Diary of an adult runaway

Can't wait

Mr. Clooney goes to Washington

 

I say we give Obama 8 years then we give this guy a shot:

This photo makes it hard for me to breathe

 

Article here.

P.S. Can you believe I once had a friend whose excuse for "breaking up" with me was that I used lamps instead of overhead lights and I watched Clooney movies?  Good God.

P.S.S. Hey! Let's trade ridiculous "what someone said when they were too afraid to tell me the truth" stories!

Ok, this one's NOT about politics!

There was an article in the Melbourne Age yesterday (or at least, on their site) about Brad Pitt, was he really a good actor or a pretty face, etc, etc. Had some ridiculous notion that The Assassination...Jesse James...Robert Ford...blah blah was wrongly shut out of various awards. Apparently the article author didn't realize that when one can't even be bothered typing out the entire name of the film, then said film was excruuuuuciatingly long and not even Pitt was worth it. Or Affleck. And that's saying something.

So anyway, back to the question: Pitt--pretty face or good actor?

Answer: watch Burn After Reading.

Mate! I laughed until I wheezed and hacked up a small village of mucus people. Hysterical. My world is sadly lacking in black comedy and I just lapped this up. 

SPOILER!!!!!!

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Ok.

Top 3 shooting scenes in movies, and surprisingly, all star Clooney:

3. The guy shooting himself while stealing steak in Out Of Sight.

2. The guy mistaking his gun for his asthma pump in Intolerable Cruelty.

1. Pitt's massive smile before Clooney shoots him.

Could you believe it?? Clooney shot Pitt. I was howling. I know, death, not a thing to be laughing about but really, could you believe it? Then he runs down and gets the knife. I almost fell off my chair. (Yes, there's the possibility that I'm warped.)

The worst part was, after Clooney shot him, no more Pitt dancing. Fucking funny stuff, and I'm saving it to rewatch on a shitty day.

Bravo

There's a moment at the start of Michael Clayton, when Clooney's driving along in his sweeeet, smooooth Mercedes (did you hear that thing purr? Swear to God I want one ... oh, right, the environment) and he's staring ahead and you think, "He's lost." Not physically, but in his soul. It's in his eyes. And then his GPS unit fritzes and it's such a clever way to reinforce that point and pull you in, even though you don't yet know what's going on.

And then there are the horses and the wonder in his eyes, and then the ... nope, you need to see it for yourself, but damn, that hooked me. Especially the use of the frame, a structure technique I get giddy about when it's used well, as it is here, because of the way it teases then delays the pay-off. No secret that I love Clooney, and this movie is a perfect example of why. He's so still and subdued and disillusioned at times, but you know, even though he has to be dragged to it, the moment is coming, and when it does, everything's going to explode. And I admit it--I'm a fan of pacing that builds slowly and gives you shades of gray instead of shoving down your throat who's right and who's wrong. The pacing in this feels deliberate and controlled, not a hodge-podge of gimmicks. Sydney Pollack (also a producer) was sly and assured, Tilda Swinton was fabulous, God, I hated her. Never trust a woman withe helmet hair (Thatcher, anyone?) The showdown was taut, clever, satisfying, and the closing credits were my favorite since Good Will Hunting. My wee, tiny, single complaint is that Tom Wilkinson's accent bothers me. As soon as I heard the voice-over, I thought "It's the guy from The Full Monty doing an American accent." But that's nothing against him as an actor, he was solid.

I couldn't have liked it more, even if Clooney made me cry. Maybe that's why I couldn't have liked it more. Funny though, how much it reminded me of Redford, especially when I read this review:

Today when you think of Clooney it’s all subtle critique’s of the lost art of Journalism (Good Night and Good Luck) and the murky world of the oil trade (Syriana), and with Michael Clayton the target is the world of corporate greed and mismanagement.

A Redford take on it: journalism (All The President's Men), murky world of the oil trade (Three Days of the Condor), corporate greed and mismanagement (The Electric Horseman).

You know, I really like going to the movies with French audiences because they respect film so much that they don't talk, don't even whisper, and the one time I've ever heard a cell phone ring, the whole cinema erupted into "Mais non!" and "Oh la la!" that the culprit is probably still red-faced, a year later.

Next week: In The Valley of Elah. Soon after that: Lions For Lambs (Redford!) and We Own The Night (Joaquin! Wahlberg!) Hot damn, do I love Oscar season.