A New York five minutes or so: The three winners

This is, of course, supposed to be all about movies, but if you'll indulge me for a second I just have to say goodbye to one of my favorite New York night clubs, which I thought would never die.

When my brother and I were planning our musical nights out, I picked the "End of the Weak" hip-hop showcase at the Pyramid club (a very fun way to kill a few hours if you like rap music, which I do), and he picked the "Three Floors of Ska" night at the Knitting Factory. I love ska too, so I was certainly down with that.

Throughout the night, the bands (the best of which was easily New Jersey's Hub City Stompers) kept lamenting the fact that this would be the last "Three Floors of Ska" event at the Knitting Factory. We just assumed the event was simply moving to another venue, but the truth was much worse: The Knitting Factory is closing its Tribeca spot and moving to a much smaller space in Brooklyn.

Now, this obviously means nothing to you if you've never been there, but as much as I love New York (and I really, really do), the gentrification of neighborhoods can just be sickening. I wish the Knitting Factory the best of luck in its new home, and sincerely hope the club keeps bringing its eclectic mix of music to Brooklyn until it inevitably wears out its welcome there too.

OK, enough bile for now. It is indeed all about movies from here on out, and specifically the best three (out of a fairly amazing seven) I saw while I was there. So here goes:

Milk:
Although I won't unveil my top 10 for the year until tomorrow morning (so please check back!), I can safely say now that this gem from Gus Van Sant is my favorite movie of 2008. It's so clearly a labor of love for Van Sant, and even though this looks nothing like his recent output ("Elephant" being my favorite of those uniformly dark flicks), you can tell it's the movie he was meant to make (though there will hopefully be many more.)

It's anchored, of course, by Sean Penn's performance as the slain San Francisco pol Harvey Milk (I assume I'm not really giving away too much there), and even if you don't normally like Sean Penn, don't let that scare you. He plays Milk as a driven pol, but also an impish character with a wicked sense of humor, and his scenes with James Franco and Emile Hirsch give the movie such a feeling of joy that it makes the end we know is coming all that much more stunning.

The biggest accomplishment of "Milk" is that it leaves unstated but perfectly implied the greater tragedy of Milk's life: That even as he won his biggest victory for gay rights in California, AIDS was only a few years away to bring it crashing down. And if you simply can't bring yourself to watch two men kissing, I would indeed stay away from this one (and, frankly, please keep it to yourself.)

"The Wrestler"
Given both the subject matter and the fact that "Milk" is simply a sensational film guarantees that Penn will win the Oscar for Best Actor this year, but if I had a vote it would go without question to Mickey Rourke.

For me, it's a simple test: When you see someone in a role, do they play it so well that they disappear into it, to the point that you couldn't possibly see any other actor or actress playing that part? Rourke certainly does that here in Darren Aronofsky's flick, in his perfect portrayal of a "professional" (in as much as that's his only paying job, at least) wrestler who is consumed by vanity even as his career is clearly coming to an end.

But that's only one level on which Aronofsky's movie excels. As a glimpse into the sordid world of semi-pro wrestling, not a place you want to be for too long, it's achingly funny, especially when a staple gun gets involved (I won't spoil it for you any more than that.) The humor, strongest between Rourke and Marisa Tomei as a stripper who befriends him (as a paying client, of course), was the real surprise here. I won't spoil too much, but the line about how his daughter's personal life might influence her choice in clothes is priceless. And, just to put it on the completely piggish level of pro wrestling, this second consecutive flick in which Marisa Tomei spends much of the proceedings topless is much better than the last one, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead."

One last word of praise for Aronofsky to wrap it up (hopefully as well as he did.) It seems like very few directors have any idea how to end a movie any more. Unable or unwilling to simply choose one ending, they throw four or five at us, and can spend up to 20 minutes doing it. The final shot of "The Wrestler" is a simple but iconic one, and just wraps up the movie's spirit perfectly. I was pleasantly surprised to see the trailer for this great flick Friday afternoon in Macon, so hopefully it's finally going to play everywhere - as it certainly should - very soon.

"Happy Go Lucky"
It came as no surprise at all that Mike Leigh's flick was the oddest one I saw this week, but also one of the best. A word of warning before you enter: Even if you think you have a sunny disposition, prepare to be thoroughly annoyed by Poppy, the central character brought to all-too-cheerful life by Sally Hawkins, who I couldn't remember ever having seen on the big screen before.

She will, at at least one point, make you want to reach out and choke her, but that's clearly Leigh's point here. To give you a sample of what I mean, she's the kind of person who has to answer every thing she hears around her. For example (as my dad explained it to my mom, who didn't come with us to this one), if you say "the door is open," she'll have to say "come in" even if no one is there or repeat several times what you just said. All, of course, with an ever-present smile.

It's when Poppy begins to see the effect she has on the people around her that Leigh's movie really gets interesting. And again, if I had an Academy vote, I might give the Supporting Actor nod to the late Heath Ledger for his unforgettable turn as The Joker, but Eddie Marsan's performance as Poppy's driving instructor here would probably edge him out. He perfectly plays a character just consumed with inner and outer rage, and when the two of them come together in that tight space it's very funny until it's not, at which point it takes a truly terrifying turn.

Leigh's movie isn't perfect (there's a completely nonsensical scene between Poppy and a homeless man that just goes on way too long), but it is - as his movies almost always are - like nothing else you can see on the big screen. He specializes in truths that can make you laugh until they turn into a dagger, and the scene in "Happy Go Lucky" when Poppy and her friends go to visit her supposedly happily married sister is just perfectly uncomfortable. See this one if you can.

And there you have it. Just for the record, along with those three great flicks, I also saw three good ones - "Synecdoche, NY," "Waltz with Bashir" and "Gran Torino" - but I'll have to beg out of reviewing them at least for now because I am very sick (just a sore throat and runny nose, actually, but still none too pleasant.)

Starting Monday I will roll out my best of 2008 set, which will be incomplete since I have yet to see "Frost/Nixon" or "Frozen River," but it seems the time is as right as it's ever gonna be (and just as a teaser, it will contain at least two comedies, one French flick and one Swedish one.) Monday will feature the top 10 (or more if I can't make up my mind) movies of 2008, Tuesday will feature the best female performances of the year and Wednesday the men will get their turn. On Thursday, if you care to come back, I plan to tear into Steven Soderbergh's thoroughly tedious "Che" (whenever I think of the word "overkill," which this clearly is by at least half, I always think of that "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" joke, "no, it's just enough kill." Not the case here, but still one of my very favorite Buffy lines.) If you have any suggestions for other best of categories I should dig into, please feel free to let me know, and I'll certainly consider them, since that's what I love to do. Peace out.

Got Milk? A great trailer, and better news about Hayao Miyazaki

It's hardly a bold prediction to say that Gus Van Sant's "Milk," the biopic about the late San Francisco pol Harvey Milk, is just going to be an Oscar magnet.

First off, the academy loves biopics, and the story of the supervisor of San Francisco and gay rights activist, who was slain by a former city supervisor, is just naturally compelling. Second, it's been a little while since Sean Penn has won an Academy Award for acting (2004 in "Mystic River" to be exact), so you'll certainly be hearing his name, and I suspect Josh Brolin's portrayal of Dan White will garner a lot of attention too.

But much more importantly, you get a sense from the two-and-a-half minute trailer that Van Sant has really thrown his heart into this one. Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna, all dudes I like, are in this one too, so enjoy this trailer (and if you have anything negative at all to say about homosexuals, please just keep it to yourself!)



Miyazaki's coming to America again!

With Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" (Gake no ue no Ponyo), enjoying a Japanese box-office run to rival his biggest hit there, "Spirited Away," it was only a matter of time before it got picked up for American distribution.

Time magazine reports that Disney has indeed stepped up to acquire the rights to "Ponyo," and it will be distributed in English and co-produced by Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy. All that muscle pretty much ensures, I think, that it will play wide enough to reach my little corner of the world some time next summer, and I can only say huzzah to that!

The story of "Ponyo" is about girl fish, Ponyo, who wants to become human after befriending a 5-year-old boy named Sosuke. I'm sure there's a lot more than that going on, and I can't wait to see it all.

You do, of course, lose something in the move to English. The best thing about this "Ponyo" trailer (which could be quite old by this point) just might be the rather crazy Ponyo song that accompanies it. I suppose you could just keep the song but have the characters speak in English, but it will still certainly be a little odd. Anyways, enjoy this trailer too, and have a perfectly pleasant day.

Behold, the trailer for the new "Indiana Jones" movie!

I was going to headline this post with my admittedly rather juvenile and profanity-laden reaction when I found out I could watch the trailer for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" this morning, but decided the folks who run the family-friendly newspaper I toil for daily probably wouldn't appreciate that.

And now, thanks to the fine folks at Ahorahollywood.com (which, if you can read Spanish, is just a sensational film junkie Web site), you can see it too. I don't want to say too much about it, but after a way-too-long intro it's just all kinds of cool. Enjoy, and if you have the time, read on for a bit more news after the clip.



Tivo alert: Great shows to return soon

CBS and NBC have announced their immediate plans to air something that doesn't flow from the reality toilet, which means the return of a few shows that I tune into reliably each week.

CBS has announced that "How I Met Your Mother" (and, unfortunately, with it "Big Bang Theory" and "Two and a Half Men") will return to the air March 17.

NBC, meanwhile, has staged a two-tier rollout for its lineup of Thursday comedies. Fans of "My Name is Earl" (of which I'm not much of one) will be treated to a fresh, one-hour episode April 3. Fans of "The Office" (yes!!!) and "Scrubs" (bring that on too!) will have to wait until April 10 for new shows.

Good and bad news about a Valerie Plame movie

Continuing with the international flair today, this is translated from the great French site Cinempire.com, so bear with me.

I've been curious about what would happen with this ever since I first heard the earliest snippets about a possible Valerie Plame movie, because as anyone who's been here before probably knows, I just love me some spy movies, especially ones grounded in reality. Billy Ray's "Breach," for example, about the master spy Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), was easily one of my favorite movies of 2007.

And now comes word that Nicole Kidman (heard of her?) will be playing Ms. Plame, the CIA agent who was outed by the Bush administration because they had a beef with her husband. I realize this is far from a minority opinion, but I love Nicole Kidman, as much for her acting skills as for her ability to (almost) always pick great roles. Though it came under a lot of critical fire, I thought she was great at playing a truly detestable character in Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding," and for one from the vault, I guarantee watching her early supporting turn with Thandie Newton and Noah Taylor in the Aussie flick "Flirting" will make you smile.

But this news is still a bit of a mixed bag, since it comes from Doug Liman, a director who I've just come to respect less and less. I was certainly with him through "Swingers" and the rather criminally underrated "Go," but I couldn't find much to enjoy in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," and this weekend's "Jumper" looks like a similarly empty spectacle. I hope he still has the chops for this much more serious fare, but I certainly have my doubts.


Emile Hirsch in "Milk"

"Milk," the upcoming biopic about the assassinated San Francisco pol Harvey Milk, should be a real return to top form for Gus Van Sant (although I can't really say he's not on top of his game already, since I have yet to see "Paranoid Park"; I can, despite the fact that it has only about 20 words or so of dialogue, highly recommend his school-shooting flick "Elephant.")

And the Milk flick has assembled easily one of the best casts for 2008 flicks. Emile Hirsch, shown on the set in the above photo courtesy of JustJared, will be playing the activist Cleve Jones, who came up with the idea for the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt. Also already on board are Sean Penn as Milk (Oscar, anyone?), Josh Brolin as the assassin Dan White and Victor Garber as S.F. Mayor George Moscone, who was also killed by White. James Franco, Diego Luna and surely some women will also be featured in what should be one of the best flicks of this year. And that's about all I've got for today. Peace out.

Jim Jarmusch gets by with a little help from old friends

When I found this news this morning, my first thought was that it's been a really long time since we've heard anything at all from Jim Jarmusch, and indeed it has been almost three years since the release of his last, mostly satisfying flick, "Broken Flowers."

Now comes word that two of the stars of that flick, Bill Murray and one of his paramours, Tilda Swinton, are along for the ride in "Limits of Control," the road movie/thriller Jarmusch is shooting in Spain. As several ladies I work with would want to know, Gael Garcia Bernal factors into this somehow too.

As best as I can gather, the flick centers on a mysterious loner as he attempts to complete a criminal job, and it's set to start shooting this month in Madrid, Seville and Almeria, Spain. Even better for anyone who's a fan of Jarmusch's work is that the great French actor Isaach de Bankole, a regular in many of Jarmusch's films (notably as the ice cream man in "Ghost Dog"), plays the loner.

If that makes it sound more than a little similar to the aforementioned "Ghost Dog," that would be just fine by me, since I own that one on VHS and have probably watched it at least into the double digits in times.

And I know plenty of people whose opinions I certainly respect who had serious issues with the ambiguity of "Broken Flowers," but I thought it suited Murray's character just fine, and the would-be mystery writer Winston played by Jeffrey Wright was just a seriously funny comic creation. Here's hoping this latest project from old friends leads to something at least as fun.

Emile Hirsch finally gets some love

The most constant and amazing snub I've noticed in this awards season is that Emile Hirsch, the star of Sean Penn's "Into the Wild," has gotten almost no recognition at all, at least until now.

In March, Hirsch will take the title of Male Star of Tomorrow at ShoWest, which, despite that rather odd title, I would have to assume is also in recognition of his most recent work too, especially since all he has on the menu for this year that I know of is the Wachowskis' almost-surely-to-be-disastruous "Speed Racer."

And if you somehow missed out on seeing "Into the Wild" in theaters (and since it played in my little corner of the world for exactly one week, I couldn't say I blame you), you'll soon get the chance to see it on DVD starting March 4. The saga of Christopher McCandless is a challenging tale, and one that I took a while to warm to, but once I did it ended up on my list of the top five movies of 2007 (along with "Ratatouille," "No Country for Old Men," "Once" and "The Savages.")

And now I'd like to wrap this up kinda quick today, but I'll leave you with this clip of RZA and GZA of the Wu Tang Clan talk with the great Mr. Murray about that most magical of combos, "Coffee and Cigarettes." It's kinda long at almost eight minutes, but I think it would go just great with just about anyone's lunch. Peace out.

Golden Globes: Great comedies get no respect at all

If one thing is clear after Thursday's Golden Globe nominations, it's that the Hollywood foreign press must just be a fairly humorless bunch.

Now, I'm glad to see that "Juno" made the final five, and I can only assume that "Charlie Wilson's War" will have its funny moments (and enough Tom Hanks smugness to make me want to jump out of my chair and just smack the screen), but how in the world can you have a category called "Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy" and not include more of the funniest movies of 2007? (The other nominees were all musicals, "Sweeney Todd," "Hairspray" and "Across the Universe.")

Perhaps the answer is simply to give musicals a category all their own (which might have meant a much-deserved nomination for John Carney's just-perfect "Once.") That's probably too much weight for musicals, but something has to be done to balance the scales in comedy's favor.

Had there been a comedy category, here are the five movies that would have been my nominees:

Hot Fuzz
The Wayans brothers have apparently watched this pitch-perfect spoof of action movies and decided they can do one better. I have nothing but doubt about that, 'cause for my money Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are the masters, and this is the single funniest movie of 2007.

The Simpsons Movie
So what if this was just a 90-minute episode of the TV show? It proved that, with 15 years or so of experience it is indeed possible to come up with a plot and enough jokes to sustain 90 minutes of high entertainment (though why they can't reliably do that from week to week for only 30 minutes anymore is beyond me.)

Superbad
I just watched this again last weekend, and it was at least as good as it was the first time. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera were just as funny as I remembered, but this time the story of the two cops who refuse to grow up, played by Seth Rogen and Bill Hader, just really made me laugh out loud.

Shoot 'Em Up
The beauty of a category for comedy would be if a movie this sublimely silly could really be nominated for anything. If you haven't seen this cartoon-like bullet ballet, rent it immediately. Paul Giamatti, Clive Owen and Monica Bellucci clearly all had fun making it, and as long as you can handle jokes about a baby in extreme peril I guarantee you'll have fun watching it.

And yes, Juno
What's it gonna take to get this little charmer to play wide? I just assumed that a cast this packed with stars would guarantee it a wide ride, but I guess I'm wrong yet again. I suppose that means I'll have to watch Will Smith and his dog walk around for a couple of hours, but I can't really say I'm looking forward to it.

I have a feeling "Walk Hard" might just make a sixth entry to this list, but that's the top five for now (and that means the very funny "Knocked Up" just missed the cut.) As for the rest of the Golden Globe nominations, I could have predicted that my favorite, "Ratatouille," wouldn't be able to make it out of the animated movie ghetto, but there's another, bigger snub that just can't go without mention.

I had to read the list three times to make sure I hadn't missed what must surely be the multiple mentions of "Into the Wild." I had my qualms with the story of Christopher McCandless as told by Sean Penn, but there's no denying it's one of the most powerful movies of 2007, and yet beyond two deserved nominations for Eddie Vedder's songs it was just royally snubbed.

Now, I haven't seen "Atonement," "The Great Debaters" or "There Will Be Blood" (though I'm certainly hyped to do so soon), but how in the world could you have seven nominees for Best Motion Picture - Drama (the other four were "American Gangster," "Eastern Promises," "Michael Clayton" and "No Country for Old Men") and not include "Into the Wild"? Sheesh.

I certainly also would put Emile Hirsch in the top five for Best Actor - Drama (the anointed five are George Clooney, "Michael Clayton," Daniel Day-Lewis, "There Will Be Blood," James McAvoy, "Atonement," Viggo Mortensen, "Eastern Promises" and Denzel Washington, "American Gangster".) His portrayal of McCandless was close to extraordinary.

Much more disturbing was the omission of Hal Holbrook from the Best Supporting Actor category (the big five are Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," Javier Bardem, "No Country for Old Men," Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Charlie Wilson's War," John Travolta, "Hairspray" and Tom Wilkinson, "Michael Clayton") I can see the merit in all of these except for Travolta's turn in the fat suit (which I didn't see since, having already seen "Hairspray" in two very satisfying formats, I saw no reason to see it re-created once again), but Holbrook's performance was just on a whole other level. If the definition of supporting actor is the person who has the most impact on a movie in a short period of time, then no one fits this better than Holbrook as Ron Franz, the wizened gent who made a last-ditch but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to save McCandless from himself (I don't cry at the movies very often at all, but that moment got me, which says quite a bit.)

But, enough about that. I'm off to see "I Am Legend," and hoping that I'm wrong about how much it's going to suck. Have a perfectly enjoyable weekend.

Get back into "The Wire" with three prequels

My brother and I have a rather odd and, I'm sure some would say jaded, view of the spirit of gift-giving. Though we will indeed be exchanging Christmas gifts, each of us already know what we're getting, and it's exactly the same thing: Season 4 of HBO's "The Wire" - a k a the single greatest television show of all time - on DVD.

I suppose we could just skip the formality altogether and just buy our own copies, but we haven't given up on the holiday spirit quite that much just yet. It's just that for both of us there's nothing else out there on DVD that we could possibly want more.

And now, with the fifth and final season of "The Wire" rapidly approaching (coming in January, I believe), creator David Simon has produced three shorts that reintroduce fans to beloved characters. Two of them look at stickup man extraordinaire Omar and drug dealer Prop Joe as kids, while the other is about Jimmy McNulty's first day on the force with partner "Bunk" Moreland.

Here are the direct links for what I guarantee will the best five minutes or so of time you can waste at work today:

Prop Joe

Omar

McNulty and Bunk

Enjoy, and be sure you have that HBO subscription renewed when this great series comes to a close next year.

Got milk? A great cast does

It's not hard to see why the story of Harvey Milk is attracting so much attention. The story of the San Francisco city supervisor and gay-rights activist who was gunned down by a political rival is a compelling American tragedy and certainly a story that will resonate on the big screen.

It has in fact caught the eye of two prominent American directors at once, Bryan Singer and Gus Van Sant, and now it seems that Van Sant will be the winner (or at least the first one to the finish line.)

Van Sant's biopic "Milk" has attracted a rather impressive cast, with Sean Penn set to play Milk himself; Josh Brolin to play Dan White, the S.F. county supervisor who assassinated Milk and Mayor George Moscone; Emile Hirsch to play Cleve Jones, an intern and close ally of Milk's who went on to found the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt; and head geek James Franco to play Scott Smith, Milk's lover and campaign manager. Now that's a cast!

Singer may someday get around to making his own version, "The Mayor of Castro Street," with screenwriter Chris McQuarrie, but why in the world would we need two? Besides, what we, or at least I, need from Mr. Singer after he wraps "Valkyrie" is more "Superman."

Meet the Savages

For a movie I hadn't even heard of yet about two weeks ago, "The Savages" is one that's rapidly rising on my must-see list for the end of the year. First off, I like small movies with lots of smarts and heart, and this certainly seems to be one. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney (resounding huzzah!) star as a brother and sister (the Savages) who have little time for responsibility of any kind until they find they have to care for their ailing father. Enjoy the poster for this Tamara Jenkins flick (click to view much larger), and have a perfectly pleasant Wednesday.

Into the Wild: A hard way to go

I really wanted to love "Into the Wild," and I did like it, but there was one central obstacle at its core that kept me from fully embracing the movie: Christopher McCandless, for all the lionization he received from Sean Penn in this often visually stunning movie, was, in my view, a spoiled and extremely selfish brat.

Now, I concede that that has as much to do with me as the movie itself, but it is a major drawback when you can't get past the gnawing feeling that this kid who's smiling back at you during his cross-country journey is as much a smug bastard as he is simply a misguided youth. Now, I understand that young Mr. McCandless didn't do anything at all criminal, but I couldn't help but get a similarly creeped-out sensation as to the one I had while watching "Capturing the Friedmans." That movie, however, lingered with me for a long time, and I know that Sean Penn's challenging film will too.

In order to continue what is quickly developing into a tirade, but which I assure you will eventually get to the many charms of this flick, I'm just going to have to assume that you have either seen it or are at least a little familiar with the story of the West Virginia native who turned into an ill-fated modern-day Thoreau. If you haven't seen it and want to, and I do encourage everyone to do so, you only have until Thursday to do it in Macon.

So, why did I have so much trouble watching young Mr. McCandless disintegrate on-screen? After all, I like to think I have a little wanderlust left in my soul. I have every intention of returning to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, for example.

I guess I turned on our hero so early in this movie when he dismissed so quickly the accomplishment of graduating from Emory University, something his parents must surely have contributed to at least financially in some form. In short order he gives away all his money, burns all his identification and sets out across the country, leaving behind all the people who loved him. Now, as Penn lays out and, since they cooperated with the movie, I have to assume is true, his parents were a bad match from the start who passed many of their issues on to their offspring. But he also left behind a sister who clearly loved him unconditionally, and her narration in the film gives it much of its emotional wallop.

OK, enough about our (for me, at least anti-) hero. What about the movie itself? Well, for someone who supposedly hates America, Penn has constructed, in McCandless' journey, a visual valentine to this country. And the many people who try and reach out to McCandless, played with determination by Emile Hirsch, are almost universally full of love and the will to stop him from completing his journey to oblivion.

In vision and tone, it is certainly a big step forward for Penn as a director. Like Terrence Malick with thankfully more appreciation for the story he is telling, he clearly has enough love of nature's beauty to give us a sense, no matter how misguided he was, of what would drive McCandless to do this.

And the people he meets are all colorful characters played with style by actors I love. It makes it all that much harder watching the great Catherine Keener, as a hippie living in Slab City when she's not motoring around with hubby (at least, I think they were married) Rainey, played by Brian Dierker (apparently a ski shop owner making his first movie appearance.) To watch her unburden all her troubles to McCandless (who calls himself Alexander Supertramp for much of the movie) and to hear him then later talk about how meaningless human ties are was just painful to watch.

But the real gut shot comes near the end as Hal Holbrook, like you've never seen him before, makes a last-ditch effort to save McCandless. It's in this final, and yes, I'll say it, transcendent, chapter of McCandless' life that Penn's movie is at its strongest. Extreme spoiler alert: Don't read this sentence if you haven't seen the movie: Seeing McCandless slowly write out the lesson he should have learned well before his pretty pathetic end was the first thing that - yes, I'll admit it - made me cry a little during a movie this year. Hal Holbrook should start preparing his Supporting Actor Oscar speech now.

In summary of a review/rant that turned out much longer than I originally intended, Sean Penn's often-great movie lays out the journey of a truly troubled soul and lets you make your own decision (as I clearly did) about his choices. It's a challenging movie, and one I encourage everyone to experience in its big-screen beauty while you still can.