This is the great thing about having a DVD beat: Now that I’m reviewing fewer theatrical releases than I did in my omnivorous Metro days, I get to go back and catch up to the titles I had to pass up the first time around.
This week, I devote my Sympatico/MSN DVD column to Rodrigue Jean’s “Lost Song” and Charles Officer’s “Nurse. Fighter. Boy”, two worthy TIFF titles (and recent theatrical releases) that I managed to miss at every turn on the big screen.
You might want to check them out, too …
Wow, Norm. What is it you have against Clint Eastwood? I thought the axe I’ve been grinding for Charlie Kaufman was huge and razor sharp, but… holy hell!
I don’t have anything against Eastwood particularly — I think “Mystic River”, “Million Dollar Baby” and “Letters from Iwo Jima” are all very, very good — but “Changeling” was deadly dull, and “Gran Torino” was a mess of missed cues from the very first growl. Something about clear moral sight-lines brings out the worst in him, I suspect.
Ah, see… my brother and Dad are retired auto workers, and I did 11 weeks on the line – getting UAW membership – before quitting out of sheer sheer boredom. And I’ll always drive a rear-wheel GM with chrome.
Gran Torino, I thought, was one of Clint’s all-time best, amateur actors, imperfect script (as most of his films have) and all.
Have to admit: I didn’t care for Mystic River.
But… you’ll be pleased to know that two friends of mine love Synecdoche, NY, and I had a conversation in the Hot Docs lineup with two young people who loved it, and we had a lovely time. We changed the subject.
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