Avoiding Politics Tonight

A post that has absolutely nothing to do with politics or scandal.

Yesterevening I settled down to watch Dziga Vertov's Man With a Movie Camera, but my heart wasn't in it. I switched over to the cable and began watching Ratatouille instead. Okay, it's a bit of a contrast--from silent Soviet-era avant-garde to splashy Pixar animation--but let me tell you--Ratatouille was a treat. Absolutely delightful, charming, and fresh. I had my doubts--seriously, an hour or so gazing on animated rat hordes? (shudder). The film won me over completely--especially Peter O'Toole's voicing of the gothic and Vincent Price-y restaurant critic Atom Ego (I swear this is a reference to filmmaker Atom Egoyan).

Then another shift. I plugged in a dvd of what promised to be a cheesy Italian giallo titled My Dear Killer (I know--it sounds awful). To my pleased surprise, it was terrific enough to keep me awake past my bedtime. It avoided the giallo cliches, for the most part anyway, and focused on plot rather than death--blackmail, kidnapping, questionable affections for children, and a pretty decent Agatha Christie-type ending that I won't go into. And for once, George Hilton really impressed me.

So last night was a solid gold movie night.

On another note: The other night I tried watching Paul Naschy's turn in Rojo Sangre. Didn't finish it. What an awful film--the director tried to go all out in terms of style and flash, but the plot, although promising (formerly successful actor gets his vengeance out, a la Vincent Price), was terrible--it descended into sheer nastiness. Totally unappealing in every way.


One hundred (100) days until the election!