Minority Report

Well, I saw Minority Report yesterday. And, for the most part, I liked it. Not having seen A.I. yet, I can’t compare recent Spielberg with current Spielberg, but I’d have to say that he hasn’t really changed his outlook much. Without spoilers, it’s hard to articulate all my concerns with the film, but I can say that there are several “false endings,” any of which would have been better than the happy ending that Spielberg always demands. Despite my misgivings, and even though I loathe Tom Cruise, I enjoyed the film very much.

I’ve Got A Face For Radio

Imagine the thrill of hearing my voice on CBC Radio today! Toronto blogger Katherine Parrish interviewed lots of people at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive conference in preparing her piece for the CBC’s Definitely Not The Opera. Katherine did an excellent job of introducing weblogs to a national audience. Along with her witty and charming commentary, and my goofy quote, there were contributions from Jeffrey Zeldman, Cameron Marlowe, Mena Trott, and Josh Benton. I’m hoping it will be archived on the DNTO page, or else someone makes an MP3 out of it. About the only negative thing about the whole story was DNTO “guest-host” Sook-Yin Lee’s loopy pronunciation of “BLAWWW-GRRRZZ”.

Strange Picnic

Last night we watched Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), one of director Peter Weir’s first films. It’s a strangle little film, about a group of Australian schoolgirls who disappear while on a picnic at a rock formation on Valentine’s Day, 1900. The first part of the film, before the disappearance, is charged with expectation. There’s an eerie feeling, but also a sort of sexual tension (it is the Victorian era, after all) that’s really powerful. It’s not a suspense or mystery film in the usual sense, and you never really know what happened, but if you enjoy creepy films, you might want to check it out. Peter Weir went on to direct lots of successful Hollywood films, including The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Dead Poets Society (1987), and The Truman Show (1998).

In other film news, today would have been Billy Wilder’s 96th birthday. I’m currently reading On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder, by Ed Sikov, and Billy was certainly a fascinating and brilliant man.

And tonight, our little film group will be screening The Sweet Smell of Success (1957), starring Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. Being a fan of great writing, I’m looking forward to hearing all of the great lines in this one. In Barry Levinson’s great movie Diner (1982), set around the same time, there’s a character who walks around only speaking in quotes from this film.