Or you.

GAH! I'll just be crawling under a rock now.

The bit from Glory listed above made me teary, and I haven't even seen the movie. It's similar to another big cry point of mine, from the HBO movie, Citizen X. The point in question takes place when the guy who'd been tracking Chikatilo for years and years and years despite all the obstructions inherent in the Soviet system hears through his superior officer that the FBI profilers, et. al. have been tracking the case through various intelligence reports and so on, and that he is being used as a textbook example at Quantico of what an investigator should be, etc. Before he gets the message, he is just about completely burnt out and ready to give up.

It's similar to another big cry point of mine, from the HBO movie, Citizen X.

Oh wow. Big cry point for me too. His gratitude at just being acknowledged was heartbreaking.

I love Citizen X. What a fantastic movie. My favorite line is near the end, when the forensic psychologist, played by Max Von Sydow, turns to Donald Sutherland (the political officer) and Stephen Rhea (the cop who's been chasing the serial killer) and tells them "It's been a pleasure working with you. Together, the two of you make a wonderful person."

I can't think of any.

The only thing that came anywhere close to making me cry in that movie was "No capes!" and that was just a physical reaction to all the laughter.

As I recall, that's the crypoint of the character in Citizen X as well. Poor shmuck. Stephen Rea's hangdog face was perfect for that role.

I was watching X2 over Thanksgiving, and I found myself wondering if Famke Janssen was standing on a box for some of her scenes with Jackman, because she looked taller than him.

IIRC, they are listed at about the same height. So, if she was wearing shoes of any kind, to say nothing of high heels, she would look taller than him. The funny part is, in heels, she towers over James Marsden.

My favorite example of international filmmaking is shows and movies that are made in a non-US location and (due mostly to laws governing this sort of thing) hire lots of local actors. So, after watching Farscape, The Lord of the Rings, and the Matrix movies, I feel like I know the Australian/NZ local acting pool rather well. Same for Vancouver (and some Toronto) actors, who if they never guested on The X-Files, were definitely on Highlander or Smallville.

A whole bunch of movies just got disallowed from being Foreign Films at the Academy awards ... let me go look ...

Yeah, either America is snarfing the world, or borders are just getting too blurry in these large efforts:

Since Oscar submissions for foreign-language films may only be made by the country in which they are made -- and only one film per country -- several of the top foreign language movies of 2004 have already been eliminated. They include Maria Full of Grace, A Very Long Engagement, The Motorcycle Diaries, and Bad Education, the Los Angeles Times observed today (Thursday). Also eliminated: Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, in which Aramaic was the principal spoken language. "This system doesn't work," producer and academy member Samuel Goldwyn Jr. told the Times. "The academy's job is to pick the best foreign-language picture of the year. But what happens when two of the best pictures of the year are both made in France? Or suppose you had Italy's The Bicycle Thief and La Dolce Vita in the same year. It would be criminal if you could only pick one."

Oh, while I was looking I found this:

Concerned about the recent backlash over the Janet Jackson incident and the FCC's apparent determination to enforce its decency rules to the letter, Sony Film Classics has asked director Michael Radford to digitally retouch a scene in his The Merchant of Venice in which a naked cupid is shown in a Veronese fresco, the London Financial Times reported today (Friday). The newspaper said that Radford had already anticipated the distributors' concerns by shooting extra scenes for television in which bare-breasted prostitutes who appear in the theatrical version are fully clothed for TV. But Radford said that he was perplexed when he received a request from the distributors to "paint-box the wallpaper" in one of the scenes. "I said, wallpaper, what wallpaper? This is the 16th century. People didn't have wallpaper." When it became clear that they were referring to the fresco, he said, he drew the line. "A billion dollars worth of Veronese great master's frescoes they want paint-boxed out because of this cupid's willy. It is absolutely absurd," he said.

Michael Radford rocks. He has the rat face-cage from 1984 in his dining room.

According to IMDB, she's 5'11", he's 6'2 1/2".

And, BTW, according to Guinness Book, the tallest leading actor of all time is Christopher Lee, at 6'5".

Hugh Jackman, 6'2"? Nonsense. In interviews, he usually cops to being 5'11".

(And I think he is like Brad Pitt and George Clooney, i.e. the sort of guy who is like, No I am not six foot. So?)

And, BTW, according to Guinness Book, the tallest leading actor of all time is Christopher Lee, at 6'5".

Shaquille O'Neal has played the lead in a couple of films.

Hugh Jackman, 6'2"? Nonsense. In interviews, he usually cops to being 5'11".

I dunno, it sounds about right to me after seeing him in Oklahoma!, unless everyone else was really short.