First up was "Milk", featuring Sean Penn's Oscar winning
performance as the (spoiler warning) slain gay politician, Harvey
Milk. Amazingly, I'd never seen one of Penn's movies before--no, not
"Dead Man Walking", "Fast Times At Ridgemont High",
or even "Shanghai Surprise"--but what I had seen of the guy
(mostly as himself) made him seem somewhat less than likable, bereft
of a discernible sense of humor. That may well be true, but given the
evidence on display in "Milk", the guy's a heckuva an
actor!! As is Josh Brolin, Oscar nominated for his supporting role as
Dan White, Milk's (spoiler warning) killer--this amazingly being the
third flick I've seen him in in just this past year (along with "W"
and "No Country For Old Men").

Overall, "Milk" was a good film, if a bit of a preachy one. The historical events
were smoothly recounted by Dustin Lance Black' in his Academy Award
winning screenplay, but I thought he made the protagonist come off a
little bit too perfect. About the only fault he betrayed was a
propensity for arriving home late for dinner without calling first.
Though, considering how one of his boyfriends reacted to this
seemingly minor oversight, maybe that WAS a pretty big fault after
all!!...

You know what really irked me? During an early scene
with James Franco on the occasion of his 40th birthday, Penn
foreshadows his fate by remarking that he doubts he'll ever make it
to his 50th birthday. Okay, subtle it wasn't, but had it been left at
that, I wouldn't be complaining. However, late in the movie, at
Harvey's 48th birthday party, the two meet up again, and one of them
(I forget which) says, ""Guess you'll (I'll) make it to 50
after all", mere minutes before Milk's assassination occurs
on-screen--irony alert!

But wait--there's more! Because as the
slo-mo shooting plays out on screen, director Gus Van Sant feels the
inexplicable need to actually INSERT THE ORIGINAL "WON'T MAKE IT
TO 50" SCENE INTO IT, in case, I suppose, two whole hours later,
dunderheads in the cheap seats somehow forgot it!! And having Harvey
attend an opera, watching the fat lady sing just before he meets his
cinematic end (get it?) was nearly as heavy-handed. Geez, how STUPID
does he assume the audience is?...

Worthwhile picture show otherwise.

Most recently, we took in "Revolutionary Road', the fifties' era
drama reuniting the "Titanic'"trio of Leonardo DiCaprio,
Kate Winslet, and the unsinkable Kathy Bates. The first man overboard
in THIS story of a marriage gone bad was love--and hey Leo and Kate,
you thought icebergs were trouble!! This is a great first-date
movie--as long as you're not looking for a SECOND date!!

Yes, folks, this is one bleak story. But it's well made, absorbing, and
blessed with several top-notch performances (the two leads,
overlooked by the Academy, were clearly robbed). Michael Shannon, as
an emotionally disturbed mathematician who's incapable of speaking
anything but what's on his mind, was justly nominated for his
supporting role, and his handful of scenes are among the most
powerful in this hard-hitting scenario. I went into the theater with
a mixture of curiosity (gee, how'd those two sweet "Titanic"
lovers turn out?) and dread (was it gonna be a one-note downer all
the way through?). Well, yup, things turned out badly, but happily,
there was another note or two in play during the proceedings. I wound
up liking the film far more than I expected to.

Funny side anecdote: on dollar days--especially afternoons--the theater is
filled with, shall we say, an older crowd. Yes, older than even Lynn
and I--and by several decades. Generally, the oldsters keep it down,
but during one scene late in the movie--a bar-room dance that was
clearly leading up to an on-screen infidelity--an elder lady over to
the right of us very loudly blurted out an escalating series of more
and more urgent "uh ohs!' that served as an improbably humorous
counterpoint to the serious action taking place up on the screen!!
Lynn and I couldn't help but giggle, and even now, an exaggerated
round of "uh ohs!" is STILL good for a laugh round
hereabouts!! Much as I enjoy the comfort of watching the tube, there
IS something to be said for taking in a flick with an audience!!