Rob's Blog

See Juno

I highly recommend the film, Juno, starring Ellen Page . The film is about a 16 year-old girl who gets pregnant and faces the struggles of deciding what to do, and who she is. Ellen Page gives a phenomenal performance. It's a film I would see again. Really creatively done. As a second part of a double-feature, we saw  Flakes on the IFC channel. It's a really quirky film about a cereal bar, Flakes. It's a "restaurnat" which serves only a huge variety of cereal all day long (I wonder if those really exist?). Anyway, it's not a spectacular film, didn't get great reviews, but stars one of my favorite actresses, Zooey Deschanel

2 Days in Paris

Definitely a movie for the "A" list. 2 Days in Paris   was written, directed by, and stars French/American actress, Julie Delpy. It examines the themes of relationships, cultural stereotypes, politics, and of course, sex. It's a French film, after all. Even so, it is primarily a comedy, if not of errors, at least of imperfect intimacy. It really reminded me of a French version of Annie Hall, with Julie Delpy being kind of a combination Mia Farrow, Diane Keaton, and Adam Goldberg, a good imitation of a younger Woody Allen with touches of Ben Stiller. It really had that "Jewish-Shikse" thing going on. It's only playing in New York City at the moment, and we saw it at a great theater on Houston St., the  Angelika Film Center. Great environment to see a great film. 

The British Are Coming (Beg your pardon?)

My own Golden Globes revolve around the re-emergence of the British Empire. Specifically some astounding performances by several British actresses. Kate Winslet was phenomenal and strikingly familiar as a disaffected American suburban housewife who drifts into an affair with the local (married) hunk, in Little Children. I thought it was great, and the title revealing. Helen Mirren was excellent as The Queen, a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, during the Princess Diana "crisis." I wasn't as entranced by the movie as much as I was by the acting, not only by Helen Mirren, but also by Michael Sheen who portrayed Tony Blair with astounding reality. Finally, we just saw  Notes on a Scandal, with Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench. Both were spectacular in a riveting and disturbing film, whose plot I won't give away. But it is dark and complex, especially in examining the relationship between the two women. Quite the performances. The film sort of tied things up a little too neatly for my tastes, but that was a small price to pay to see such superb acting. The Empire strikes back.