Oh sweet moviemaking.

Spring is in the air my friends yes everywhere you look around.

For my educated friends finals are approaching and I hope you are keeping the balance of life. Work and play. Warm and cold. Sleep and insomnia.

This is a little late but lets chat a bit about: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Now I must say after this and Gone Baby Gone I'm a huge believer in the talent of one Mr. Casey Affleck. I'm not a huge history buff but if I were to imagine Robert Ford in person I would feel as through he had the despondent qualities of Affleck's performance. On the one hand he is completely annoying....his voice and sly mannerisms get under your skin. At the same time there is a sympathy evoked from the origin of these characteristics. Its a very American movie literally but also in that figurative sense where we feel for the underdog. We want the small man, the "nobody" to rise above. On the other hand I was also swept up in Brad Pitts performance. Now no offense i love his philanthropy but as far as acting goes he's usually just a juicy piece of action man candy. He did some acting this time. It was highly believable. Maybe not to the caliber of his less famous co-stars but non-the-less a fine performance.
Make sure and watch out for Sam Rockwell's performance. He turns in quite the scene stealer as the un-famous brother of the more un-famous coward. Very surprising and commendable portrayal. Now be warned this is a sleeper hit, emphasis on the sleeper. Don't watch this piece if you aren't in the mindset or are the slightest bit drowsy. It will put you to sleep. But the story mixed perfectly with the sweeping landscape and the antique filming quality makes it a wonderful picture to check out.

Now lets get ourselves up to speed and to something a little more light shall we?!?!?!

State and Main.
I'll admit for as much as I like to think I'm on top of the motion picture industry I have never heard of this before. The cover got me. SJP, William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Julia Stiles and one of the cinematic loves of my life Philip Seymour Hoffman. I was sold for the meager price of $1.50. I definitely got a steal for this gem. This is one of my top ensemble movies. Plus its a fabulous cast making a spoof of making a movie. It so surprising how honest these little movies really get. Basically it takes every stereotype about Hollywood and small town life and smashes them together ensuring a situationally hilarious picture. Watch the one line zingers it may take a second to sink in. Now when I say hilarity we aren't talking Judd Apatow or anything for my more scatology inclined readers. No this is more a dry true life humor. Where you watch a situation unfold and you realize how utterly ridiculous we are as a collective human race. Only where you cannot laugh at these situations or concepts in real life the movie gives you the freedom to enjoy yourself out loud. This is a smart mans comedy and you have to watch every second to really love it.

Up next: A History of Violence. I'm a little scared to watch this by myself I hear its graphic. But Maria Bello and Viggo Mortensen are two of the best and most understated (box office wise) actors of today so I'm super duper excited.
Reel love <3