I saw a version of the narrated BR on TV a couple of months ago, and the only detail that stands out in my mind is the fact Deckard is divorced. (His wife called him a cold fish.) But, you know, looking at him, did you really think he was happily married?

I think the other problem with the voiceover is that film noir tended, at first, to use it in surprising ways; but the VO legacy is of irritating summary and annoyingly obvious rhetoric. It's still possible to have a VO be the exact right tool to use (see Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard ) to convey that intimately mannered viewpoint without being dull, but I think that VO tends to be used carelessly more often than not.

Apparently the movie of The Oddyssey is going to be a fantasy film but from Telemachus' p.o.v.

The TV miniseries version of The Odyssey from a few years ago was wonderful.

How a Meek Comic Book Company Became a Hollywood Superpower -- from the NYT so registration required. (I believe that there is a buffistas/foamy one for the NYT.)

Oooh. I loved that version of the Odyssey.

The casting was inspired.

Then again, I recognize that I have an unwholesome thing for Armand Assante. It all started with Belizaire the Cajun.

Diva! DavidS, have you read any of the books? They are remarkably strange. And kind of creepy.

Strega, I have the neon bright paperback editions sitting on my bookshelf right here. I really love them, though they got progressively less grounded in reality as the series went on. Despite that, Viva - one of the last ones, set in LA - is one of my favorites. It's got a Jazz Assassin! I thought Delacorta did a pretty good job tap-dancing around the age difference between Gorodish and Alba - though it was still creepy.

It all started with Belizaire the Cajun.

As all good and lusty things should.

Laissez les bon temps roulet

Oui!

I love everything about that sweet little movie, and have just now discovered that it is available on Netflix. Whoohoo. Top 'o the queue.

On a completely different note.

I saw Outfoxed last night, the docu covering the Murdockization of all media. To say that the findings are outraging is an understatement.

It made me even more content with the fact that I haven't owned a tv in 6 years but even more despairing in terms of what can be done to stop the brainwashing of America.

I feel completely toothless. I live in a non-state with no representation in Congress and I can't very well threaten to stop watching Fox because, well...except for Firefly, Buffy and Angel dvds...I DON'T watch Fox!

::affecting faux Southern accent:: Oh Beauregard, what evah are we to do?

I got to see De-Lovely yesterday. My thoughts:

1. Kevin Kline is very, very good. He impressed the hell out of me.

2. Ashley Judd is beautiful. In the early part of the movie, when her character is younger, she reminded me in little ways of JZ. I can't quite explain how, except to say that photos from the movie don't capture it, so I think it has something to do with how she moved, and her general aura of effortless glamour. Plus her hair.

3. I didn't like the way the film was structured, because it kept yanking me out of the movie. My best friend, who saw it with me, really liked the structure of the film, so YMMV.

4. The costumes were to. die. for.

5. I don't know enough about Cole Porter's life to know if my impression is correct, but I thought his relationships with men were given just the right amount of emphasis, without ever descending into cliche. (The theatre we went to was -- seriously -- full of people aged 65+, and there were audible gasps the first time Kline kissed a man onscreen.)

6. Love the music. Love love LOVE it. But then, I always have. I even liked Alanis Morisette, which is a shocker.

7. Did I mention how very, very good Kevin Kline was? Manoman.

8. Definitely worth matinee price. (For those of us in Cincinnati, that's $6 at the art house theatre.)