going back to the movies so if anyone read my posts, they would realize that there haven't been very many of them lately. and it isn't because i haven't had time really. yeah yeah there is the whole phd thing, but i spend at least an hour every day at school playing frogger on my cell phone. the real reason i haven't written anything lately is because i havent been to the movies in over two months.

in tucson i used to go to the movies at least once or twice a week. it has definitely been my favorite pasttime over the past couple years, hence the creation of this blog. when i was working on my master's at the u of a, i always looked forward to having spare time to go to the catalina theater and relax. and whenever john and i had time off together we almost always spent it at the movies.

so i think being in d.c., going to the movies is one of the things i miss most about tucson. here it is really difficult to get around. and john works late every night. so we can't go to the movies together and i have no way to get there by myself. and this really sucks because there are so many movies i want to see. and also because i feel a little bit like the woman in charlotte perkins gilman's "the yellow wallpaper," who goes insane after she never leaves the tiny room she lives in.

but tonight, if all goes well, i have convinced john to take me to the movies when he gets home tonight. *yea* the re-release of nightmare before christmas (in 3-d) is out today in d.c., and we are gonna go see it. so maybe this will be the beginning of me going back to the movies. i hope so. cause i could really use a pasttime other than frogger or marxism.  ¶ 10/20/2006 08:30:00 PM 0 Comments

  summer in review: a prairie home companion
i think maybe every movie should have "a dangerous woman" in it. i would like to see virginia madsen play the angel of death in a lot more movies from now on. think about it. you're watching madea gets colon cancer or pixar's space goats or something and the ms. madsen decends on the scene and harvests a soul. i guarantee it would be the best thing to happen to 99 percent of movies made in this country. especially anything starring charlize theron.

virginia madsen's turn as "the dangerous woman" in a prairie home companion might have been the best part of the movie. actually, i think it took some distance from the film to realize that. i read my original reviews for the film and was surprised i barely mentioned her. the character is definitely the most interesting thing about the movie: a mysterious angelic woman who sort of meanders around the set of the radio show, apparently only visible to some people, and whose purpose is nebulous until the end. madsen is perfect for the role. after sideways, and this, i am really looking forward to her making more movies.

honestly it was hard for me to find a weak spot, a plot hole, a confused character, a poor actor in phc. john c. reilly and woody harrelson are hilarious as a bawdy duet of cowboys. kevin kline shows that he is a really great comedic actor in his bumbling role as show security. tomlin and streep evidence a great talent for back and forth acting on and off stage. the songs are cute, catchy, sometimes emotional and often really funny. and keillor is great on screen as the show's patriarch (my personal fave moment was his rambling speech about duct tape).

this is definitely one of my favorite movies of the summer and will probably be one of the year's best. i don't know a lot about robert altman, but this definitely made me want to check out some of his other movies. even if you don't get into the radio program, you have to at least give him props for making a completely original movie. i am sure you have never seen anything like this. it is like simultaneously nostalgic and postmodern. very cool.

it's on dvd as of last week. check it out.  ¶ 10/20/2006 08:09:00 PM 0 Comments