NDBT

Aside from Cannes (if you haven’t seen the teaser for Bee movie already, go see it NOW: http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount/beemovie/), the big entertainment news is the TV fall lineup announcements. I’m sad about studio 60’s official death (are they releasing the final episodes online or something – and on a related note, does anyone know about deadwood’s 2 final movie wrap-ups?) and Jericho’s, mostly because the 14 year old girl in me would like Skeet Ulrich to have a career. Same with Gale Harold’s canceled Vanished and Taye Digg’s Lost-filler-show, neither of which I watched – whoops. I’ll be honest – most of the announced new shows sound like crap, so I’m glad my other faves are all returning (the office, how I met your mother, scrubs, CSI, lost, house, my name is earl; how is it when so many of my favorite shows are on NBC that the network is in 4th place?). Also heroes, because that seems like a show I could get into. And, of course, the Simpsons, who seem as destined to live forever as their 3-eyed nuclear fish. And who, for the love of god, sold their soul to the devil to keep Caruso on the air? Die CSI Miami, you undead, sunglasses-wielding creature you!

Went to see Zodiac last night – it was really great. I was expecting the whole thing to be Jake Gyllenhaal’s search for the killer, but his part doesn’t even come until the end. Instead, the movie unfolds realistically, with an incredible ensemble acting job. The movie is creepy – I was on the edge of my seat at times (which I’ve always kind of thought was just of turn of phrase until I actually scooted forward, like that might enable Jake to get out of the creepy house faster). Also – SF people – did the Adams’ or the Lazarus’ live near Washington and Cherry? The street corner looked familiar, but I couldn’t tell if that was just because I had been by it before. I think what I liked best (and what others might not like as much) is how realistic it was. Not just the period detail, but the sense that you are watching an actual investigation unfold. It isn’t hollywood, it isn’t flashy (some might say boring),but you get the sense that that was really how it happened. It’s refreshingly different.

And yes, I am biased towards the film because I was just so damn happy to watch scenes of SF (the transamerica building going up was AWESOME). Not only because SF is so the best city for noir films ever. I loved watching Jake’s car slide foward as he parked on a hill, I loved that they name dropped Bullitt and Dirty Harry, the fact that they shot outside the chronicle building (I’ve been there!), the overhead shot of the golden gate. Yay. 🙂 I also liked the little details in the background, like the upcoming stones concert in Altamont.

I almost hate to say that Mick LaSalle agrees with me (kinda – he thought the reality of it dragged a bit). Here’s a bit of his review: “Zodiac” is best appreciated as a showcase for fine acting, especially that of Downey, as the witty, hard-drinking, drug-taking Avery. It’s a portrait of a man in the grip of an addiction, someone funny and clever but full of pessimism and self-loathing, someone who seems to see through everything, including himself, and knows he’s riding the elevator of life all the way to the basement. After 20 years of these colorful, detailed performances, it might be time to stop thinking of Downey as quirky original or an eccentric favorite and start thinking of him as a significant American artist.

Avery’s flashy journalism puts him into conflict with Toschi, who’s played by Ruffalo in a kind of Method Acting-meets-Columbo style. He’s mumbly and indistinct, though he gets better as the film progresses, and his scenes with Gyllenhaal, in the last third, are some of the best in the picture. Gyllenhaal, by contrast, gives a clean, clear and meticulously detailed performance, conveying in believable and illuminating ways the obsessive and detail-oriented nature of the character’s mind.

I also now want a button that says, “I am not Avery”.
Hee: trivia according to IMDB: When the man is looking at the mug shots, Robert Downy Jr.’s mug shot was second from the left. Missed that…

Hanging around the hostel reading and watching the colbert report today. I thought a restful day was in order before 2 weeks of farm work.

17 - We got early the next morning and got a taxi back to Toliara. The day was supposed to be a day of errands. This was hard for 2 reasons - the blistering hot weather, which in turn caused ... [Continue reading this entry]

I bought my train ticket. I'm going from Perth to Adelaide on the 6th. Seeing Zodiac tonight, the aquarium tomorrow, and the tree top walk sometime between my farm stay and leaving. Here is some info on the farm where I ... [Continue reading this entry]

Spent yesterday hanging around the hostel, going over work-type stuff, and watching scrubs with Leslie who got booted out of the country for his car accident. Boo. However, we had a little goodbye party, despite the fact that it is ... [Continue reading this entry]

I have about 5 more photos and about 6 youtube vids to post, but here's the link to the tortoise, in case I forgot it earlier: http://youtube.com/watch?v=8ZBh9tUA6eQ Let me know if the sound isn't working. And I got my ipod! I was ... [Continue reading this entry]

Perth note - Sam's signed up to be in Frost/Nixon with Michael Sheen and Frank Langella. Rock. He's now got 2 movies scheduled for 2008.   4-14 We had breakfast at the hotel (watching the mist rise over the rainforest) and caught ... [Continue reading this entry]

I got webshots to work, so there are more madagascar photos up. I probably won't have time to do the youtube vids today. I'll let you know. QC quote of the day: I would totally eat a marshmallow fairy

Dig this - the actress I saw as Rosalind in As you like it (Eve Best) is a front-runner for a tony nom for moon for the misbegotten (which I have never seen...). Cool beans. I think the nominations come ... [Continue reading this entry]

From Cleolinda's ever brilliant m15m: A Chat Between Two Brothers BOROMIR: S’up. FARAMIR: My beloved older brother back from an entirely different movie the dead! BOROMIR: Look, kid, we gotta talk. Are you absolutely sure you want to do this whole sword-and-sandals thing? FARAMIR: Well, ... [Continue reading this entry]