The Entertainment Scene

Once the Democratic race is finally over (but don't count out Hillary yet) what are the late night comedians going to do for topical jokes? Can you expect there to be another Eliot Spitzer or Larry Craig to provide daily material? Probably yes, which is what makes our country great! Out of desperation, I've noticed that even poor George W. is being used to fill the insatiable need for someone to make fun of. Is there no end to the same old, same old jokes about Bush 43? Everyone has the message already. Let's move on to some new targets. Any candidates?

Some readers of the Normal Blog (there aren't very many--yet) feel that the comments about John Adams were unfair to him. But blame HBO and Paul Giamatti for portraying him as totally lacking in personality and charm, unlike his wife Abigail. Contrast him with his opposite number (sort of) on Sunday night on Showtime--- Henry VIII in The Tudors. Now there was a stud, not a dud. Of course, he did have a few of his wives executed, but hey, those were different times. Even the sex on The Tudors is graphic, not discreet as in the Adams household (maybe because John and Abigail apparently never frolicked in the woods with only their horses nearby).

Israel was criticized in some movie circles for not entering The Band's Visit as their official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2007 Oscars. But, after seeing it, I can understand why. Although it's subtitled in entirety, it's primarily spoken in English with some Hebrew and Arabic. By the way, it's an excellent film and you'll love the luminous Israeli actress, Ronit Elkabatz. Speaking of multilanguage movies, there's also the current The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, mostly in Portuguese but with some Yiddish. A very unusual combination.

Movie Musings

Every critic (this one too) agrees that Karl Markovics gives an outstanding performance as the protagonist in the Oscar winning foreign film The Counterfeiters. Why then didn’t he receive a nomination from the Academy? After all, Marion Cotillard won the Oscar for her performance in a foreign language film La Vie En Rose. Could it be the dreaded “great roles for men but few for women” syndrome?

After all the Brits and Aussies who play (always very well) Americans in movies set in the Colonies (OK the States), it was a refreshing change to see a movie set in England. Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, featuring Fargo’s Frances McDormand playing a Brit—a vicar’s daughter no less. Maybe it’s me but somehow our English accents don’t sound as authentic as their American ones do. Must be the quality of education.

To slightly change the subject, isn’t it sad that we’re so security conscious (terrified) that movie theaters are now locking all their doors from the outside once the last movie has begun? What happens if there’s a family emergency? If you call, you’ll get a recorded message with the show times. The next step will probably be locking the patrons in so they can’t leave even if the movie is awful.