Notes On Entertainment

Ellen Page rocks!
Yep, it’s true. I heart that girl. As most of you probably know, she is now officially an Oscar-nominated actor. Isn’t that just wonderful? I had an interesting discussion with a friend yesterday, and my friend strongly believes that the movie Juno is overrated. Well, there may be some truth to that, but I prefer to focus on the positive. I thought Juno was great. I don’t care if people call it a “chick flick.” Whatever! This film presented an interesting (female) character that has to deal with an unexpected pregnancy. Ellen was perfect as Juno MacGuff. There was something fresh and exciting about this film. I’m so glad the critics (and America) embraced this film with so much gusto.

Cloverfield delivered!
I was completely satisfied after watching this film last week. J.J. Abrams, Matt Reeves, and Drew Goddard created an impressive movie that lived up to my expectations. Cloverfield has
been described as “Godzilla meets The Blair Witch Project.” Yeah, that’s a fairly accurate statement, but that doesn’t take anything away from the film. It was quite effective. Others have complained about the lack of information throughout the film. You know, it’s kind of annoying that some people expect everything to be explained to them. What are we? A collection of brainless tissue? This movie forces the audience to pay attention. I felt like an active participant throughout the movie, trying to make sense of the whole situation. That’s what things are like in the real world. When a natural disaster strikes, we don’t have a nicely written manual to refer to; we have to pay attention . . . if we want to survive.



An untimely death.
When I learned of Heath Ledger’s passing, I was at a loss for words. To be honest, I didn’t quite believe it at first. He was so young and talented. It’s a real shame, and he will be missed by his fans. His ex-wife’s father released a statement about Heath that I found quite touching. He said,

I think [poet] Tennyson got it right in the poem when he described someone as having died at a young age but burning the candles at both ends, and oh what a beautiful flame he made, that was Heath, what a beautiful flame he made and a great talent.

My heart goes out to his family and friends.