Movie.

The only movie I saw over the holidays…actually, the only movie I have seen in forever was Frost/Nixon. I was persuaded to see it by my BFF although I did slip in one “OH hey, we could go see Twilight!” just to to make the effort, but no, it was Frost/Nixon or nothing so…ok. Hey look, I have a deep fondness for Michael Sheen. He’s cute. He’s a good actor. That’s pretty much enough. But I also really like Frank Langella. I think he is kind of a forgotten actor. When I mention him people always say “Frank Who?” but then you mention a few movies he’s been in and “Oh yeeeeeeah, him.”

He is, in fact, my first Dracula (I am totally going to market that as a new toy. MY FIRST DRACULA by Fisher Price!). Before him I was only aware of the Bela Lugosi verision which is a good one, I don’t mean to dismiss him since he is THE movie Dracula (who is nothing like *shudder* Nosferatu), but the 1970 something version was my favorite for many years…may still be. And Langella gets the sexy vamp, unlike the wonderful Gary Oldman who…let’s just assume it was someone else’s idea, ok? Annnnnyway…yes, frank Langella. AMAZING. Brilliant as Nixon. And this movie is basically two guys talking. A talking head movie, as it were. So I found myself concentrating on his face a lot. I couldn’t decide if he was wearing prosthetics or not, I couldn’t quite picture the details of his face to know. Turns out, he was. I know there were jowl prosthetics and I think there was a bit of a nose involved as well. I am not totally convinced that there weren’t earlobe add-ons too…they struck me as not quite right for his face. I’ve been pouring over pictures of him trying to tell.

Because this was basically an endless series of close-ups, I finally understood why all the actors these days are worrying about high definition tv. It struck home when I noticed that both Kevin Bacon and Michael Sheen have pierced ears. Not a big deal except I doubt that the people they were playing had pierced ears. For me, this isn’t a big deal but it does open a small can of worms for actors. If I noticed holes in ears in a movie, what am I going to notice on a high def televison. I hear the prOn actors are the most worried. Can’t really blame them.

So, not really a review but I did rather enjoy Frost/Nixon, much to my surprise. I went in expecting nothing and came out thinking, “Hmmm, better than I imagined.” The two phrases that do chase around my mind though are “ham-fisted” and “heavy-handed" which, yes, do pretty much mean the same thing. Some of the direction and writing took away from my pleasure in the acting. But I also go in with a bias of not loving Ron Howards’ direction, so you know, if you dig his other stuff, you won’t be bothered. Hmmm…I just went back to look at his directorial credits and I do like some stuff. Splash, Night Shift. Parenthood, but…yeah, I think it’s fair to call him heavy-handed. And I will never be able to forgive him for How the Grinch Stole Christmas, never.

Now I am off to much worse pursuits. The husband is going out of town so I have moved terrible romantic comedies to the top of the queue. I don’t expect Mama Mia to be good but hey, Colin Firth, Stellan Skaaaaarsgaaaaaaaaard and Pierce Brosnan? Singing ABBA? Yeah, not gonna miss that. I even got a bottle of sparking sake to make it go down easier. I’ll let you know how that works for me.