Charlie X

Another fantastic episode!

• 428 crew aboard; that’s the first time I’ve heard the exact number, I believe.
• Uhura’s singing was unexpected and beautiful; it was an excellent way to reveal how troubled Charlie is: just a moment, then the levity returns with card tricks.
• Celebrating Thanksgiving was interesting; man, those Pilgrims (or Spanish) have stayin’ power! ;-)
• Charlie’s performance was fantastic: that smile that only touches his lips — practically maniacal! And simple things like those gangly arms of his; just perfect!
• The ship has a gymnasium? It’s amazing how many rooms the holodeck on The Next Generation effectively replaced.
• Speaking of TNG, Charlie was very Q-like in his forcing Spock to recite poetry; and what an incredible finale in general — just heart-wrenching.

Felicia’s Journey

This movie’s tag line — “The heart of a child. The soul of a monster.” — is one of many examples of shortcuts in movie marketing. And it doesn’t end with simply spoiling that incredible moment when we hear a strange woman’s disembodied voice in the Hilditch house, only to discover that we know that car that she’s riding in, once the video footage is before us; that uncomfortable feeling would’ve lingered for many minutes (maybe even half an hour) before our worst fears were realized when we’re finally shown the later moments of that same footage, had the tag line not dispelled any doubts regarding Hilditch’s intentions from the outset.

No, the intricacies of the sets and the dream sequences, those painfully long shots of Hilditch in the kitchen or in front of the vanity, or in the garden as a child, were all brushed aside by words that would suit a cheap slasher.

That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. And I’m even more certain that Egoyan is stylistically the closest I’ve seen to Lynch in my, albeit limited, travels: I mean, that opening sequence fairly shouted Blue Velvet (and Twin Peaks too), with the music and the slow progression through the set.

Green Dion?

From the Globe and Mail:

“Divided nothing is possible. United everything is possible,” [Dion] said, arguing that he would be the greenest prime minister for Canada.

From The London Free Press:

The Liberals have been criticized for renting the old, gas-guzzling plane for the duration of the campaign.

Understanding that campaigning in general demands a lot of travelling once you’re in a certain league, declaring yourself the greenest PM while flying across the country (in an old plane, no less) is quite a claim.

Babel and Exotica

I just happened to borrow them from the library, and what a pair to pick: excellent movies (particularly Exotica, which I just finished), but I feel completely drained right now (and it’s been days since I watched Babel).

I’m lucky: I can forget for long stretches how much some people suffer. I’m healthier when I do. Otherwise I take too much in; I can lose perspective.

Exotica reminded me of Twin Peaks at times. Inland Empire left me longing for more — more Lynch; more in general; more Mulholland Dr., no doubt — and I did enjoy reminiscing over Blue Velvet and Lost Highway at the Mayfair a few months ago, but now I’m thinking that Egoyan’s work could also sate some of that; the only other one I’ve seen to date is The Sweet Hereafter (which I also enjoyed, although not as much as Exotica).

I’ve seen Bruce Greenwood many times (including Nowhere Man), and, frankly, I didn’t know he had this performance in him. He was second only to Elias Koteas, in my opinion, who absolutely shone as Eric.

And, speaking of amazing performances, Rinko Kikuchi as Chieko in Babel was heartbreaking: there was so much suffering in that movie, but her silent anguish will stay with me for a long time, I know.