You are born, you die, and in between you make a lot of mistakes
Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life is a difficult film. It speculates, but does not clearly state. It admires a mother’s warm smile, the smallness of a newborn in its father’s arms, and the cosmic ballet of the universe as one in the same. In short, it is a film about everything, and it is … Continue reading
The stuff of dreams
N. K. Jemisin’s debut book The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was one of the most acclaimed debut novels in recent years. She won the Locus Award for Best First Novel for 2011. Her book was also nominated for the Nebula, the Hugo, and the World Fantasy Award that year. I’d never heard of her. All of … Continue reading
The death of a mother is the first sorrow wept without her
Hawaii is a vacation spot. To most of us, it’s not a place where people live and certainly not where anyone dies. My wife even remarked during the opening minutes of Alexander Payne’s The Descendants that it was strange to see office buildings through Matt King’s (George Clooney) own office window. “I didn’t know they … Continue reading
The Great Oscar Race, 2012: Already out of breath
So the nominations have finally come out and I find myself even further behind than last year. I have seen a total of two of the Best Picture noms, one of the Best Actor, and an impressive ZIPPO of the Best Actress. The supporting categories are even worse. Even cinematography, a favorite category of mine, finds me at a pathetic … Continue reading
Little girl lost
I just missed your heart. Hanna (2011) begins and ends with that line, but it doesn’t feel the same way the second time. When Hanna first utters it she is standing over a deer she has just hit with an arrow. Its breathing is panicked and frightened. She quickly (and somewhat coldly) puts it out … Continue reading
The silence that says everything
I’ll begin by explaining the somewhat cumbersome, enigmatic title of T. Sean Durkin’s film debut, Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011). Martha is the name of a young woman, played by Elizabeth Olsen, who runs away from her life and joins a cult. Marcy May is a name the cult’s leader, Patrick (John Hawkes), feels suits … Continue reading
What I’m Watching: Roundup finale
Whitney (NBC, Thursdays) Like Two Broke Girls, I had high hopes for this one. Whitney Cummings is a solid, risk-taking, wise-cracking comedian. I like her for how far she’s willing to push a joke, not for how high the network can hike her mini skirt. However, NBC seems to value the latter more than the … Continue reading
Play Dirty
One of the perks of Netflix Watch Instant is I can take a chance on something, without the risk of wasting a few days waiting for a DVD to arrive. I can browse, try something for a few minutes, and if I don’t enjoy the flick, I just hit stop and find something else (which … Continue reading
What I’m Watching: The New Girl
The New Girl (Fox, Tuesdays) Okay, so this is a show I didn’t expect to like. Zooey Deschanel is always so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with her twee little singing voice and her goody-goody cotton outfits and her healthy eating habits and her Death Cab for Cutie husband. Bah! I half expect pink bunnies to pop … Continue reading
What I’m Watching: Prime Suspect
Prime Suspect (NBC, Thursdays) First and foremost, watch the original British Prime Suspect starring Helen Mirren. That woman is a goddess for a reason. I watched the series over the summer and was blown away by how intensely it activated my emotions, mostly anger, toward the patriarchy. This program, along with its new American counterpart … Continue reading
