film ed: jesus camp ***

i had heard from several people that this was an interesting documentary, so i thought i'd check it out. it was very well made, and more than a little scary. my only beef with the film is that the producers make the religious right look more one-dimensional than it really is. but it seemed like a fair depiction of the people in the film. favorite character: rat-tail boy.

this is the kind of documentary that you should watch with other people, so you can talk about it afterwards. there's a lot to process, and the film itself doesn't really provide much in the way of editorial opinion, outside the air america dj who occasionally pipes in his opinion.

film ed: harry potter and the half-blood prince ***

this was the first one that i found to be thoroughly entertaining. still only three stars, but a marked improvement. mrs. stillwaiting and i both noted how lucky that the franchise has been to not have a single child actor suffer from 'ugly adult syndrome'. i was expecting that at least one of the three protagonists would turn out with a face that only a mother could love, just based on simple odds. but they, and all the supporting child actors, turned out okay. in fact, ron weasley (played by rupert grint) is downright ripped--he doesn't quite fit the usual weasley description, but it works on the big screen.

bar exam blues

i'll be taking the california bar exam next week. since i won't be posting until after that, i thought i might leave you with a little treat:

film ed: the curious case of benjamin button ***

it's like forrest gump at half speed. you will find yourself yawning about thirty minutes in, and compulsively checking the clock every five minutes from that point forward. i guess a lot happens in the film, but that's more a function of its length (2:46) than its pacing. it's a slow jam of a script.

that said, i actually enjoyed it to some extent. i've become a brad pitt fan over the past few years, and i thought he was as good in benjamin button as he's been in anything i've seen. but cate blanchett is one of my all-time favorite actors, and her performance here just confirmed my opinion.

the film is a great concept, but it falls short in its execution. i think it's hard to show a man growing younger without taking a long time, so i imagine the screenwriter struggled to cut the script even to its current length. i thoroughly enjoyed the short story by f. scott fitzgerald upon which the film is based, but it's light years shorter than the film.

what struck me more than anything were the eery similarities with forrest gump. the similarities were not so much plot-related (though there were some of those, too), but more the similarities in theme. both show a man who is born unique, and who lives a very remarkable life, but seems alone throughout that life. this isn't quite as sentimental a trip as forrest gump was. the end was touching, but after watching a man grow young for two and a half hours, it's hard to appreciate.

and now, only six months late, i've finally seen all the nominees for best picture from last year. here's how i'd rank them:

1. milk
2. slumdog millionaire
3. frost/nixon
4. the curious case of benjamin button
5. the reader

milk was my clear favorite, slumdog and frost were in my second tier, and then i thought benjamin button and the reader were in the third tier.

film ed: harry potter and the order of the phoenix ***

now this is where things get good. the improvements aren't as noticeable in the film, but there is still much more complexity in this fifth installment than there has been in the previous four films.

there's rebellion, as the poster says, but there's also a great internal struggle between good and evil. there's much less certainty and confidence in harry's character, and much more of a recognition of his power, as well.