished. Until then, I remain enraptured. A-

Waitress (2007)

Brief: Jenna (Keri Russell) finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, putting a kink in her plans to leave her husband, Earl (Jeremy Sisto). Despite the support of her best friends (Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelly), Jenna feels more and more depressed about the prospect of bringing a child into the world. She finds herself confiding in Joe (Andy Griffith), the crotchety owner of the pie diner where she works, and falling for her new doctor (Nathan Fillion).

When I saw the trailer for this movie prior to The Lookout, two things occurred: 1) the lovely young lady seated to my right said, upon seeing Fillion, "Hey, it's Mr. Sexy!" I was forced to agree, as Nathan Fillion is, in fact, very sexy. 2) I remembered it was Adrienne Shelly's final film, and I was sad. But we went to a special sneak peek anyway (gift bags!).

And now I feel sad that there are a limited number of Shelly pictures left for me to see. Her writing and direction are so hilarious and honest and off-kilter, and I wish there was more of it to go around. I wish she could go on balancing terrible things with funny things and making the juxtaposition seem fresh. I wish someone else would think to put Felicity with Captain Mal. I wish a lot of things.

It's been a long time since Felicity was on the air, and it's easy to forget how wonderful and natural Russell was in the role. As Jenna, she is just as fresh-faced, but her innocence is gone. Jenna's a woman who has gone without happiness for a long time, and the only moments when her worry and anxiety melt away are the moments when Jenna closes her eyes to create a new pie. It is then that something magical plays across Russell's face. It makes us believe, however briefly, in the possibility of stepping outside ourselves.

Although the chemistry wasn't as fiery as I would have liked, Russell is well paired with Fillion, who manages to hit that exact right mark of when a man in a hurry finally realizes he has time for a deep breath. It's shocking enough to almost take his breath away, and Fillion relays that split-second with aplomb. Romantic comedies are a dying breed, but Fillion's confidence and levity give me hope for the future.

Alright, so Russell's accent's a little spotty, and some of the stuff is obvious, and no one talks like Griffith (even if his little speeches did bring tears to my eyes every damn time). It's supposed to be sweetly fanciful. It's ridiculous, to be sure, but it's the kind of ridiculous where you smile despite yourself. B+

Pop Culture Round Up

Emo Spidey?

Quantum Leap, Children of Men, and Heroes? That's what I'm talkin' about.

New York mag thinks there are ten movies you need to see this summer. I'm sure they are right about at least three of them. Better yet, just read the entire guide.

Premiere, on the other hand, thinks you should see 25 movies . Too bad I could do without so many of them.

By the power of Greyskull!

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Story: As Peter (Tobey Maguire) prepares to take the next step in his relationship with Mary Jane (Kirsten Dunst), they each struggle professionally, putting a strain on their relationship. Peter competes with Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) for a newly available staff position at the Daily Bugle, while Harry (James Franco) puts his plan for revenge in motion. At the same time, Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church), a new suspect in Uncle Ben's murder, escapes from prison. All of these things are set on edge when a symbiote space attaches itself to Spider-Man's suit.

I've been reading a number of interviews with director and co-writer Sam Raimi over the last little while, and he talks a fair bit about a) what kind of person Peter is and b) his concerns about having Peter go dark. Makes sense to me. It's Peter, not Spider-Man, that makes the more compelling character. His struggles are far more relatable and interesting. At the same time, there's something messed up about Peter. There's something wrong with a person who believes it is his duty to operate outside the law. All those things come together to provide the true tension of the Spider-Man movies.

As for the going dark bit, I had the following reaction: part of me said, "Ack! Not my dreamy, moony, ageless, semi-sexless Peter/Tobey!" and the other part of me wished it had gone on a lot longer.

I was kind of surprised by how much I liked Franco in this movie. Recently in the Ask the A.V. Club, someone wondered why critics all seem to like Franco in reviews even when they complain about the crappy, crappy movies he's in. The answer was pretty simple: Freaks and Geeks. To be honest, I haven't really liked him in anything since either. Well, I liked him in these movies, but that was more the movies than anything he was doing. And yet, here? I began to think that F&G wasn't a one-off. Maybe there is something to him.

Now, Harry's revenge as been two movies coming, so it was nice to see that finally come to a head. His sub-plot kept me engaged. Less engaging was, say, Marko's subplot. Oh, look, a little girl is on oxygen! Now I care! Except . . . meh. I know Sandman's old school, and I am sure that there are a lot of people out there waiting to see what would happen when he came to the big screen. I found it hard to connect. Church holds a lot back for a lot of the movie, and it's not that he can't act (you see him do it). It's just that he plays up how dim Marko is to the point of pushing everything else aside, which isn't that fun to watch.

Grace is a lot more fun to watch. I'm pretty sure he's always fun to watch: the over-the-top confidence that barely masks a vast ocean of self-doubt, the sarcasm, the (kind of hilarious) desire for revenge. He makes a wonderful Venom if for no other reason than the fact that I totally believe he's got it in for Peter/Spidey.

I think we already know that Maguire rocks harder than anyone in these movies. Well, except for Rosemary Harris as Aunt May. And maybe Bruce Campbell because he makes everything better. Anyway, I'm not going to press the point of how Maguire is the one of the most wonderfully naturalistic actors I have ever seen. Nope, not pressing the point. And he has lovely chemistry with the generally underrated Dunst. Okay, now I'm done.

Now you're thinking to yourself, "What's with all this character crap? When is she going to get to the good stuff?" You've hit the nail on the head there, gentle reader. That's what an impatient person might be asking Raimi right now. That person might say, "Listen, that sequence where Sandman tries to reform out of sand for the first time is really cool, and I was moved at the end when we learned what really happened the day Ben Parker died. But what was with the rest of it?" I feel like it was more of a going out of business sale (despite what the studio may want) than a movie. Maybe if I wasn't so invested in Harry or dark Spidey or Venom, I could have spared some empathy for Marko or for Mary Jane's (unbelievable) professional problems.

Of course, it doesn't help that Spider-Man 2 was not only a great comic book movie but also one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. That's a lot to live up to, and, in a lot of ways, this movie does (minus Christopher Young's egregious score). If only it weren't so character heavy. B

Pop Culture Round Up

This reminds me a lot of this.

Yay! So much fun.

Excited!

This list doesn't seem so long when you realize that the artists and entertainers portion of it is about one fifth.

GAK! Okay, well, it's been dying a slow death since, oh, the end of season four, but still. Also, what does this mean for my beloved Veronica Mars?

Inside Man (2006)

RE-view!

Sometimes you can put enough distance between yourself and a movie you panned that you forget what you thought about it in the first place. So when my aunt, sister, and I were trying to pick a movie to watch this weekend, and they asked me if they would like this one, I said, "I think I liked it, but I don't know if you will." We watched it with the two of them tutt-tutting over every swear and "inappropriate" line of dialogue. When the credits rolled, my sister announced, "Well, I think that was a flop!" My aunt agreed.

And I? I thought it was a lot better than I had originally suggested. The pacing didn't seem as slow, the camera didn't seem as off, and, while they were wondering what was up with an asynchronous music in the opening sequence, I was smiling. Suddenly it seemed more smart and hip and New York.

What really convinced me that Russell Gerwitz's script was a lot smarter than I gave it credit for? A lot of the theories coming from my viewing partners were off. They are smart ladies: if Lee and Gerwitz could keep them guessing, that's an accomplishment.

I actually started to like the way Owen and Washington were playing off each other. I liked it when Foster got into the mix. Willem Dafoe played the straight man, and it worked. Chiwetel Ejiofor rocked his small roll. It was all a lot more fun than I remembered. And maybe that was my problem last time. Maybe I got so caught up in figuring out the mystery, in the cat and mouse game, in trying to keep track of the various cats and mice in any given scene, that I forgot to just watch.

I think I was a little too harsh last time. This time, I'm bumping it up to a B-.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Premise: After performing a little too well as a PC in London, Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is shipped off as a Sergeant to Sandford. Partnered with the Chief Inspector (Jim Broadbent)'s dimwitted son, Danny (Nick Frost), Sgt. Angel suspects a suspicious spate of accidents are murders connected to manager of the local grocery store (Timothy Dalton).

Think back. Think way back. Think way back to 2004. In that year, many a good movie came out. In fact, several were great. One of the great ones, as you may recall, was Shaun of the Dead. "Dude," you think, "that movie was hilarious!" Yes, it was, gentle reader. It was funny and smart and gory, and you totally loved it. You loved it so much that you still talk about it three years later, and you enjoy nothing more than having an opportunity to add, "Have a sit down?", "I ran it under a cold tap, Barbara", or "Okay . . . gay" to your everyday conversations.

Unfortunately, it's been a few years, and people are starting to look at you weird. What you need, my friend, it something just as funny, just as smart, just as gory. Above all, you need something just as quotable to refresh your conversation. Fortunately, those lovely lads behind Shaun of the Dead (director and co-writer Edgar Wright, co-writer and star Simon Pegg, star Nick Frost) figured out that this might be happening to you, and they made another fantastic parody to ease your troubles. I can hardly wait for the opportunity to tell someone to "pack it in, you silly bastard!"

This movie is so jam-packed with action movie references that a few are bound to pass you by, but who cares? That'll just make it more fun for subsequent viewings. In the meantime, sit back and admire the brilliance that goes into pairing a Sergeant with an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong with an officer who doesn't think too far beyond cornettos and lagers and sending them after an escaped swan. Look out for uncredited cameos by Cate Blanchett and Peter Jackson. Giggle your way through the revelation even if it does send a chill up your spine. In short, have some fun. This movie's got it in spades. A

Pop Culture Round-Up

Oh, totally. Except two, three, eight, and 11. Well, not really six either. At least they reminded me that it doesn't have to be a Christian Bale-less summer.

Check out the second half of that list from before. It ends just the way I thought it would.

Hee. "Thanks, Superman. We humans were getting bored with blue whales anyway ."

I can't say I agree on all points, but I like where they are going with this.

They had me until the last two.

Sharon Waxman has given me a lot to think about.

Fracture (2007)

Brief: After discovering his wife (Embeth Davidtz)'s affair, Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) shoots her. As a DDA on his way out, Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) takes the open-and-shut case as a courtesy. Naturally, the case turns out to be not as clear cut as he thought, putting his new job and his relationships in jeopardy.

You guys are really dropping the ball. I went to see a movie where a lady gets shot in the face, and there appeared to be no children in the theatre. Don't you want your children to see a woman get shot in the face?

Truth be told, there was only one reason to make the journey to the cinema last night: The Gosling. Once upon a time, Gosling and I had a very special relationship where we used to see each other five times a week (everyday after school), but now I don't get to see him as often. As such, I like to make a special effort for him.

As always, he more than delivers. Gosling's a natural on screen, an actor who can exhibit that rare combination of charisma and talent. He simply smolders up there, and in those embers you find it impossible to contradict him. Is he really a Southern lawyer* who wears a gold horseshoe ring and goes about quietly seducing his new boss (Rosamund Pike)? He is today.

*Can you be a young star and not play a lawyer? What is with that requirement?

It's wonderful to Gosling and Hopkins tear into each other with relish. I don't always understand Hopkins' career moves (look at me! I can play a sociopath!), but I like anything that puts that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. He practically glows when he sits across the table from Gosling. What a delight for the audience.

Of course, that delight is tempered by the train wreck known as the script. Co-writers Daniel Pyne and Glenn Gers secretly, in their heart of hearts, think you are very, very stupid. Mind you, they start out treating you as relatively intelligent and attentive, slowly meting out clues as the movie slightly slowly goes on. Yet, when it comes time for the climax, they suddenly lose all faith in your ability to recall something that occurred as recently as three minutes earlier. Mind you, those flashbacks could have been the work of meddling producers, but I really have no way of knowing that. Besides, I have a feeling that they thought up that ridiculously unnecessary coda all on their own.

Gregory Hoblit's direction gets the job done. There was nothing extraordinary or spectacular about it, and I doubt that it takes a lot to get good performances out of Gosling or Hopkins. I do, however, think that it takes a special kind of director to quietly investigate the bonds that form between men (he also directed Frequency), and I think that Hoblit has knack for it.

Watching can be fun, especially with Gosling and Hopkins in nearly every frame and the fabulous David Strathairn in a supporting role. If you can just let the plot's failings pass you by, you are in for a pretty good ride. B-

Grindhouse (2007)

I'd like to tell you about this movie, but I can't because you didn't listen to me the first time. I thought I'd made myself clear, but, oh no, I wasn't clear enough. Let's put it this way: NEVER EVER BRING YOUR FOUR YEAR-OLD TO AN 18A MOVIE. There - that's a little clearer, right? I don't care how badly you want to see it. I don't care if you couldn't find a babysitter. I don't care if your ex traded you weekends, and you already had these plans. Woe is you. Movies are rated 18A for a reason. Sometimes, they are rated 18A for many reasons. Reasons like, I don't know, violence, gore, nudity, and attempted rape. You know, the usual. It's bad enough that you feel the need to share your every thought, chew with your mouth open, and sit directly behind my viewing partner and I even though we are the only people in the theatre. So yeah, That Guy and That Guy's Best Friend, get the hell out of my theatre.

World's goin' to hell in hand basket.

Since we are already here, I guess I could tell you about what I saw yesterday.

Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror: When a chemical agent that turns people into flesh-eating monsters is released into the Austin atmosphere, a go-go dancer (Rose McGowan) teams up with a mysterious tow trucker driver (Freddy Rodríguez) from her past to save the survivors, including a doctor (Marley Shelton) from her murderous husband (Josh Brolin), and the town sherrif (Micheal Biehn) whose brother (Jeff Fahey) makes the best BBQ in Texas.

Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof: A former stuntman (Kurt Russell) terrorizes women (Rose McGowan, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd) along the Texan highways, but he runs into trouble when he tries to take on another group of women (Zoe Bell, Tracie Thoms, Rosario Dawson) in Tennesse.

What's the matter with you? Why aren't you going to see this in theatres? You get two pictures for the price of one plus you get to see fake trailers, which is sort of like getting to see a bunch of short films as well! Wicked awesome short films, in case you were wondering. I mean, if I can get off my duff and go see a Tarantino movie (me!), then it's quite possibly the least you could be doing.

I mean, it's the one where Rose McGowan ends up with a machine gun for a leg. A machine gun leg, people. If you don't think I spent the entire feature on the edge of my seat waiting for a) McGowan to get her machine gun leg and b) Shelton to hop on the back of her motorcycle, you don't know me at all.

And that's only one picture! Then Snake Plissken gets into Bullit's car and goes crashing into people. It's just awesome.

RR might just be my hero. First he gives me Sin City and now this? Fantastic. He also managed to balance the T&A with incredibly loving shots of Rodríguez. He seems an unlikely choice at 5'6" and best known for Six Feet Under, but that makes Rodríguez all the more hilariously badass. By the time RR backs him up with the ridiculous yet still sexy score RR wrote, it's hard to resist.

The key is the casting. You have to find actors who can be in on the joke while still delivering their lines with a straight face. Bruce Willis is good at that. Brolin was surprisingly good at that. McGowan is so good at that she may have been born to do it.

By the time Thoms, Dawson, and the beautiful Bell roll up to take Russell on, you totally love these movies. It's an irresistible smash-up of paordy and pastiche, and I, for once, am all about it.

Before you reach for your smelling salts, allow me to say that seeing a QT movie does not mean that I have reversed my position on him. I am willing, however, give him an inch, and that inch is . . . I will be less dismissive of him in the future. There. That's all he's getting, though. Don't get your hopes up.

So, how 'bout it guys? Would you like to get two movies for the price of one, plus a bunch of short films, complete with intermission, so you visit the facilities and grab another snack? Esp. if it comes with a heavy dose of awesome? Then you should get on that before they yank it from theatres, chop it up, and re-release the double feature separately. Is the problem that all QT and RR's fan are just too young to understand what they are missing out on? If so, young'uns, listen up: stop missing out. You won't be sorry if you spend an afternoon or evening with this interpretation. A

Pop Culture Round Up XV

This list rocks for Nº 9 alone. That scene is the bravura sequence that makes the entire film.

Hee. Knut brings cuteness wherever he goes.

Put Christopher Nolan in a headlock? This story just keep getting better and better.

Aw, 73. Also, I totally have a t-shirt of 56.

Momma's boy edge? What does that mean? Ah, well, just off-the-wall enough to make me like it.

I can't imagine why people would lie about seeing The Da Vinci Code either.

Could someone tell me how to feel about the top story?

Fauteuils d'orchestre (2006) et Jeux d'enfants (2003)

Story: As celebrated concert pianist (Albert Dupontel) prepares for his latest opening, he contemplates quitting, though he fears his wife (Laura Morante) will leave him if he does. Next door at the auction house, a father (Claude Brasseur) is set to unload his art collection, much to the chagrin of his son (Christopher Thompson). Across the street, a famous soap actress (Valérie Lemercier) begins a run on the stage, while attempting to win the part of Simone de Beauvoir in Brian Sobinski's (Sydney Pollack) latest film. At the centre of all of this is a bar that has just hired its first waitress (Cécile de France).

Or as we call it here: Avenue Montaigne.

What a charming little ensemble piece. De France brings everything and everyone together not through magic but through her natural openness and sweetness. The whole thing is a confection that comes together a little too well, but it's difficult to resist. It is to writer-director Danièle Thompson and her son/co-writer Christopher Thompson's credit that you feel like you know and care enough about each of the many characters to want to see the resolution of their stories. Young Thompson probably plays the most prickly character, and we still wanted him to find love. By the time Lemercier is pretty much breaking down in front of Pollack, you are doomed. There's a warmth in the way they each take the other in that extends to the audience, and who doesn't want a hug straight from Paris? B+

With less characters and a far more outlandish plot, Jeux d'enfants (Love Me If You Dare over here) is the more charming and wonderful of the pictures. As children, Julien and Sophie pass their dismal days sharing a carousel tin: whoever has the tin dares the other, and the other gets the tin when s/he completes the dare. It's a simple game and one that gets the two of them in a lot of trouble, but it is as bewitching as you can imagine. As they so often do in these sorts of stories, Julien (Guillaume Canet) and Sophie (Marion Cotillard) fall in love, but that only serves to complicate the game. Yet, no matter how awful their dares get, no matter what terrible positions they put each other in, your heart will simply burst at the thought of these two finally getting it together due to the sweet and irresistible chemistry Canet and the stunning Cotillard generate. A

I saw . . . this: Part 7

Because sometimes, more than one paragraph isn't necessary.

Idiocracy (2006)

Too many critics got me a little too hyped up for this comedy about an average guy (Luke Wilson) who wakes up 500 years in the future to discover that he is now the smartest guy alive. Both for its limited screen run and its quiet DVD release, critics were bemoaning how the genius of this film would quietly slip away. Yes and no. The satire is as deft as it was in writer-director Mike Judge's equally ignored Office Space, but the humour just didn't feel on the same level to me. Given that both Children of Men and V for Vendetta* came out last year, maybe I should just be glad that someone is willing to look at the lighter side of the world going to hell in a hand basket.

*That movie gets better every time I watch it.

Love and Death on Long Island (1997)

I can't tell you the number of times I've tried to watch this movie. I rarely make it past the opening credits. It's the kind of movie that I think I should watch, but I never quite get around to it. I finally suffered through it, and what suffering it was. I just don't get this movie. What is it trying to be? Am I supposed to feel pity for this acclaimed author (John Hurt) who falls for a B-movie actor (Jason Priestly) and flies across the Atlantic to stalk him? Should I find this bizarrely amusing? It's too bad the suffocating air that hangs over the movie like cigarette smoke prevents me from feeling anything other than weighed down and vaguely annoyed.

A Better Place (1997)

I could not, for the life of me, remember why I put this movie on my ZipList. I became briefly convinced, for reasons unknown, that Paul Rudd was in the movie, but that wasn't true. Jason Lee has a wee part, but it wasn't worth sitting through the movie to see him. Could it be that I like Eion Bailey that much? Maybe. Whatever the reason, it wasn't a good one. This movie is a terrible mess. Nothing about it reflects a single moment of what high school is really like. Barret and Ryan speak like they are reading rejected Dawson's Creek scripts, and the whole thing ends in the least believable manner possible.

Dead Man on Campus (1998)

This is not a good movie. Not at all, to be honest. For a brief time, when it first appeared on my parent's satellite lo these many years ago, I watched it. I watched it repeatedly. I watched it so often that jumping in in the middle didn't bother me, as I knew it so well. I knew it wasn't good, but I liked it. Now that's the perfect movie to add to your ZipList. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, "Hey, why did I like that movie where Tom Everett Scott and Mark-Paul Gosselaar try to get find a suicidal roomie and push him over the edge, so they can get As?" The answer: it's kind of funny and mostly stupid, but, by golly, Zack Morris is still way cooler than you.

Get Shorty (1995)

I quite like Scott Frank's adaptation of Elmore Leonard when it results in Out of Sight. Here, not as much. It's not a bad movie; it's a perfectly acceptable way to spend an afternoon. It's funny enough that you don't regret the time you spent on it. Danny Devito and Gene Hackman, as a celebrated actor and a B-movie producer respectively, were fantastic. Still, I'd rather watch the other one.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)

Premise: Shortly before Damien (Cillian Murphy) is set to leave for London to take a position at a teaching hospital, he witnesses two acts of violence that change his mind about joining the IRA. Under his brother Teddy's (Padraic Delaney) command, Damien takes a key position in the fight for independence, learning from Dan (Liam Cunningham) and falling for Sinead (Orla Fitzgerald).

What beautifully crafted misery from director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty. Previously, I had only seen one of their collaborations, and it was a bit more uplifting than this one. I can't fault them for creating such depressing tales, as they are so thoroughly rooted in reality. History tells us how things went for the Irish, so none of it should come as a surprise, per se. Shocking and even horrifying, but not surprising.

Armed with Barry Ackroyd's stunning cinematography and George Fenton's sparse and compelling score, Loach and Laverty entice the audience into their quiet, honest tale of heartbreak. It comes as no surprise to see a performance of this caliber from Murphy. He's an actor capable of filling in the tiniest of details with grace, smoothing out the roughest edges with a natural touch. Delaney matches him mark for emotional mark, bringing added sex appeal to boot.

The brothers start out at opposing ends of the spectrum and find themselves drawn through the middle and to the other side over the course of the film. Teddy's shift you can see - it seems reasonable, even logical. The only point where the film lost me was the end of Damien's arc. When you reach the final, tense, chilling moments, you alternate between pleading with Teddy and wondering, "Why, Damien? Why?" To be honest with you, I'm not entirely sure. Perhaps I will see more layers with subsequent viewing. A-

Bonus: Check out the song that inspired the title.

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

RE-view! Yay!

Do you remember that episode of Freaks and Geeks where Sam takes Cindy out to the movies? He takes her to a movie he loves, and she doesn't think it's funny at all. So he breaks up with her. I get where Sam is coming from. It's awkward when you are laughing and the person you are sitting there with is staring blankly ahead. You start to feel like you should stifle your laughter or seem less amused.

Mind you, I had sort of blown this movie out of proportion in my mind. It wasn't quite as good as I remembered. It is pretty funny, and there are plenty of things to enjoy. The gambit of showing us how Harold (Ferrell) measures everything around him is clever, and Emma Thompson attacks those line readings gleefully. If you have to have a voice in your head, you could do worse.

I still don't get the point of having Queen Latifah in such a minor role, and I still find it difficult to fully support the ending. The entire sub-plot regarding the possibility that Karen (Thompson) has been killing off real people for years drops by the wayside. We never find out if Harold is the first or one of many, and we never see that really back up on her, either. I realize that she's not the protagonist, but wouldn't you check out some obits?

Alright, I am over-thinking it. I choose to believe that this is an anomaly with no explanation. There's no point in spending too much time thinking about the why behind it because it'll distract you from enjoying what is is very sweet and light movie. It gets treacly toward the end, but I think we can allow it its flaws. After all, doesn't a man like that deserve to live?

The Lookout (2007)

Outline: With mental difficulties following a car accident, once promising high school hockey star Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works as the night janitor in a small town bank. He meets Gary (Matthew Goode) and Luvlee (Isla Fisher), who lure him into a heist of said bank.

Writer-director Scott Frank's directorial debut reminds me, for better or worse, of Memento. Leonard couldn't form new memories due to an injury, so he used repetition and conditioning to replace what he lost. Although not entirely the same, Chris has problems with his short term memory, using similar techniques to get him through the day. His memories from before the accident seem to be crystal clear, but afterwards, he has enough trouble with everyday tasks. His squeaky brakes are a constant reminder - he probably doesn't remember to get them checked, and no one has yet pointed out the problem to him.

There's a lot of details like that one packed into the script. A lot of work goes into setting up the difference between Chris's disability (for lack of a better term) and being dumb or absentminded. It would come across as dense, but Frank spaces out the clues nicely against the frigid Manitoba landscape (a stand-in for Kansas).

Rumour has it that this movie isn't well reviewed, and I can see why that might be. So much goes into making the first two acts messy and realistic that the tidy Hollywood ending feels disappointing. There are multiple points where we see Chris and the plot race right by reality, so he can apply the lessons he has been learning along the way. Even so, how can anyone notice these oversights while they are watching Gordon-Levitt? What he does on the screen goes beyond acting - I'm not even sure there are words for it. I read in an interview recently that he finds one psychological element at the centre of his characters and clings to it. I can agree to that, but what he does is so much more complex. It is nothing short of captivating: you can barely remember to breathe when you try to take in everything he is doing.

I think Goode heard the rumour that he's the new Hugh Grant and decided to go the other way. A close cut and an American accent later, Goode is nothing but slippery, wiry energy and menace. He doesn't have to play it as close to the vest with Chris, and that makes him all the more dangerous.

Can someone tell me if Fisher always talked with that baby voice or if it was for the character?

On the plus side, Jeff Daniels is a hoot as Chris' blind roommate. He should always be so loose.

If you take the time to look back on it critically, you can see where the cracks begin to show, where decisions were made to make the movie more exciting instead of more realistic. Nevertheless, it's awfully thrilling in the moment. Sometimes, that's enough. B+

Pop Culture Round-Up XIV

I like this list fine, but it is missing what I consider to be one of the best credit sequences ever: Rescue Me. The way film speeds up and slows do to simulate riding on the truck through New York, all the while the Von Bondies' "C'mon, C'Mon" hammers home everything the show is about without ever being obvious or over the top? That's how it's done. Honorable mentions to Veronica Mars and Weeds.

Grant Guimont wants to tell you about Hollywood's Manliest Directors . No sissies here.

I voted for A League of Their Own. There are many other worthwhile entries on the list, but I want it to make it past at least the first round. If it doesn't, though, I will be brave. If that movie taught me anything, it's that there's no crying in baseball. That, and avoid the clap.

David Denby takes a look at the fractured narratives becoming more commonplace in film today.

The woman who introduced me to TWoP reflects on its sale.

Sometimes movies are great. Except for scenes that completely suck .

"Unafraid to answer the call when the clock strikes 'ass-kick' "? Doesn't get much better than this.

Jesus Camp (2006)

Focus: Evangelical Christians and their kids, particularly the kids that attend Becky Fischer's summer camp, Kids on Fire.

 

Honestly, I don't know how to review this movie. Much like when I didn't want to review Deliver Us from Evil, I find it difficult to assess the film critically while disengaging the subject matter. And the more I think about it, the more it seems necessary in order to look at the filmmaking itself. The subject matter is so polemical and so politicized that it is difficult to say word one against the film without seeming to come across as in support of what we see happening to these kids on screen. But the two aren't related. I don't want these children to have their childhoods stolen from them, traded for a combination of lies and half-truths instead of a genuine relationship with God. We see kids learning to be pro-life before they are even able to understand from whence babies come, and the next thing we knew they are getting red tape placed over their mouths with 'LIFE' written across it in big block letters. Thanks to a clever bit of editing, we have no idea what the symbolism is or why they are doing it. We just go from telling kids that abortion is bad to taking away their speech.

 

Directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady choose a target ripe for mockery, and they simply allow the participants to be their ridiculous selves. They take advantage of the few kids they do focus on (12 year-old Levi, 10 year-old Rachel) much in the same way that Becky and her ilk to, although to a far less shameful degree. Handily, radio commentator Mike Papantonio frames each new segment with precise and intelligent monologues on what is really happening to middle America. When all else fails, they throw up a couple of captions.

 

See? I told you I didn't know how to review this movie.

 

Maybe it's a result of putting myself through every episode of Studio 60 or maybe that it's the fact that I grew up in a fairly easy-going Baptist community, but it seems to me that taking aim at Evangelic Christians is about the same as trying to hit the broad side of a barn. There's no feeling of exposé to this documentary. The best parts come when the subjects try to deny that their movement is in any way political, all the while asking the children to ask God to bless Bush or to pray to reclaim the courts.

 

I guess the problem is how thoroughly disheartening the whole endeavour is. The film is aimed squarely at lefties and liberals such as myself, who can come out and have a laugh at other people's insanity. Other audience members were busting a gut while I retreated into my seat, feeling ever sorrier for this children who are home schooled into believing, for reasons unrelated to religion, that global warming isn't real. Ewing and Grady are preaching to the converted, but to what end? Deliver Us from Evil, for all the squeamishness over the subject matter, gives us something to easily hate and attack. Things aren't as cut-and-dried with this doc. Once we see what's happening to these kids, where do we go? B+

Pop Cultre Round-Up XIII

Generate an emo name. Because it's hard to figure out how angsty and misunderstood you are on your own.

So not the Buffy I thought they meant.

What's that you say? Popular interest, critical acclaim, and awards success don't necessarily overlap? Thanks, dude.

WHAT?! Still trying to decide exactly how worried I should be.

Things like this make me want to wear a beret and start talking out of the side of my mouth. That, and add a bunch of movies to my ZipList.

I know at least one movie on this list is right. In high school, a guy told me that he always cries during Rudy because it's "so damn inspirational." This list isn't so bad either.

I may have enjoyed 300 to the point of not entirely understand its critics, but Mark Harris makes a though-provoking argument against it and sterile filmmaking generally.

300 (2006)

Story: Loosely based on the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leads 300 Spartans against Xerxes's (Rodrigo Santoro) million-man army. On the home front, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) attempts to win the approval of the council for more men to support her husband, much to the chagrin of Theron (Dominic West).

Aw, heck yeah! Frankly, if that wasn't your response every time you was the trailer or a commercial with the part where Butler yells, "This. IS. SPARTA!" and kicks that guy into the giant pit, this probably isn't the movie for you. Kicking that guy into the pit isn't the least of what you will see. If, however, you find yourself thinking or saying something along the lines of, "Aw, heck yeah!" every time he lets loose one of his crazy masculine yells, then this is the movie for you.

So there it is. It's a movie for the 15 year-old fanboy in all of us. This picture had several thousand more pints of blood splashing every which way, but it was no where near as scary as Zodiac. Highly stylized violence and tons of GORE! based on a Frank Miller graphic novel just might be my thing. One of them, at any rate.

Butler's great for this kind of role. He has the kind of fleshy masculinity that perfectly suits an ancient warrior, and his deep, guttural growl can go straight through to your bones when he so chooses. When he takes the time out to be tender, you can tell he really means it. Leonidas may have a penchant for killing, but he's all heart.

You know how you can tell Theron is evil? He's young like the rest of the soldiers, but his abs aren't as developed. Bad, bad man. Well, that and the fact that I've never seen West play a particularly good guy. Mostly good guy, maybe. Actually, he reminds me a little of Rufus Sewell. They should play evil brothers in something.

It's a pretty big cast to keep singling people out, but props to Michael Fassbender as Stelios and Tom Wisdom as Astinos for their man love. I love the way guys bond by making fun of each other when it's done well. Props to David Wendham as Dilios for being such a great story teller. Props to Headey for making me believe she loved her king but Sparta more. Spartan women know the score.

And, of course, mad props to director/co-writer Zach Snyder. No matter how many times I see it, I can't imagine that acting against a blue or greenscreen is easy, and Snyder made everyone look awesome doing it. Some were completely costumed. Many wore barely anything at all. Tyler Bates' rocking score helped with the awesome.

When it comes down to it, there were bits so over the top that I giggled, and the themes were brushed on so broadly that you could ignore them wholesale, but you know what? Did you see an ad and think, "Aw, heck yeah!"? Then go see it. B+

Zodiac (2007)

Premise: In the late 1960s and early 1970s a serial killer known only as Zodiac terrorized the Bay area. Fancying himself a Jack the Ripper sort, he communicated to the papers through letters and ciphers. Although crime beat writer Paul Avery (Robert Downey, Jr.) covers the story for the San Fransisco Chronicle, editorial cartoonist Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) is drawn into the case through his love of puzzles. Meanwhile, detectives Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) and Bill Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) attempt to sort fact from fiction as they come together with officers (Elias Coteas, Donal Logue) from smaller towns were Zodiac has hit.

Let the 2007 viewing season begin!

Subject matter aside, I was falling all over myself to get to the theatre to see this one. Downey, Jr., Gyllenhaal, and Ruffalo? How could I resist?

Of the three Gyllenhaal is ostensible the protagonist. He's the first of the three we see, and, as the Zodiac killings subsided, the focus shifts to Graysmith's continued search as he compiles the book on the subject. That book, of course, being the basis of writer James Vanderbilt and director David Fincher's fine work. Perhaps for the first time in a long time, I was struck by just how young Gyllenhaal looks. The others are aged as time goes by with grey added to their hair, but Gyllenhaal looks the same throughout, a youthful vibe clinging to him. Nonetheless, he possesses a growing talent, making the "aw, shucks" that seems to hang about him a weapon, disarming the viewer as well as the other characters. As dangerous as his obsession becomes, Gyllenhaal makes Graysmith a likable protagonist even when he appears to be losing the battle.

Downey, Jr. remains among the best in my mind, if for nothing else than his ability to play to conflicting emotions simultaneously. Avery's telling Graysmith to get away, but you can see he really wants to help the kid if you look closely. I enjoy the way he uses the physicality of his characters, rolling sideways out of a chair instead of standing up, carefully pushing a letter around a table with the eraser end of a pencil, blocking the path of a cab with his jerky steps. I don't know how he does it - I never feel like he is calling attention to himself with actorly tics, and I never fail to notice just how he does something.

As for my dear Ruffalo, what can I say? To a certain extent, Toschi becomes the most effete character he has ever played in a series of fairly languid (but well done) roles. He does great work as the cop in the midst of this madness. The voice seems a little higher, the pants a lot tighter, but the heart is definitely in the right place. I loved the way he just couldn't resist assisting Graysmith, even after the whole thing blew right up in his face. His dedication, far beyond his reward, was not only the character's touchstone but the movie's.

The only criticism I can think of for Vanderbilt and Fincher's taught, smart, and witty (albeit shockingly violent) thriller is that it drags a little as it shifts gears from the murders to Graysmith's research. Just for a bit at the top of the act, but not so much that you are thrown out of the film. Fincher starts in on you again with the tension, and you forget what you were on about.

Okay, two complaints: whatever they had on Edwards' head. Dude looked Kevin Costner in the wrong lighting. Nice work from him, though.

Other than those two things, exactly what a thriller should be. Creepy, sparingly violent, tense. Kept me up that night. A

Minimum admission requirements

I should be reviewing Zodiac right now, and I'd like to, but I feel compelled to make a little public service announcement before hand.

If you are a parent, know a parent, or know a kid, this one's for you. Okay, listen up: Stop taking your kids to movies. Specifically, stop taking your 12 year olds to movies that are rated R/18A. Take them to other movies, movies that are rated G or PG or PG-13. If you kid is 13 and really wants to see a 14A movie, and you think it's alright to accompany them, I guess that's okay. But think about what you are doing. Look up the rating. When you see that it's R, visit a site like Kids in Mind to figure out why. Is it strong language? Violence? Drug and alcohol use? Sexual content? Think about what you are exposing them to.

I get that all kids are different, and maybe you have a really mature one on your hands. Even so, think it through. Adults older than I were walking out of Pan's Labyrinth in horror. Imagine mine when I saw the number of parents who had brought their young children in with them. In front of me last night at Zodiac, which, I don't mind telling you, is a movie about a serial killer? A girl who wasn't more than 14. She was reading an Archie comic when we walked in. What her mother was thinking is beyond me.

Now, I'm not in favour of censorship. I am, however, in favour of responsible parenting. If your daughter begs you to see a movie because, I don't know, Jake Gyllenhaal is super fine, look into the movie before you give her $10. Spend $10 yourself if you must. Wait for the DVD and vet it that way. Do whatever you have to prevent her from watching a couple be gruesomely stabbed to death. Growing up in this world is enough of a shock. Don't add to it.

Top 10 of 2006

The wait, gentle reader, is over. After hours of serious deliberation and careful review, I have winnowed down the 46 movies distributed in 2006 that I have seen over the last 14 months. Eighteen of those movies received grades in the A range. For all my concern in 2006 that it wasn't a very good year, it turns out it was one of the better years in recent memory for movies. I saw a lot of worthy pictures last year, ones that challenged me, ones that made me laugh, ones that made my scratch my head. Even so, I can tell these movies are going to be with me for a long time.

As always, the list is sort of rank ordered and sort of alphabetical. I will tell you one thing: the first movie truly was the best picture of the year.

1. Children of Men
2. The Lives of Others
3. Pan's Labyrinth
4. Half Nelson
5. The Prestige
6. Brick
7. A Prairie Home Companion
8. The Departed
9. V for Vendetta
10. The Science of Sleep

Honourable mention goes to La Règle du Jeu, which I swore I read about before I saw, although I cannot find proof that it was redistributed in the last year or so.

What have we here? Three foreign language films, a comic book adaptation, dueling magicians, a genre pic, and a genre defying noir. How could I have doubted the greatness of last year's films?

Days of Glory (Indigènes) (2006)

Outline: During the occupation of France in WWII, the French gathered up troops from French African colonies in order to free the "motherland." While their contributions helped the French make great advances, the African troops were treated as second class off the battlefield.

I was reluctant to review Flags of our Fathers because I didn't like it. I felt guilty for not liking something about the Greatest Generation. While it had its good points, it had next to no character development. I didn't really care what happen to those three guys nearly as much as I wanted to see what would happen to Barry Pepper and the others down on the beach. Adam Beach's histrionics back on safe ground? Nowhere near as compelling.

It is for the same reason that I feel guilty for not absolutely loving Days of Glory. Or, rather, not caring as much about some plot lines as I did for others. I feel like I should pay attention to an injustice being brought to light - one that finally mobilized the French government to take action - but I didn't care as much as I think I should have. I cared about Messaoud's (Roschdy Zem) romance with Irène (Aurélie Eltvedt), but the plot line didn't get much screen time. I wanted to care about whatever was going on with Saïd (Jamel Debbouze). Debbouze is a great actor, but either the script or the editor gave me absolutely no insight into the character. He's the first person we see enlist, but his reasons for doing so were murky at the time. They never really sharpen. By the time he's shoving Nazi propaganda into the holes in his boot, I found myself thinking, "That's a nice image" without being able to connect the dots. What does it mean?

Perhaps the most compelling plot was that of a pair of Nomadic herders, brothers who enlisted to raise enough money to marry the youngest off. Larbi (Assaad Bouab) was the more easily likable of the two, but Yassir's (Samy Naceri) steadfast devotion to his brother ultimately won my attention and my heart.

Aside from that, Patrick Blossier's cinematography was stellar. He did a great job of setting the scene.

I don't know, kids. It's a good movie and an even more important of history that we need to remember. I guess I was expecting a big old fashioned, epic sob-fest and found a quiet think-piece instead. B

The Painted Veil (2006)

Premise: Kitty (Naomi Watts) marries Dr. Walter Fane (Edward Norton), who whisks her away from London to Shanghai. Bored with married life and her staid husband, Kitty begins an affair with Charlie Townsend (Liev Schreiber). When Walter discovers the affair, he drags Kitty to a remote village in the cholera-infested interior in 1925.

I know that some of you have been waiting with breath that is bated for my Top 10 list. I decided when I opened my Bytowne guide in January that it would have to wait until I got the chance to see this movie, which wasn't playing until March. As such, gentle reader, you have had to wait. Fortunately, patience is virtue, and you shall be rewarded in short order.

Although it was composer Alexandre Desplat's other score that received most of the attention this year, I found this one to be a much more masterful turn. It may seem odd to you to begin a review with the score, but the movie begins with the score gloriously out in the open, richly swirling about you. The theme envelopes the audience from the opening frame.

I found myself a bit resistant to the framing device early in the film, but I was able to settle into it. Watts brings a breathtaking openness to her roles, and she does astounding things with her silences. I think the think I like best about her, however, is how she is slowly growing on me. I can see her still smoothing out the wrinkles in her performances. She hasn't quite gotten to the point where I am convinced that she is fully embodying someone else, but she's getting very close. It's nice to see it happen.

Norton once again proves that he is among the greatest living actors, with a spectacular accent and quite a nice seat.* I was charmed Walter's early, bumbling attempts at wooing Kitty, surprised but not shocked by the depth of his desire to hurt Kitty, and seduced anew by the man he grew into in the face of the epidemic. Thank goodness Norton is finding worthy roles of late.

It is to Schreiber's great credit, as well as that of writer Ray Nyswaner, that I could easily see how and why Kitty was seduced by Charlie. I don't know that there is a person alive who wouldn't have felt a thing had s/he been on the receiving end of his description of the opera. Charlie's a rake, to be sure, but Schreiber makes him more of a character than an archetype. Too bad we see so little of him.

When I found myself thrown by just how terribly the Fanes would treat each other, I thought to myself, "Who is this guy?" The guy in question being director John Curran. How does he present two characters that make me want to yell, "Stop being dicks!" with just enough compassion to make me care about what happens to them? Then I realized he has already done it to me. Is this some sort of a genre I had been previously unaware of? The angry married couple in midst of a crisis genre? Curran might be its master at only two pictures. It was hard to know for whom to feel worse.

As inevitable as the conclusion is (it is based on a W. Somerset Maugham novel, after all), you are still touched by the circumstances that brought us there. The coda fell mostly on the unnecessary side. Fortunately, not enough so to write off the film entirely. A character study above all, the film is a deeply etched portrait of romance, betrayal, and love. A-

*For horseback riding. Get your minds out of the gutter. Okay, I also noticed that he has a cute butt. I'm only human.

Bonus: The sonnet from which we gain the title.

Nit-pick: I find it hard to believe that any woman, much less one of Kitty's breeding, would have been walking around with bare legs in that day and age.

Pop Culture Round-Up XII

I like this take on the slacker movie.

I nodded at a few entries, but it was no. 8 that really made me smile.

If a door is closed, karate chop it open. It's been years since I saw this, and I had forgotten how laugh out loud funny it is.

Ruh-roh. I think we all know what happens when a couple makes a TV show about their love. Better keep David away from the cameras.

HAIR. This list cracks me up.

None of these would probably rank on my list, but I appreciate the sentiment.

I like this discussion, and I want that DVD set.