MOVIES

So I got a bunch of screeners as a SAG member and just saw INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. Dang. Too bad the marketing of this film was so lame. This is a grownup movie. As good as Tarantino is I had no inkling that this film was so exquisite in the storytelling, acting, writing, directing, production design. Wow. Good job Quentin. Then there is THE HURT LOCKER (directed by a LADY ya'll) which I fear will be over looked this year. As a slightly obsessed lover of the war picture I am a big fan of this movie even though there are two plot points I find utterly unbelievable. Sorry that Jeremy Renner will not get an award this season, but I believe he'll get work and lets just say that people are crazy about him in said film. PRECIOUS. So difficult to watch and so important to. This film made me want to do something, make a difference. I Always think it's special when a story instills action in the viewer. MoNique did some devastating work. UP IN THE AIR. I liked it when I saw it in the theatre, but not so much as a screener. Hmmmm. Vera Farmiga did a number on my heart and that was cool. Clooney is just great as usual. Definitely worth seeing and definitely modern. 500 DAYS OF SUMMER. I really identified with this film and the work of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. That kid is special. And he looks frighteningly like Heath Ledger. He is going to be a major A-lister no doubt. Meryl Streep in JULIE AND JULIA is a revelation for sure. She is so comfortable in her skin and delightful. Shimmery. One word about an actor who needs an Oscar only because he deserves it more than almost anyone: Stanley Tucci. Nuf said.

JENNY CHOW

Ok, so I stink. Not smellaphorically but as a blogger. Here I am though. Back in Los Angeles after a fast and furious three week directing gig at the B Street Theatre in Sacramento, CA. First let me set the record straight. Sacramento is adorable. Sure it's got it's flat, boring, dry American suburbia side to it, but I was put up in Midtown. Lovely. Gorgeous trees for days and days, with quaint houses mixed with Victorians and Craftsmans. Me likey. The actors that were cast by the theatre's Artistic Director were great. We had fun. The set was colorful, fun to play on and added to some of the goofiness of the play. THE INTELLIGENT DESIGN OF JENNY CHOW by Rolin Jones is a fantastic play. A Pulitzer finalist. See or read if you can. One one day off I drove up to Nevada City which is an old wild west town. Really cool. They have tons of places to fly fish, which I now do. I have my own rod and reel and the best teacher in the world. Dad. Off for a day of fun with my dear Karen Lund who heads back to Seattle tomorrow.