The Writer's Poke

Such a fun movie. Not necessarily a 5-star movie, but really fun. Peter (Ron Livingston) is in the middle of hypnotism therapy when his therapist has a heart attack and dies. So maybe that's why he's able to decide he's okay if he doesn't continue in his meaningless job. It's funny, because although he says he's not going to go back to work, he actually does go back -- first to get an address book, but later, just to play Tetris. Meanwhile, after showing how much he doesn't care about his job to the Bobs, they decide to promote him to management. He's still going to work, even if he's not working. And that's nothing new, really, as he's already admitted going to work and not doing much when he was there before he decided not to go back to work, and not to get another job, and not to pay his bills. By the end of the movie, he's working with his neighbor, Lawrence (Dietrich Bader), as a member of a construction crew. Apparently, he's ok...

This is Robert DeNiro's second film as director, and he does a fine job. Nothing "signature" about his style, but quality work throughout. Good ensemble cast, but the main focus is on Matt Damon who plays Edward. So, what makes Edward a good shepherd? When he was a young boy, his dad committed suicide. Edward stole the suicide letter before anyone else entered the room, and then he told everyone the shooting was an accident. He admitted that secret at his Skull and Bones initiation, but that was years later. He kept the suicide note, but he didn't read it until decades later. That note turned out to be a simple apology. His father apologized for being a coward, and in the part he wrote to Edward, he encouraged him to fight for the life he wanted. Did Edward end up living the life he wanted, or did he live the life that was expected of him? In the end, was he okay with that? Edward doesn't reveal much. He has learned that to reveal is to expose vulnerabilities, and...

Roger Ebert added this one to his Great Movies canon, and I thought: Really? And since I watch all of those movies, I thought: Eventually I'm going to have to watch this one whether I want to or not. I live in Minnesota, and I've listened to the show on the radio from time-to-time. I'm not sure I've ever listened to a full episode, unless I just happened to be in the car and it was playing... My impression of the movie is that it captures the spirit of the radio show. The only real difference is that it uses some pretty big stars to play the roles of the radio show's usually much more modest cast. So, what attracted so many A-listers to make up this film's ensemble cast? Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Lindsey Lohan, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Klein, and of course, GK himself. Is Keiller so much on an American icon that they all wanted to be associated with this film? Was it because Roger Altman was directing? I'm not sure what Altman...

Although I've seen bits and pieces of this version over the years, I've never sat down to watch it from beginning to end. What I've seen was enough. I just didn't like the over-stylization. Which is funny, because when DeCaprio did that MTV version of Romeo + Juliet (1996), I loved it. Now that I've finally taken the time to watch this version, I've decided that I at least understand, at least in part, what they were going for here. Gatsby himself is a recreation, a reinvention. There is no "real" Gatsby. He's rendered in the imagination. The whole story is a fabrication, a fantasy, a dream. None of Gatsby is "real," and so why shouldn't his story be told as a CGI-enhanced fantasy? It's interesting to note the few places where the film tones down the CGI and lets the set work in a more "realistic" way. One place is when Daisy and Gatsby are in his two-story dressing "closet." He's on the second floor throwi...

If high school football matters to west Texas, then size matters to Wales. Because quite frankly, what else sets Wales apart? Everyone easily recognizes Ireland, Scotland, and England, but Wales? What's it known for?  I'm sure there are a few mainstream movie titles that are longer, but at 12 words long, this one is pretty long. And, it essentially contains the synopsis of the story. Anson (Hugh Grant) is the Englishman. He and his partner come to the small Wales community to measure the mountain, and World War I is in the background. Soldiers in Europe have dug trenches across the continent. They know what's possible.  So, when the measurement is complete, the "mountain" turns out to be 16 feet short. It's just a 984-foot hill. But the town decides, with the blessing of the local clergyman, to make their hill into a mountain, one pailful of dirt at a time. Everyone pitches in, and after climbing the hill five times in single day. the octogenarian Reverend Jon...

Did you remember that Billy Bob Thornton (Coach Gary) is in this one? I didn't.  For the most part, I guess I'm not a big fan of this genre of movie -- the football team that overcomes all the obstacles, or in the case of this specific movie, maybe doesn't. Is/Was west Texas this much into football? Is football really all towns like Odessa have? That's really sad, as is the idea that your life peaks in high school, and after that, all you have is your high school football ring. (And what about the male cheerleaders? The movie shows that there were some. How were they treated in high school and the local community?) According to the notes at the end of the movie, many of the kids on this team would go on to have at least some minor success in football at the college level. That makes me think that maybe life doesn't peak in high school after all. Maybe it just feels like that in the moment, although Charles (Tim McGraw) is definitely an example of a guy that peaked i...