Actors, and Writers and ROME - Oh MY!

Happy New Year to everyone! Welcome to a new blogging year. Over this holiday season, I saw a few movies, read a lot, and watched a lot of shows on DVD from HBO.

Firstly – SEAN PENN is an acting GOD. Tim and I went to see MILK on Friday night and I was blown away by Penn’s acting. It is flawless. He embodies this person to the point where you forget it is Sean Penn. I mean Penn is usually amazing and he should have won for Dead Man Walking, but this just solidifies to all out there that he is THE Actor of our time. After I saw the movie I watched some You Tube stuff on Harvey Milk and again – was blown away. It was the actor I saw on the screen just a few hours earlier. How does Penn do it? Even Jamie Foxx in Ray wasn’t that embodied. It’s worth seeing the movie just for Penn.

Secondly – I’ve been reading a lot. Lately a lot of lite reading – the Twilight series, and then some sexy Vampire romance in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series I borrowed from my friend (which was actually not bad and I am looking forward the rest of the series). But then I decided I needed some literature. And I finally picked up THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy that has been sitting there waiting for me to pick up. WOW. What an amazing book. It is the type of book you wish you didn’t want to read as it is what you can only imagine human kind turning into should something apocalyptic happen. You’d have good guys and then the ones that will just do anything, and I mean ANYTHING to survive. It is amazingly scary, bleak, sad, beautiful, simple and yet complex book. I couldn’t put it down. He writes so lyrically and simply in terms of dialogue in a way I wish more writers would do. Less is more isn’t it? Within the first 10 pages I had tears from a simple exchange between father and son. It is gut wrenching but worth every turn of the page. I won’t say anymore except it left me haunted and thinking for hours afterwards. I was deeply affected by it. I only hope they do justice to it in the Hollywood movie version. I did hear that the director is not “hollywoodish” so I can only hope that it will be faithful, and simple.

Finally - ROME the HBO series kicks major ass. I have never seen so much explicit sex, violence, great sets, costumes and really good acting all in one place. I am only too sad to learn that it is only 2 seasons. We’ve also been watching Extras by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais…good I love those blokes. It’s not as funny as The Office (BBC version) but the fact that they have Kate Winslet miming giving a blow job in a nuns habit….PRICELESS.