Tracy D: Film Nerd

Denver to Glenwood Springs: still in Colorado

2008-06-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting at my desk in my jacuzzi suite in Glenwood Springs typing this on Thursday June 12. I got a free upgrade! Oh my God I love this room so much and don't wanna leave. The bed is GIGANTIC with fourteen million pillows and I haven't used the jacuzzi yet but I think I'm gonna have to, no? The above pic is the view from my hotel. That is the Colorado River and there is also (don't know if you can see it) an Amtrak train track there too. Can you imagine taking the train along the Colorado River and all thru that area???

Allright, let's go back a moment. Yesterday I left Denver and drove up Mount Evans...all the way to the summit: 14,000 feet! It was quite scary at times, I must say, because there is no guard rail and the road is NARROW. This is the highest paved road in North America. It was originally planned so that there could be an expressway that joined the two peaks of two mountains! Evans being one of them. This idea was scrapped as well...hello: it's CRAZY. I love that this was their idea though. I freaking expressway 14,000 feet in the air??? But thanks to their crazy idea and their folly we now can drive up Evans and see mountain goats and golden belled marmots and big horn sheep! OK, so I just saw the marmots. Oh and a beautiful deer. I think it was a deer...but it was kinda furrier and it's horns were kinda thick. So maybe it was a higher elevation, furrier deer? Yep, I'm sure that's the official name.

This is what it looked like where I was on Mount Evans (The Rockies!!!):

Anyway, driving up Evans was fun and then I got back on the I-70 and head west towards Glenwood Springs. I will admit, dear reader that I was spent. Maybe it's the higher altitude and maybe it's the fact that I've been go go go...but I needed a break. So Even though I only drove 200 miles yesterday i stopped here, went to the mineral hot springs, near the Colorado River, next to a mountain and soaked my bones before getting all snuggly in my upgraded jacuzzi suite! Two things: one, my mother, kind lady, treated me to this hotel room tonight so I could truly relax in this last stretch homeward. Motels are fine but they wear on you eventually. This place is NICE and I feel so good here! Thanks to Mum! Two: I had the most incredible mexican food last night and a kick ass margarita to boot! I got SO FREAKING LOADED from one marg it was hilarious! I keep forgetting about the elevation thing! I was seriously drunk and thank god my hotel was a block away. Flank steak tacos rancheros with rice, beans, guacamole, homemade chopped salsa...YUM. Oh ya, and that awesome white mexican crumbly cheese: dee-lish.

OK so that's it. I'm in this awesome hotel right on the Colorado River and I have to leave soon (Noooooo!) for Utah where I'm planning on doing some hiking and then I may just be stopping in Vegas before heading home.

I can't believe I'm almost there.

Driving to Denver

2008-06-10T22:15:00.000-07:00

Let the Super 8 in Omaha not a moment too soon and set off driving for Denver. Couldn't believe the gas prices...as i listened to NPR i marvelled at the fact that i was driving TOWARDS the highest gas prices in America...in my home town, Los Angeles. Fuck.

The weather, however, was perfection. No storm clouds, no tornado sirens, not even a touch of gray. It was blue skies and 83 degrees the entire way to Denver. Oh and back to gas prices for a sec...I called david kalisher on my drive in to Denver to let him know that i was hooking up with Jenn, his good friend who offered to put me up for a night as I passed thru town...

In our phone conversation Kalisher informed me that the prices of Prius' in california were listed at about $8000 over the blue book value...and that my Honda Civic Hybrid, though purchased in october 2007, had likely not depreciated in value at all. What a revelation! This is sortof good news but that fact remains: gas is closing in on $5 a gallon in California and i don't know what I'm gonna do once I get home. Uhhhh not drive, maybe???

On this beautiful drive to Denver I finally began to listen to my last book on tape that I had brought along: Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation. Vowell is a regular contributor of This American Life and I think she's funny. Assassination Vacation is about her obsession with all things Presedential assassination...namely Lincoln, MicKinley and Garfield. The title refers to her traveling the USA going to places that have some link to these three assassinations...this is what the book documents. I'm not very far in just yet but I am enjoying it.

I had a jolt while listening to the introduction of the book...Vowel describes how she once felt really sad about the fact that Lincoln never got a chance to serve his second term and used to ponder what he would have accomplished for America...but as she researched the book she realized at some point how lucky we are that he exited at all and that it's something of a miracle that he survived as long as he did. Apparently Lincoln had an overabundance of death threats and actual botched attempts over the years. Vowell discovers that he used to keep all his death threat letters in his desk...this man was aware, and even embraced how he was loathed, how he threatened. At this point in listening I decided to turn off the audio book and turn on NPR on the car radio. The news told me that the presidential hopefuls John Mcain and Barak Obama had spent the day talking about economic policy...and I stopped listening...to hear those two names said back to back...suddenly I was hit with all that I had just heard about Lincoln. And everything started blending. My chest actually got tight. I thought to myself: will the people of America allow a man named BARACK OBAMA to be their president? Are they ready for this step. Not only is this a black man, but a highly intelligent, highly charming, good looking, educated black man whose name rings oh so Un-American (to the ignorant and hateful)

I had thought about Obama and the every-day possibility of his assassination before, this was nothing new. But his NAME struck me suddenly and I got really scared. Like the gravity of him becoming president and how HUGE that will be...it's so thrilling and terrifying too because you know (i hate to say this) that someone, somewhere is thinking, plotting something right now. Aren't they? Isn't that bloody chilling? Like Lincoln it will be a miracle if this inspiring man becomes President of the United States and survives to serve. But we must remain hopeful and ruthless in this quest (what can I do, a Canadian? -- prayer and meditation is not unhelpful I say) -- because imagine an America without Lincoln?

Filled up on gas just outside of Denver for $3.89 a gallon and woo hoo that was to be the last gas bargain I saw! Today in Glenwood Springs we're talking $4.28 a gallon and I can't wait to see what's waiting for me in LA. UGH.

I arrived in Denver and made my way to the lovely home of jenn Davidson, Kalisher's friend. I got settled in my room and then we went out to Watercourse Foods downtown. It was AWESOME! I had a huge salad with spinach and romaine and roasted portobellos, smoky tempeh, maple walnuts, sweet potatoes...it was heaven. And what I had been craving all day: healthy crunchy food! I also had a glass of this incredible organic wine from Argentina: a white called Torrontes (?) -- lord I did love it...I highly recommend it...and it's cheap too!

Jenn drove me around Denver showing me the sights. It was mind blowingly gorgeous that night, no humidity and warm but not hot. I loved the vibe in Denver alot. I was very very happy to be there!

I look forward to going back and also doing Boulder and Aspen next time too. I can't do everything, right?

Road Trip -- Heading back to LA - Shaw Festival, Chicago, Omaha

2008-06-09T22:30:00.000-07:00

I left my folks place in Brampton on Thursday June 5 and arrived in Niagara on the Lake (aka The Shaw festival) at about 10:30 pm...after letting myself in to Blair Williams' place on Ball street I found myself ready for a cocktail and went out looking for Blair. First stop: the Angel Inn Pub where sure enough Williams sat, not knowing I had arrived. We quickly made our way to Jeff Meadows' birthday party being held at Moya and Torquil's pad (aka jane johansen's house). I proceeded to get my hot little hands on a Bombay Saffire g and t and sidled up to David Jansen for some post-workshop shop talk. I began to not understand my own self...i realized in these moments talking with dear David J. that I was quite obviously REELING for the workshop, from the knowledge that we do NOT have our cast all settled and in place with contracts signed...and also reeling from what was a simply thrilling experience: workshopping one's first play with the knowledge that it is being produced in the coming months at a major theatre in Canada.

It was at that moment that I realized I needed to get high.

And it just so happened that lovely old Peter Krantz had somehow gotten his hands on some 35 year old hash oil that belonged to his Mum or aunt or someone! A joint was rolled, we piled out to the wonderful bonfire out back and after that things are a bit more blurry. Thank Christ. I was beginning to bore myself silly with my own state of discombobulation. At a certain point you just have to stop talking and realize that right now...you're a freak. You will calm down, you will become coherent...but right this second: STOP. David Jansen (god love him with his dreamy beard and his blue velvet smoking jacket) was entirely on board with everything we talked about, insisted I was making total sense and was entirely sympathetic. love that guy.

And so: post 35 year old hash oil? what did we do? Well first Jansen and I got on about some theory about what makes the British the way they are...the sense of humor, the self-depracation...and the fact that no matter how successful you are, you still maintain (or face utter rejection by the public) a very working class, no-big-deal way about yourself...you may be a gazillionaire but you just like pints down at the pub and wear jeans and tees like the rest of us...

This is not that interesting or even remotely original a thought...what WAS unique was what jansen and I got on about next, which was the coming of the fall of the AMERICAN empire...what will it do to them as a nation...what will it do to their sense of humour...once they fall? Once America is no longer #1...what will happen to all the RAH RAH? Jansen insisted that it will have a very quick affect on the american people, their humour, the pop culture. But i say pop culture is one thing (ie) seeing the hopelessness of 8 years of Bush seeping into independent cinema a la There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men and the like...but sitcom humour? Everyday people? In terms of how or IF wit will CHANGE the American personality? I say this will take longer. Much longer. the "American rah rah, we're #1 mentality is a thing of BLOOD. It is so deeply ingrained that it will take much more than America's fall from grace and ultimate power to dissolve it.

I say it is so ingrained that the people will simply not know any other way, even when faced with not being number one...they will be dragged kicking and screaming from their arrogance and their grandeur. i don't believe this shift will be a quick one. But only time will tell, yes? And by the way; i don't BLAME the American people at ALL for their arrogance and rah rah mentality. They have been fed this since day ONE. It is mothers milk and this is why it will take more than a few years (or decades even) to shake this persona. Can we say that the Brits have the sense of humour that they have mainly becuz they were the super power, they were number one and then they fell? Hard? I don't know. But it's all very interesting.

Well...that's what Jansen and I got on about (the idea of how this all will affect America's collective sense of humour is utterly fascinating to me...simply because Jansen attributed the Brit's humour to the fact that THEY had once been number one and had to face that fall and therefore this fall contributed (undoubtedly) to their sense of self, humour etc...

After all this high talk on the deck, it was HIGH time for some boogeying! And boogey i did. What a great effing feeling to be high as a kite and close your eyes and just let it all GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. It was super duper NICE.

Blair and i went back to his place, drank a bunch of water and talked more about politics before crashing. The next day I stayed with lovely Deborah Hay and my final night in NOTL i crashed at Thom Allison's place. It was a fabulous 3 nights at Shaw and I was fortunate enough to cathc some great theatre too: namely the first preview of The President (Blair's directorial debut at Shaw)!!! It was OUTSTANDING. the entire cast was spot on and I was so thrilled for Blair and Morwyn (who did the adaptation)...I really loved it and know they will have an awesome run. What a crowd pleasing, hilarious show!

On Sunday June 8 I left NOTL and drove thru the craziest tornado-thunder storm weather in Michigan and landed safe and sound in Chicago where I stayed with Miles, a friend of Belinda's...Miles is sous chef at Blackbird in Chicago (Obama ate there a couple nights before I pulled into town!!!) and is a wonderful sweet, 26 year old dreamboat...Miles likes in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago...we stayed up all night talking and having tequila & tonic and smoking weed...it was super fun and I think Miles is top notch. Yay for friends of friends who are so generous to have you over in their home!!!

That night as we talked and talked the rain continued to pour down from the sky...it was quite a day of weather and the first tornado sirens I'd ever encountered (in Michigan) -- I've always wanted to see a funnel cloud but after that day I must say, I think I'll be OK not ever seeing one.

Here is the resnt of this post in point form...what a lazy sonofabitch!

-chicago morning coffee and then on the road again and hitting another majorly insane thunderstorm torrential downpour...the craziest skies i've ever seen in my life as I drove thru Iowa...just before the downpour...seriously the most apocalyptic sky ever...the scariest, largest scale 3-D painting of an apocalyptic sky ever. I cannot even begin to do it justice...I can only say that I, a realist, had quite vivid thoughts that the sky was about to swallow me whole in some Dante-esque inferno. No jokes, no exaggerations. this sky was TERRIFYING. And then the sky in omaha...the whole freaking sKy on fire...like it was filled with orange smoke and as if it were comlpetely ON FIRE...but it was more torrential rain off in the distance and the sun as it went down lighting up the sky and sheets of rain. never seen a sky like that and then the rain hit and i was lost in Omaha looking for the stupid motel and being all pissy and exhausted and hungry. Oh ya...and my poor car was battered today by hail in iowa and the biggest raindrops ever.

-finally arrived at motel 6 whose Wi-Fi internet was down and thank god i decided this was a dealbreaker becuz apparently that motel 6 is NAS-TEE...and (not to sound like a total greasy hippy) but the energy felt really bad in there also...so I paid a bit more and went to the ever so lush: super 8 motel...tequila out of a plastic cup never tasted so good. and what is that? A lovely faint scent of urine in the air? hmmmmm

good cookies though...love the Super 8 Motel cookies!

At first, I thought i was gonna explore omaha (John Bland and a NY time article say Omaha: hot up and coming art town of America) but now I just want to leave. bright eyes and tilly and the wall notwithstanding...i simply don't have the time to find the COOL part(s) of omaha. Denver here i come.

oh ya and my camera batts are dead so ZERO pics!!!!

thought for the day: cheap tequila is like a "bad" coen brothers movie...it's still better than everything else out there so drink up.

Road Trip America! - Day 4 - Ojo Caliente and Taos, NM

2008-05-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

I will edit this post shortly...but for now bullet points:

Ojo Caliente Mineral Hot Springs (and mud bath, baking in sun) - yes yes yes.

Driving from Ojo to Taos - a bit nerverwracking...Google Maps gave incorrect information, which i have to say is unlike them and more like their ugly sister, MapQuest. Bad directions led to happy accident = viewing the Rio Grande Gorge on my way in = first time ever had real, genuine knee knocking out of fear. The pics I have are RIDICULOUS in that they don't even give you a smidgen of a hair of a taste of the enormity of this HUGE FUCKING CRACK IN THE EARTH'S SURFACE. It was insanely awesome and very scary...and very fucking windy. I think I thought I might blow off that bridge and tumble down like some suicidal person (common suicide location apparently)

Taos and staying with Mark Miller, my pal Marisa's Pop...FABULOUS! and what a view he has when you step outside his home there. Jesus P Christo!
MARK MILLER'S PLACE:

AND THE VIEW FROM HIS FRONT DOOR:

More later...look at the pics!

Road Trip America! Day 3 - Santa Fe, NM

2008-05-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Wow! I haven't had internet access for two days and so I must catch up on my travel blogging. Day 3 I exited my Wig Wam a new woman and hit the road at 7 am...Drove from Holbrook, AZ to Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I stayed at the great Sage Inn. I was super lucky to get a deal thru Priceline.com and got this fabulous room for $58 all inclusive! It even included a deluxe continental breakfast the next morning.

I checked in to my awesome hotel room and put my walking shoes on and head down to the Plaza. My first stop on the way to the Plaza was the oldest church in America (apparently), San Miguels. It was one whole dollar to go in and look around. There was alot of Christ action in that place! And after I saw this 16th century painted Buffalo hide depicting the Passion of the Christ and read that this was one of the tools used to try and get the Native Americans to convert...my interest for the oldest church in America waned and I moved on.

I had read about a great chocolate boutique in the Plaza and promptly dropped in and spent WAY too much money for what I got. I mean it was good...but come on $3 to $4 for one little chocolate! I will say that the sea salt toffee in dark chocolate and the raspberry caramel dark chocolate were almost worth what I paid for them. Oh this place was called Todos Santos Chocolates...for any of you who may be in SFNM in the near future and who have an unlimited chocolate budget.

So I walked around the Plaza, looked at the native American jewelry, unsuccessfully tried to find a Mother's Day present, looked in a few galleries...and then it was time to eat. I went to the famous Coyote Cafe, but I dined in the much less expensive rooftop Cantina part of the restaurant. I had the mole chicken tacos and a wonderful margarita. Everything was top notch. I befriended my waitress, Francesca, rather quickly and after gabbing on and on she invited me to go out for a drink with her and her co-worker after they finished their shift.

I was hoping to make a stop at the renowned Cowgirl Hall of Fame for drinks and she said that's where we'd go. So I went back to the Sage to blog and rest up and then we met up at the Cowgirl later that night. As was reported, the margaritas ARE that good there. The vibe f the place is also great because all the Santa Fe weirdos hang out there. The band that played that night was kick ass too...I really enjoyed myself and then at 11:30 pm promptly began to fall asleep like an old lady and had to bid my new friends good nite.

I have to confess, the best thing about Santa Fe, in the context of everything thus far, was that I enjoyed the most heavenly, quiet and comfy night's of sleep in a long time. This bed was one of the best I've ever slept in...and there was no one staying in any of the adjacent rooms...I felt like a queen and slept like a rock. I seriously did not move.

AWESOME SAGE INN, SANTA FE, NM

Before i went to bed, I turned on the TV and crawled in (because you can do that in hotels...you can watch TV in bed and then turn everything off without even leaving the bed! It's really COOL!!) and even though I was almost unconscious with fatigue, I got a sudden burst of energy when I discovered the movie HEAVEN was on TV. You probably haven't seen HEAVEN since no one really did. But i did. I saw it years and years ago at the Toronto Film Festival and it stars Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi and it's directed by the dude who did RUN LOLA RUN...and I remember watching that film all those years ago and during the first two thirds thinking, I don't know about this...I don't know if I dig this...and then in the last third I was like SOLD! and so when I turned on the TV that night in Santa Fe, I dismissed all my exhaustion in favour of re-watching this film that I really really like (and alot of people DO NOT...so if you're one of those people...oh well)

That's about it for Santa Fe. Oh, one last thing. I was in this photography gallery, the Monroe and I saw this limited print of an Alfred Eisenstaedt photo called Three Frames of Children at a Puppet Theatre. And I want it. I want it bad. Many people have seen this picture, though I think more people have seen the single frame version. Go online and see if you can find the three frame one and see what you think. I think this will be in my home one day and every time I look at it I will think about the year i drove across American to workshop my first play and how happy I was.

much love, y'all.

MPG for today = 48 (!!!)

Road Trip America! Day 2 - Sedona & Holbrook, AZ

2008-05-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

It’s about 5 am of Day 3. I’m sitting in my western-themed bed in my tee pee on old Route 66 in Holbrook, Arizona as I type this. They don’t have wireless internet here at the Wigwam Motel so I’m typing it and will insert it into my blog later once I get to Santa Fe. Wait a second. Did she say ‘tee pee’? Yes, dear readers, I did say tee pee. I am staying at the landmark Wigwam Motel in Holbrook…and it’s AWESOME. How have they managed to keep this place going and not let it turn into something overly cute, or overly kitchsy and horrific? I’d say it has everything to do with the fact that the Motel is run by the odd eccentric son of the man who built this place in the 50s. I was standing in the old wood registration area waiting to check in...and there was just me and the other guy checking in. It was quite obvious that I was there. And John (aforementioned eccentric 50ish year old son of Wig Wam originator) was giving the run down to the guy checking in...I heard every word. And when i checked in seconds later he gave me the exact same speech (the one I'd already heard) word for word, same inflections, same puns and same fake chuckles that followed. He had this look in his eye like he could snap at any minute. But was also the nicest man you'll ever meet. Creepy but lovely: my favourite combination! The “wig wams” are all original…though some need a new paint job, like mine, #14. The furniture inside (save the new FABULOUSLY comfortable beds and the new TVs) is ALL the original furniture from the 50s. There are cars from the 50s parked outside every wig wam and the main office where you check in is filled with items from John’s Dad’s collection from the 50s…lots of petrified wood (the Petrified National Forest is close by). I love this place so much and I wish that you can all stay here at one point in your life. I was kinda sad to leave it this morning at 7 am! But I’m getting ahead of myself! Yesterday was spent almost entirely in and around Sedona, Arizona…and for anyone who has been there before, you probably have some idea of what I am going to say. Sedona is so beautiful and breathtaking and overwhelming that it is hard to put into words. I’ve typed a sentence over and over here because everything is wrong. I keep deleting what I’ve typed. Because Sedona is that which cannot be named…some call it GOD, the energy, the divine, the universe. Sedona is God. Everywhere you look there it is: something so blessed and divine that it cannot be named or described.…and of course this is everywhere all around us at all times! But we have a harder time seeing it in our daily lives, don’t we? One feels it so strongly here. It is truly an overwhelming experience. To have so much pure love and positive energy coming at you from the Earth and the air all at once….all I can say is thank you. I started my day hiking at Bell Rock, a major vortex, very spiritual place. Once I got to the base of Bell Rock I saw some hikers climbing up it’s base a bit and decided to do the same. I got quite far up the base and climbed in a tiny nook and planted myself on a secluded area way high up. I lied on the rock and felt it with my hands. Why did it feel SO good? I didn’t know. But it did. And I stayed there for a while, meditating and soaking it all up. After a while I said my prayer to the divine and all the spirits and sages that were there with me…I was so grateful. I then moved on to Cathedral Rock. This is a hike that is marked as “strenuous” and I was all like hmmm, I wonder what they mean by strenuous? Is this an American fast Food version of strenuous (OK, my ego was definitely in check) – I was thinking, I hike Runyon Canyon and Griffith frequently…I’m sure it’s not all that bad. And it wasn’t. But it was tough. And scary. And incredibly challenging to mind as well as to my body. I mean, I was rock climbing, y’all! I had never done a hike/climb like this before! I went HIGH! Like REALLY BLOODY HIGH. When I reached the top I was looking around going I almost can’t believe I did this. It was pretty dumbfounding. And then of course you have to climb down. My ego definitely wanted all my friends and family to see me do this climb…I think I dreamed of a head-mounted mini-cam more than once. THIS is how high I climbed!!! -------------> So after this authentically strenuous climb it was definitely time for lunch. I ended up at this darling little hippie chick joint called the Bliss Raw Café (or the Raw Bliss Café). There I had a meal of 100% raw foods, including there version of a raw pizza. It was heaven. For dessert I had what they called a Magic Mystical Healing bar…which had raw dark chocolate, sweetened with pure agave and filled with herbs and spices and goji berries…it was also unbelievably delicious! I topped my meal off with a 10 minute pick me up oxygen session in their oxygen bar. I was feeling quite sleepy there and after the oxygen ($10 for 10 mins) I felt quite refreshed and ready for more. “More” ended up being walking around uptown Sedona, looking in shops, having an iced coffee at a café with a view so spectacular that you can hardly believe you’re sitting there drinking a coffee! You’re like WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? I left Sedona around 5 pm and drove up 89 which was (again) so effing beautiful. I craned my head trying to see it all. The red rocks gave way to pine trees and rich greenery climbing up up all around me. Then there was oak Creek, so gorgeous with it’s white smooth stones and rushing waters. It was a sight to behold and be grateful for. I found myself thanking this earth over and over again. At one point I remember thinking I wanted to justget out of my car and go lie on the rocks, just curl up there like a little baby…and it was my mother. It was such a clear vision, such a clear desire in me to do this. That’s because this is our mother. This divinity, this earth, this energy…we are all of it too. Me and the rocks and the earth are all made of the same stardust, we know each other. It was so clear and so powerful. I’m grateful I could feel and accept all the love that was there for me.

I continued my drive along the I-40, heading East towards Holbrook. I loved that drive! It was only another hour but the speed limit was 75 and I sang at the top of my lungs, loving every minute of it! I thought to myself, so many people said to me about this trip, “well, it would be nice to do it with someone…” and I never really agreed with them. But last night I REALLY didn’t agree with them. I had an incredible day with myself and with the earth and that which cannot be named but some call God, yesterday. I got in my car with all my stuff spread out everywhere, with my music and all my joy and love…and I got to sing out! I sang and sang and I would not have done that had I been with someone. I wouldn’t have had the talks with myself that I had or been as goofy, talking to the earth and the animals all the time…I would have had a different experience and THIS is the experience I want. I am overflowing with happiness and love and spirit. And most of all I think: Gratitude. Sat Nam/This is Truth.

Road Trip America - Day 1

2008-05-06T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hello There!

I have now been awake for 17 hours. I am hanging on by a thread...eye sight is blurry, typing impaired...but I am happy as Gordon Ramsey in Backwards Land. Huh? OK, that was lame. Admission: hell's kitchen is playing on the tv in my motel room.

Let me start from the beginning. I woe up at 4 am today...much to my chagrin. My alarm was set for 4:30 am but I woke up at 4:00 am and was SO excited, nervous, anxious, wired...that I simply could not go back to sleep but also could not got up. I lied there for almost a half hour and my stomach just ached with nerves.

I finally got up, got my crap all organized and was in the car, taking off at 5:30 am...the first thing that rocked on this journey were all these wind thingies...don't even know where that was...but see pic...it was very cool and eerie. It was like I was in some weird futuristic movie...you know where alternative energy is the norm and everyone plugs their cars in at night.

I tried to take a pic while driving...let's see how it turns out.

Ya, that was dangerous. I maybe shouldn't do that anymore.

Oh, I guess I should tell you WHY I am driving across America all the way to Toronto...going to do a workshop of my play, them & us. I'm really really excited and amazed and overwhelmed about the whole thing and I want to tell you more but it's 9:07 pm and I am barely awake...so more on the workshop later.

I will say this about the rest of my day today: Joshua Tree National Park (my first visit) was (as expected) beautiful and so much fun. All those lizards and rocks! YAY!!

But nothing, not even the majesty of JT (joshua tree, not justin timberlake), holds a candle to the drive up I-17 in Arizona. This was one of the most incredible, gorgeous drives I have ever made. At one point, I couldn't stop saying "So, gorgeous, Oh my god, its' so beautiful!" and yes, I even got a little choked up.

Nope, don't have pics of that. It was a very intense drive and it went from 86 degrees to 55 degrees very fast...and it started pouring rain too.

This was the highlight of my day today...and now I am off to bed, dear readers. I'm at The View Motel in Cottonwood, Arizona. What a great sign!

Favourite quote from today: in Joshua Tree I kept saying hello to every lizard that came across my path (which was alot). I'd say "Hello, Lizard!" and "Hello, Lizard!" and "Hello, Lizard!" and at one point I said to a lizard, "Gee, I hope you don't mind me calling you all the same thing. I don't want to give the impression that I think you all look alike. You're very distinct, I promise you"

MPG for Day 1: 43

2007 - WE HARDLY KNEW YA

2007-12-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

films i loved and it's too bad if you didn't:

1. Into The Wild
2. The Host
3. No Country For Old Men
4. Eastern Promises
5. Broken English
6. The Darjeeling Limited
7. Superbad
8. The Lives of Others
9. The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
10. Sicko

film you must see at any cost:

1. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (this is the first time in my life that i actually needed...NEEDED a drink when the film was over. i have never felt so afeared in a theatre.)

movies that i really liked despite being flawed or whatever:

1. 2 Days in Paris
2. Knocked Up
3. The Savages
4. Lars and the Real Girl
5. Talk to Me
6. After The Wedding

good god great performances:

1. Julie Christie & Gordon Pinsent - Away From Her
2. Emile Hirsch - Into The Wild
3. Molly Shannon - Year of The Dog
4. Parker Posey - Broken English
5. Craig Robinson was brilliant as the bouncer who doesn't let the girls in the club...this was (with the Las Vegas hotel room scene running a close second) the best scene in Knocked Up.

6. Margo Martindale - Paris, Je T'aime
7. Ryan Gosling - Lars & The Real Girl
8. Don Cheadle - Talk to Me
9. Thomas Turgoose - This Is England
10. Hal Holbrook in Into The Wild

11. Keri Russell in Waitress
12. Jennifer Garner was wonderful in the over-hyped and trying-way-too-hard Juno
13. Timothy Spall in the grossly over-praised mistake that is Sweeney Todd.
14. Nicole Kidman's forehead in Margot at The Wedding...for never confessing a single emotion that may or may not have been rippling through the actress. methinks the actress is the dramatic equivalent of george thorogood's band, the luckiest bar band in history.

movies i am truly upset for having sat thru:

1. The Bourne Ultimatum (having never seen any of the previous Bourne offerings & not caring to, this was a stupid mistake and one i take almost full responsibility for. the remaining responsibility lies with my friend lou who really should have known better)
2. Sweeney Todd (I know this piece of operetta-musical genius inside & out and therefore should have known better than to go and witness an aging Edward Scissorhands eviscerate one of the greatest musicals of all time. but nothing could have prepared me for tim burton's offensive omission of the greek-chorus-like presence and harmonizations that the townsfolk of london are supposed to supply. you sir, are a dick.)
3. Charlie Wilson's War (ya ya ya ya we get it. Horrible)

trailers i wish i could've missed:

1. Across The Universe
2. The Heartbreak Kid
3. The Number 23

movies i haven't seen yet and therefore am sad:

1. There Will Be Blood
2. I'm Not There
3. Michael Clayton
4. No End In Sight
5. Grindhouse
6. 28 Weeks Later
7. I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With
8. Ratatouille
9. My Kid Could Paint That
10. Persepolis
11. Rescue Dawn
12. The Band's Visit

The Darjeeling Limited: Sept 29, 2007

2007-08-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

The Darjeeling Limited, Wes Anderson's new quirk-love-music extravaganza of cinematic pleasure, opens on September 29 here in LA and I have to say, I'm pretty damn excited.

Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman play estranged brothers who travel to India on a spiritual journey and to remember what it is to be brothers again. There might also be something in their about scattering their dead father's ashes, but I'm not entirely sure.

I'm in love with the trailer. Hence, I am posting my first trailer! See below! How thrilling! You Tube and Blogger make it all so GD easy. You must watch the trailer now and tell me what you think. OK, well, read the rest of this post first.

Why am I such a sucker for Anderson's movies, with their pitch perfect use of music and their intoxicating color schemes, wicked cinematography...he's just so delicious, isn't he? I liken Anderson's movies to a colorful confection that proves so much more complex after you take a bite. Like it looks like some turquoise and fuschia marzipan but then you begin eating it and you realize that it's layers of cake and whipped cream laced with Madagascar vanilla; there's chocolate covered cherries with hints of cardomom. Chewy morsels of...is that turkish delight?? Your eyes and mouth are ablaze. You don't know whether to laugh or cry...and suddenly you are left with the most fulfilling of aftertastes. Ahhhh Anderson.

tee hee hee.

Oh and I'm certain I'm not the only one with a weakness for sibling stories...You Can Count on Me, Ma Saison Preferee...and the upcoming The Savages with Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman...which looks like it could be quite good or meh. We'll have to see.

What are your favourite 'sibling' movies? What am I forgetting??

OK, now go watch the trailer!

The Darjeeling Limited trailer

2007-08-20T15:55:00.001-07:00

FEMALE-WIELDED CINEMATICS!

2007-08-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Get a pen and paper and see these female-directed movies. I haven't seen all these but I'm working on it!

Out in theatres NOW:

Waitress - the late Adrienne Shelley is not around to see her directorial debut find an audience and hold them close. It's a damn shame...we'll never get to see all the wonderful wacky pictures Shelley had in store for us. See it!

Talk To Me - This movie looks real good and it's getting great reviews! Kasi Lemmons directs Don Cheadle in this true tale of popular DC radio personality and civil rights activist Ralph "Petey" Greene. 80% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes guys! See it!

Broken English - Zoe Cassavetes wee film is getting mixed reviews but my friends really liked it...Parker Posey is supposedly getting better and better with age! Some say Zoe has inherited some of her Dad's unflinching honesty. Ya!

2 Days in Paris - I'm dying to see this Julie Delpy-helmed movie. It stars Delpy and the truly edible Adam Goldberg. 83% Fresh on RT!!!

**Update 08/21/07: Just saw 2 Days in Paris at the Sunset 5 in Hollywood...There is a lot of good stuff in this movie. Adam Goldberg is SO good. I love that Delpy has crafted a truly annoying, troubled girl in her Marion character. I laughed out loud several times. There are a bunch of problems but I still really liked it and I think Delpy's saying some interesting stuff about Americans & Parisians and her own personal connection to both. I also LOVE that Delpy has a regular woman's body! And her hair is always frizzy and she barely wears any make up in the film! It sounds so silly for me to point this out but it really is cool. I don't know how many films this gal's got in her but I was inspired and I laughed and I wanted to bang Goldberg and this is all a good thing. Recommended!

The 11th Hour - No, it's not a Canadian television series...it's the Leonardo Dicaprio-produced doc on the global environmental crisis we are in RIGHT. NOW. Co-directed by the I-assume-awesome Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Petersen.

And COMING SOON don't forget to catch these flicks too!

The Nanny Diaries - co-directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the folks who brought us American Splendor, which I loved. OK, so TND isn't getting the best advance press...but hey if you loved the book...?

Deep Water - This documentary (about the disastrous round-the-world yacht race of 1968) may not sound like your cup of tea at first glance...But people, I must tell you the word is VERY GOOD. Supposed to be quite gripping! Co-Directed by Louise Osmond & Jerry Rothwell.

The Jane Austin Book Club - Written and Directed by Screenwriter Robin Swicord (Memoirs of a Geisha), this movie is about six Californians who start a club to discuss the works of Jane Austen, only to find their relationships -- both old and new -- begin to resemble 21st century versions of her novels. Stars the great great Emily Blunt, Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman and, unfortunately for us, Maggie Grace. What do you think?

Across the Universe - OK. Many people are really looking forward to Julie Taymor's latest flick which incorporates and is based around the music of The Beatles. Honestly, I'm super thrilled that Taymor EXISTS in the world and takes risks and is an auteur and very much her own artist...and YES, many people will ADORE and slide down a rainbow with joy upon seeing this movie. I hope they do! That being said the trailer for this film elicits the deepest of grumblings from my belly...and not the good kind of grumblings that say "ooohhh I'm hungry! Hungry for this movie!" The grumblings are more akin to way-expired dairy products and over-cooked romanticism churning and preparing themselves to blow out my ass. Of course this is all coming from someone who LOATHED Moulin Rouge. Across the Universe is already surrounded by controversy as studio head Joe Roth has gone and made his own cut of the movie and started running test screenings! This begs the question: will Taymor take her name off the film if his cut makes the...cut?

And finally....

Things We Lost In The Fire - one of my favourite filmmakers, Denmark's Susanne Bier (Brothers, Open Hearts) makes her Hollywood/English language film debut with TWLITF, starring Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro. I will see anything this woman makes but I have to say, I'm a bit uneasy with Berry's presence.

If you've never seen a Susanne Bier movie, treat yourself TONIGHT. Track her down...find Brodres(Brothers) or Open Hearts or last year's After The Wedding. She's an inspiration, a joy, a kick in the face, a brilliant, wondrous filmmaker.

And just because you've still got that pen and paper handy...have you seen these OUTSTANDING films which just so happen to be directed by women?

Europa, Europa - Agnieszka Holland (see ALL her films!)
An Angel at My Table - Jane Campion (one of my all time faves)
Walking and Talking - Nicole Holofcener (Her first film...so good!)
Vendredi Soir(Friday Night) - Clair Denis (This film is HOT)
Hysterical Blindness - Mira Nair (Uma and Juliette Lewis=awesome)
The Ballad of Jack & Rose - Rebecca Miller (Really moving)

Support Women in Film.
If you're a woman, write something and shoot it.
Let's tell our stories, bitches!
(just kidding, ladies)

love,

Tracy

The Secret Life of Words and My Hormones

2007-08-13T14:21:00.000-07:00

The Secret Life of Words is the latest film by Spanish writer/director Isabel Coixet (My Life Without Me). I rented this and you can too. As per usual I won't say much...which is key because I didn't know much going in and that was extremely beneficial. I really like this movie. I am thinking about it a lot today, the day after watching it. People seem kind of split on it though...and I understand why. It's not easy. But it's also not breathtakingly perfect. It's has it's flaws. Rotten Tomatoes rating is 71% Fresh...the same percentage as Cold Mountain and Girl with a Pearl Earring (just to give you an idea)...but Secret's rating is based on a total of 34 reviews (US and Canadian). Pearl Earring (not a huge movie by any means) had 166 reviews counted by Rotten Tomatoes and 49 of them were rotten while 117 were raves. Of Secret's 34 reviews, 24 were glowing while 10 were pans. Not bad at all.

So Secret obviously had a very limited release (in fact it's still being released-- according to imdb.com the film was just released in New Zealand and it was filmed back in 2004!

Oh and one last bit of trivia for you...the film has over 2000 votes on imdb.com with an average user rating of 7.5 out of 10. This is quite impressive for a little film, I must say.

So why should you see this film? Well, it's staying with me and that's always a good sign. It is slow to start so be aware. You have to stick with it. Such wonderful performances. It really knocks you on your ass when everything comes out. It's important to hear these things now. Man's inhumanity to man, our loneliness, our inability to reach out, our deep deep sadness...it's universal and it should bring us together and not isolate us further.

Please seek out The Secret Life of Words...it's worthy of your attention. Sarah Polley and Tim Robbins are stellar and the lives of the supporting cast are key to the film as well....really nice.

Now....what about my hormones???

Oh man. It's fun being in my thirties. But I must say I think about sex ALOT now. It's funny. I think to myself...is this what being a man is like? Am I getting closer and closer to having a dick each and every day?

That's all.

Just went upstairs to tell my neighbor above me that if he could keep the intense banging down on my ceiling that would be great. He invited me in and wanted to know what he could do. I told him it was the heavy walking and when he got excited listening to music the banging with his feet on the floor (my ceiling) was a bit crazy-making. He seemed cool if a bit medicated...it came out that I was writing downstairs
"Oh, you're a writer. Do you like prose?"
"Um...well, that's not really my thing...I write plays and television stuff"
"Oh that's cool! I'm am actor!"
"Oh really?"
"Do you like Edgar Allen Poe?"
"Um...ya he's good. He's not my favorite..."
My neighbor stares at me. Just stares. His eyelids begin to drop a little over his eyes.
"I'm sure he's great though....OK, well thanks Kareem...I'll see you later"
As he saw me off, he told me I should get extra "cool" points today for coming up and talking to him about the noise...and that I should write about it in my journal. I sure hope that was a weed pipe I saw on my way out the door.

peace, darlins

Once the movie

2007-08-02T12:31:00.001-07:00

I love this film. It's small, quiet, haunting, joyous. It is so full to bursting with love that it's almost hard to stand. Please see it. The music is gorgeous as is the acting. It has a 97% Fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes.com and out of all the reviews in the western world, three sad saps panned the movie...I feel bad for them and their cold cold hearts.

This gorgeous little film won the world cinema audience award at Sundance this year and is wowing people the world over. I don't like to talk too much about plot here but I will say that since I have not written boo on my blog since March you know I'm really feeling this movie. In fact, the night I saw it here in LA (at the Arclight) I wasn't really looking forward to spending $13 to see a fillum. But frugal old me was soon won over and forgot about money altogther. Wowsers, you say? Yep. Go see it now!

If you live in LA you can catch ONCE at the Sunset 5 or at the Landmark West LA.

If you live in Toronto you can catch it tonight at the Cumberland or as of tomorrow at the good old Carlton.

Michael Haneke's CACHE

2007-03-06T12:37:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers...I am sick. I am about to head back to bed and sleep some of this shit out. But I wanted to write about this movie before I forget about it. But I wonder if I'll ever forget about it. It is one of the most haunting, compelling, sickening and beautiful movies I've seen. I worship this film and I urge you to add it to your wish list.

Had dinner this week with Katie Lowes (at the awe-inspiring, sensual resto OPUS on Wilshire---GO GO GO) and we hadn't seen each other in about a month and had lots to catch up on: auditions (Katie's already tested twice this pilot season!!), new boys, old boys, old boys who became new boys, sex and all it's delicious trappings...and then out of the blue at the tail end of the evening, I ask KL if she's seen the French film CACHE. Well she had and this started a whirlwind of overloud explosives and hushed, hands-over-face remembrances of this subtle yet blazing hot film.

FUCK do I love this film. I don't even want to say anything about it since I didn't know anything when I watched it (except that it starred Daniel Auteuil (i love you i love you i love you) and Juliette Binoche)---I hesitate to say anything except this is probably the best film of 2005 though it wasn't released until January 2006 in the States. It won Best Film at the European Film awards (beating out major contender and Cannes winner L'Enfant) and at Cannes Haneke took Best Director...I love this quote I found: The Guardian's notoriously hard to impress Peter Bradshaw gave the film an outstanding review and 5 out of 5 stars, describing it as "one of the great films of this decade" and "Haneke's masterpiece"

From start to finish I was riveted and through it all I found myself making discoveries, being ripped apart to devastating affect...cringing at it's truth and Haneke's brilliance (not to mention those two fucking actors!)

Katie and I agreed (loudly, I'm sure) that the performances in the film were so bloody good, flawless really, but it wasn't an actors film. It was the film. It was the piece of art that we watched unfold that made this film what it was. Which I don't know, may be rare. Often I point out the acting or the writing that made the movie for me...not here. It was simply the movie itself.

Please rent it, add it to your Netflix queue and be prepared for a not-easy ride. It is gruesome and it delves deep and yet it is mind-blowingly simple.

Not a popcorn film.

Love,

Tracy

You MUST see this movie

2007-02-27T12:35:00.000-08:00

This is my number one hands down favourite movie of the past year. Yes, better than The Departed, better than Pan's Labyrinth and better than The Lives of Others. It opens in limited release on March 9 so please see it. And if you can resist watching the trailer or reading much about it beforehand I would say that's a good idea.

Check Out My Website!

2007-02-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

www.tracydawson.com

Oscar night in Hollywood

2007-02-26T08:59:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's been a while and I thought today is the day! After all that happened at last night's Oscars I am compelled to update my blog with all the wonderful goings-on of my life and the life that I observe around me.

First off: MARTIN SCORSESE FINALLY WON!

Hopefully this makes up for the fact that Dances With Wolves beat out Goodfellas in 1990. But really how could it? Raging Bull being beat out by the tear-soaked Ordinary People? That's gotta still smart. Back in '90 I of course was just a young lass of 17 who worshipped at the feet of Costner and I truly creamed myself with joy when his little Indian-Picture-that-could won. Now I look back and think: Are you fucking kidding me? It's way worse than Pacino winning for Scent of a Woman. WAY.

But let us focus on the near perfection that is The Departed. I saw this movie in Los Angeles at the Mann's Chinese 6 with Mary Pat Farrell. We were both beside ourselves with anxiety for much of the film. It was exhausting. It was exhilarating. When I say near perfect I mean it: we could only come up with one thing that stood out as a bit troubling in the storytelling: what was in the yellow envelope? Never explained. Never addressed. Only we have to jump a couple of steps and say, well obviously it was all this information about Damon and obviously Dicaprio had instructed her to take it to Wahlberg if and when he became one of the departed (you like that?). But the thing is...usually we get some sort of indication...we don't usually have to piece it all together without even a little showy showy. Anyway: minor minor minor complaint. I fucking loved this film, I loved Leonardo in it and don't know what the fuck all this Blood Diamond shit is about and I LOVE that Martin Scorsese finally won his mother fucking Oscar and for such a kick as film! Some say it "unravelled" at the end and they just killed everybody and I have two things to say to those people: "Fuck Off" and "Hamlet".

So last night I'm watching the Oscars at the Highland Gardens hotel on Franklin Avenue here in LA. My friend Kristen Hager (fabulous young actress soon to be seen in the Bob Dylan bio-pic I'm Not There opposite Cate Blanchett) lives at the Highland Gardens right now and the HG is quite popular amongst Canuck actors who come into town for pilot season. It was quite a mellow night at the HG, considering it's usually overrun with young bearded assholes who think they're Ryan Gosling waiting to be discovered.

The thing I could not get over was the fact not only was I in town for the Oscars (first time...last year I had just arrived in frigid Halifax to do a couple episodes of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and watched the program in my apartment-hotel with some way over-priced Thai take out and a sad sappy face that said: this is the most boring Oscars EVER)--

so here I was last night, not only in town but down the fucking street from the Oscars! Los Angeles was kind of a mad house yesterday...every bloody cop who ever took a shift, who ever took a cop class, even the ones on suspension were working yesterday. Mainly guarding streets that were shut down and designated as a limo-only zone. I stopped at the Trader Joe's to pick some tequila, limes and nibblies before heading to Kristen's and it was INSANE. I have never seen the TD's like this. It wasn't this busy before the Superbowl or Thanksgiving! And that is when I said: this is where you live. A town where at 3 pm on a Sunday the Trader Joe's was running out of beer and those mushroom pastry appetizers I love because the Oscars were starting in two hours.

Yes, the Oscars start at 5:30 here because of the time difference so I was drunk when it was still light out. We had a great time. We did a last minute Oscar poll and Kristen and her man James tied for first (I came in next -- I picked Pan's Labyrinth over The Lives of Others for best foreign film! -- both of these films are my top picked for the year and it was so hard to think which would win!)

Overall, I'd have to say the Oscars started off pretty great with the honoring of the nominees and that insanely hilarious song from Will Ferrell, Jack Black and John C. Reilly...and the montage sequences for Foreign Films (and the odd and obligatory montage of American films--what was that??)--they seemed to put some thought into making the top of the show flashy and fun to help us recover from the fact that they are no longer handing out the supporting actor and actress awards at the top of the show...something they used to do, I suppose, to get people focused and whet their appetite a bit for the big awards that weren't gonna be handed out for another THREE hours.

I didn't mind the change but man, that middle section was brutal, wasn't it? Oh for the days of the Debbie Allen-choreographed dance sequence!

So what else? I'm living in Echo Park, which is not far from downtown LA and not far from Hollywood either. My neighborhood is right next to Silverlake, which is one of the cool, hip neighborhoods. We like to think that Echo Park is so cool and upcoming that it is infact the coolest. All my neighbours, save a few, are Mexican. I love it. The sounds and smells of my building and my neighborhood are unlike anything I've lived in before. I eat so much freaking Mexican food, I'm starting to think my corn intake is way too high.

I love it here. I'm subletting from a young female filmmaker/artist named Crystal and she is coming back from out of town in less than three weeks and I'm gonna have to figure out what I am doing for the next month or two. At this point I don't really know if/when I am heading back to Toronto: waiting to hear April 1st if my play, Them & Us got in to the Summerworks Theatre Festival. Idon'twanttothinkaboutthissoIamchangingthe subject. UGH.

Since coming to LA I have been lucky enough to live in West Hollywood, Hollywood proper, Silverlake and now Echo Park. I REALLY want to live in Los Feliz...the coolest neighborhood ever (as far as I can see)--actually Silverlake, Los Feliz and Echo Park are all kind of nestled together on the east side and right near the 101 highway.

My pal Marya and I went to the Los Feliz 3 cinema on Friday night and finally saw Pan's Labyrinth and I loved it so much I can't wait to see it again. I think my favourite movies of 2006 are: THE DEPARTED, PAN'S LABYRINTH, THE LOVES OF OTHERS, THE HOST (GWOEMUL).

I also loved Spike Lee's Inside Man alot but it was Lee's When the Levees Broke that made one of the biggest impressions on me this past year. If anyone is reading this I must urge you to rent it and marvel in it's mastery and poetry and humanity and tragedy. It is art and it should be required viewing (for the US government anyway)

So I'm here in LA...should be at my actor audition camp this morning but I've taken the morning off! Just had to sleep and now I'm gonna make a kick ass breakfast, run, take my recycling to the depot (ya, you have to haul it over and get your money...I want my five cents!) and then tonight I have a casting workshop...this is where a casting director comes and pairs up actors and gives them scenes from shows they work on and you get ten minutes to work on it with your partner and then you do them for the CD and then they remember you and call you in for jobs. It's a very cool situation here and it there are alot of them. I was super lucky to get in on one where you a)don't have to audition just to attend and b)don't have to pay some initiation fee just to attend...I just pay per workshop. And I hear ALL THE TIME that people get called in for auditions and book jobs from these workshops...so here I am doing my bit!

I've gone in for some good pilots: one from the guy who created My Name Is Earl, one from Mitch Hurwitz (who created Arrested Development)...Oh and I was really fortunate to get an audition for Curb Your Enthusiasm (the audition is you go in and improvise with Larry-------HELLO.) so that was insanely intense and amazingly fun.

I must bid farewell loveys. I will try and not wait so long to write stuff here. It really was a shame I let it go so long.

KEEP THE FAITH, ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT, EXPECT THAT IT IS COMING.

love, Tracy

2006-05-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

Friends With Money, Women with Roles

2006-05-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

April 18, 2006

Last night Lisa Norton and I went out to see FRIENDS WITH MONEY, the new film by Nicole Holofcener starring Jen Aniston, Fran McDormand, Joan Cusack and are old friend Cath Keener.
Okay. It is not like this is the best film of the year or that it was groundbreaking in any way. Except that it rocked my world. And I feel that it is an important movie for me, an aging actress, and my friends who are also aging actresses to see. Now to be sure, when I say aging actresses I mean that we are from the moment we stop playing 16-22 year olds are aging actresses. I mean that it's something we face everyday and have to accept and understand and that life for the work-seeking actress is often different than the life of the work-seeking actor.
Don't know if I'm making sense here.
Frances McDormand is thrilling in this role. She is playing the very angry woman here and a lesser actress would likely have found herself in a very tricky predicament: an audience full of people who just want her to shut up. But dear Frannie makes us want to shake her, and want to understand her and she's vulnerable and blocked and in pain. It's fucking fabulous. But in addition to this complex character, who is interesting and funny and REAL...Frances McDormand was photographed much of the movie without any make up and with quite visible lines on her face. OK, so this shouldn't be shocking or novel enough to actually mention, but it is. And you know it is. Joan Cusack was also so fucking good in this movie and she (I'm sorry to say it this way) looked even worse than McDormand. But they didn't "look bad" or worse or whatever! They looked gorgeous and real and it was addictive watching them.
So yes, I found myself (and Lisa sadly agreed) staring at Joan, who is in possibly the best shape she's ever been in (that I've seen anyway), and I'm thinking WOW, she doesn't care that her face is big on the screen like this all wrinkly and kind of old looking? And then another voice comes in and says, shut your fucking whole you brain washed dim wit. And that was that. But the first voice was there. Definitely there. Because there is so much shame in growing old for sassy young actresses I think. Oh we have to be forever "desirable", forever young, flirty and yes, FUCKABLE.
But the fact remains, this movie is about women, who have stories, who have complicated realities. And it is so SO important for actresses to see this movie I think and see women of a certain age, up there telling some of their/our stories.
Jennifer Aniston, while it is impossible to believe that she is the one friend who loathes any form of exercise, I think she does a very good job here as the depressed, somewhat sociopathic, pot head, Olivia. I believed her. But it's hard to just put a brown rinse on your hair and then say look how pathetic I am. Her performance is good but I was simply blown away by the older actresses who clearly have more chops.
I don't have a grade for this movie because it was a highly personal experience. I don't even know if I am articulating myself the way I want to...I'll go to bed and see later how I did.

C.R.A.Z.Y like a Frog

2006-05-09T20:03:00.000-07:00

April 22, 2006

Oh Goodness me. I can't believe how long it took me to see the awesome French Canuck film C.R.A.Z.Y.
When me and the Ex were in Montreal last summer we heard about this film that people were going mad for in Quebec...we said to ourselves we should totally go to a screening with no subtitles and see how much we can follow. Well, now that I have seen it I know that we would have loved it and loved watching it sans subtitres.
But alas, we didn't catch it way back then. But man, am I happy to have seen it at all. This movie is delicious. I want every Canadian to see it! My mother is French Canadian and so I identify myself as half-french (I'm not bilingual so I am lame). These characters did remind me of my French family in some ways. Basically I'm talking about the oh what would I call it....the DRAMA. There has been and is currently a lot of drama in my French families life. And truth be told there's been a lot of drama in the White Protestant side of my family too, but that drama is slow, silent and not talked about. French drama is about volume. It is brash, with family feuds and deep resentments that are brought up loudly at any right or wrong time. I kind of love it. I love that my passion and melodrama comes from that part of me. Not to mention the performer in me. The girl who, like the family in CRAZY, would take any opportunity to get up and perform for my relatives. I would never have done this in front of my Father's side of the family.
But the other side of this exhilarating melodrama is the annoying fact that no one can just relax, enjoy, take a deep breath and be. This doesn't seem possible for my French family. And sometimes it bugs the crap out of me.
But back to the film. There was nothing about this film that bugged the crap out of me! The performances by the lead young man and his parents were outstanding and worthy of all the awards that have been bestowed upon them. The cinematography is gorgeous. The art direction breathtaking. I cannot praise this movie enough. I am incredibly proud that it is from Canada and I wonder why Anglo Canadian filmmakers don't seem capable to make such accessible, beautiful, hilarious, moving films? Sorry but it's true. I mean I love Bruce Sweeney movies (Vancouver director, smart, hilarious.) but no one I know has really heard of him. His great last film, The Last Wedding, was in 2001 and no one I know has seen it! And it's very very good. I highly recommend it. Fucking funny, man. Thank goodness he's finally in pre-production for another movie.
OK, but back to my point. Why are Anglo Canadians known for slow moving art films? How many Americans know that History of Violence is a Canadian film? Is it a Canadian film? Does the Director being Canadian mean a film is automatically considered Canadian? I wonder. This would be a good topic for discussion if anyone was actually reading this.
I just went to IMDB and History of Violence is listed as an American film. Not even a Canadian co-pro. Hmmmm. It was filmed entirely in Canada but it was supposed to be America. All the main actors are American. The budget was 32 million (doesn't sound like a Canadian film at all, does it?). Atom Egoyan's last film Where The Truth Lies is listed as a Canada/UK/USA co-pro. It's budget was 25 million and it had some Canadians playing major roles. It's made about a million dollars. Oops. History has made 32 million in USA alone. CRAZY was made for 6.5 million! And it looks incredible. Now, I know you didn't have any big time American movie stars to pay and that alone will save you some serious dough. IMDB says it's only made around 6 million in Canada. But you know what folks? The majority of that box office money was made in ONE PROVINCE. That's pretty fucking amazing. And you know how much money Where The Heart Is made in Ontario? Ya, well, you get my point. Oh and here's something very eye opening: CRAZY opened in Quebec in May 2005. And it's still playing in theatres. Ya.
Even Egoyan's film didn't last more than a blip in the Toronto theatres. Why? Because people didn't like it. Small English language Canadian films that are good last one week generally in Toronto theatres. Unless NOW magazine, the Globe and The Sun do some MASSIVE glowing review that makes everyone put aside their fear and contempt of Canadian cinema to go and check out the movie...which then may lead to the theatre managers keeping it around for a little while longer. OK, let's check out what Anglo Can films are playing in Toronto right now....
Thom Fitzgerald's '3 Needles' is playing at Canada Square (but I'm gonna guess not for long): " But the funereal pace and slack writing keep letting you down. The great performers (Lucy Liu! Sandra Oh! Stockard Channing!) never get to do much and are upstaged by the scenery, but it's almost worth seeing for Channing's unsuccessful attempt at a Quebecois accent as the mother of a porn actor (X-Men's Shawn Ashmore)." (NOW Magazine). Again we have big American movie stars, bad material and a film-going public who will be disappointed yet again.
Amnon Buchbinder's WHOLE NEW THING. This movie is getting some very good press. I will be going to see it. But it suffers such a common fate of Anglo-can films. It's playing at the Carlton. It's been there for two weeks now and here's hoping it will stay even longer! I guess that means I should see it tonight or tomorrow. OK, done.
The Rocket, a french Canadian film about great NHLer Rocket Richard is playing at what looks to be all the theatres in the Toronto area! It's been playing in Quebec since November and now it's finally coming to the rest of the country. This film is also getting great press and it's glorious that it has such a wide release. Hockey movie in Canada...fabulous! Something that appeals to the masses. A great work of art that is entertaining, fun, educational, exhilarating. And made once again by the French. FUCK. Why can't we make some kick ass entertaining Anglo movies in this country and get some OOMPH behind them so they are not stuck with a sort shelf life at the fucking Carlton. or Canada Square?
Speaking of which, I just found another Anglo-can film playing in Toronto at the Carlton. It's called Pure, directed by Jim Donovan who mostly works in TV. It gets a pretty good review in the NOW but it's not glowing. And you know, I think like that old saying about women having to work twice as hard to get the same success as a man, I think these low-budget Canadian films need a minimum 4 star review to get people to the theatres. I mean, I'm speaking personally. Its sad. But you know what I hear again and again? People are sick of shitty Canadian films. Well, shitty Anglo Canadian films. And I am too. Aren't you?
So rent or go see CRAZY. It's extraordinary. It has the great good sense to be an entertaining, fun, moving, smart movie, set entirely in Canada, starring Canadians. And it has the very good fortune to be embraced, celebrated and supported by the people whose story it is telling. Fucking eh, man.
Let's get to it Anglos! Let's tell some of our stories. Yes, we do have some. Yes, we are distinct too. And let's try our best to support those little Carlton and Canada Square gems!
film nerd out.

In a Lonely Place: Deep Dark Bogey

2006-05-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

April 27, 2006

Just renewed my ZIP.CA membership and yes, I'm in film nerd heaven. I got four envelopes today with DVDs...I opened the one that was on top and said I'm watching this one first. Such a fucking nerd. So I sat and watched IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Graeme (I always loved her in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE) and directed by Nicholas Ray (most known for directing REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE).
OK, so this movie is fabulous and if you like old noirs you should really rent this one. Humphrey Bogart's production company produced this film. Funny, in those days, actors didn't put their names in the credits even in they had a hand in producing the movie. That is much more of a current phenomenon. But anyway, he obviously wanted to play this part and for good reason.
He plays screenwriter Dixon Steele with some usual Bogey notes of dark sarcasm and sexy riffs off the dames...but Dixon is more tortured than most of Bogey's other roles. He's a man with some serious demons who's really in need of some good therapy or anger management.
The movie really lets him show some deep dark shit we haven't seen from him before. He's really fucked up at times but he's also super vulnerable and even desperate. There are some serious layers and it's great that he's not just doing melodramatic acting 101 for film noir. I loved it!

In a nutshell, Bogey plays this screenwriter who is suspected of murdering this coat check girl because he was the last to see her alive (in his Hollywood apartment no less) but just when things look pretty hopeless for this guy's alibi, in comes Gloria Graeme, the sexy neighbour, to tell the cops she saw the girl leave the apartment without him.
Soon enough, these two smart asses fall for each other. But no sooner than they're in domestic bliss, Dixon starts showing this paranoid side of himself that is prone to irrational rages (haven't we all been there, sister). And Gloria...oh her name is Laurel Gray...So Laurel starts to think maybe she's wrong about Dix...maybe he's a bit of a crazy nut and maybe he DID kill that coat check girl...
And there's twists and turns and scary shit and moody lighting...oh it really is a fun ride...and keeps you guessing til the end. Or at least it keeps you very very tense. Which is fabulous.
Next up I think I'll be watching KING OF MARVIN GARDENS...hallelujah I'm in film nerd heaven...I wonder how many I can watch in a month's time? I'll keep you posted!

The King of Marvin Gardens & Melvin and Howard

2006-05-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

April 30, 2006

KING OF MARVIN GARDENS (1972) was directed by Bob Rafelson and stars Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern and Ellen Burstyn. Jack and Bob did FIVE EASY PIECES together in 1970 and in fact made six movies together over the years (check then out on IMDB).
Now people have said that in this flick the two leads are swapping character types: Jack playing the quiet, loner-artist and Dern playing the loud mouthed, cocky, born to lose con man. These roles sit so well with these guys that the casting seems nothing less than perfect. Nicholson is a great actor. He's not a great loud actor or a great cocky actor...sure he plays those roles well, but here we see that Nicholson has this guy in him. Nicholson isn't all bravado and eyebrows! In actuality he's a sad boy who was abandoned by his dad at a young age and was brought up believing that his mother was actually his older sister. Nicholson has a great ability to show us his loneliness, his vulnerability. I was quite smitten with him in this movie. He's also got that great face and happens to wear glasses throughout the film and well, that always kinda gets me.

Dern is nothing short of spectacular in this film. He's larger than life but not over the top. He's a loser and like many a loser, doesn't have the slightest notion that he's a loser. He's a small time hustler, trying to make his way up the organized crime ladder. Dern and Nicholson are brothers, Jason and David respectively. David's a ho-hum radio talk guy who tells these quiet, personal stories on his radio program in Philadelphia. Jason's a low life gopher for low level mob guys in Atlantic City. In the film we see Jason trying to make this deal so he can build and run a casino in Hawaii. And we learn pretty quickly that that is never going to happen. Along for the ride is former beauty queen Sally, played in technicolor melodramatic glory by Ellen Burstyn and the new young beauty Jessie played by never to be heard from again actress Julia Anne Robinson (I coudn't quite tell if her performance bothered me because she was really NOT good, or if she was SO good...you know when it's hard to tell?)
So the movie just let's us watch the train wreck as it happens. I kept wanting David/Jack to leave these crazy fuckers and go back to his radio show and his smelly grandfather in Philly. I really cared for him. I thought he was smart and sensitive. But the thing is he really wanted his brother to make it. He believes in him up until the last possible moment that he can. When he finally sees that his brother just doesn't fucking get it and he unleashes on him, yelling at him for maybe the first time in his life...it is a long time coming and Nicholson is great. You wonder why he has so much faith in his loser brother. But then I thought back to the beginning of the film. There's this scene near the top when Jason calls David in Philadelphia. The grandfather comes into David's room and says that Jason's on the phone. Now David doesn't want to seem too anxious but we can see that he can't wait to get down to that telephone. The way he comes rushing down the stairs doing up his robe, all I could see was the kid brother so happy that his brother was calling him. And that sums it up right there. Jason surrounds himself with people who need the dream. His brother needs the dream of the big brother who's going to save him. These girls need the dream so bad that they will gladly see past his delusions of grandeur, his rough edges... with the hopes that soon they'll be living it up on the beaches of Hawaii. And that feeds Jason's vision of himself. They are like this circle of delusion, false hope and fake glamour.
This movie is definitely worth checking out. I can't say whether it is better or worse than FIVE EASY PIECES because it's been so long since I've seen it. But it has some terrific acting in it, a great comment on the American dream and some say it's one of the most under-appreciated films of the 70s.
Oddly enough, MELVIN AND HOWARD (1980) is another one of those films that has gone largely unnoticed. Many say it is the best film of 1980 and while it received Oscar nominations and wins, it hasn't enjoyed much of the same Classic-status of other films of that year like RAGING BULL or ORDINARY PEOPLE.
MELVIN AND HOWARD is an early Jonathan Demme film starring Paul Le Mat, Mary Steenburgen and Jason Robards as Howard Hughes. Le Mat plays Melvin Dummar, another American loser, just trying to get ahead and every time he makes it a bit of the way he winds up back on the skids. One night Melvin's driving through the desert and he picks up an old long haired freaky man who tells him he is Howard Hughes. They share an interesting ride where Melvin makes Howard sing, Melvin drops him off with some spare change and off he goes back to his life living in a trailer. We then hear nothing of this mystery man for quite some time. We just follow Melvin's life, we watch him lose his wife (the fabulous, glowing Mary Steenburgen), get her back, lose her again (UGH). We watch him toil as a milk man, a gas man, a lover, a dad, all with delicate, nuanced hum our and sweet under played innocence. Paul Le Mat deserved an Oscar nomination, if not the award itself, for this perfectly balanced performance. He is so subtle. Watch this movie close. This guy isn't acting. It's magical. Steenburgen did walk away with best supporting actress that year, which is great. As did screenwriter Bo Goldman (who also penned the script for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).

In the end, Howard Hughes dies and Melvin is mentioned as one of 16 beneficiaries in Hughes' will (to be awarded 156 Million dollars). But no one believes him. This movie is based on a true story. And while much of the world chose not to believe the real Melvin Dummar, and he did not in the end receive any of Hughes' money...the filmmakers decided to tell one side of the story only. They chose to tell the Dummar side of the story and played it out like it all really happened. There's a lot of cool shit to this story and I can't wait to Google and read all the new facts that have come about in the last few years backing up Dummars story. It's fascinating.
This film is a gem. Like KING OF MARVIN GARDENS, we're dealing with people on the fringe, people desperate to grab at that American apple pie dream until they either get it or die. But unlike KOMG, MELVIN AND HOWARD is sweet and funny. It is much more nuanced and I cared deeply for these characters, even when they were driving me a bit nuts. KOMG is a darker film to be sure. Not a comedy by any means.
MELVIN AND HOWARD deserves to be seen and applauded. Paul Le Mat should probably have been a big star after this film. But he never was. In fact, when the movie began I couldn't help but gasp: that's the husband that beat the shit out of Farrah Fawcet before she set him on fire in the TV movie THE BURNING BED (1984)! He never stopped working, he didn't drift off never to be heard from again...but people across America don't know his name and many I'm sure haven't seen MELVIN AND HOWARD, a great great film that hopefully you will see after reading this. That's of course assuming that anyone will ever see this! Ha!
all righty...see ya

UNITED 93

2006-05-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

May 1, 2006

I have these movie passes from a while back. When you belong to ACTRA (the Canadian performers union for film and TV) you get discounts on movie passes..they're like 6 to 9 dollars each...but now that Cineplex has bought out Famous Players, who knows what kind of deals we'll be eligible for now. Anyway, I had these passes and they expired on March 31, 2006. But when I went to the cinema I was told there was a 30 day grace period. So, here I was trying to watch a bunch of movies in the last few days.
I ended up going to the Carlton with my friend John to see a new Canadian flick, WHOLE NEW THING and I got John's ticket so that was two passes right there. WNT was pretty OK. Nothing bad about it but nothing great either. Just fine whatever bland Anglo cinema as per usual.
But then the other day I decided to go see UNITED 93 at the Varsity and what an experience that was. It was a full circle moment. I had learned about the World Trade Centre attacks the morning of September 11 and had gotten on my bike to cycle to the Varsity that morning for a Toronto film festival screening. I wasn't sad or upset or terrified. I didn't or couldn't put a human face to what was happening. All I could think about was that the American government had brought all this on themselves; that bad things happen all the time, all over the world and this bad thing was happening to them. Maybe this was as cold a response as one could imagine. But it wasn't about individuals at that particular moment. It was about the entity that was BUSH-LAND, AMERICA.
I got to the Varsity that morning and everyone was talking about it. I may have even been annoyed by this. Like a "yeah yeah yeah, America's under attack...why can't we talk about ourselves for a change!". I went into the screening (I seem to recall it being a very boring Scandinavian comedy) and a woman from the Film Festival came out to introduce the film and she started talking about how upsetting everything was and that the Film Festival was deciding what their official response was going to be and then a voice or two from the back of the theatre called out "What are you talking about?". Screenings had begun at the Varsity at 8:30 that morning. Some people in my screening hadn't heard about the attacks yet.
The film fest woman sort of paused and said finally into the microphone "Oh my goodness, you don't know" or something to that effect. It was a bit TV movie melodramatic. I don't think I am such a cynic, so cold, you know? I don't want to come off sounding like such a harsh, negative asshole. I am just saying things that maybe some people wouldn't say out loud. The woman from the festival (I hate to say it) seemed to be acting a bit. Is that how I would describe it? It was interesting to try and put myself in her shoes. Here is a devastating piece of news. She has an enormous amount of power or influence at that moment. She gets to tell some people about what has happened in the USA. How would you tell it? Would you just say it non-chalantly? Maybe she felt in order to display the gravity of the situation she had to relay the news in a somewhat quiet intense fashion. But it was put on a bit. And it bugged me. I don't know how I would have done it. Maybe exactly the same. And maybe there would be some small part of me that would enjoy being the bearer of such jarring information. Like when you're happy to get to tell a friend who is not in the know that so-and-so are breaking up. And you get to see that virgin reaction to such shocking news. There is something sick there. Something thrilling and sick. But I think it's true. The bearer of bad news is powerful if only for a moment in time.
So she delivered the news. Several people rushed out of the theatre as she spoke. It was the first moment I felt a human connection to what was happening...as I imagined one of the film-goers having a spouse or children in Manhattan, being told this horrifying news in a dark cinema in Toronto at ten in the morning. Ugh.
And so we sat, the ones who remained, and watched this lame-ass movie that was trying to be cute and just wasn't achieving it's goal. And who wants to see a cute movie anyway?
Cut to April 28, 2006. Four and a half years after that day, I am back at the Varsity to watch UNITED 93, a film by Brit Paul Greengrass that details the events of September 11, 2001 with such incredible detail but focuses it's story around the fourth hijacked plane which was the only plane to not reach it's target, believed to be The Washington Capitol.
It is a gripping film. It had me from the first frame. I am torn too you know? I have a lot of suspicion of the United States. I have a lot of suspicion about this movie. As great as it is, as thrilling and really terrifying as it is, I can't help but ask: how much of this is really just propaganda? How much of what we see in this film actually happened? Will we ever know? In a country that still doesn't really know who killed one of it's finest president's, how can we think that we will ever know what role George Bush and his henchmen had in Sept 11? How can we know if the plane was actually shot down? Did the passengers intend an uprising but never really achieve their goal? Was the plane already nosediving when they stormed the cockpit or did the storm cause the hijackers to abandon their cause? I don't know. I know that much of the American people need that heroic story. They need heroes and heroines to rise from the ashes of 9/11. But I find that I can't fully believe anything surrounding the whole series of events because how do you believe anything when it is filtered through a government who consistently lies and destroys human life?
It's tough. I loved the movie. It was moving and intense and very upsetting. And incredibly well made. I mean it is quite an achievement. But the way I am watching it and the way most Americans will watch that movie, those will be two totally different experiences. And rightfully so.
I recommend the movie, absolutely. But I also think it is vital to continue to ask questions. It is so important to not just be fed the news and the "facts" and accept everything you hear and read. It's been a rude awakening, growing older and realizing that the elders of the world (at least the ones that are running everything) don't actually have our best interest in mind. They don't know better. They are not teachers. That's been a hard pill to swallow.

Michael Winterbottom

2006-05-09T19:49:00.000-07:00

Michael Winterbottom is one of my favourite filmmakers. His latest flick is TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY...really funny, smart and starring my new boyfriend Steve Coogan (Don't tell my other boyfriends Joachin Phoenix and Phil Hoffman).
I don't think I dislike any Winterbottom movie. His films are wildly different from one another which I love. I think I first realized I loved his films when I saw WONDERLAND (2000). I was just so affected by this movie! I sat in the theatre and cried and cried as the credits rolled and well after. I really really love that movie and think you should go and rent it right now. Who's in it? What's it about? Well, it's about three sisters and what they're going through at this particular moment. The sisters are played by Shirley Henderson (LOVE her), Gina McKee and lovely Canadian Molly Parker. See it and don't ask why!
Another of his greatest films is the incredible IN THIS WORLD (2003). This is docu drama at it's very best. A moving, meditative yet intense journey of two young Afghan refugees as they attempt to make it to the UK for a better life, IN THIS WORLD is a movie that is based on the actual experiences of the two boys in the film. Winterbottom traveled with this boys, following the trail that their traffickers organized for them...guerrilla film making, few permissions to film, all the while managing to communicate a deeply emotional story often without dialogue of any kind. I just adore this movie and think everyone should see it. I watched the movie, wanting these two Afghan boys to make it to the UK, wanting them to have the best life they could have, of course, but every step of the way was so dangerous and so harrowing...but they hardly flinched at what I found terrifying. I was so moved and upset that these young men had experienced so much at such a young age that these conditions seemed so normal to them. Gosh, it's a good film!

I thought to write this entry today because I finally got to see the early Winterbottom film, JUDE (1996) starring the stunning Christopher Eccleston and the phenomenal 20 year old Kate Winslet! (There is just no argument that that woman is an ACTOR...one cannot help but lament the fact that she dropped out of Woody Allen's MATCH POINT, leaving the role to non-actor Scarlett Johannsen)
JUDE is fabulous, lush and yes: moving. It is based on the Thomas Hardy novel, Jude The Obscure. Kate and Chris play cousins, married to others, but passionately in love with one another. Separated from their spouses, they begin a life together, have children together but remain unmarried. Did I mention this is 1890s England? Oh my goodness, it is such a good story and these two actors are really something to watch together. It is hard to believe that Kate Winslet is all of 20 years old, her acting is so effortless, so raw and full of joy and edge. She is truly an artist and she deserves to be the youngest actor to have four Oscar nominations under her belt! I love that Chris Eccleston was 30 and Kate was 20 when they made this...she matched him toe to toe! No other actress I can think of would have pulled off this performance at 20 years of age. Totally worth a rent!

Another fabulous and addictive Winterbottom movie is 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE. I am not a follower or fan of the Manchester music scene of the late 70s to early 90s...but that just doesn't matter when you've got a brilliant filmmaker and leading man (Steve Coogan) pulling the strings. This was one of Winterbottom's most popular films I think considering when I mention his name to friends and people in kitchens at parties, it is this movie that they recognize. Great cast, great story, great energy and Steve Coogan really makes the whole thing really enjoyable and intoxicating.
So for the record, Michael Winterbottom is a great talent and you should go and rent all the movies I've mentioned.