What Do You Think About...

Son of Rambow

It's hard for me to resist an artsy dramedy about two kids discovering the joys of filmmaking. I suggest you don't even try. Just see it more than once...I've noticed that it takes at least two viewings to really appreciate these types of films.

To Write Love On Her Arms

"To Write Love On Her Arms" is a group that's trying to help people quit cutting, and I thought the name was such a beautiful picture of hope. Cutting wasn't brought to mainstream attention until Princess Diana confessed to struggling with it in 1996. Now it's so common it's joked about constantly ("I wish my lawn were emo so it'd cut itself."). They're even releasing a comedy this weekend called "Wristcutters: A Love Story." The truth is that cutting is serious, and i think the more it is honestly discussed, the better. There is no reason to hurt yourself, no matter what your circumstances are.

Silent Sea

I was happy in my harbour
When you cut me loose
Floating on an ocean
And confused
Winds are whipping waves up
Like skyscrapers
And the harder they hit me
The less I seem to bruise

Oh when I
Find the controls
I'll go where I like
I'll know where I want to be
But maybe for now
I'll stay right here
On a silent sea

-KT Tunstall "Silent Sea"

Casino Royale

Normally I'm not an advocate of James Bond. As alluring as he can be, every single one of his films loses me once he starts rolling into bed with women named such things as Pussy Galore or Honey Ryder. But Casino Royale, despite it's flaws, is a stunning film. The cinematography is incredible....it's stark, yet rich, incorporating lots of high-exposure, light drenched shots in with the more moody settings you'd expect. When Bond is whiping the blood off of his face after killing a man, the frantic, shaking camera angles do as much to propel the story along as the acting. The movie opens in harsh black and white, more like moving, artistic mug shots than traditional black-and-white-films. But the scene that will stick with me the most was, in my opinion, sheer brilliance. Bond comes to check on his partner, Vesper Lynd, after they've just killed a man. He finds her sitting in the shower, still in her evening gown, silently crying over the thing she has just done. Bond simply sits in the shower with her and holds her. It was such a wonderful moment. It's moments like that that make great movies.

Matisse

I'll spare you the "reasons why" and let the work of Henri Matisse speak for itself. (Random Factoid: I had a pet fish named Matisse. He died, quite tragically, this past summer.)

Good Taste/Bad Taste

Cool house, isn't it? It belongs to Joel Shumacher, a film director known for his entertaining albeit poorly executed movies (such as "Phantom of the Opera", "The Number 23", and the "Batman" movie w/ George Clooney.) I wouldn't have expected his house to look like this...but I love it!

Oscar Predix

The Oscars are tonight, and even though I'm probably terribly off, I couldn't resist predicting who will win. I'm not going to go through all of the categories because a.) I'd be wrong far too many times and b.) I have to go to choir rehearsal soon and don't have gobs of time. So, here I go...

Best Actor: Peter O'Toole (Venus)

Best Actress: Helen Mirren (The Queen)

Best Supporting Actor: Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children)

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls)

Best Director: Martin Scorsese (The Departed)

Best Picture: Babel or Little Miss Sunshine

Best Animated Feature: Cars

Best Documentary Feature: An Inconvenient Truth

Best Foreign Language Film: Pan's Labyrinth

Best Costume Design: Dreamgirls

Best Makeup: Pan's Labyrinth

Fashion Flash: Audrey Hepburn

I have always admired the style of Audrey Hepburn. She was sleek and elfish at a time when opulent and curvy was all the rage. Her photos never really seem old-her "look" is one you could easily do today without appearing old-fashioned.