stuff I've done

    I've been remiss about filling y'all in on my movie-watching and book-reading. I shall try to remedy that this evening, at least in the movie realm. Books, soonish.
    The Virgin Queen was on PBS, I believe. I saw only one segment of it. I was entranced by Tom Hardy as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. It's a demanding role and he plays it masterfully--with enough sensitivity to be realistic as the target of Elizabeth's romantic dreams, but also with sufficient dash and rakishness to keep from falling into boredom. I wish I could have seen the whole series.

Tequila Sunrise is one of my favorite horribly dated movies. Yes, I know, I'm supposed to hate all things Mel Gibson. But I luuurve the late Raul Julia! And this film has some great lines....

Jo Ann Vallenari: So you thought Andy Leonard would give you respectability.

Dale McKussic: Yes, ma'am.

Jo Ann: Well, what do you need it for?

Dale: You.

Jo Ann: You're a bad boy, Nick. A very bad boy.

    Caligula. Wow. Uh, what can I say? If you're at all interested in watching this film, and you have the option of seeing the unrated version, you may want to read the packaging prior to viewing the film. It is my professional (i.e. legal) opinion that it is not porn, but it is very, very close. I certainly wouldn't want to watch it with somebody's grandmother. (ick)

    For all the scandal that surrounds this movie, I was not offended by its content so much as I was offended by its quality. It just sucked. Considering that many of the named cast are "real actors" and not from the stable of Penthouse (the film was produced by Bob Guccione and Penthouse Films International--they are listed directly on the packaging), this film should not suck. Malcolm McDowell plays Caligula (Emperor Gaius Germanicus Caesar). Helen Mirren, as of this writing an Academy Award nominee for Best Actress in The Queen! is Caesonia, his wife and one of his protectors. Sir John Gielgud (!) plays Nerva, the trusted advisor of Caligula's predecessor, Emperor Tiberius Caesar--a role played by the magnificent Peter O'Toole. O'Toole comes really close to being over the top, but he's really marvelous as the diseased, old lecher. His skill is not surprising, given that he is also nominated for an Academy Award this year, for Best Actor in a Leading Role, in Venus. McDowell's role must have been the most demanding--he is onscreen for something like 95% of the movie--but in my opinion, the most difficult was likely that of Julia Drusilla, Caligula's sister/lover. Teresa Ann Savoy played it with an understated grace that seemed to transcend the tawdriness of the surroundings.
    Is it great cinema? Hell, no. Is it worth seeing? Sure, if you take the warnings seriously. If in doubt, watch the "bonus materials" first. They will make clear what you will see in the film proper.

    Factotum is one of the many stories of Charles Bukowski's life. (He wrote a book called Factotum: hence the title. Curious about the word? Look it up.) Oddly, the extraordinarily handsome actor Matt Dillon was chosen to play the part of the extraordinarily ugly author. Huh. Inexplicable.
    Did I hate it? No. Did I love it? No. It was just sort of 'there,' and then, poof, it was over. I didn't find it to be terribly memorable, which bummed me out. I'm a major fan of Bukowski's poetry, and Nick loves his stories. We watched the movie, turned to each other and said, "Eh."
    My favorite thing about this movie: Adrienne Shelly is in it. Unfortunately, she's in it for about 5 minutes, and I don't think she speaks. Bummer.

    I saw Little Miss Sunshine on Christmas Day, at Nick's house. With his parents and sister. I had no idea what to expect. I'm not a huge Greg Kinnear fan, so I wasn't all weepy over the fact that his character is a complete dickbrain through most of the film. I liked Steve Carell in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, so I'd expected to enjoy his performance; I was not disappointed. The kid is cute and all that.... Whatever. It's a good movie. The dialog, though, just about killed me. Have I mentioned that I just don't watch movies with my parents? Especially not those with quotes like this:

Listen to me, I got no reason to lie to you, don't make the same mistakes I made when I was young. Fuck a lotta women kid, not just one woman, a lotta women.

I was dying. Nick's parents are totally cool, but I was dying. I wanted to roll up into a ball and hide behind the couch. I'm a dork.

[roll closing credits]