DVD Review: Life After Tomorrow

I just watched "Life After Tomorrow" on NetFlix Instant View. It's a brief [72 minutes] documentary about the little girls from various shows and tours of Annie who, as grown women, share their memories and sometimes quite sad stories of making it big as a little kid and the feelings they had of outgrowing their fame. Ultra famous Annie, Sarah Jessica Parker, does an extensive interview and comes off as remarkably well adjusted. Another personal fave of mine, Martha Byrne, who I came to know as Lily Walsh on As the World Turns, does a nice interview, too. There are many, many, many others and their post-show biz struggles are poignant.

I think this film should be required viewing if you have any plans of putting your daughter in show business or on the pageant circuit.

I am an Anniephile. Dad must've belonged to some record club because I remember hearing Broadway Cast albums of many shows. Dad would play them on Sunday mornings after 7 a.m. Mass when he would cook breakfast for Mom and the rest of us. I wore out the grooves of my Annie album. We bought the piano music to "Tomorrow" and I played it always. I knew the words to every song. The National Tour came to Milwaukee when I was a junior or senior in high school. I bought tickets and dragged my boyfriend to the show. We made a day of it, riding with his folks there and back and having three meals on the road that day. I was in heaven. I bought the t-shirt and wore it until it became a gym shirt and then I wore it for gymnastics practices. I know there's a picture in a high school yearbook where I'm wearing it. That musical touched me. About 10 years ago, the show was coming to Winston-Salem and I won the easiest trivia question possible about Daddy Warbucks [first name 'Oliver'--duh!] and took my man to see it. I was way up in the balcony on the edge of my seat, enraptured. I still knew every word to every song, even though I had only seen the show the one previous time in the late 70s.

And then there's this.

It was a little sad for me to see this film and tarnish some of my golden memories. I highly recommend this pic, but only for people who loved the musical.

DVD Review: "Extras"

Dave and I are enjoying the HBO Comedy Series, "Extras," starring Ricky Gervais of the original "Office." My cheeks and stomach hurt from laughing so hard. The funniest bits, by far, were on the Bonus Features, which included outtakes and special vignettes. We learned a new term, "corpsing" which is the British equivalent of breaking up. It reminded me of the classic bits on "The Carol Burnette Show" when Tim Conway would get Harvey Korman to break character. The show is a little risque, and features moments of social discomfort, all to a hilarious end. I think Ricky Gervais is brilliant.

Holiday Book Recommendation: Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree

Not yet Advent and I'm already giving myself over to the Christmasization of late autumn.

I got out an old favorite book to read to the girls at bedtime. How old? It was read to me as a child in the late 1960s. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree , by Robert Barry, tells the story of a too-tall tree that is cut to size and enjoyed by myriad woodland creatures. It is written entirely in rhymed couplets, and delightfully clever. The drawings are simple and full o' whimsy. For the one who reads it aloud, there are many opportunities to create interesting voices.

I highly recommend this book to folks with little ones who are about 4 or older and who don't mind the secular side of the season.

DVD Reviews: 'Last King of Scotland' and 'The Good Shepherd'

We're well into the NetFlix routine. We finished 'Last King of Scotland' two nights ago. Forest Whitaker acted the cootie out of that role. I almost forgot he wasn't Idi Amin. He was gentle and menacing and embodied the petulant, immature, brutal dictator beautifully. The problem with this film for me was that the central character was a novelized, fictional, composite sort of fellow: a Scottish doctor. Unless you check out the bonus features, you're left with the impression that the good doctor actually exists.

I had much the same difficulty with last night's 'The Good Shepherd' starring Matt Damon as a CIA Agent from its inception to the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. His character, too, was a composite of several agents and their stories. His co-star, Angelina Jolie, portrayed his beleaguered wife of many years. Matt Damon portrayed an intelligence agent who never got angry, smiled twice that I counted, and walked without moving his arms. It was near-death watching him. You knew something was going on inside, but it never made it to the screen. I have major difficulty with Angelina Jolie. The film covered 30 years and she never aged much [Damon, too, failed to age; his glasses did change over the years, however.] I have great difficulty separating Angelina the homewrecker from Angelina the actress. She was also completely modern in a period piece. She just never convinced me that she was born in the 20s, married in the late 30s and mother to an adult son in the 50s. All the vintage dresses in the world won't help, either. The story was looooooooooooooooong, running well over 2 hours and hopping incessantly from one time period to the next. Robert DeNiro directed it and seemed to require an Oscar statuette holder in each and every scene [Damon, Jolie, William Hurt, Joe Pesci, DeNiro]. Alec Baldwin made several brief appearances as a faithful FBI Agent. I like his acting so much that I can overlook his public persona [plus: I love him in "30 Rock"]. Still can't do that with Miss Lips, though.

Would I recommend either? Eh. I'd probably say they're a solid B, but nothing worth losing sleep over.

Half-Way Through "The Last King of Scotland"

Now that the TV shows I followed have gone into interminable reruns, Dave and I have a load of DVDs in our NetFlix queue. First up is last year's "The Last King of Scotland," which garnered its star, Forrest Whitaker, the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Ugandan General Idi Amin. We started watching last night, but called it quits about midway through. So far, I can tell you I love Gillian Anderson [formerly of The X Files] who does, by my ears, a good British accent. Also, I can tell you that the 70s was bad-looking all the way around--bad hair, harsh colors, bad building designs. Just ick.

I'm looking forward to the last half.

Date Night: The Movie "300"

We enjoyed a date night yesterday. Until some genius starts movies at 8 p.m., we're not going to get a movie and dinner. Even though the sitter arrived early, it was just enough time to go to our favorite theater and eat there. We got hot dogs and sodas which cost 16 bucks. I was too hungry to be outraged.

Then we watched the beautifully bloody "300" [sound at link] about the ancient Spartans who fought against the vast army of Xerxes. One of my absolute favorites, Dominic West [from "The Wire"] portrayed a Spartan politician quite at odds with the dominance of their warrior culture. Noble warriors, invading foreigners, disreputable politicians were all played to type. There was gruesome goriness, but it was shot beautifully, much like what I've seen in The Matrix or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The theater was almost empty. Quite a spartan crowd, I might say. If you're going to see this in a theater, I suggest you go soon. Hey, hey now. Don't kill the messenger.

"24" - Hour Five

We watched another excellent episode of '24' tonight. We were totally shocked that Rocket Romano turns out to be Jack's ne'er-do-well brother. With only a little Basil Exposition, we learn that at Jack's wife's funeral, Jack's sister-in-law made a play for him. Here's my out-in-left-field guess about these family dynamics: I'm betting that Jack's nephew is really his son from a brief tryst with sis-in-law. Next thing we'll find out Kimberly made Jack a grandfather while he was in the Chi-com prison.

President Palmer addressed the nation from the subterranean bunker. Both Dave and I wondered aloud whether he'd have a mock-up set to look like the Oval Office. Sure enough, he did. These guys think of everything. I wonder if they're using a cast-off set from NBC's West Wing?

Can they tie up another thread from previous seasons and bring in Mrs. Logan [the former First Lady, played by Jean Smart]? She was my favorite from the previous "day" and I would dearly love to see her in some role this "day." Mushroom clouds looming over LA and Jack's family multiplying and emerging like rabbits from a hutch. How do they keep making this stuff so gripping and entertaining?

DVD Review: "Born Rich"

Last night, Dave and I watched the 2003 documentary "Born Rich." The filmmaker is Jamie Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson family fortune. He was turning 21 and was set to inherit millions. The documentary is a series of interviews by Johnson of his friends, who, not coincidentally, were born into the uber-rich. There seemed a lot of rules [some explicit, some not so much] pertaining to being born to a wealthy family and Johnson wanted to get to the bottom of it. His father makes a couple brief appearances, but the bulk of the film is interviews with other 20-something fabulously filthy rich folks. Most of them are Americans, but two young men are European--an Italian heir to a textile fortune and a German baron who is also a French viscount. Those two seemed clearly to be in a separate class to me from the American kids.

I really enjoyed this documentary. Dave and I stayed up talking about its merits for almost as long as the film ran [just a tad over an hour]. Some of these young folks are clearly screwed up either with drugs or profligate lifestyle or lack of direction. Almost all of them spoke in a very distinctive style--flowing proper English with no discernible regional accent, but an accent nonetheless. Ivanka Trump [daughter of Donald and Ivana] had a key interview. She appeared as a blonde in several clips and as a brunette in others [Dave's comment: she's gotta' be hating that he put her in with both hair colors]. To me, however, she seemed the most relatable, poised and mature of the whole bunch. Many of the interviewees are second or later generation "idle rich". Trump, however, is daughter to someone who still works his business [and loves it]. She commented as she looked out of the New York skyline something to the effect of, "I look out on that view and dream about what buildings I will erect that will make my mark on the skyline. I guess it's in my blood."

I was left with a deep sadness for some of the young men who still hadn't found their true self amid all the wealth [and also many of whom had noticeable acne. What? Can't you guys spring for a good skin care regimen? Or a dermatologist?]. At a certain point, the fact that they have every little thing a heart could desire didn't seem to overcome a deep sadness that there was something lacking in their life. I also had a great sense of deja vu as I watched these folks converse. I attended a private college where some of my classmates had attended the fashionable prepatory and boarding schools. They all speak similarly. They all smoke. They all smoke in a similar way. It propelled me back to my college days in the early 80s when "The Official Preppy Handbook" was the newly printed Bible. I was the hard-working smalltown girl with unjaded optimism. I believed the American dream and I was going to make it a reality for me. I had lunch with fellows with numerals after their names and grilled them about their lives. Many of them partied so much they failed their courses. Many never graduated. The young men in the film were doppelgangers to the ones I knew way back when.

I would commend this film to almost anyone.

DVD Review: "Rome"

The juggernaut of HBO series just keeps going with the newest one we watched: Rome. It is set in ancient Rome, about 54 B.C. The series follows Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Brutus, and other patricians [lots of women]; two soldiers in Caesar's army: Lucius Verenus and Titus Pullo; various slaves, foreigners and a cast of thousands.

This show is entrancing and interesting and really well done. I admit I'm not such a good student of history, but I find this show fascinating. They spared no expense to gain authenticity. The best feature by far is on the DVD called "All Roads Lead to Rome." When you turn the feature on, the show will pop up various facts about what is being seen or said at that moment. It even allows you to go to another screen to learn more. That made the viewing interesting and educational.

The standard warning applies: it's an HBO series, so they do nudity, sex and violence. And, because they're pre-Christian Romans, triple the brutality. I can hardly wait until the next season.

High on "The Wire"

For the past several nights, Dave and I have had the standing date night. At home. On the couch. It all depends on whether NetFlix has delivered something for us that day.

We've been watching the DVD of HBO's "The Wire." And we've been riveted. This cop drama is set in Baltimore. The first season covered one major case. It lasted 12 episodes. This show is the reverse of the police serial where 3 cases are tied up in one hour. The Wire moves at darn near real time without the cliffhangers of "24". The show is tremendously well done. You have to invest about an hour or two to allow its pace to re-set your TV watching clock. Then, you fall into the story and let its twists and turns lead you. You learn the characters in small pieces. But by the end of the season, they're family to you: both the good guys and the bad guys.

The second season, still in Baltimore, moved to the docks. It involved the stevidores of the international brotherhood, in cahoots with Russians and Greeks to smuggle drugs, women and stolen goods.

We finished season two last night. You have to know we're both consumed by this show. We were up until at least midnight or later several nights in a row. And we're still not tired. God willing, the mailman will bring the first disk of season three today.

One more thing: a new hubba hubba eye candy for the women watchers: Dominic West.

Tired? Yes. "Wire"d Tired

Last night we both made a rookie mistake. Nothing on the tube to watch, so we put in the next DVD of HBO's "The Wire" which we just recently started. We got engrossed in the police drama and taunted fate by watching a third episode. The second left us with a cliffhanger and we needed to resolve it. You know, so we could sleep.

Going to bed after 1 a.m. is the kind of thing we don't do anymore. Not if we want to succesfully function the next day, at least.

Seriously, though. "The Wire" is worth it.
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DVD Review: "Entourage"

Dave and I continue our way through the HBO shows on DVD. We just finished watching the first season [only 8 episodes] of "Entourage." It's the Seinfeldian-about-nothing show whose characters are Vince, a young up-and-coming movie star, his older down-and-going actor Johnny, and Vince's friends from Queens, Eric and Turtle. The show features Jeremy Piven as Ari, Vince's truly uptight agent, and a cast of walk-on stars playing themselves. The show is engaging because the guys are an interesting quartet. There is a fish-out-of-water theme with the 4 New Yorkers living the decadent [do they ever work?] lifestyle of movie star and his buddies. I think the show, perhaps unintentionally, highlights the vapid, empty, materialistic lifestyle of Hollywood.

So far, we're enjoying it. It's not my favorite of the HBO's, but we'll keep the second season in our NetFlix queue.

DVD Review: "Carnivale - Season Two"

Dave and I have been engrossed by and assiduous in our viewing of the second season of HBO's "Carnivale." The series, filmed in Depression-vision, is set in the 1930s and has twin stories. First, it follows a troupe of carnival folks, travelling across the West; and second, it follows a preacher, Brother Justin, who makes it big as a radio evangelist in California. Each side of the tale has a strong spiritual storyline. The season unfolds as a precursor to armageddon in the characters of Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin.

This show is beautifully cast, sparsely written, and interestingly portrayed. It took me a few episodes to warm up to the story last season, but I was fully engrossed this season. You come to know the characters very well and want to know about them. Dave and I often found ourselves up late to finish the DVD so we could see the next installment.

But there is a downside: the season, and the series it turns out, ends abruptly. Loose ends are waving in the wind as the show draws to a close. I think this show was designed to be a play in three acts. We only saw two and are therefore dissatisfied. The show is a banquet. We just never get to the final course.

DVD Review: "Deadwood - Season 2" "American Splendor" and "Failure to Launch"

It's rerun season and also NetFlix season. We plowed through the twelve hours of "Deadwood" [season 2] in 4 nights. We even watched the bonus reel. What a magnificent show. Well acted. Complex. Dust up your Shakespeare because the way they talk is unfamiliar to the modern ear. But stay with it, you'll catch what's happening. I cannot say enough praiseworthy things for this ensemble cast. The creator/writer/director [on many episodes] is the fellow who was originally involved in NYPD Blue. He writes about 5 minutes before the actors act. Many actors don't like to live on the theatrical edge like that. This cast, however, does. They know their characters and they collaborate well with the writer-on-the-fly. Put this at the top of your NetFlix list. Better still: queue up season one and season two together. We had forgotten some of the subleties in the hiatus. Warning: it's about violence, gambling and whores in the town of Deadwood, South Dakota, circa 1877. Really rated "R".

"American Splendor" is an odd concoction of documentary and docu-drama. It stars Paul Giamatti as Harvey Pekar, a thoroughly depressed, low-on-the-rung Everyman who writes [but does not illustrate] underground comics about his Everyman life. It is the most interesting film I've seen in a long time. It's so very different from the canned, formulaic films we know. It's strangely uplifting. Worth putting near the top of your queue.

"Failure to Launch." How can two such lovely people [Matthew McConaughy and Sarah Jessica Parker] make such an uuuhh-gly movie? Kathie Bates is, per usual, great and Terry Bradshaw shows his buttocks. Failure to launch? Dead on arrival.

DVD Review: "Cinderella Man"

Via NetFlix, we enjoyed "Cinderella Man" on the Saturday stay-at-home date night. The film starred Russell Crowe and Renee Zellwegger with a super supporting performance for Paul [can you say "robbed by George Clooney"?] Giamatti. It is the real life story of boxer James J. Braddock who was a light heavyweight contender in the late 1920s. He and his family were hard hit by the Depression and he worked as a day laborer on the docks to make ends meet. After a long break during which he didn't box, he took a fight for the money and won. This began a comeback which is beautifully depicted in the film.

The story is the great American underdog story, but the real heart of this film is the love this man has for his family and friends. This is a love story of a married couple. It is filmed in era-appropriate drab-vision and Russell Crowe is pound-for-pound the best actor anywhere today. Renee Zellwegger is good as wife Mae and almost makes me forget what she did to Kenney Chesney last year. Giamatti is perfect in this role.

The director's commentary on the DVD by Ron Howard starts out great. But with the movie running 2+ hours, we didn't have the time to watch it all and so we only heard the first 15 minutes or so. Howard tells a great story on film and he chooses good stories. He is unashamed of being a nepotist [his brother and father both have roles in this film] and a traditionalist.

Rent this movie. It shoulda' been a contender for best picture.

DVD Review: "Capote"

After the American Idol results show, we watched last year's "Capote." Its titular character, played by Oscar winner Phyllip Seymour Hoffman, writes the book that will change his life, "In Cold Blood." In the added features, Hoffman made a special point to say this is not a bio-pic, but, rather, the story of a 5 year period in Capote's life which capped his creative zenith and began his personal decline into alcoholism. I am just old enough to have vague recollections of Truman Capote as a pop culture icon [much like Andy Warhol in my mind]. In his later years, he was quite the regular on the talk show circuit, which I often watched after school [Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin] and on Friday nights when I'd be allowed to watch the first segment of Johnny Carson. But I can't remember much more about him. In my recollection, he could really just be Rich Little's impression of him.

The film is quite stark and the cinematography is reminiscent of the 60s era which it covers. There's no quick cut, moving camera, or special effects. It is an actor's picture and Hoffman is in almost every frame. He's really quite deserving of his Oscar. One of Capote's friends was Nelle Harper Lee, known to her readers as Harper Lee, author of "To Kill a Mockingbird." The actress who played this role, Catherine Keener, was balanced and quite excellent. In life and in this film, Nelle was the moral center.

The movie is quite dramatic, but quite restrained. I am left wanting to reread "To Kill a Mockingbird," and to read "In Cold Blood." Or, maybe I'll just watch the movies.

DFC Update: I cleaned off the stairs going to the basement.

DVD Review: "Team America: World Police"

Now that Thursdays have become must-not-watch TV, we put in the DVD "Team America: World Police," written and directed and voiced by the makers of "South Park," Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

If you love irreverence and over-the-top gross-out humor, this film is for you. If you are not freaked out by almost-lifelike marionettes, this film is for you. If you are waiting for the uppance to come to the Hollywood elites and the hate-America-first crowd, this film is for you. If you are willing to sit through an hour and a half for about 30 minutes of funny, this film is for you. The thing I enjoyed most was the original music. I snoozed a little in the middle, so it didn't really cost me the whole 90 minutes of my life.

DFC Update: Brightened the corner of my kitchen countertop and, even though this isn't a cleaning project, I cleaned my toaster oven inside and out. Also, I sent off a box of new-but-never-sold cosmetics to the local YWCA for their project to assist lower-income girls to attend their proms.

DVD Reviews: "Garden State" and "Crash"

Through our beloved NetFlix, we watched "Garden State" last night and "Crash" about a week ago.

"Garden State" [link has sound] is the independent film brainchild of Zach Braff, the goofy star of NBC's "Scrubs." He wrote, directed and starred in the film. It depicts four days in the life of Andrew Largeman as he travels home to New Jersey to attend his estranged mother's funeral. While at home, he meets old high school friends and the thoroughly captivating Sam, played by Natalie Portman. This film has the feeling of an odyssey or a picaresque with a lot of heart. Natalie Portman is charming and sweet and smart. Braff is low key and funny and smart. There are many sight gags which garnered laughs out loud in our home. It's not a comedy, but it has funny parts. It's not a love story, but there's a romance. It's not a tragedy, but there are tragic parts. In short, it's quite a different and very likeable film. It's rated R for raunchy language. Not violent and no explicit sex. It has an interesting and good soundtrack. Refreshing and different.

"Crash" recently won the Oscar for Best Picture. I didn't see any of the others in the crop this year [like the vast majority of Americans]. But if that was the best, I wonder what the runners-up looked like. The film is set in present day Los Angeles and it unfolds non-sequentially, similar to the better film "Pulp Fiction." The film is about several lives which all intersect and variously interact within about 24 hours. Many celebrities appear in the film. Its theme is racism and the impact of racism on the lives of the characters. I found it interesting, sometimes confusing and frustrating, but ultimately so-so. I thought about the obvious bad guy, an LA cop played by Matt Dillon who is an unabashed bigot. I also thought a lot about Ryan Phillipe's rookie cop character. The rest of the story seemed forced and inauthentic. Sandra Bullock plays the wife of District Attorney Brendan Frasier as she struggles with the aftermath of being a carjack victim. It's all very interesting, but it didn't amount to much. Worth watching, but you won't be rewatching it in ten years.

DFC Update:

"Walk the Line" -- DVD Review

Thanks to NetFlix, we had "Walk the Line" waiting for us after American Idol. Dave and I used to go to two or three movies a week when we were dating. This slowed to about 1 a week when married. And now, since the children, I can only recall going a handful of times. Movie-going is at least a $100 proposition when you add in the babysitter and a meal. And for a little more, we can go to the theater or a really spectacular restaurant. [Or a Toby Kieth concert which is happening tomorrow night!] It doesn't surprise me that the box office receipts are down. Dave and I plead guilty. Woo-hoo NetFlix!

After seeing Reese Witherspoon win Best Actress honors Sunday, I was excited to see her portray June Carter Cash. She conveyed class, humility, warmth and kindness. She also portrayed the internal conflict June had with her love affair with Johnny Cash. She is a beautiful screen presence and her singing was darn good, too. But the story was about Johnny, played by Joaquin Phoenix. I learned from listening to the director's voice-over that his nickname is "Joaq", pronounced "Walk". So the film could have been "Joaq the Lines."

Phoenix did a good job with the role, but I always felt like I was watching Phoenix portray Cash. I never forgot that it was Phoenix on the screen. Conversely, there were moments in "Ray" and "The Buddy Holly Story" when I forgot I was watching an actor. Jon Stewart was right that this movie was "Ray" for white folks. Starting out poor and in the South, Cash was devastated at the death of his brother. His brother Jack was, by everyone's estimation, "the good one." Cash's father accused God of taking the wrong one. What a devastating hurt I felt for the young John. The themes all developed and converged in 1968 when June agreed to marry Johnny, when Johnny was clean and sober, and when he recorded his live album at Folsum County Prison. I think the effect of God, a godly woman and her family, and grace was much more profound in his conversion than was portrayed on screen. It was like God was cut out of the script and it was all "for love of a good woman." Johnny had a bad father, but June's father showed what a good father can be. I sensed that Johnny fell not just for June but for the whole Carter family as well.

Watchable, enjoyable and good.

DFC Update: Top shelf of the corner hutch.

Worthy of Rental - HBO's "Deadwood"

Dave and I have been enjoying the first season of "Deadwood" on DVD. The show is set in the Dakota territories during 1876. The show is a classic western with good vs. bad. The characters are beautifully developed. Flaws are visible and so are strengths. Many of the characters are based on real folks--Wild Bill Hickock, Seth Bullock, Calamity Jane and Al Swearingen. Actor Ian MacShane plays Swearingen, the owner of the saloon/whorehouse "The Gem". He is menacing and brutal and frightening. As the season progresses, he is more than interesting: he is riveting. Tim Oliphant plays the morally upright, yet conflicted former lawman, Seth Bullock. Hubba, hubba. The character of Calamity Jane is portrayed as a hard-drinkin', foul-mouthed, complicated woman devoted to Wild Bill. The actress who plays her is brilliant. Even the minor characters are allowed enough screen time to reveal who they truly are. The show captures the dusty, lawless feel of the town Deadwood. The language is foul and the show does the usual "look-at-us-we're-HBO-so-we-can-get-away-with-this" take on sex and violence. Still worth a rent and worth the time.