Friday, October 21, 2005

Things to do if your friends make movies.



- My friend Marley Angel and this guy I knew in college named Jacob Gentry are both aspiring filmmakers, and they both recently had breakthroughs in regard to their ambitions. Marley just completed her first short film, SPEED DATING 101, and is submitting it to film festivals. Just click on the title to watch it. Meanwhile, Jacob's first feature, THE LAST GOODBYE featuring Faye Dunaway and David Carradine and filmed in Atlanta, was just released on DVD through Warner. Check out their movies.
- The new Regal Cinemas theater in Atlantic Station - the new, hip neighborhood sprouting up around the IKEA - just opened, I think, or is about to open. That neighborhood seems to have "happened" really, really quickly.



- Director George Clooney's GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. has been getting across-the-board good reviews for its subject, its pacing and its cast, particularly David Strathairn. It's about newsman Edward R. Murrow taking on Sen. Joseph McCarthy, and I'm all about journalism movies. Even if it is about television.
- Of course, as usual, you could do what I always say and hit the Center for Puppetry Arts. If you've already seen SOMETHING WICKED or another of their shows, you should check out their museum or workshops.
- Charlize Theron's getting even more Oscar buzz for her work in Niki Caro's NORTH COUNTRY, which focuses on the first case of sexual harassment filed in the United States. Wow, McCarthyism and sexual harassment movies, instead of something about superheroes. I guess we should be aware that it's no longer summer at the cinemas.



- The second season of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, now available on DVD, is absolutely hilarious, but I think I've figured out why people don't watch it from week to week on television. It's because it's more fun to take the show in giant, multi-episode doses. Perhaps Fox should only show episodes back-to-back or in marathons.
- Since I saw Ben Folds in concert a couple weeks ago, I've been listening to his music in my car at times when I needed to cheer up. When I had a caution light come on in my car and had to drive to Buford, for instance, I listened to ROCKIN' THE SUBURBS on the way home. When I had an identity crisis, I listened to his song, "The Best Imitation of Myself." When I had that abortion, I listened to "Brick." (Yay! Tasteless abortion humor!) Ben Folds makes good, quirky piano music, and I think you ought to listen to him if you haven't already.
- Finally, there's going to be a simple question this week. The great BATMAN BEGINS, featuring Christian Bale as the best Batman ever onscreen, just came out on DVD. So who's your favorite superhero? What's your favorite superhero movie? Who was the best actor to play your favorite superhero? And, to go a little Barbara Walters or Oprah on this question, who is your own personal, real-life superhero?

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