Oscar night, at last!

Maggie says:
Tonight is so much fun for me... I've been writing here and there about my Oscar picks, but realized I hadn't put them all together yet. So if I were an Academy member, here's what my ballot would say:

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan. Wow.

Best Supporting Actor: Javier Bardem. DUH, and not just because of my huge crush.

Best Actress: Tie! I'm completely torn between Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard, and yes, I know how lame that is. Although honestly, if I were filling the ballot out this minute I'd vote Cotillard.

Best Actor: Daniel Day Lewis. What a monster, and a monstrous performance.

Best Adapted Screenplay: No Country for Old Men.

Best Original Screenplay: Juno.

Best Song: "Falling Slowly," from Once. I adored this movie, and this is the best weaving of song and plot I can remember.

Best Documentary: No End in Sight. While I was moved by the heartfelt ending of Sicko, No End in Sight was masterfully done, and remarkably effective.

Best Director: Eek! Yes, I'm lame again. I continue to love the brilliance of the Coen brothers, but also think Paul Thomas Anderson redefined himself this year. The Co-Bros probably win out for me, though.

Best Picture: No Country for Old Men. Loved it... it's the one that'll keep haunting people years from now.

Oscar actress update

Maggie says:
In my rush to see all the remaining Oscar-related films before Sunday's ceremony, last night I watched Away from Her and Gone Baby Gone.

Away from Her is the story of an older couple struggling with the progression of Alzheimer's in Julie Christie's character Fiona. Their decision to move Fiona into a residential care facility is one is led by Fiona herself, not wanting to decline in her husband's presence any further. What unfolds between the two of them, and the secondary characters is this new chapter in their lives, is a very real story full of immense sadness, but also truth and beauty and humor. Kleenex required, trust me. Julie Christie was nominated for Best Actress for this film, and I'd love to see her win. We had a Julie Christie v. Marion Cotillard debate after watching this. Right now, I'm pulling for Christie because of the freshness and truth to that performance, but you know how blown away I was by Cotillard's performance in La Vie en Rose as well. Either would be a fine choice, but Christie is really tremendous here.

I have a soft spot for Boston films, and Gone Baby Gone is no exception. Ben Affleck's directorial debut is very good, touching on a variety of really compelling themes and asking some pertinent questions that keep sinking in for me. The cast is great, all of them. They've been given meaty stuff to chew on, and the touch here is right-on. Amy Ryan, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, is absolutely riveting in the role of Helen McCready, an unfit mother who cares more about her drug habit and friends than her daughter. Helen is thrust into the spotlight and a police investigation when her daughter is abducted, and Casey Affleck is the detective hired to tap into the seedy neighborhood element of the crime that the police can't access. This is the kind of role that Ryan - a stage actress who also has a Tony nomination under her belt - must have loved sinking into. Helen is the kind of terrifying woman you'd cross the street to avoid if you had the choice, and Ryan nails her. She's just scarily good here, and she's my new pick for Best Supporting Actress.

AMC Theaters to Screen Best Picture Nom Marathon

Maggie reports:
For all you hardcore moviegoers out there, doesn't this sound like fun?

Sat, Feb 23 (Day Before the Oscars)
AMC Movie Theaters

Screening of ALL FIVE Best Picture Nominees!!

Michael Clayton, 11:00 a.m.
There Will Be Blood, 1:20 p.m.
Atonement, 4:20 p.m.
Juno, 7:00 p.m.
No Country for Old Men, 9:00 p.m.

All-day pass $30, plus unlimited popcorn!

Press release (and list of participating theaters) here.

Now here's the catch. Here in Dallas, I'm safe, but New Mexicans are not so lucky. Despite the fact that two of this year's nominees were filmed in New Mexico, the offer doesn't extend to you because there aren't any AMC theaters in the state. Who's going to lead the charge to, say, Cinemark Theaters to offer the same package in Albuquerque? Someone with film connections maybe, someone who has a bit of a media soapbox? Hmmm....

Calling Gene Grant!

Do I Exist?

marjorie says...

In Hollywood...Barely, thanks to Atonement and Juno.

People of Color certainly don't.

Here's the breakdown for the big Oscar prizes. I simply took the first 10 Actors in IMDB for each movie, plus the Director. And then decided to include the Screenplay category. Would love to see the race of each actor if someone has the time, but something tells me its overwhelmingly Anglo. Click on it to read it better...I'm technically challenged when it comes to making these types of things for the internet.

Oscar! Oscar! Oscar!

Maggie says:
The big awards show is in major jeopardy due to the writer's strike, but I'm giddy about these awards nonetheless. Watching live like the movie nerd I am, I bring you this morning's nominations, along with my thoughts/confessions/additions.

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There), Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone), Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton)
This category kills me, because I still haven't seen Michael Clayton or Gone Baby Gone. But everyone who's seen I'm Not There comes away mesmerized by Cate Blanchett, and knows why she's a shoo-in for this one. She's just amazing, always.

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James), Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Charlie Wilson's War), Hal Holbrook (Into the Wild), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton)
What a year for supporting actors! Javier Bardem is the scariest villain imaginable in No Country (and, um, yeah). Phillip Seymour Hoffman was just brilliant in Charlie Wilson's War. I haven't seen either of the other three - I hear good things about Affleck (in this and Gone Baby Gone), I hear raves about Holbrook but I'm not into this film, and I've never seen Tom Wilkinson and not thought he was fantastic. There's no way this award isn't going to Javier Bardem. I loved so many supporting actors this year, though... both Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin were fantastic in No Country alongside Bardem. Paul Dano was creepily effective in Blood. Little Marcus Carl Franklin stays with you from I'm Not There, right on par with Cate Blanchett. And my beloved, sweet-dry-funny-understated Michael Cera, was fantastic in Superbad and Juno.

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away from Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Laura Linney (The Savages), Ellen Page (Juno)
Yay for Ellen Page's nomination! So exciting for her. I never got around to seeing Elizabeth, but I think Netflix will have it pre-Oscar. She's always amazing. I have Away from Her on the shelf to watch Julie Christie, and we just watched La Vie en Rose. Wow. Marion Cotillard completely loses herself into the role of Edith Piaf, and it's amazing to watch. I can't tell you how remarkable it is to see how Marion Cotillard looks in real life, watch her portray Edith Piaf, and then see pictures and footage of the actual Edith Piaf. It's just unbelievable. As for Laura Linney... she's her brilliant self in The Savages, but I'm not sure I see that role as a clincher. I've gotta watch Away from Her and get back to you all on this one, but right now, I can't deny what Marion Cotillard accomplished with La Vie en Rose.

Best Actor
George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Tommy Lee Jones (In the Valley of Elah), Viggo Mortenson (Eastern Promises)
I'm getting increasingly annoyed at myself for not seeing Michael Clayton... I hear Clooney is fantastic, and I love Clooney, so why didn't I get my act together for this one? I have Eastern Promises sitting on the shelf to watch this week, but there's no getting around Daniel Day-Lewis' monster performance in Blood this year. Just a monster in that role. It's him, hands down. One of my favorite acting performances of the year is never going to see an Oscar stage, though - it's Samuel L. Jackson in Black Snake Moan. Oh man.

Best Director
Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Jason Reitman (Juno), Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men), Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood)
This category is a way to honor Schnabel, who's only in the Screenplay category elsewhere. I love the Coen Brothers, always, but I reallllllly love what Paul Thomas Anderson did with Blood. I remember reading a review that said, "Finally, Paul Thomas Anderson has a theme," and I agree. He does these enormous, strange pieces that float around a bit too much for folks - his films can be as unanchored as those infamous frogs at the end of Magnolia. Yet here we have a tight plot and setting, only a few characters, and some strong themes... and he pulls it off beautifully. So for me, I think it's Anderson this year. (Fantasy pick: the crazily brilliant Craig Brewer, who has a small but intense fan club and floored me with Black Snake Moan this year.) (Vindictive girl moment: Maybe if Sean Penn hadn't done something terrible to Robin Wright Penn - because we know she's not at fault! - his karma would've warranted a nod here? Hmmm....)

Best Original Screenplay
Juno, Lars and the Real Girl, Michael Clayton, Ratatouille, The Savages
I'm loving Juno this year in a big way, and Diablo Cody has the kind of made-for-Oscar story that voters love. I was impressed with The Savages, but it's Juno all the way for me. I'm also imagining what's not here: the poignance of nominating the late Adrienne Shelley for Waitress, and recognizing the comedic brilliance of Superbad and the innovative genius of I'm Not There... but oh well.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Atonement, Away From Her, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood
Strong category... Gotta see Away and Diving, but I think both No Country and Blood were amazing. Eek! I don't know! You know, I actually feel like Charlie Wilson's War got a little bit shafted here, despite my misgivings about its messaging. And my tempered enthusiasm for Atonement precisely mirrors my tempered enthusiasm for the book; I thought many scenes were actually better executed on film than in print, so to me it's a strong adaptation. But it's the year of No Country and Blood for me, what can I say?!

Best Foreign Language Film
Beaufort, The Counterfeiters, Katyn, Mongol, 12
I haven't seen any of these! Bad, bad me. I wish Once was here, though... but was it released too early?

Best Animated Picture
Persepolis, Ratatouille, Surf's Up
I'm dying to see Persepolis, which looks incredibly fresh and original, but hasn't opened here yet. In the meantime, you know I love Ratatouille.

Best Documentary
No End in Sight, Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience, Sicko, Taxi to the Dark Side, War/Dance
I haven't seen any of these yet, but I have No End in Sight and Sicko lined up in the queue, so I'll get back to you. But, ummm, what about Crazy Love? Guess it didn't make it given the political/war theme we have here. And I thought insane relationships were always in fashion!

Best Picture
Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood
I feel like this year we have five shoo-in films for Best Picture - this is the exact lineup I predicted the other night. And Michael Clayton is truly the one that got away for me this year. I love that Juno was nominated here, and I don't think that voters will be swayed by Atonement the way they were at the Globes. This one, to me, is all about No Country versus Blood. How funny that I love these two films in which women are virtually nonexistent. I think Blood is the bigger, showier picture - more of an Oscar picture. It has the kind of ending that makes for viewer satisfaction. No Country is bleaker, more elusive, more about the negative space than what's shown. They're interesting contrasts for me, and I'm fascinated to see how this plays out. (They were tied with eight nominations each, by the way.)

PS: Check out the full list of nominations - La Vie en Rose has gotta win for makeup given the unbelievable transformation of Marion Cotillard into Edith Piaf, for example - at Oscars.com.

Update: Netflix just reported that Michael Clayton will be ready to ship Feb 19, just in time for the Feb 24 awards ceremony! I'll also be able to see Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Gone Baby Gone, and The Assassination of Jesse James by then, although I may hold on Jesse. There is Disk 2 of Flight of the Conchords to watch, after all...

It doesn't pay to be a wordsmith

Maggie says:
Netflix - which I love unabashedly - has this great "Watch Instantly" feature, and every account comes with something like 20 hours of online movie viewing each month. This is great for someone like me who's a night owl, likes instant gratification, and has 190 movies in the queue. This month I'm racing to get through all the Oscar-potential movies I can while ignoring one of my favorite guilty pleasures - weird documentaries - none of which I'm prioritizing in my queue in the lead-up to Oscar.

But sometimes, the guilty pleasures call and call hard. While sick last week, I watched "Born into Brothels" with a click of the mouse, which is just amazingly beautiful. And although I have what is by all accounts an incredibly moving performance by Julie Christie in "Away from Her" sitting on my shelf, last night I had to log in and watch "Word Wars" instead, the Scrabble documentary I've been meaning to get to for ages.

Wow. This movie isn't great by any means. But it's incredibly illuminating about how crazy these tournament Scrabble people are. Just nuts.

We meet four main characters on the road to the 2002 Scrabble National Championship in San Diego: "G.I." Joel Sherman, who nicknamed himself after his gastrointestinal condition and looks every bit the Scrabble nerd and GI-sufferer you expect; Marlon Hill, the black dredlocked guy who makes rather interesting choices for himself on-camera (hint: a Tijuana prostitute is featured); Matt Graham, a strange man who looks fairly normal but has some real social adjustment issues, I think; and Joe Edley, who markets himself as a huge deal but seems to be post-glory in his career.

These people are a mess. Life lessons learned from the Scrabble documentary:

• Keep your day job. None of these people actually have a career. Their lives revolve around Scrabble in every way possible. Edley took a nightwatchman job just so he could study, but it doesn't seem like anyone else is ever paid to do anything. They take brain vitamins by the bucketful. They practice flashcards while driving. They do anagrams in their sleep. They have no other skills. One of the best moments comes from a kid who's doing well in the youth division and is asked if he wants to make it to Division 1 some day. He basically gives those guys a look worth millions and says he wouldn't want to be so crazy about Scrabble he couldn't hold down another job. Well done, kid.
• REALLY keep your day job. These guys are broke all the time. I looked at some of their stats today and the career winnings seems to average in the low $30,000s. That's CAREER. And they pay their own expenses for travel. And they're always borrowing money from each other. In a word, depressing.
• Side bets are big. It appears that the big action at these huge tournaments isn't the official play, but what happens on the side. Who knew Scrabble betting was so huge?! Fascinating.
• You will be lonely. Women are not really a part of this documentary, or the Scrabble life, it would seem. There's an interesting five minutes where some women chat about why they're not a bigger part of the competitive Scrabble scene, but we never see them again. It goes without saying that we do not see them anywhere near our Scrabble heroes, either, unless you count those paid for their time. Marlon and Matt profess to hate each other, but are clearly so lonely that they crave each other's companionship. These "enemies" stay in hotel rooms together, wake each other up, and shave each other's necks. Co-dependency in all its glory.
• It's math, not words. One of the women makes one of the best points of this whole thing (imagine that!), which is that competitive Scrabble playing isn't at all about words, it's about math. It's not about what words mean or how they are used (knowing the definitions is even considered baggage to some)... it's all in the probability of how words are constructed and how many letters have been played. Reason #47758844 why I'll never be a competitive Scrabble player.
• Still... fun to watch. If you've ever played Scrabble, there's no way not to be amazed when you watch these guys play. I've never seen finished boards look anything like theirs do, and the speed is breathtaking.
  
• Go to Washington Square Park. The best parts of the film feature a rogue Scrabble collective that plays in NY's Washington Square Park. I love this group. They all consider the tourney guys freaks and nerds who can't handle the real world. Read: who can't play at the level warranted when surrounded by the elements of weather, by women screaming at each other, by kids running, and by protesters marching right behind the table. These guys are cool, and the real winners of this flick.
  

The big Jane Austen recap

I'm pulling this from comments and starting it here because it's too good.

Marjorie said:

So did you guys manage to also fit in Masterpiece Theater's presentation of Jane Austen's Persuasion last night? We were surprised at how well they condensed the book into 90 minutes. But still, I much prefer the 1995 BBC version.

Maggie said:

You remain my Jane Austen liaison, Marjorie. She and I don't like each other without you there to facilitate.

Mikaela said:

I'm a Jane Austen convert because of Marjorie.

And I kinda admit that watching the movies, even the bad ones, has helped me like the books .

I feel like a high school English cheater!

Maggie, you've got to go to the PBS Masterpiece Theater webpage for its complete Austen works, where you can choose among the "Austen men" after seeing their stats -- income, turn ons, turn offs, etc. Hilarious!

Even better, the guys who are currently the most popular are all the Austen loser guys! It's fantastic.

And now I say:

Okay, The Men of Austen is SO much fun. You are so right, Mikaela! I feel I'm at a major disadvantage without knowing who any of these men are in the books, though. I'll probably pick someone outlandishly embarrassing. Yikes.

Hottest: The dark and handsome brooder Frederick Tilney, but he sounds completely obnoxious. So I would probably go for him.

Problems: The ones I like are too young or devout. Edward Ferrars, Henry Tilney, and Edmund Bertram's affiliations with the clergy indicate that we would be a disastrous match. Same with Frederick Wentworth's military career.

Pluses: The excellent humor of Tom Bertram, who states his income as "a bit unsettled at present" and finds weddings a "turn-off"

Matty!: John Thorpe looks just like Matt Damon! This is exciting because I have a crush on Matt Damon, who is currently titillating, I mean educating, me in the car reading Howard Zinn on CD. But, you know, I'm listening for Howard Zinn's words, not Matt Damon's voice... Promise. ;-)

Best overall: John Willoughby, maybe? Who is this guy?! He's my fave overall. Or do I just go with John Thorpe so I can pretend it's Matt?

Best item to carry forward: The use of "Byronic" as an adjective, per the self-description of the hot Frederick Tilney

MMM...good movies!

Maggie says:
We caught "There Will Be Blood" last night in a sold-out theater for the movie's second weekend here. So much buzz among the crowd on the way in and out. But during? Silence. The movie was so spellbinding it managed to shut up even the giggly threesome in front of us and the obnoxious group behind us. Now that's saying something.

I'm hesitant to write too much here because I don't want to spoil anything, but this movie really is a magnificent piece of filmmaking. Daniel Day Lewis is phenomenal; Paul Thomas Anderson comes off like a genius; the score is the creepiest "music" I've ever heard; the ending made me break out in a huge grin.

I really loved it.

So is it "Blood" or "No Country for Old Men" for Best Picture? We've been having that debate ever since.

It doesn't get any better than movie season.

AND:

Gene's right. "Once" is a perfect film.

It's so, so beautiful. You've gotta see it.

All the amazing movies this year have me so excited about upcoming awards. Even though the Golden Globes will be a sedate affair this year, I'm looking forward to them, and just started working on my Fantasy Oscar Picks for the year. I still need to see a couple, but the list is shaping up nicely - a lot of what I've written about here, plus some movies I have to throw in even though Oscar wouldn't touch them with a stick.

Stay tuned, and go to the movies!

Awesome

Maggie says:
The local Spanish language station is showing Top Gun right now.

That's right. Top Gun. In Spanish.

Right now I'm watching the Val Kilmer/Tom Cruise locker room confrontation, with such delicious accents! It's totally hot, for the first time ever.

Dios Mio!

More Movies! Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd

Mikaela says:
I had absolutely no interest (okay, total lie, no interest other than the always-delicious, even under heavy makeup Johnny Depp) in seeing Sweeney Todd until reading this review in the Washington Post.

Now? I'm all about braving the gore to see Tim Burton in artistry action. I've always respected Burton's ability to charm the goth crowd and somehow reach middle America, or at least mainstream America, yet he's a bit ... distant for my taste. Somehow maudlin for all his darkness.

I'll throw caution to the winds, though, and try again. Helena Bonham Carter costumed a la Frankenstein's Bride? Bring it on!

A musical adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway play? Sure! Why not?

A murderous story of revenge of the have-nots against the haves? It's gotta be better than the morality tale of A Christmas Carol! Probably darker, too, which is even better to counteract the saccharine tendencies of our mostly manufactured holiday!

This season, I'm game!

Mmm... good movies!

Maggie says:
We caught No Country for Old Men last night and are still reeling today from its harrowing stillness. Wow. It's hard to imagine another movie this year catching No Country for Best Picture, which is more Coen Brothers brilliance than I could've hoped for. Not to mention, No Country's performances are career-defining for everyone involved. Javier Bardem - always stellar - is simply spectacular here. Josh Brolin is a revelation. Tommy Lee Jones reminds me exactly why The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada is so phenomenal, and why I need to see it again. So watch No Country, now. And if its merits aren't enough of a reason, you can always just see it for Albuquerque.

Huh?

No Country for Old Men was filmed in New Mexico, and parts of Albuquerque are on full display throughout the film. Downtown is shot up and bloodied during one of Bardem and Brolin's fights to the death, and East Central sits in for a seedy El Paso locale later on. Some folks have decried the fact that today's downtown ABQ looks like 1980 Texas, but the setting really is nailed here. Maybe it's a good thing for ABQ's politicians, planners, and place-makers to see how the city appears to others, even if it won't incite much change.

It was fun for the two of us, though, tucked away from a cold Dallas thunderstorm in a packed movie theater, to see two remarkable actors running down the very ABQ streets that we once walked to see each other. It's feeling increasingly forever-ago that we both lived in the Duke City (just about a year exactly, actually). Seeing those places on screen last night, though - in the most remarkable movie I've seen in ages - put a huge grin on my face, however bloodied they were on film.

And that it was followed up by the best cinematic take on self-bullet removal I've ever seen? Perfect.

Mountain Time brain dump

Maggie says:
Blogging energy has been nil lately, but there's lots and lots that I've been reading and discussing and doing, so I promise I haven't been brain-dead. Before jumping on a plane, here it is, rapid-fire style:

• I wish this was me. This NYT profile of Catherine Orenstein gets me fired up in all the ways that dangerously prompt me to re-envision myself and my career. This project is brilliant, and the piece perfectly captures why Orenstein is the perfect woman to convince other women to write. Love those smart gals tearing down structural oppression.

• Movie love. I was just floored by Black Snake Moan, and I'm seriously enchanted with Craig Brewer. Actually, it's gone from blushing crush to full-on infatuation. This movie takes everything Hustle & Flow started and kicks it up about a thousand notches. I dare say Brewer's our most lyrical and honest U.S. filmmaker right now, and if you don't get it, fine. His challenge to see past stereotypes for the truth and humanity embedded there is one not suited for everybody. And besides, Gene and I will have fun sneering at you behind your back if you don't get him. :-) (And PS while we're on movies: the Alexander Payne event at the Kimo last week was great!)

• Who knew? (Probably every local but me, since I'm not really local...) But Teresa Tapia rocks. Really. This woman is tough, and I admire the hell out of her no-bullshit approach to her husband.

• A raid is a raid is a raid. Last Sunday, the Ms trekked up to Santa Fe to hear Barbara Ehrenreich speak, and the event was fabulous. Lots of chatter there about the recent immigration raids in Santa Fe, and some impressive responses from Mayor Coss and the progressive community about the networks they're establishing to help warn families in advance of future raids and to assure them of their rights. A day after the talk, I couldn't help but recall what's happening in the City Different as I read the latest from New Orleans, where FEMA is raiding mobile home parks and giving disaster-weary residents just 48 hours to leave. The parallels make my head spin, not to mention my heart hurt. Aren't we better than this?

• Dad knows best. I was chastised by my father for not being on top of the Walter Reed series as soon as it was published in the Post weeks ago, and as usual, he was right. Days after he was disappointed to hear I hadn't read the Post that weekend and predicted that people were about to be hearing a lot more about it, the outcry heated up nationwide. I think good 'ol Dad has always been my personal political barometer. Maybe he should be everyone's, too. His instincts are always right-on; someone should pay him for that.
  

• "You, sir, are no Michael Dukakis." This Salon piece that draws parallels between Bill Richardson and Michael Dukakis has been amusing me all week. Now, I'm biased as hell, because I was privileged enough to get to know Dukakis very well through the years in Boston, and I don't think there's a better man around. But, if the paraphrase fits...

• Plame has my vote. What political theater. Politics have been very, very fun to watch lately. Go Valerie! Go Patrick! Go David!

• Juniper sucks. This City sounds like a wheezing, sneezing, hellhole right now. And we look awful, too - at the Chama taproom the other night Jessie and I must've appeared to be crying our eyes out to each other. But no, just dealing with a constant stream of allergy tears running out of our eyes. Too bad I love gin and tonics so much. But still, I need to leave soon for juniper-free environs, at least for a weekend. Oh wait, I am! Happy trails, everyone.
  

Weekend reading

Maggie says:
I find myself fairly uninterested in the Superbowl this weekend (despite the compelling coaching storyline), and am instead puttering around in typical un-American fashion. Such puttering affords me lots of time to read, go shoe-shopping, have the strongest margaritas on the planet with Marjorie's fam, and go hiking. So before I meet Mikaela to head over to the foothills, here's what's peaking my interest word-wise this weekend:

• More than good food and friendliness. Facing South, a fantastic blog produced by one of my fave organizations, compiled a list of its top-five books on Southern populist history. I have a couple of these, and the comments remind me that I'm still hanging on to a Loomis loaner that I need to return. This list is a great place to start diving into the rich promise that those who love the South know it very much holds. After you're primed with good 'ol Southern history, give this important Nation cover story a try before you start trash-talking about how we'll be safe ignoring the South in '08. Who knows... it just might influence your pick for the party.
  

• Biden: not just inarticulate. Joe Biden's recent gaffe is, as this Times article points out, not a gaffe at all, but the latest proof that most Americans are still surprised when non-whites sound smart. The word of attack here is "articulate," and with good insight this article points out the so-called compliments we're compelled to offer up for non-whites who sound... white. '"Al Sharpton is incredibly articulate,” said Tricia Rose, professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. “But because he speaks with a cadence and style that is firmly rooted in black rhetorical tradition you will rarely hear white people refer to him as articulate.”'

• Off to La-La Land. I'm heading to Los Angeles next week for a conference, and nothing has been amusing me in advance of the trip more than Curbed LA, a deliciously acerbic blog on planning and real estate in LA. More East Coast-oriented readers might enjoy the original NYC-based Curbed a little more. Same snarky real estate banter, only denser. Where else can I be pointed to the coolest Google image search result ever (for "urban planner") and news like this: "In order to make sure that Chinatown is catching up to the rest of downtown yuppie invasion, the City Council fast-tracked the approval of a new mixed-use development at 900 N. Broadway." Hee hee hee... Oh and!, see the sister blogs of Curbed for foodie talk: Eater and Eater LA. How much would I love to see a Curbed ABQ one day... Any takers?
  

• Local poets at it again. Yesterday I was lucky enough to get a preview of The Wellesley Poems, the forthcoming tome from local poet Adam Rubinstein. Adam's lastest poems are ruminations on growing up in the suburbs, the dangers of inventing - or ignoring - collective identity, and what "home" really means. Not to get ahead of myself, but I think this work is going to be my favorite of anything he's ever done. So while Adam's finishing this fantastic collection, go and peruse his other stuff to satiate your need for good words.

• Still loving 'Little Children'. I can't tell you how much I loved this movie, far and away my favorite of the year. I'll be cheering heartily for it to win Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars. Kate Winslet is her typical brilliantly glorious self, Jackie Earle Haley is a revelation, and the writing is the best I've seen on film in forever. I wish the downtown theater would bring it back in time for the Oscars, but this is ABQ, so I'm not holding my breath. In the meantime, Google "Little Children" for a wealth of goodies, including interviews (don't miss anything featuring director Todd Fields), long think pieces on suburbia and infidelity, and more. Yum yum yum.
  

DIY, or heck, just be homeless

marjorie says...

I went to see The Pursuit of Happyness with at best a wary hope that it wouldn’t be completely reactionary about homeless people. I was prepared to be highly critical of the message, and indeed in some respects I am.

The subject of the movie, Chris Gardner, struggles against tremendous odds to become a successful businessman, odds that at one point force him into homelessness. He’s an intelligent and energetic person who has high aspirations to make it rich as an entrepreneur. In the pursuit of that, he invests all his money into medical equipment that in fact is not something he can sell easily. His dogged pursuit to sell his goods rather than go punch a clock somewhere places enormous strain on his hard working wife, eventually leading to the end of their marriage. Ultimately he runs out of money and gets evicted from his apartment. Rather than go look for a job, he enters into an unpaid stockbroker internship on the gamble that he will be the one selected to fill a very lucrative job at the end, which he was. But it caused him to live a precarious life with his son, barely able to thread the financial pieces together at times, ultimately having to live in a homeless shelter.

This is a movie about the entrepreneurial spirit. It is not a movie about homelessness. It’s a movie about a certain type of person with a certain type of ability. It is not about the ability of all people. Chris Gardner had assets and skills that he could rely on ultimately, which is why he would never have been homeless for long. Likewise, this is what makes me middle class and not living on the edge. Yes, I might one day be out of a job with no money, but I have a marketable set of attributes (not to mention a big family) on which I can rely. Many people do not.

So why is it that we see these screenings for homeless people here and there, as if they need to see it? As if all homeless people are like Chris Gardner. They are not. There are some like Chris Gardner. And then there are the chronically homeless…those who will never, ever by like Chris Gardner. It's not the homeless that need to see this movie. The ones who need to see it are the rest of us, who either don't see or forget about homelessness or go around disparaging homeless people.

Instead of showing it to organized groups of homeless people in order to inspire “hope,” it should be shown to the elite sectors in this country to illustrate the stress, anxiety, and inhumanity of poverty.

I was surprised at how well this movie got across that on edge feeling of not knowing what you’re going to do next. The desperation. Gardner's wife wasn't just a selfish woman who won't stand by her man. She is a desperate woman living on the financial edge. It comes across in the movie incredibly well. And the scenes showing the inhumanity of many homeless shelters... the forced religious dogma pushed down these people’s throats just so they can get a bed and meal, the lights out as if they are in jail, the having to leave and then line back up every night and fight for their bed…are spot on.

This is what I liked about this movie. It really stressed me out...I could feel what it was like to be on the edge, to experience how the domino effect of financial hard knocks eventually lead to homelessness. It’s something rarely, if ever shown in American movies. This is what we need to see more of, not simply one more pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps piece of dogma. Homelessness is a real problem for us, and all of us are responsible for fixing it.