Celine, Bush and Oscar

Celine:
I'm off to Vegas today to see Celine in concert. I'm so excited but I don't know why. I'm not even a fan, though I did love her meltdown on TV over the Katrina debacle. It should be fascinating if nothing else.

Bush:
I almost didn't watch the speech but at the last minute I succumbed. I loathe Bush. I'm not interested in anything he has to say because I don't believe a word out of his mouth. I just want this nightmare of a presidency to end. I don't hate Republicans. I would've supported a Colin Powell presidency but Bush...well it's a nightmare. Truly. What more is there to say? So I watched the speech and I'm so glad I did. His introduction of Pelosi was classy and historic. Here's hoping we see another classy and historic moment two years from now when he hands the reigns over to President Clinton and her Vice President, Bill.

Oscar:
This will be the year when people are given Oscars for who they are as opposed to what they did. Scorese will get a well-deserved lifetime achievemment award under the guise of best director for The Departed. Al Gore will win best Doc as a consolation prize for losing the presidency. Borat will probably be awarded best adapted screenplay because everyone loves the film even though the "adapted" nomination makes no sense. This is the year when "who you are" will trump what you did. It was a very weak year for film. My two favorite films are still Jackass and Borat. Last year we had the incredibly complex Brokeback Mountain, a film I saw about 6 times at the theater and I'm still not sure I understand it. This year we have Babel, a film so simple in it's message that it could be a bumper sticker: "Take Care of Your Kids!" "Guns are Bad!" "We're all the same!" Snoooze. I long for movies that haunt me. Nothing this year haunts me but I still think about sad Ennis Del Mar and that blood-stained shirt hanging in his closet. I think about Ennis and wonder what he's doing today. I frequently return to You Tube to be devastated by Jennifer Holliday doing "I'm Not Going" on the Tonys but the movie of Dreamgirls has almost completely faded from my memory. None of the nominated movies this year are bad but I want more. I'm greedy. Where is the next Silence of the Lambs or Jaws? Where is that movie that grips you from the very first frame and leaves you disturbed, shocked, scared, enlightened. Where is that movie that makes you want to run back into the theater. Is anyone really inspired, haunted and shaken by The Queen or The Departed? I remember being shaken by the original poster for Alien, that green egg, floating...and the film still grips me...EVERY SINGLE TIME I WATCH IT. Or the Wizard of Oz even. Where is the Wizard??? Where are the movies that make you want to watch them again and again and again. I saw The Departed twice and on the second viewing it felt like old news, the surprises were no longer surprising. When I watch The Fugitive I'm always afraid Harrison Ford is not gonna get away and I've seen that film millions of times. I know the ebnding but I forget as I watch because the movie is so perfectly made. Those are the movies I'm waiting for and those are the movies I did not get this year. I got some really good movies this year but I'm still waiting for the next Jaws. Maybe next year.