Oscar Blitz 4: This Time It’s Personal*

These past two weeks have seen me check off a number of films on my Oscar blitz list, all family dramas of (it turns out) escalating violence.

The first was The Kids Are All Right. I thought it was rather boring. If the central couple had been heterosexual, no one would have paid it any attention. Some might say that was the point, but that doesn’t make it a good film. An important one, maybe, but not one worthy of four Oscar nominations. I do think that Annette Bening gave a good performance though, and I would be perfectly fine with her winning.

Winter’s Bone takes the family drama up to the next level. It wasn’t a perfect film, but it was well done, with a real sense of place and foreboding. The atmosphere reminded me a great deal of Frozen River with Melissa Leo. Jennifer Lawrence is incredible as the oldest child of a more-than-deadbeat dad and invalid mother doing whatever she can to keep her family together and on their land. John Hawkes is strong (and creepy) as her uncle, but it’s Lawrence who keeps the film grounded. Even though I haven’t yet seen Rabbit Hole or Blue Valentine, I’m pretty sure that, if I were an Academy member, I would vote for her for Best Actress. I definitely recommend this one.

I’m still not sure what I think about Animal Kingdom. It was extremely disturbing and violent, but, at the same time, I found it fascinating. I think it was the dialogue; it felt very real. Like Winter’s Bone, it also focused on a not-quite adult trying to find his way in a world that is falling apart around him, but the star turn is definitely Jacki Weaver as the grandmother. Chilling. This film is worth watching for her alone.

On a lighter note, I also watched the street-art documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, which was great fun, although I’m still not sure how much of it was true.

Next up, The Social Network!

* Best tagline ever for one of the worst movies ever, Jaws: The Revenge, which also produced one of the best actor quotes ever, from Michael Caine: “I have never seen it, but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific!”

Cry “Havoc!” and Let Slip the Dogs of War (and Peace)

Yes, I’m finally jumping on the blog train. With just minutes to spare, as usual. First Facebook, now this. How will I ever keep my hard-won luddite cred?

Still, I feel the need to document my attempts to recover from academia and get back into such radical notions as reading for pleasure and taking advantage of life in the big city. While this blog will probably have a strong focus on books, I expect to bring up all aspects of pop and high culture, from Mad Men to Madama Butterfly.

Why now? Well, for much of the last twenty years, September has meant the start of a new year, a time for new projects. This fall, I’m particularly looking forward to exploring the world of opera with my first subscription to the San Francisco Opera. I’m also about to take on the biggest challenge of my reading year: War and Peace.

One of the things most responsible for my becoming a reader again was a friend’s 24-in-a-year reading resolution and challenge on Facebook. In a moment of weakness (or madness), I decided to up the stakes by making half of those books classics that I should have read already, but had never gotten around to. This idea had been lingering in the back of my mind ever since a conversation with a fellow professor where I was too embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t read Don Quixote. Other books on the list include Catch-22, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo, The Education of Henry Adams, Lord of the Flies, Macbeth, La Princesse de Clèves, and, of course, War and Peace. In my next post, I will discuss how I have dealt with the difficulties of getting through this challenge. In the meantime, I'd love to hear what would be at the top of your "should-read" list.

Last, but not least, I want to give a shout-out to Stasia, a fabulous blogger (among other things), who inspired me to get on this crazy train. Check her out at http://swardkehoe.blogspot.com/.