Part I
OK, it wasn't a short week, but it still just zipped past! I have a lot to post about and not a lot of time to post, so I'm going to break this into two posts.
I'll start with a couple of movie reviews. I finally saw this, after dying to see it for so long:
Yep, loved it. Hoffman was brilliant as Capote. I just love how he carries himself at the beginning of the film like he owns the place - where ever it is he goes. By the end he's a totally broken man. He's such a complex person - intelligent, flamboyant, insecure and yet completely self-possessed, single-minded, selfish. People were obviously drawn to him - there are a lot of scenes in the movie where he's holding court at one party or another, but he's also so self-centered and infuriating. It's an amazing performance. I also thought the guy who played Perry Smith was really good. It's also a complex character - someone who is very sympathetic and vulnerable but also a cold-blooded killer with very little remorse. There are a lot of really good supporting performances and the story of both the killings profiled in "In Cold Blood" and the intersection of mid-America and the New York literati is also really interesting.
I also saw this re-release:
I'd give this one a mixed review. It's not my cup of tea. It's a Michelangelo Antonioni film from 1975. I have a hard time with the European films of the 60s and 70s. I'm more comfortable with the traditional Hollywood narratives and filmmaking. This film is very ambiguous. There's very little dialog - you're quite a way into the movie before the first line is spoken. I admire the film a lot - I imagine that particularly in 1975 it was really daring to make a film like that, which also bounces around in time and with strange camera angles and different points of view. It's very disconcerting. I don't like things that are that abstract though - in books and in film, I like things that are warm, not cool. I like an emotional component. The Passenger is famous for a 7 minute shot at the end of the film that starts in Nicholson's hotel room and moves out the window, into a courtyard and then eventually back into the hotel room. It is a very cool shot.
I also have been busy with shopping. I have a few birthdays in my life and of course the holidays, so I checked out the Gift Shop in the Minnesota Textile Center. There was some pretty neat stuff there. Not surprisingly, I found more things for myself than gifts for others - why am I always so much easier to shop for? I also made a stop at a yarn store and picked up some stuff for me.
In my next post, I'll include my newest yarn purchases, my very cool package from my Secret Pal and the necklace I made for one of the birthday presents. I haven't knit a stitch since Wednesday - between the beadwork, housework and other tasks and social obligations, I haven't had much time.
I'll start with a couple of movie reviews. I finally saw this, after dying to see it for so long:
Yep, loved it. Hoffman was brilliant as Capote. I just love how he carries himself at the beginning of the film like he owns the place - where ever it is he goes. By the end he's a totally broken man. He's such a complex person - intelligent, flamboyant, insecure and yet completely self-possessed, single-minded, selfish. People were obviously drawn to him - there are a lot of scenes in the movie where he's holding court at one party or another, but he's also so self-centered and infuriating. It's an amazing performance. I also thought the guy who played Perry Smith was really good. It's also a complex character - someone who is very sympathetic and vulnerable but also a cold-blooded killer with very little remorse. There are a lot of really good supporting performances and the story of both the killings profiled in "In Cold Blood" and the intersection of mid-America and the New York literati is also really interesting.
I also saw this re-release:
I'd give this one a mixed review. It's not my cup of tea. It's a Michelangelo Antonioni film from 1975. I have a hard time with the European films of the 60s and 70s. I'm more comfortable with the traditional Hollywood narratives and filmmaking. This film is very ambiguous. There's very little dialog - you're quite a way into the movie before the first line is spoken. I admire the film a lot - I imagine that particularly in 1975 it was really daring to make a film like that, which also bounces around in time and with strange camera angles and different points of view. It's very disconcerting. I don't like things that are that abstract though - in books and in film, I like things that are warm, not cool. I like an emotional component. The Passenger is famous for a 7 minute shot at the end of the film that starts in Nicholson's hotel room and moves out the window, into a courtyard and then eventually back into the hotel room. It is a very cool shot.
I also have been busy with shopping. I have a few birthdays in my life and of course the holidays, so I checked out the Gift Shop in the Minnesota Textile Center. There was some pretty neat stuff there. Not surprisingly, I found more things for myself than gifts for others - why am I always so much easier to shop for? I also made a stop at a yarn store and picked up some stuff for me.
In my next post, I'll include my newest yarn purchases, my very cool package from my Secret Pal and the necklace I made for one of the birthday presents. I haven't knit a stitch since Wednesday - between the beadwork, housework and other tasks and social obligations, I haven't had much time.
rdladd@arnan.com
