Culture Corner

It's "Massive Gunshot Wound Weekend" here in the DVD corner. "Phone Booth," which was quite well-done and very stylishly presented. The first director to figure out that there are ways to present two points of view without just dividing the screen in half. The result is slick and magazinish. The ending is unsatisfying, and I question the decision to have Colin Farrell sound like he's really in a phone booth, with all kinds of ancillary noise, but to have Kiefer Sutherland, on the other end of the phone, sound like he's coming in on the best direct digital stereo connection you've ever heard. But these are the kinds of thoughts that make you realize that you're turning into Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons.

Also this weekend, "The Road to Perdition," which I was never sure I wanted to see. Not a big Hanks fan, and in this one he seemed to feel the need to butch down his voice to a monotonal grumble. But I'm willing to see just about anything with Paul Newman in it (and Lee is more than willing). I can't believe it's been nearly 10 years since "Nobody's Fool", which I think is his greatest performance. Okay, he was great in "Hud", too, but who can notice him with Patricia Neal smoldering up the set? And now I learn that he's to play Max Roby in the movie version of "Empire Falls." That's fitting, since Sully and Max are just different variations on the same theme (Richard Russo, don't ya know). "Perdition" was good, despite a lot more blood and shooting than I can normally tolerate. When it was over, I started scanning the channels for something that didn't involve blood-spattered walls. The first thing I hit on was "Gun" on Trio's "Brilliant But Cancelled." CLICK! Next: "The Untouchables" on Bravo. CLICK! I gave up and went to bed.

Non-gunshot wound movie: "What a Girl Wants," which was for the girls. Bekah apparently found the whole thing too much, the thought of a girl who doesn't know her father practically did her in. Well, it would do me in, too, but it's a movie. She cried a lot and kept saying, "This is not my kind of movie." Now they both popped out of bed at 7:00 this morning to watch it again. And again.

Books? Finished "You Shall Know Our Velocity," as I may have said. Fantastic. One of those books you wish you could live in for a very long time. Then I went back to some old Hammetts, having delivered a screed against the old boy not too long ago. Found "The Red Harvest" to be terse, witty, exciting. Finding "The Dain Curse" to be the major drag I've always found it to be. It's just about impossible to follow. Better luck with "The Glass Key," I hope. And then I started in on a wonderful little book about bicycle racing, called "The Long Season: One Year of Bicycle Road Racing in California"by Bruno Schull. Very nice writing, lovely descriptions of races, and some gentle instruction in the intricacies of bicycle racing (though not as good as Lance Armstrong's explanations, I will say -- better off here having some understanding going in.)

Today: Insulation Day! (Seems like there should be a U2 song about that).