movie reviews

Within the past 48 hours, I have seen "Charlie Wilson's War" and "There Will Be Blood".

"Charlie" was pretty straightforward, with the always-professional Tom Hanks delivering yet another great performance. Philip Seymour Hoffman, though, steals the show. Julia Roberts was OK, but odd. Nicely shot - effective sequences - sobering lesson. Curiously, there was no mention of Osama bin Laden, who, I believe, was part of the covert army that the CIA funded, to frustrate the Russians. Seems like an opportunity lost. Recommended.

"Blood" was the first film in MANY years, where I considered walking out, well into the 2nd hour. It's got many spectacular scenes, with splendid cinematography and editing. However, I kept being aware of the mechanics: oooh, an amazing dolly shot; wow, what odd lightling; hey, incredible use of sound; etc. The problem, for me, was that the protagonist was so unrelentingly unlikeable - so evil, so selfish, so greedy, so unprincipled. We get the message in the first half-hour, and, after a while, I felt I had seen enough.

Is "Blood" the 'masterpiece' that the hype promises? Is the ending brilliant or stupid? What really happened to 'Paul'? I don't know, and, frankly, my dear, I don't give a hoot.

If you are a film-lover, you will probably end up seeing "Blood". My only suggestion: be sure to fully empty your bladder before it starts - it's a long journey to get to the bowling alley.