This week's post will have to keep you going for two weeks. I am heading to Cleveland next weekend and won't be around to post anything new.
Film: The Last King of Scotland
It took me three days but I have finally finished Kevin Macdonald's film. (Spiders and a phone call from MG drew me away twice.) I don't know how historically accurate this film is and I don't care. Forest Whitaker is brilliant! I have loved Whitaker for some time now, actually since The Crying Game, but never have I been so in awe of his activing ability. He embodies Idi Amin. At times, I felt as if I was watching a documentary rather than a fictionalization. Wow! Not to mention, James McAvoy holds his own against Whitaker. (FYI, he was Mr. Tumnus, the Faun, in Chronicles of Narnia.) I'm not sure why Oscar voters passed over McAvoy, but if this film is any gauge, he'll be on the Oscar stage eventually.
Television: Big Love
Not having HBO - sigh - I watched the whole first season of this show over the summer. I know it's now in its second season, so don't tell me what is going on!!!! Anyway, it always amazes me when a work of fiction makes me think in a new way. That is exactly what happened this summer while watching Big Love. Although I am still no supporter of polygamy, the fictional Henrickson family makes it work, and that's what's so compelling about this show. Somehow the writers are able to make viewers get beyond the whole polygamy thing to the real story, which is about a family with regular family issues. Bill Paxton is good, but his three wives - played by Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin - steal the show. Always excellent in supporting roles, Harry Dean Stanton really goes villainous as Roman Grant, head of a polygamous cult. His cult is the "how-not-to" be polygamous to the Henrickson's "how-to" family.
Book: V For Vendetta
I reread Alan Moore's brilliant graphic novel again recently. If you haven't read it but enjoyed the film, I strongly suggest picking it up. You'll be most suprised to find that the book begins with Parliament's explosion. There are also larger female roles, something Moore occasionally does well. (Moore's universe tends to be male-dominated.) I especially like the idea of the destroyer/creator dichotomy between V and Evey - very interesting in terms of male and female biological functions and gender stereotypes.
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2 comments:
Though one of the more obvious storylines to "V", I enjoy the questioning of what exactly terrorism is and, if applied from a certain perspective, is terrorism justified? I agree that "V" is one the best pieces of literature to come out of graphic novel art and whether you are a fan of graphic novels or not, you should read it!
My first thought after seeing the film, and then was reiterated after reading the graphic novel was, "Finally, an action story for the Left!"
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