Julie & Julia

Just finished watching Julie & Julia on the movie channel. I missed seeing it in the theatres because the other half refused to go see it (and truth be told, we don't get out to see movies very much, so it has to be one we're both DYING to see). I only got to see it tonight because it's some Ultimate Fight Night, and I had the tv all to myself.

As I expected, the movie was kind of average. What makes it worth seeing, though, is a fantastic performance by the inimitable Meryl Streep. She's one of my acting gurus, and though I don't know a lot about Julia Child, I know enough about Meryl to know that the character was well studied. And no doubt a perfect impersonation. I heard somewhere that for every character she portrays, she has a secret - something that she knows about her character that she chooses not to share with anyone else. And the fact that Meryl Streep is so attuned to details that she would go that far in layering her characters shows that she is a genius. To me, at least.

What kept me watching the movie, though, despite the lack of nap and the excessive wine consumption was that I found it actually quite..inspiring. It made me think about what I am doing with my life, and whether or not I'm "accomplishing" anything. Whether I am being diligent enough in setting goals for myself. Both Julie and Julia found that, despite the stress, they were much happier when they found something they loved and followed through with the pursuit of it.

And that's a lot of what I hope to accomplish this year. If I'm going to say that I am an actor, then I should be an actor, not just someone who acts occasionally. Audition. Take classes. Hopefully actually appear on stage at some point, if people will have me. And if I'm going to say I'm a runner, then I should be a runner, not just someone who runs. Set goals. Add distance. Run races.

Go beyond the status quo. Do better. Stop lazing about and eating bonbons. (And I do. Laze about. Eat bonbons. That's fun too. But it shouldn't be all I do.)

I have my work cut out for me.

Up In The Air

I was eager to see this movie because it had gotten so much buzz at the Oscars. Also, director Jason Reitman's other movies Thank You For Smoking and Juno remain amongst my favourite films. The verdict? Hmm. Still up in the air.

I really enjoyed it, though. I went into it not knowing what it was really about (other than somehow involving air travel), and was pleasantly surprised to see that it falls into my preferred category of Non-Romantic Comedy, or "NonRomCom" - those quirky, indie films that could be mistakenly sold to the general public as Romantic Comedy (RomCom), but generally don't end happily and the humour is usually more sophisticated and ironic than the slapstick and mistaken identity humour of the RomComs. I'm so BORED by RomComs these days - they're so formulaic that I basically don't have to see the movie at all to predict the entire thing, and they usually put the funniest (if you can call them that) moments in the trailer.

One of the main reasons I wanted to see this movie was because two (2!) of the actresses were nominated for Best Supporting roles, and one of them was an actress my age. I've been in a sort of casting limbo these days - too old to play half the women roles out there, and too young to play the other half. I wanted to know what, exactly, Hollywood thought was appropriate for a woman in her early-late-thirties (ahem).

Vera Farmiga has done a lot of work, but is a virtual unknown to me. The character she played was multi-layered, dignified and...sexy. It gives me hope. Not sure if I would have given her an Oscar, but then, she didn't win, did she? (I suspect I would have given the win to Maggie Gyllenhaal, but I haven't had a chance to see Crazy Heart yet. ) Anna Kendrick comported herself admirably in a cast of seasoned professionals, but I don't personally think she should have gotten an Oscar nod. That seems to be a theme with Oscar nods for me this time around. Was it a slow year, or something?

George Clooney - aka McSwooney - was, well, he was George. He was charming, debonair and fairly irresistible. He was the same person that we all fell in love with in The Facts of Life. He didn't do anything to stretch his artistic talents, but he's created an empire based on his McSwooney-ness and he delivered another ration to his adoring fans. Jason Bateman, is the one to watch, though. I always thought he was just a sitcom guy. But after seeing impressive performances in Juno and Extract, he has a solid place in my personal It Guy list.

What left me feeling a bit underwhelmed was the main message of that film: basically that you can't go through life without settling down and making solid, personal connections or you will be left with nothing. Hey man, you're preaching to the choir. (But then, this film might read differently to your still single 40-something brother who thinks marriage is for the birds and spend every night in the clubs cougaring the young ladies.) Interesting, however, was the other message that cold Corporate America is sinking to all-time lows and must be stopped - or at least kept in check. That still has me mulling today.

Definitely worth a rental. You can decide for yourselves if it's worth all the hoopla.

Precious

(Oops, I think I just got in trouble for not calling it "Precious based on the novel Push by Sapphire". Did anyone else watch the Oscars? That bugged me more than anything. Now I am determined to call it Precious and nothing else. I'm a rebel and I never ever do what I should.)

Hot damn, I wish I had watched this movie without hearing all the hype about it first. I was all primed by the media to think that this was the most heart-wrenching movie, evah. I hate when people tell me that, because I inevitably remain a cold-hearted bitch throughout the viewing. It was good. It was moving. Was it better than anything I've ever seen before? Meh.

Gabourey Sidibe did a really great job - especially for newbie. Trouble is, I had a really REALLY hard time understanding her. And I was listening hard. (Extra hard, because I had to interpret for my dad who doesn't always hear too well. Btw - watching this movie with your dad? Weird. I don't advise). I am of the school of thought that it doesn't matter how authentic your dialect/speech/accent is, it's not a good thing if people can't understand you. You have to ease it up a bit for the general audience who may not be attuned to that kind of speech.

I had a hard time backing Mo'Nique (is that a super-fancy way of spelling Monique, or is she "more unique" than the rest of us?) because I watched her Oscar speech where she pointed out that her winning was "proof that these awards are based on talent and not politics". A little cocky, no? And how does she know that her win wasn't based on politics?? She did have Oprah backing her movie, after all. That being said, her breakdown speech at the end was very compelling.

The biggest surprise for me was Mariah Carey as the social worker. I spent an inordinate amount of time going "Is that Mariah Carey?", "That looks an awful lot like Mariah Carey..", "It can't be Mariah Carey, cause this chick is good!". I had no idea that she was in the movie and she gave such a subdued and grounded performance that I still can't believe it was actually her. What a nice surprise.

I think I would have been more blown away by this movie if I was caught unawares at a first viewing in a film festival. I picked up the book in Chapters yesterday (cause someone smartly put a display of adult fiction in the children's sections for those of us who are held captive by the train table). I started reading it and was instantly drawn in. I forgot to watch the boys for a few minutes. I'm going to have to read the whole thing when I'm done this month's book club selection and see how it compares.