:: a toe in the water... ::

:: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 ::

What you do in LA with no car and the MTA on strike

(besides loll about eating pop tarts and going back to sleep halfway through the morning because Con is coming and you need to stockpile some zzz's)

You rifle through your friends' video and DVD collections looking for stuff you haven't seen. Which if you're me and you've recently spent nine years under an Eastern European bushel, makes such a nice pile that it's getting dark before you realise you still haven't had lunch.

I'll just pick the standouts:

The Hard Word -- an Aussie caper comedy with Guy Pearce and Rachel Griffiths, which probably graced a screen near you for all of the blink of an eye. That's about how long it lasted in London, and I can't think why. I laughed so hard I dribbled green curry all over myself and didn't even notice. It's on DVD. Go. Buy.

Out of Sight -- I know, I know, I'm really late. What can I say? I can't stand J(cough)Lo, and I'm not much of a Clooney fan (though the ground beneath me is starting to crumble there. And, you know, I liked Solaris.) But I'm still having fun with "Karen Sisco" (4 and 5 weren't great, but this last one was a hoot -- and hey, Karen got laid by someone she didn't have to arrest or kill! When's the last time we saw that? You go, girl!) so I had to see the movie from whence that began. And you know, I liked it. I really liked it. [/sally] I'm so sorry Jennifer Lopez turned into such an annoying twat, because she's really good in this. And Clooney is adorable. Damn. Between that and his politics, I'm going to have to forgive him for looking a Ken doll, aren't I? Ah well, it's easier now that he's looking a bit more like Ken's dad.

Speaking of The Clooney, events seem to be conspiring. I also saw:

Ocean's Eleven: Yes, hello, the one person on the planet who hasn't seen it. Hi, right here! Also possibly the only one not that impressed. It was okay. I might have liked it more if I were not still holding my sides together days after seeing The Hard Word, which is Godiva chocolate to Ocean's Eleven's Hershey bar. But, you know, fun enough and everyone is in it, and their little dog, too.

Intolerable Cruelty -- If you're not a Coens fan, you'll probably love it. I, however, was left with the distinct impression of two hairy boys with their teeth pulled, bloodily gumming their way through an oh-so-ordinary script. There's a few moments in it that are pure beautiful Coen, but they just make the rest look that much more banal. And I still can't see the point of Catherine Zeta Jones, apart from, yeah, she's a stunning-looking woman. Na, und? Her acting talent has to stretch to the breaking point to achieve merely adequate and I wish she'd stop even attempting to sound American. It's not the hybrid accent that bothers me (glass houses, eh?) but the fact that she keeps managing to pronounce the same bloody word three different ways within the same bloody sentence. Call it Keanu Syndrome -- they're fine when they just stand there looking beautiful and mysterious, but should never attempt to do anything like open their mouth.

Oh, and speaking of "everyone's in it, and their little dog, too" -- do go see Love, Always. I was going to give it a miss, as it looked all sappy and Bridget Jonesish from the previews (No, I didn't really warm to Bridget Jones. But you know, I liked Solaris, so what do I know?). It's much less sappy than it seems (though it skates a bit close from time to time and I could have done without the Heathrow bookends) and very very funny, especially if you know anything at all about British politics and bloody bleeping music contests. As seems to be my lot in life (at least as far as seeing a film in an actual cinema is concerned) I was absolutely hooting in places where everyone else was silent. Bill Nighy is just brilliant, as is the ever-glorious Emma Thompson. That damn woman can rip your heart out without even opening her mouth.

There's lots more, but I'm shutting up now. See a lot of you on Friday and remember: "FS Con 2003: I'll be in the bar."

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:: fialka 8:06 PM [+] ::

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