Kino

In my time at the Post, I've reviewed: 27 Dresses, Into the Wild, Iron Man, Sleuth, There Will Be Blood, Gone Baby Gone, Doomsday, In Bruges, Indiana Jones, Shutter, Vantage Point, What the Bleep, Kinoautomat, Speed Racer, What Happens in Vegas, 21, My Blueberry Nights, Sex and the City, Forgetting Sarah Marshall...

So it's been a really mixed bag. But today I'm pleased with my review for the terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad movie The Happening. It actually generated some response!

Says "Justin": Just saw that movie, and your review nailed my thoughts exactly.
Says "Peter": Thank You for saving me some money....

That doesn't look like much but believe me, it's validation! Are writers masochists? We accept breadcrumbs with such joy. But seriously, people usually don't take the time to respond to anything unless they have a complaint. At SW, I used to have a file of positive breadcrumbs (so to speak) that I'd saved, to look over when I felt particularly like I was working in a vacuum. So TWO responses, both in agreement, is really exciting. And that movie really is a piece of shit, ya'll. He's never going to beat The Sixth Sense.

The next movie I'm looking forward to is East of Eden at the outdoor cinema on Sunday. I saw it for the first time last year and it blew my mind. The quality of acting, the story...I was watching a lot of Tennessee Williams at the time too. I wish I had my notes on it. But OMG! Watch this video of James Dean and Paul Newman, via Nerve's excellent Screengrab blog. It's before the filming of Eden, when Newman was up for the role of Dean's character's brother. It takes a second for the sound to kick in. Wait for it, and try not to get too hot and bothered at your desk.