Tiff

It’s funny how different our speculations can be from what actually is, or comes to be. For example, my overzealous approach to this year’s Oscar season, which has developed into an interesting one, to say the least. Awards aside, I’d like to talk about the films that have made an impression on me (good or bad) based on my original thoughts from my last post. As you will see, this discussion comes out quite incomplete, due to the fact that I have only seen three of those movies discussed previously. I really meant to see everything, but it seems food is more important than movies – at least for me. I don’t think any of us ever expects to be poor unless we grow up expecting nothing else. But when it happens, we usually aren’t prepared for it. It’s definitely more stressful than I imagined. Anyway, it’s cut back on my movie time. I think Nick got tired of seeing movies he didn’t care about as well.

As everyone has heard by now, Slumdog Millionaire is a spectacular piece of film making. Really, I don’t have much else to say about it. The plot is compelling, the writing is witty, and you really can’t help feeling anything but love for most of the characters. On the whole it’s just a really triumphant movie, and has been the most deserving (of awards) I’ve seen this winter season.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a good, solid movie, but it isn’t my favorite David Fincher film. I have a feeling that maybe his strong suit lies in the genre of thrillers. I’ll never forget the first time I saw Zodiac. I don’t know what it was, but I was curled up in my seat, terrified to the point of sickness. The same goes for Se7en. Now whenever I watch, I know exactly what is going to happen, but I still get the willies. So the constancy of very strong emotion, whatever it may be, is a trait I enjoy in Fincher’s movies. Benjamin Button is no exception, making me cry through much of its two hours and fifty minutes. I developed a pretty strong feeling for Benjamin immediately. He is such a generous, selfless and beautiful character, so not only did I sincerely care about what happened to him, but the continual reminder of my mortality was kind of tough.  I don’t know that Benjamin’s aging backward is as important as the fact of opportunity. His childlike eagerness to do anything, even at the physical age of seventy or eighty, a curiosity most of us leave behind by fifteen. As a side note, I’m not Brad Pitt’s biggest fan, but his portrayal was spot on.

The problem I found with Doubt was not with the film as much as the play. I feel that the real dramatic guts are missing, and they only appear in the second to last scene with Sister Aloysius, Mrs. Muller and Father Flynn. I understand that during the 1960s in a Catholic school sexuality and sexual abuse are hard topics to explicitly discuss, but the woman question could have been driven home harder. In fact, for all of her veiled annoyance at her subordinate position to the men of the parish, Sister Aloysius is not only arguably the villain, but totally destroyed by the close of the play. The nuns remain powerless women. This is disappointing, but it makes its point well enough.

Before ending, I have one question: I’d just like to get an idea of how many people would be interested in a sort of internet book club? Reading novels, plays, poetry with me on something like a weekly basis? Or would books as movies be more interesting? I’d like to do both, actually. I know a lot of people dislike reading these days. Let me know!