Arthur

After seeing signs all over town indicating that the new "Arthur" is being filmed right in my own back yard, and after Russell Brand's hosting of SNL this weekend, I found myself drawn to the original "Arthur" staring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli. Netflix instant is among my best friends these days, and I found that it did not let me down in this instance.

Arthur is a millionaire who has never worked or struggled a day in his life. He stumbles drunkenly through life without much care for anything but the sound of his own voice, and so he remains patently happy. Until his father, desperate for his only son to finally grow up and start doing something, tells him that he must marry Susan or be cut off. Financially.

Arthur agrees finally, but things take a turn for the complicated when he meets Tina during a vengeful shopping spree at Bergdorf Goodman. The two seem meant for each other, but Arthur is already promised to Susan and the drama continues.

I liked this film every bit as much as I anticipated. The writing is wonderfully quippy. Dudley Moore's laughter can be a bit grating, but if you can get past that, it's good fun from start to finish. I am incredibly excited to see Russell Brand's interpretation, and I love the fact that the butler becomes a nanny (played by the brilliant Helen Mirren) in the remake. Cannot wait to see it.

Valentine's Day

One holiday on your calendar sparks more bitterness and anger than any other: the holiday meant to celebrate love. The reasons for this anger are not terribly varied; usually they can be traced to three things:

1) The extreme commercialism surrounding the holiday
2) Not having anyone to celebrate with
3) Increased pressure to be exceptionally romantic

Over the past week I've heard various themes on these arguments, often involving more than one of the above causes for anguish. While I can commiserate with the plight of those who are lonely, commitment-phobic, disillusioned, and poor, I can't help but think all of these issues come from over-thinking and not from the holiday itself.

Case in point: I had a lovely Valentine's Day. I'm single and received no flowers or chocolates from anyone. However, I did not hole up in my apartment lamenting the fact. I went to City Bakery and had delightful "love potion" hot chocolate with good friends who helped me stuff valentine cards for a party I went to afterwards. At the party, I ate dinner with my hands tied to my two nearest companions (a difficult but entertaining feat). I spent time with friends, talked about the importance of telling our loved ones (family, friends, lovers...) that we love them and showing it, and ate delicious food.

I had a fabulous time and returned home happy. To those of you who suffered through the holiday this year, I put forth this challenge: Next year, don't take things so seriously. Do something silly and spend time with the people you love (or just like a lot). If commercialism bothers you, bake some cookies. Unless you truly hate the idea of love or have absolutely no one in your life for whom you have fond feelings, there is no reason to dread the celebration of it.

Go out and love somebody.

Biutiful

For me, this movie was the definition of hard to watch. I think what I liked most about it was that all of the characters, as depraved as they may be, are sympathetic. You feel something for every single one of them, which makes it particularly difficult when terrible things happen to them.

One thing that bothered me consistently was the hair. Are mullets particularly cool in Spain? I don't know, but both Uxbal (Javier Bardem's character) and his son are rocking them, and it makes me want to take a pair of scissors to the screen. Uxbal's dad on the other hand, is attractive in the extreme. Unfortunately, that has little effect on the film.

The cinematography is fittingly gorgeous, and the acting, on all sides, is amazing. If it were up to me, Javier Bardem would surely be taking home an Oscar. This is not a feel-good movie. You will leave the theater feeling like crap. But it is absolutely Biutiful.

127 Hours

I wasn't 100% sure what to expect from this film. I knew it was about a hiker in Utah who gets stuck in a crevice and eventually has to sever his own arm to escape. Such a plot, one that takes place in a single, unmoving location, leaves a lot of time for the director to get creative, and creative he did get. They made a lot of interesting editing choices, and though I was skeptical at first, I think they worked really well. There are some gorgeous shots, and the story is really beautiful. James Franco did a fabulous job, though his portrayal felt a bit caricature-ish at the beginning, by the middle it was dead on.

I love watching a movie that lets me leave the theater feeling elated, and that's what this film did. It's a great tribute to the human spirit. 4.5 stars.

Bathtub Stories

I was scrubbing my tub (something I do less frequently than I probably should) when I noticed a peculiarity in its shape. While I believe, and please correct me if I'm wrong, that most bathtubs are rectangular, perhaps oval if you're fancy, my bathtub is shaped like a nineteenth century coffin.

Surely you can see the resemblance and understand why I found this slightly unnerving. Why would anyone shape a tub like a coffin? Have the architects never seen Psycho? Do they not know that I already feel a sense of paranoia in the shower and that making such a distasteful visual reference only serves to increase that paranoia?

Seeking to justify the design, I lay down in the tub to see whether the wider width near the top was in any way helpful to the bathing process. As the tub is only 4 feet long, I found that it is not. I am forced to conclude that the makers of my bathtub have a sick sense of humor and want me to feel as though I'm being invited to sleep with the fishes (or, perhaps more fittingly, with the rubber duckies) on a regular basis.

True Grit

Westerns as a genre have been declared dead more than once, but this film proves otherwise. A remake of John Wayne's 1969 pic of the same name, True Grit follows a young girl as she seeks to avenge her father's death, enlisting a U.S. marshall to help her and getting a Texas Ranger thrown in for free. Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon give superb performances in their respective roles as does Hailee Steinfeld.

This movie was visually stunning. The narrative was poignant and funny and terrifying and I loved it. But, as with most Cohen brothers films, the ending left me wanting. That being said, I would definitely rank it in my top 5, maybe even my top 3, of the year. A must-see.

The Model Millionaire

The Model Millionaire: Stories by Oscar Wilde

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I like Oscar Wilde quite a lot, but this collection gave me little of what I expect from him. These stories are mostly fables and morality tales with similar themes revolving around vanity and friendship. I have more fun reading Grimm's Fairy Tales. Though my love for Oscar Wilde is unabated, I will stick to his plays from now on.

The added story at the end of this book, Tiger Tiger by Simon Van Booy, was far more engaging than anything else in the book. In fact, I think I will read his book next.



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