The King's Speech and Black Swan

The King's Speech is an astounding film, a fascinating story with exceptional acting by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. This is why we go to movies. When you come out of this movie, you know that. No one should miss seeing it. Academy Awards will follow. Black Swan is a very good film. Natalie Portman is extraordinary. She portrays a dancer and a woman who is so psychologically damaged, it's a wonder she got the prima ballerina role in Swan Lake. I never pay much attention to make-up, but here, it is screaming and brilliant and impossible to overlook, especially the black swan.

A stretch of good movies since last blog entry

Because I only want to comment on 3 favorites since my last blog entry, I'll list ones that I've also seen that I think are very good: Carlos, Burlesque, Waste Land, For Colored Girls and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. The 3 favorites are: Genius Within: Glenn Gould, Fair Game and Client 9, The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer. Glenn Gould is an extraordinary documentary in so many ways. He was an amazing talent and psychologically complex. The interviews are thoughtful and penetrating, especially those with the woman, Cornelia Foss, and her children who he lived with for about 4 years. This movie is absolutely on the "must see" list. Then there is Fair Game. As good as this movie is, and Sean Penn and Naomi Watts are, it is hard to watch because it is so infuriating to be reminded again of the extent the Bush gang went to lie and trump up excuses for why we went to war with Iraq. Don't miss it but consider taking a tranquilizer before you go. Another very good documentary is Elliot Spitzer. This is a modern day tragedy about a legal hero who was brought down in a sex scandal. Why was he brought down when so many others in public life weather these kinds of storms? Better spin doctors? Anyway, he's far from down now. What a ride!

TV - 2 current shows are especially good

In Treatment is better than ever this season, especially with Debra Winger added to the cast as well as Amy Ryan. This is an extremely well written show and my favorite one going now that Mad Men is on break. Also, don't give up on Boardwalk Empire. After a slow start and a continuing issue of whether Steve Buscemi can pull off his big cheese role, this show is also getting better and Michael Pitt is a big reason that it is. He is engaging, tough, tender and unpredictable. Real Time with Bill Maher just concluded another successful season and continues to maintain its position among the very top tv shows.

Emmy alert: Debra Winger and Michael Pitt.

Ben Afflect Scores + Oscar Tip

Ben Affleck's first directorial effort was Gone Baby Gone, a very good movie. His second one, The Town, is even better. It's a bank heists movie with a very good script and an excellent cast, including Ben himself, Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker), Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and Jon Hamm (Mad Men). After directing these 2 films, I'm putting him on my director's "must see" list. That list includes Woody Allen, and he doesn't disappoint with his latest, though far from his best, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger. The Anthony Hopkins character is an hilarious stand-out here. I feel compelled to comment on The Social Network because it's getting so much attention right now. I'm not a techie, but I did not find it to be an engaging movie anyway, even though I thought Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake were very good.
Oscar tip: Look for Jeremy Renner, Justin Timberlake and Anthony Hopkins to be strong contenders in best supporting actor category.

Joaquin, Jesus!

I'm Still Here is about as weird as it gets. I thought it was really funny, but with a slight reservation - is this real? Joaquin Phoenix seems to have completely lost it. Have you ever seen a movie that leaves you wondering whether you have been completely duped? Where does Joaquin go from here (underwater in a river in Panama)? Stay tuned.

George Clooney Goes Down Again! + Comments on Violence, and on TV - Mad Men Rolls and Rules

A while back I gave Up In The Air a - poof. Now comes The American,and it merits a - huh? There's no dialogue. George: Get back on it! In the meantime there are some good movies out there. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, a documentary, is clearly worth a visit. Also, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, part 1 of 2, (I can't wait to see part 2) is violent and then some, but the violence is realistic and understandable. It's not outrageous, extreme, ridiculous and completely unrealistic, as in movies like Inception. Another good film out there now, also with realistic violence, is Animal Kingdom. On the television front, Mad Men continues to roll and may be, as impossible as it seems, getting even better.

Two More Good Summer Movies + Disappointment and Book Recommendation

The Kids Are All Right is a movie about a 2010 family, lesbian parents of 2 teenagers who trace down their biological father. It's well written and acted and gets a solid recommendation here. The other recommendation this posting is Dinner for Schmucks. It starts out slowly and builds up to a very funny movie. A big disappointment is Inception. I just don't get the hoopla for this film. It starts with an interesting idea but quickly devolves into violence and explosions and who cares if these are fantasies of the characters, rather than the usual fantasies of the writers and directors? It's an absurd film with a kill ratio of about 50-1, bad to good guys. Christopher Nolan has come a long way down from his extraordinary film, Memento.
On another front - books, I recently finished Elizabeth George's latest, A Body of Death, and was totally engrossed in another multi-layered mystery in her Inspector Lynley series.