CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR

Charlie Wilson's War is an excellent film about the way that Congress came to back a large, covert CIA operation in Afghanistan, funding the Mujahideen rebels against the Soviets, through the efforts of Congressman Charles Wilson.

Acting by Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks (who actually looks something like Charlie Wilson), and Philip Seymour Hoffman is excellent. The film was written by Aaron Sorkin (who currently also has The Farnsworth Invention on Broadway) and directed by Mike Nichols, based on a book by George Crile.



It is superb story telling, based on things that really happened: the film takes advantage of the star power of the actors; their skill; Aaron Sorkin's brilliance at writing political drama; Mike Nichols sense of humor; and the fact that Charlie Wilson was both a colorful, drinking, ladies man, and a liberal congressman from Texas.

Politically, the film gently encourages us to root for the Mujahideen against the Russians; and suggests that the withdrawal of the Russians from Afghanistan was a factor in the break-up of Soviet Communism; then, still gently, it reminds us of how the US failure to rebuild Afghanistan after the war helped lead to the rise of the Taliban. It suggests that we must fight one war at a time, but we need to continue to do what is necessary at the end of a war. (This could be taken to suggest that in Iraq we need to stay and rebuild that country. Of course, the current debate is not about whether or not we should successfully rebuild Iraq, but whether our present actions are going to help or hinder that process.)

The film is fun, well made and interesting. It's basically a caper movie, where the caper is secretly funding a war.

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SUSHI SEKI

Sushi Seki (On 1st Avenue & 62 Street in NYC) is terrific. At Nobu, the Omikase is inventive and the sushi is simple, fresh and delicious. At Sushi Seki, the Omikase consists of sushi that is inventive and fresh and delicious. They put the inventive into the sushi.

The $50.00 Omikase is three plates of three pieces of amazing sushi -- 9 pieces in all. Soup, salad, beverages, and dessert are extra, as are additonal pieces of sushi and appetizers or other dishes.

The restaurant is small and simple, and the service is friendly.

It's the first time I've been there. I can't wait to go back.

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ON THE WAY TO TIMBUKTU

This is not a review. It's more of a rumination on making a play from Shakespeare's sonnets.

Dispensing with the review part: On the Way to Timbuktu is a fierce one-woman play about a professor of Shakespeare and her history. It's an interesting play, very, very well performed by Petronia Paley, in an intense performance that never flags. See it! Friday (12/21) is the last night in this run at EST (the Ensemble Studio Theater) , but it was described as a "work-in-progress," so keep in mind to see it when "progress" next produces a public performance.

Now the commentary:

A few years ago, I staged a two character short play ("Love Is My Sin" at TSI / PlayTime -- in their “Seven Deadly Sins from Shakespeare” series) with dialog consisting entirely of sonnets. The characters were an Older Man (OM) and a Younger Woman (YW). (I played the OM and Amy Quint played the YW.) They had a strong relationship and, when they are separated, the man has a brief, torrid affair with "The Dark Lady (DL)." When it ends, he returns to YW, but reconciliation is difficult. Originally, the Dark Lady (DL) was also a character in my adaptation, but when the (foreign born) actress who was to be DL got a part in her native country, she left abruptly just before the run, and I had to cut the sonnets which showed the explicit affair, and left that sequence as an implied event.

I'm currently starting to rehearse a full-length, three character version of this story. It's a musical -- but an unusual one: a classical music musical. It is to have dialog constructed entirely from the sonnets, plus Elizabethan instrumental music, song and dance.

The sonnets are enticing, and enigmatic. They seem to be trying to tell a story, but it is not complete, it is not in order, and it is tantalizing. The 154 sonnets, taken as a group, might best be described as if its printing resulted from the following scenario: It was to be a complete story (like Shakespeare’s other long, narrative poems), written this time in the form of sonnets, about an older man (a poet), a young man, (the lover of the poet), a rival poet, and a sexy, black haired, black eyed, possibly black, promiscuous woman (who had affairs with at least two of the other characters). Then, before it was completely finished, while still in draft form (with some elements of the story yet to be written, and variant versions of some story line sonnets still in the manuscript), the document was snatched. But, on the way to be taken to the printer, the manuscript was dropped, with pages scattered to the winds, some blown away and lost, and others gathered up in the wrong order.

The challenge has always been to understand the nature of the sonnets: are they autobiographical? If so, who is The Dark Lady? And the Young Man? Why are they in this order? Are there other sonnets? Why are so many in pairs? Etc.

Of course, if the sonnets are to be taken and performed as autobiographical, then they must all be spoken in an older male voice. If they are to be performed by various men and women of various ages, then one can – in fact must -- take advantage of the fact that some of the sonnets contain some information about the speaker and the subject of the poem, and many do not, so each sonnet can be given a context grounded on what it does or does not say, and can be coupled with other sonnets to create a new context and a new meaning (much the way, in film editing, each image – each shot, each scene -- colors those before and after it with new meaning, by defining a context.)

There is a love triangle in the sonnets, which is suggested (by the context in the original order) to be the Young Man (YM), the Older Man (OM) and DL. (There may even be a love rectangle -- with the Other Poet (OP) – though, here, the sonnets provide rather sparse material for constructing a story.)

But there is also enough information and lack of information in the sonnets to rearrange them to construct a love triangle consisting of the Older Man, DL and a Younger Woman, instead of the Young Man: the Man-Woman-Lady or MWL triangle, rather than the MML triangle. I thought this would be more fun (at least for me) when I wrote the adaptation, so this is what I did. (Rearranging the sonnets also justifies the speaking of some sonnets by people other than Shakespeare; and it reveals new meanings and shades of meanings in the sonnets.)

For example, the first group of sonnets, taken in context to be Shakespeare or the OM encouraging the Young Man to have children, yields many sonnets that can be taken in MWL context as the YW encouraging the OM to have a child (with her!) before he is too old and it is too late (ie. before he dies single). There are several other story lines implicit and explicit in the sonnets: the love triangle -- three relationships are described, with love, as well as jealousy, and breakups. Aging is an issue, as are music, and art.

I don't know the genesis of On the Way to Timbuktu (OtWtT). (It started in EST's Going to the River series, but that is not what I mean.) Selene (the central character) is a professor, teaching Shakespeare's sonnets. There are several elements in the play. There is the lecture and discussion Selene gives about the sonnets; there is, in particular, a discussion of the role of the DL as a black woman in Elizabethan times. There is Selene’s love history; there is, in particular a love triangle she is involved with – here, a black woman (a student who is first involved with Selene, then with Selene and her husband in a threesome), who leaves with Selene’s husband. There is Selene’s performance of the sonnets, some in the context of her character speaking in class, some as her character speaking in the context of this love triangle. (The sonnets used are essentially limited to those appropriate to the YM commenting on the love triangle.)

I am not sure whether to take the play as a story about this woman, who then uses the sonnets to express herself; or whether to imagine that it had its genesis in a thought process much like that for the plays I am working on: how do you provide a context for a performance of some of the sonnets? What can you say about – or how can you construct -- a story from which the sonnets emerge? From this point of view, the play, OtWtT, provides the back story of the Younger Woman, explaining her life as she comes into this love triangle in which – as a professor teaching the sonnets – she uses them to express herself. (In the play, she is now, actually, a no-longer-younger woman, looking back over her life.)

Talking more about OtWtT for a moment: This is quintessential "experimental" theater. The set is just one slightly raised area in a black box theater, with an object on it that serves ingeniously as a bed, a couch, a chair, a make-up stand, and a closet. There is but one actress. She is dressed in a white pajama-like outfit, which makes a striking contrast with the black set. She is well lit and makes the most of her physical life on the stage, providing a series of visual tableau, that bring a variety of places around the globe to life.

Somewhat less successful are semi-abstract images projected on the wall behind her -- they are interesting, but mostly not very interesting. Sometimes the text of sonnets she is performing are projected on the back wall; but they don't really help clarify what she is saying, because it is easier and more satisfying to watch and listen to her, than it is to try to read the sonnets on the wall. And, I confess, I did not understand the end, when she puts on black-face, and dons an Elizabethan gown over her white outfit.

A musical background composed and performed -- on a Chinese instrument called the pipa -- by Min Xiao-Fen is quite beautiful and special, and never fails to be interesting and appropriate, although the insturment has no special direct relevance (so far as the play reveals) either to Shakespeare (as it might be if the instrument or the music were Elizabethan) or to the character (as it might be if it were African) . (The instrument does seem to have some sort of distant resemblance to both a lute and African instruments.)

The OtWtT script is well written, and interesting. Much of the play consists of stories the character tells, the actress shifting clearly and flawlessly from one person’s voice to another. It does contain a few too many clichés for my taste – most of which seem to be there deliberately, though, as something the character would say.

The script often centers on Selene’s sexual life with language that is unflinching; as a one-woman show, the sexuality is essentially in the words and the stories, not on stage in the action.

In talking about the possibly autobiographical nature of the sonnets and the role of the DL in Shakespeare as either symbolic or as a historical black woman, I think it should probably be noted that some sonnets contain strong echoes of dialog from some of Shakespeare's plays, suggesting that the sonnets could reasonably be taken as speeches by characters, rather than by Shakespeare himself. In particular, there could be a relation between the DL sonnets and Othello, casting some light on what Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote about the DL. Also, while a replica of (the fossil) Lucy’s skull (as black woman/ancestor/eve) makes an arresting prop, the most interesting ancestor -- according to current scholarship -- is probably not Lucy, (who lived about 3 million years ago, and was not a direct ancestor) but a woman (or at most a few women) who lived a few hundred thousand years ago, from whom all modern humans may be descendent.

OtWtT, then, crafts a very effective one-woman play around the notion that Shakespeare’s sonnets – those that describe an affair between a man and the DL, disrupting the relationship the speaker has had with each of them -- can be performed as being spoken by the woman who is the man’s long time friend/lover and the DL’s lover as well. And OtWtT is the story of her life.

The short play I did, and the new play I am developing, involves similar characters, but focuses exclusively on the sonnets as dialog, and the description of their lives as revealed in the sonnets. There is no back-story described, other than what is in the sonnets; and all the words are those of the sonnets themselves, telling the story of this intense triangular affair.

One thing is clear about the sonnets: they tell a fierce, sexual and powerful story, in eloquent and beautiful and poetic language; to realize the sonnets on the stage, the performance must engage each of those elements and reach the heights for all of them.

There have been other plays inspired by the sonnets, including Shaw’s “The Dark Lady of the Sonnets” and a collection of short plays done at The Public Theater a few years ago, called “Love’s Fire.” More about these later.

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10 YEARS OF STOCKS

I happened to look at the 10 year stock chart given by AOL. I looked at a comparison of the DJIA & NASDAQ.

Starting with both stock averages exactly 10 years ago (Dec 1997):

1 - In early 2000 NASDAQ had more than tripled. Most of that increase came in just a few months from late 1999 up to the peak in 2000. The DJIA was up just 40%.

2 - Around the end of 2001, both averages were back to their Dec 1997 value.

3 - NASDAQ dropped to about 20% below its initial value. DJIA never got much below its initial value.

4 - Both averages began to climb around 2003.

5 - Both averages are now about 80% above their 1997 values.

6 - From around 2003 to now the DJIA and the NASDAQ (relative to their Dec 1997 values) have been almost exactly the same. (So much for diversifying your portfolio by including both NASDAQ & DJIA.)

Whether you invested in DJIA 10 years ago or NASDAQ (assuming your portfolio was exactly the same as the stock average) your percentage gain (ever since 2003) would have been exactly the same!

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VAL NEWTON AT LINCOLN CENTER FILM SOCIETY

Val Lewton Double Feature
Thursday, Dec. 13, 6:30 pm and 9:00 pm at the Walter Reade Theater

Film critic, scholar and Film Society's Associate Director of Programming Kent Jones has made a tribute to one of American cinema's most innovative producers: VAL LEWTON: THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS takes us through the whole range of Lewton's work, detailing his close working relationships with directors such as Jacques Tourneur, Robert Wise and Mark Robson as well as the evolution of the major themes and motifs found in the films.

Kent Jones' film, together with what for many is Lewton's masterpiece, Jacques Tourneur's I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, will be shown as a double feature (one ticket / two films!).

"After assisting David O. Selznick on GONE WITH THE WIND, producer Val Lewton accepted a job at RKO running his own production unit. His first film there, CAT PEOPLE, became one of the sleeper hits of 1942 and is today recognized as one of the true classics of the horror genre. Over the next decade, the Lewton unit would create a string of subtle, elegant films, low perhaps in budget but always high in craft and intelligence.

Of special interest is Jones' discussion of Lewton's non-horror work, such as the early juvenile delinquency drama YOUTH RUNS WILD, a provocative suggestion of the directions Lewton's work might have explored if his career had not been so tragically brief."

Kent Jones will be onstage to discuss his film after the screening, and to introduce Jacques Tourneur's I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE.

Tickets to VAL LEWTON: THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS are $11 for Film Society members; $15 for the public, and include a complimentary ticket for I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE.

Tickets to I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE are also available: $7 for Film Society members; $11 for the public.


VAL LEWTON: THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS
Kent Jones, US, 2007; 77m
Thu Dec 13: 6:30pm

I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE
Jacques Tourneur, US, 1943; 69m
Thu Dec 13: 9:00pm

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HOLIDAY FILMS 2007

RECOMMENDED:

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Crime drama -- Sidney Lumet (dir), Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song

Michael Clayton - Drama, thriller, legal, issues -- George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Pamela Gray

Lars and the Real Girl - Comedy -- : Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson
MGM Distribution Company

Bee Movie - Animated -- Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Kathy Bates, Oprah Winfrey, Matthew Broderick

War/Dance


Here is a list of films currently in theaters:

Bee Movie - Animated -- Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Kathy Bates, Oprah Winfrey, Matthew Broderick
Paramount Pictures

American Gangster - Crime, Bio -- Ridley Scott (dir), Russell Crowe, Denzel Washington, Josh Brolin
Universal Pictures Distribution

Fred Claus - Holiday comedy -- Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, Kevin Spacey
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Lions for Lambs - Issues -- Robert Redford (also dir), Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Dan in Real Life - Comedy -- Steve Carell, Juliette Binoche, Dane Cook
MGM Distribution Company

Saw IV
Lionsgate - Horror, sequel --

The Game Plan - Comedy, football -- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson,
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

30 Days of Night
Sony Pictures Releasing

P2 - Drama, thriller -- Wes Bentley, Rachel Nichols, Simon Reynolds, Grace Lynn Kung
Summit Entertainment, LLC

Martian Child - Drama, comedy, sci-fi(?) -- John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Joan Cusack, Sophie Okonedo, Oliver Platt
New Line Cinema

Om Shanti Om
Bollywood Eros Network

Michael Clayton - Drama, thriller, legal, issues -- George Clooney, Tom Wilkinson, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack, Pamela Gray
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?
Lionsgate

Gone Baby Gone
Miramax Films

No Country for Old Men - Drama, thriller, violent, western -- Jeol & Ethan Coen (dir), Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin
Paramount Vantage, Miramax Films

Into the Wild
Paramount Vantage

Bella
Roadside Attractions

Across the Universe
Sony Pictures Releasing

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

The Darjeeling Limited
Fox Searchlight Pictures

Lars and the Real Girl - Comedy -- : Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson
MGM Distribution Company

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - Crime drama -- Sidney Lumet (dir), Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, Marisa Tomei, Philip Seymour Hoffman
ThinkFilm

The Comebacks
20th Century Fox Distribution

Saawariya
Sony Pictures Releasing

We Own the Night
Sony Pictures Releasing

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Universal Pictures Distribution

Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
National Geographic Feature Films

Lust, Caution
Focus Features

Ratatouille
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The Kingdom
Universal Pictures Distribution

The Bourne Ultimatum
Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures International

Rendition
New Line Cinema

Rush Hour 3
New Line Cinema

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

The Heartbreak Kid
Paramount Pictures

Underdog
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Mr. Woodcock
New Line Cinema

The Brave One
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Control
The Weinstein Company

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Warner Bros. Pictures International, Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

3:10 to Yuma
Lionsgate

Blade Runner
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Wristcutters: A Love Story
After Dark

The Simpsons Movie
20th Century Fox

The Surviving My Mother
N/A

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
IFC Films

Deep Sea 3D
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

The Seeker
Fox Walden

Good Luck Chuck
Lionsgate

Music Within
MGM Distribution Company

Bon Jovi - Lost Highway: The Concert
N/A

Darfur Now
Warner Independent Pictures

Holly
Priority Films, Slow Hand Releasing

Death at a Funeral
MGM Distribution Company

The Nanny Diaries
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM)

Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D
IMAX Corporation

No Reservations
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Wild Safari 3D: A South African Adventure
nWave Pictures

Romance and Cigarettes
Boroturro Inc.

Balls of Fury
Rogue Pictures (Focus)

The Jane Austen Book Club
Sony Pictures Classics

O Jerusalem
Samuel Goldwyn Films

Halloween
MGM Distribution Company

2 Days in Paris
Samuel Goldwyn Films

Sleuth
Sony Pictures Classics

The Ten Commandments
Promenade Pictures

Jimmy Carter Man from Plains
Sony Pictures Classics

War/Dance
ThinkFilm

Roving Mars
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

My Kid Could Paint That
Sony Pictures Classics

King Corn
Balcony Releasing

Once
Fox Searchlight Pictures

I'll Believe You
Stand Up Films

Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
The Weinstein Company

Steal a Pencil for Me
N/A

The Final Season
Yari Film Group

In the Valley of Elah
Warner Independent Pictures

The Sensation of Sight
N/A

Lady Chatterley
Kino Film

Controlled Chaos
Lovestreak Productions

Diva
United Artists Films, Rialto Pictures

For The Bible Tells Me So
First Run Features

In the Shadow of the Moon
ThinkFilm, Discovery Film Corporation

Sharkwater
Freestyle Releasing

Mr. Untouchable
Magnolia Pictures

How to Cook Your Life
Roadside Attractions

Choking Man
International Film Circuit

The Bubble
Strand Releasing

Space Station 3-D
IMAX Corporation
The Tracey Fragments
N/A

Ira & Abby
Magnolia Pictures

Local Color
Brushwork Pictures

Kurt Cobain About A Son
Balcony Releasing, Sidetrack Films

Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)
City Lights Pictures

Lagerfeld Confidential
Koch Media

The Life of Reilly
Civilian Pictures

Blame It on Fidel
Koch Media

The List
Mountain Top Films

Fat Girls
Regent Releasing

Deep Water
IFC Films

This is England
First Take (IFC)

The Devil Came on Horseback
International Film Circuit

Aliens of the Deep
Walt Disney Pictures

Memories of Tomorrow
N/A

Manufactured Landscapes
Zeitgeist Films

Gypsy Caravan
Shadow Distribution

Lake of Fire
ThinkFilm

Vanaja
Emerging Pictures

Love for Sale: Suely in the Sky
Strand Releasing

Terror's Advocate
Magnolia Pictures

DarkBlueAlmostBlack
Strand Releasing

Goya's Ghosts
Samuel Goldwyn Films

Quantum Hoops
N/A

Randy and the Mob
Capricorn Pictures

Silk
Picturehouse

I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
First Take (IFC)

Rails & Ties
Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution

Naked Boys Singing
TLA Releasing

Moliere
Sony Pictures Classics

Eye of the Dolphin
Monterey Media

T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous
IMAX Corporation

Feast of Love
MGM Distribution Company

Hollywood Dreams
Rainbow Film Company

In Between Days
Kino International

Finishing the Game
First Take (IFC)

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CAPTIVITY

Captivity is a low-octane thriller/exploitation/horror movie. Our heroine, played by Elisha Cuthbert is kidnapped, held captive and subjected to a variety of styles of torture.

The film is well acted and firmly plotted. It also has pretentions (according to the DVD commentary) of rising above its genre with themes of freedom vs captivity (in a broad sense), our media perception versus reality, love arising as a bond in a crisis, and other philosophical issues. These ideas are, in fact, in the script and the story, but they are so overwhelmed by the conventional genre plot points that in fact they are barely noticable. They contribute to the integrity of the plotting and scripting, but they are not important enough to qualify as original or significant.

The movie is filmed with style, directed by Roland Joffé (a director with Oscar nominations and awards both in Cannes & the Razzies), though it is quite dark and murky (as I guess it should be). But the climactic action sequences, strangely, are shot to be so brief and sudden that I had to watch those moments in slow motion two and three times to figure out what happened. (That is a luxury not available to theatergoers!) In a movie house, key parts of the film must have been essentially incomprehensible.

For a film about sadism and bondage and sexually motivated captivity, with a beautiful actress, there is a disappointing lack of nudity -- only one fuzzy long shot that could be a body double or even an animated drawing. There is a certain dishonesty and lack of follow-through on not realizing the point of the genre.

The acting by Elisha Cuthbert and Daniel Gillies is excellent. Daniel has a nice way of holding conflicting ideas, looking innocent, attractive, and evil at the same time; and his portrayal is convincing. (His character's name is Gary Dexter. There's no telling whether there is a deliberate or just an accidental connection to the TV show Dexter and the novels about that character.) Elisha is beautiful, and an interesting enough actress to hold the screen compellingly through the whole movie, even though in much of the film she is alone on screen. It is actually virtuoso acting. She is able to convey ideas with subtle movements of her eyes, mouth and face. It is a shame: too many of her films have the same premise. (Elisha, of course, played the hapless, often kidnapped daughter in 24.) She is capable of taking demanding roles in far better films.

Elisha may have as many as four or five pictures coming out in the next year. I hope some are good enough to realize her potential!

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THE DOLLHOUSE COMES TO YOUNG FRIENDS OF FILM

The Film Society Of Lincoln Center Enters the Dollhouse, Dec. 6, as a Young Friends of Film screening hosts the actors from Todd Solondz’s breakthrough film, Welcome To The Dollhouse.

Young Friends of Film is a membership program at the Film Society, designed for film enthusiasts ages 21–40. Screening classic films from past New York Film Festivals and New Directors/New Films series, paired with special guest speakers and after-screening parties, Young Friends of Film events allow younger generations of moviegoers firsthand access to the remarkable films they may not have had the chance to see on the big screen.

(Recent events have included screenings of Louis Malle’s Murmur of the Heart, Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway and preview screenings of Run, Fatboy, Run and Waitress, with recent appearances by Andre Gregory, Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, David Schwimmer, Chazz Palminteri and Keri Russell.)

The Film Society of Lincoln Center will welcome actors Heather Matarazzo, Brendan Sexton III and Daria Kalinina to a Young Friends of Film screening of Todd Solondz’s Welcome to the Dollhouse at the Walter Reade Theater, Thursday, Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m.

"Solondz’s hilarious breakthrough film is an unflinching look at junior high hell. Dawn “Wienerdog” Wiener (Matarazzo) is incredibly awkward, the laughing stock of her class, a clear family second to her younger sister (Kalinina) and the object of threats from a local thug (Sexton). Her brother Mark sympathizes, but he is otherwise consumed with getting into a top-tier college and playing in his band. When the band takes on a hunky new lead singer (Ugly Betty co-star Eric Mabius), Dawn immediately develops an obsessive crush."

Dollhouse opened New Directors/New Films in 1996, after earning the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The actors will be onstage for a Q&A session with the Film Society’s Will McCord after the screening, followed by a reception with an open bar and hors d’oeuvres.

Tickets to this Young Friends of Film event are $25 and include the screening and the reception afterward. They are available at both the Walter Reade Theater box office and online at www.filmlinc.com. Young Friends of Film members receive one complimentary ticket.

Additional information about the Young Friends of Film program is available by calling (212) 875-5600 or online at http://www.filmlinc.com/membership/membership_ym.htm .

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DRIVERS' LICENSES

Elliot Spitzer, Governor of NY, has given up his drive to issue drivers' licenses to "undocumented immigrants", due to popular opposition, even though he still believes it is good policy.

That puts "Proof Of Birth" a film we just reviewed (see the previous post) right in the spotlight!

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NEW DVD'S Nov 13, 2007

RELEASED THIS WEEK:

Shrek the Third (PG) (Animation) --Directors: Chris Miller, Raman Hui , Voice: Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy

Ocean's Thirteen (PG-13) (Heist, caper) -- Director: Steven Soderbergh, Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, many others...

Amazing Grace (PG) (Biopic, British antislavery advocate) -- Director: Michael Apted, Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Ciaran Hinds, Albert Finney

La Vie En Rose (La Mome) (PG-13) (in French, Biopic, Edith Piaf) -- Director: Olivier Dahan, Cast: Marion Cotillard, Pascal Greggory, Sylvie Testud


Coming next week:

Live Free or Die Hard (PG-13)
Hairspray (PG)
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (G)
Rescue Dawn (PG-13)

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PROOF OF BIRTH AT QIFF

Snezhana Chernova and Hugo Calera at QIFF

Proof Of Birth directed by José Luis Orbegozo is a short film (screened at the Queens International Film Festival QIFF)about the struggle for a Mexican man (here illegally) to find a way to send money (legally) back to his wife; it's also about how he learns to use the system and how his self-confidence develops. The film is well made, and features fine acting by Hugo Calero in the main role, and Snezhana Chernova in a bravura supporting role.

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BOBOOBLOG

We have just started a new (sister/brother) BLOG to focus on theatrical news, reviews, credits, etc.

bobooblog.blogspot.com

BOBOOBLOG = B - OB - OOB BLOG:
The Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway BLOG!

QPORIT is designed for features; in some cases -- theatrical reviews, and interviews with Broadway stars and directors for example -- stories will overlap.

However, BOBOOBLOG will include lots more detail on theater than we can include here.

In particular, we are hoping that directors, producers, and actors from (ALL! the zillions of) OOB shows (as well as OB and Broadway shows too, of course) will provide us with flyers for ALL! their shows in advance, plus full cast and creative credits when the show goes up. We want BOBOOBLOG to be a theater resource of unmatched power, information and usefulness.

An example of the utility of BOBOOBLOG is that we had a hard time finding a real list of which theaters were dark and which were open during the current stagehands' strike. We tracked it down and posted that list on BOBOOBLOG, along with information about how to obtain refunds. Because of the volume of information, it would have taken hours to post the information here according to our formatting standards, but we were able to put it up in minutes on BOBOOBLOG once we found it:

http://bobooblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/theater-closings-refunds-due-to-strike.html

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FRACTURE

Fracture is a better than average, by-the-numbers legal thriller.

I take "by-the-numbers" to refer to those painting blueprints, where the lines of the picture are drawn, and each area has a number that tells you the color of the oil paint to use. In other words, the outline is fixed, and there is limited opportunity to be creative on the details, the palette being prescribed beforehand.

Well, Fracture is like that. It follows the prescription outline for the legal-thriller genre, and uses a little bit of creativity in the way it colors in the details. It's above average because it uses a lot of colors; the numbers it uses go pretty high.

Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling are both very good as the guy who confesses to the killing at the start of the story, and the prosecutor who must take what looks like a simple case to court.

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SOME FILM FESTIVAL INFORMATION

Bulletfilm, a new site for filmmakers, has put up a nice list of film festivals:

http://www.bulletfilm.com/festivals .

(Bulletfilms seems to have been created to host films, but they seem to be planning to charge to host them. It is not clear to me why one would host there, and not on a free site like Video Google or YouTube. It is not clear if Bulletfilms has any traffic; they say nothing about sharing revenue; and there were programming errors in the promotional e-mail they sent.)

But it seems like a nice list of festivals!

Here's some more ...

FILM FESTIVAL INFORMATION

• http://www.filmfestivals.com/index.shtml - A site devoted to FF info

MAJOR INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS

• Cannes FFl -- http://www.festival-cannes.fr
  Cannes FF (English Language)-- http://www.festival-cannes.fr/index.php?langue=6002


• Edinburgh FF -- http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/


• Toronto International FF -- http://www.e.bell.ca/filmfest/2005/home.asp


• The Haifa International FF -- http://www.haifaff.co.il/index_eng.asp


• Hertfordshire International Film Festival -- http://www.hiff.co.uk/


• Rakkautta & Anarkiaa - 18th Helsinki International FF -- http://www.hiff.fi/


• Sydney (Australia) FF -- http://www.sydneyfilmfestival.org/


• Bahama's International FF -- http://bahamasinternationalfilmfestival.com/


• Venice FF -- http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/

NATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS

• Sundance FF -- http://www.sundance.org/festival/


• Hawaii International FF -- http://www.hiff.org/


• Vail FF -- http://www.vailfilmfestival.org/

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVALS

• The New York Film Festival -- http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyff.htm


• Tribeca FF -- http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/


• Hampton's International FF -- http://www.hamptonsfilmfest.org


• The Harlem International Film Festival -- http://www.harlemfilmfestival.com/


• Home FF -- http://www.homefilmfest.com/


• New York Film & Video Festival -- http://www.nyfilmvideo.com/


• Gotham City Short Film Festival -- http://www.gothamfestival.com/
  
• Queens International Film Festival -- http://www.queensfilmfestival.com/
  

We have several earlier posts on film festivals and their websites, particularly:

Features of a World-class Film Festival Website and
Covering a Film Festival

Here are some more festival sites:

Melbourne Intl. Film Festival

Melbourne AUSTRALIA

Comic-Con Intl. Independent Film Festival

San Diego, CA

Ischia Global Film & Music Fest

Isle of Ischia, Italy

Umbria Film Festival Montone, Umbria, Italy

Intl. Black Women's Film Festival

San Francisco, CA

Haydenfilms Online Film Festival

Kutztown, PA

Telluride Film Festival

Telluride, Colorado

Edinburgh Intl. Film Festival

Edinburgh, Scotland

Los Angeles Intl. Short Film Festival

Los Angeles, CA


Note that some festivals (especially the smaller ones) may (suddenly!) disappear.

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MR BROOKS

As Mr. Brooks, Kevin Costner creates a detailed, sophisticated, multilayered characterization of a serial killer. William Hurt is truly brilliant as the embodiment of the voice in Costner's head, guiding him through the killings.

In a testament to the richness of Hurt's acting, the co-writers, Bruce A. Evans & Raynold Gideon, comment on the DVD that, with every line, Hurt created more of a fully realized world than they even knew was in the words they wrote.

Marg Helgenberger as Costner's wife, and especially Danielle Panabaker as his daughter, were excellent. I was also happy to see Reiko Aylesworth (one of my favorite characters/actresses from 24) making a nice little appearance.

The film would be famously great were it not for one central problem. There is a major plot element which involves an "apprentice," played by Dane Cook, a would-be killer who blackmails Costner into taking him on as an intern in serial killing. (It feels silly even to type that here.) It is hard to allocate blame for this nonsense amongst the various elements of the film: the conception of this plot idea, the casting, the direction, the writing, or the acting; but the whole sequence sinks the film into patent absurdity.

Often when one aspect of a movie fails completely, listening to the DVD commentary gives the clue to why it failed: the commentary never addresses the problem issue, suggesting the writer and director never realized there was something that needed to be done.

Here, according to the DVD commentary, the character, played by Cook was originally going to be played by Zach Braff. This might be a clue, namely that they never made the adjustments to the style of the new actor. It might also be a clue to a different cause of the problem, namely that the character and his story were misconceived from the beginning. Surprisingly, the writer and director seem well pleased by both the actor and this whole portion of the film.

The writers also comment on the DVD that they consider Mr. Brooks -- a serial killer -- to be a moral person because he has an addiction: he loves his family, and he truly wants to stop killing, even though he has an addiction to murder. (Unlike other serial killer "heroes, " by the way, he does not even make a pretense of killing only people that -- for some imagined reason -- "deserve" to be killed.) I don't agree. History teaches us that good family men can be vicious killers. He is an evil, dangerous man. He is a sick, evil, dangerous man. (He can not even claim an insanity defense. He knows that what he is doing is wrong.) The fact that this is a story about an amoral or immoral man does not prevent the story from being interesting or well made. There can be great literature about evil people, even if they "get away with it." But the character is still evil and immoral. It's not necessary to defend the character.

The DVD commentary also suggests that the creative team is considering a sequel. Given the terrific acting by the main characters, they could get it all right the second time.

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NEW DVD'S Nov 6, 2007

RELEASED THIS WEEK:

Ratatouille (G) (Animated) -- Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava , Voice: Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Brad Garrett

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (PG-13) (Comedy) -- Director: Dennis Dugan, Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James , Jessica Biel, lots of others...

Deck the Halls (PG) (Comedy) -- Director: John Whitesell, Cast: Matthew Broderick, Danny DeVito, Kristin Chenoweth

Sicko (PG-13) (Documentary) -- Director: Michael Moore

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READINGS AT EST

MEMBERFEST is a weekly reading series by members of The Ensemble Studio Theater (EST).

November 6, 2007 - 7pm
At EST - 549 W. 52nd St.

I LIKE YOUR CHIN

By Julie Fitzpatrick

Featuring Diana Ruppe, Amy Staats, Helen Coxe, Randy Falcon

Directed by Alexa Polmer & Alexis Poledouris

FREE ADMISSION

For Reservations, call 212 247 4982 x20

If you missed this week's reading, check the EST website for the next one!

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LUCY AT EST

LUCY

Written by Damien Atkins
Directed by William Carden

Featuring Lisa Emery, Lucy DeVito, Keira Naughton, Scott Sowers, and Christopher Duva

Vivian is an anthropologist at the top of her field. She craves solitude -- motherhood was never an option. But when forced to care for her estranged teenage daughter, Lucy, her life is turned upside down. Lucy is autistic ... and might be the next step in Vivian's evolution.

LUCY is the Sloan Foundation mainstage production at the Ensemble Studio Theater (EST)

Running through Nov 18... To purchase tickets, go to

http://www.theatremania.com/

or call 212 352 3101

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THE FARNSWORTH INVENTION

Written by the great Aaron Sorkin, The Farnsworth Invention, about the invention of television, and the struggle to obtain the patent -- and the credit -- for the invention, is currently in previews and opens on November 15 -- at the Music Box Theatre, 239 West 45th Street, and is certainly the show that I am currently most interested in.

The informative, official website for The Farnsworth Invention contains credits for the complete cast (headed by Hank Azaria as Robert Sarnoff), the author, Aaron Sorkin, the director, Des McAnuff and the principal creative team. It also contains a history of the invention of television.

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