All that hair

Finally, a movie all about hair - men's hair, that is.

Just saw THE LIBERTINE last night and got a dose of two favorites - John Malkovich and Johnny Depp - and wow, do they wear serious wigs in this film. All the men do (and did), as it takes place during the reign of Charles II (John Malkovich). Johnny Depp plays Rochester, the clever wit filled with such ennui that he must live extremely to attempt to feel anything - drinking, lots of women, writing, insulting others -

He meets Lizzie (Samantha Morton, who is rather good), an actress, who he decides to coach and I think you can pretty much figure out what happens from here.

However, I must say that the costume dramas I love so much keep getting randier and raunchier. I am not complaining in the least - who can complain about Johnny Depp - but I suppose it's because for a while the trend was dirt. You know, no one with teeth, lots of greasy hair, dirty necks, streets filled with mud and refuse, lots of rats. They'd kind of pushed that to the limit so they had to go somewhere else. Hence, lots of lusty scenes. And cursing. And lots more of other, shall we say - stimulating - things in this picture. For goodness sake, Rochester's servant is named Alcock. Not sure even Dickens could have come up with that.

Really worth a watch. Johnny M. (my beloved from high school) plays a very tall Charles II with a super big and long (fake) nose. Excellent. Johnny D.'s nose is falling off by the end, so it did come down to the battle of the noses. Hee.

In your honor

Emily, in honor of this sacred day - your birthday - I'd like dedicate this message to you. Here's some eye candy - past and present - for you.

From Tom Hulce to Jeff Bridges, from A FISH CALLED WANDA to LANTANA, from the Anthony Wayne Theater to Netflix, you are, and will remain, the best movie friend ever. (And regular friend, too, but this is a movie blog.)

Happy day!!

When in Rome

Okay, I'm back - my space on this board has gotten a bit dusty. Apologies.

Did see in the blur that was July all 13 episodes of I, CLAUDIUS, starring the magnificent Derek Jacobi as Claudius, the stuttering, club-footed emperor of Rome. Based on the novels by Robert Graves, it's a story of the Roman Empire after the fall of the Republic. It seems like a dusty subject, but trust me, it's all about lust, murder, power, and sex. Lots of sex.

Man, those Romans were nuts - Livia, Claudius' grandmother, poisoned almost everyone around her, including her husband, and got away with it. Let's not forget Claudius' super disgusting nephew Caligula (played by John Hurt), who helped murder his own father, married one of his sisters, and believed he was Zeus in human form (and then did as Zeus did with Athena when his sister/wife gets pregnant with his child. ick. if you can't remember, bust out your mythology book to read the story of Athena's birth).

This series has great acting, but the set design and the seriously bad age makeup is laughable. Granted, it was the 70s, but when you can see someone's wig move when they scratch their head, it's hard to suspend disbelief.

Highly entertaining. Not so aesthetically pleasing, but the acting certainly makes up for it -

Onto another series for me!

THOU ARE BUDDHA

 It was back to American drama last night with THE DYING GAUL, after a lengthy stretch of British cinema and TV.  Gorgeous language (playwright turned screenwriter and director Craig Lucas has a truly lyrical ear for words), amazing sets (I may have to go hunting for that house in Malibu when we are in CA this fall) and phemonenal performances from the lead trio of Campbell Scott, Patricia Clarkson and Peter Sarsgaard, who continues to astound me with everything he does.  The story requires tremendous leaps in plausibility, and it does suffer from a bit of staginess (one of the chief hazards of adapting theater to the big screen), but the photography is beautiful, and it does manage to pack some serious emotional punch despite an abrupt, bizarre ending.  (WHY WHY WHY is it so hard for movies to end well??)  Peter S. has a "meltdown" scene that is one of the scariest and most palpable things I have ever seen on screen, so be ready for that.  It might leave you feeling more than a little bit rattled.  Over-all, a flawed and quirky bit of cinematic wonder.