Fest

Five movies in four days:

1. The Line King. A beautiful, entertaining and surprising documentary on the life of the great caricaturist of American entertainment, Al Herschfeld, whose pen was finally torn from his grasp at 99! He drew both Jolson and Madonna when they were the hot thing. His line makes me want to cry with joy.
   
2. The Night Listener. What a great idea for a story. And all the plot points were there and in the right order. It just never worked. Toni Collette did fine work in crafting her character but she was lost in a void. And she could have been Parker Posey by the end of the film. Sad waste of potential excellence.
   
3. Babel. Is this the first truly international movie? It's perspective does not belong to any one culture or language and thus truly embraces shared humanity. Our differences are seen as part of a mutually comprehensible continuum. Unsentimental and compassionate. Must have been shot on digital which is now developing its own unique and luxuriant look. Bye bye, celluloid.
   
4. The Departed. Damn it was funny. Scorsese may be a virtuoso of complex action and plot, but his great, great genius is making his actors understand what the scene is really about. The two-scenes in the movie were unparalleled. Acting! Acting! Acting! I was in heaven. Damon, DiCapprio, Wahlberg, Sheen all hit their notes. Nicholson didn't do anything special, but he was in fine form. Last line of the movie was perfection. Yowza.
   
5. The Illustionist. Don't get me started. What a steaming pile. Okay, I've started. Do these people know anything about history and the social rules of the world they're creating? How the fuck did they think the Duchess could have spoken to the Prince like that? Furthermore, she would not have been traipsing around and hanging out unchaperoned with him before their marriage. Her virginity and her family were her only worth! And the butcher's son is going to arrest the Prince for killing someone? Wow! Monarchs kill people? THIS ISN'T EVEN ENGLAND! IT'S THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE!
   
   
   Wankers. Paul Giamatti pulled out some charm, at least. grrrrrrrrrr. See The Prestige instead.