Typically, this is the column where I sit down and talk about a random smattering of movie releases and urge you to rush to the theatres and see them. And Iím going to do that this time, but because itís Oscar season and the cinemas are literally packed with flicks worthy of your time, I thought it wise to spend just a few brief words on a whole bunch of flicks that deserve your attention this holiday season. First and foremost, runóand I do mean runóto see Judi Dench chew some major scenery as spinster, recluse, abysmally lonely schoolteacher Barbara Covett in Notes On Scandal. As Barbara forms an unhealthy obsession with new teacher Sheba Hart (the equally divine Cate Blanchett), we see the evil wheels in her head start to turn. When she finds out Sheba has affections for someone decidedly younger (a 15-year-old boy, no less), those wheels start to role. Itís a cat and mouse game masterfully directed by Richard EyreÖ and the vast lesbian undertones are just the icing on the cake.
Helen Mirren turns in a brilliant performance in The Queen, and comparing hers and Denchís work is like mixing oil and vinegar. Where as Judi makes the hair on the back of your neck stand with the whisper of a word, Mirren is all restraint, humanizing the otherwise unreachably rough exterior of Queen Elizabeth in the days following Princess Dianaís death. History nuts will see a truly eye opening look behind the walls of Buckingham Palace, and the film strikes an entertaining balance between docudrama and biopic.
If youíre looking for something a bit more mindless, check out Eragonóor as I like to call it, Lord of the Rings for dummies. True, thereís not much in the way of plotóand the whole thing sort of feels like it was slapped together by a novice. But itís a fun enough way to spend an hour and a half, and the eye candy galore (from Edward Speleers and Chris Egan wrestling in the hay as cousins to Garrett Hedlund wielding a bow and arrow as a knight in not so shining armor) makes it seem like a much better movie than it really is.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is the type of movie people who love sitting on the edge of their seat, thinking and perhaps spend hours pouring through cologne samples in an extra thick issue of GQ might enjoy. The flick spends to hours talking of scentóthe human scene, which is what an obsessed master nose becomes intrigued by. From the director of Run, Lola, Run, one of the most underrated films of all time, Dustin Hoffman even drops by to share in the fun. Now how perfect is that?
And in by far the seasonís most ambitious undertaking, Alfonso Cuaron tackles the PD James bestseller The Children of Men, which tells of a world in the not to distant future in which environmental changes have rendered women infertile. Think of it as a sort of sequel to An Inconvenient Truth. Itís a thinking manís sci-fi thriller in the vein of 12 Monkeys and it boasts an award winning cast consisting of Clive Owen, Julianne Moore and Michael Caine. Truly one of the best kept secrets of the holiday season.
And there you have it folksófive excuses not to be drunk in a bar all weekend. Go ahead, enjoy, and weíll see you in 2007.
