I came down with (another) sinus infection whilst at my Mom's (celebrating her birthday with a movie and dinner). So our trip to New Orleans for the Jazz Festival has been cancelled and I'm spending time on the couch.
The enforced coach potato position has given me time to prowl through some movies that were out a while ago but that I never got to see. I recommend them both to you, along with one Dan and I saw in a hotel last week.
Stranger Than Fiction had been recommended to me quite some time ago by my brother-in-law, Ken. It's a quirky but compelling film with comedian Will Ferrell in a perfectly modulated straight(ish) role. The story is about a tax guy who finds himself hearing a voice narrating his life. Literally. And it also works as a metaphor. Wonderful performances also by Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah, Maggie Gyllenhaal and the superb Emma Thompson.
The movie is especially fun for writers (lots of inside jokes about character, plot, perspective, etc.) but also has a great deal to say about philosophy, religion, but most importantly about life and just living it.
Gone, Baby, Gone is a mystery set in Boston. The movie is a decent adaptation of a much more complex novel by the same guy who wrote Mystic River, Dennis Lehane. The more I read this guy's books, the better I like him. The movie stars Casey Affleck (and is directed by Ben Affleck). But don't let the nepotism steer you away from it.
The film captures the underside of Boston in a way I am sure LeHane approved of, thanks to an amazing cinematic debut by Director Affleck. Casey does a decent job with the main character, Patrick Kenzie. Unfortunately for the movie, Kenzie's lover and partner-private-eye, Angie Genarro (played by Michelle Monaghan) is underwritten. What could have been an "A" movie turns out to be just a "B" as a result. But it's well-worth watching just for the way it captures Boston's underclass--and the way Amy Ryan captures a drug-addicted, down on her luck (aren't all addicts down on their luck?) mother. She was nominated for an Academy Award for this performance and the nomination was well-deserved.
As for the hotel flick, I cannot recommend Charlie Wilson's War highly enough. Great performances. Excellent script. And a chilling history lesson about how the end of the Cold War paved the road for 9/11.
That's it. I'm out of energy and still have links to build. So I'll sign off now and take a well-deserved nap.
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