I'm v. well disposed to Mamet's work on the basis of the plays that I've seen (although less well-disposed to him, on the basis of interviews I've read). Don't think I've actually seen any of his movies, though.

Val Kilmer...I loved The Doors, and I seem to remember enjoying Willow (as the lesbian witch said to the archbishop), but the memory of The Saint overwhelms all other things I've seen him in. The Saint was just...man. There was a Toad-of-Toad-Hall-Washerwoman-Disguise moment, wherein Val Kilmer in a headscarf, making an astonishingly convincing, er, Val Kilmer in a headscarf, wielded a mop and thus convinced everyone he was a cleaning lady and sauntered nonchalently around The Evil Dudes as they were discussing their Evil Plans (TM). I mean, there were many, many, MANY moments of awfulness in that movie, but the Toad of Toad Hall bit was the best. (Although the English Poet bit was pretty fucking hilarious. Clearly he went to Dick Van Dyke's School of Comedy English Accents. And failed.)

Er. Big tangent. Anyway, Spartan, you say? Sounds like it might help obliterate the memory of The Saint.

We watched this a few weeks back. I'd always heard great things about Nausicaä, but it all felt like a less complex dry run for Princess Mononoke to me. I liked Castle In The Sky (which I also saw recently for the first time) much more.

Nausicaä is a prototypical Mary Sue. Miyazaki's characterizations got better as time went on.

I had a big Miyazaki weekend, watching Nausicaa yesterday, Spirited Away the day before.

Nausicaa is definitely a Mary Sue, but also very moving as action-packed non-violence girl on a glider. The sheer iconography of her gliding in with her arms spread in a hail of bullets to rescue the baby Ohm was gorgeous.

Still, I didn't like it nearly as much as Spirited Away or Howl (both of which share numerous echoes and motifs).

For palate-cleansing Val Kilmerosity, I recommend Thunderheart.

Val is also hit or miss with me, but I love him so very much when he hits: Top Secret, Tombstone, Real Genius.

His flicks are clever and dense, but often emotionally frigid.

Agreed. Also, is it me, or are there not very many female protagonists in Mamet works, and for "not very many" read none? Certainly, I saw Glengarry Glen Ross and was really struck by the total absence of females.

(I remember putting myself into the position of the guy receiving these solicitation phone calls, and realizing that the sales pitch -- the time pressure, the browbeating -- would never, ever have worked on me. I don't think that's a gendered thing particularly. But, I'm still learning about how stupid and malleable people can really be. That character probably bought vinyl siding and subscriptions to the newspaper once a week.)

Mamet not so much with the writing, respecting or being interested in women.

Dudes, Willow.

Mamet not so much with the writing, respecting or being interested in women.

But in his essay on "Bitches" it's clear he's really drawn to very strong women, including Lindsay Crouse who's no daisy.

Also, is it me, or are there not very many female protagonists in Mamet works, and for "not very many" read none?

Well, Oleanna's a two-hander - but I seem to remember reading an interview with him a couple of years ago wherein he was all "look, enough already with this business of the play being ambiguous! she's evil! he's right!" And the female character in the three-hander Speed the Plow isn't the most positive of creatures.

I think he's good with dialogue (although it's a fucking bitch to learn) and he brings up some very interesting and thought provoking issues. But I also think it's quite possible that he's a pillock.

How about Nurse Betty? That's got a female protagonist, but I've not seen it. I remember it got pretty good reviews?

The only one of his I can think offhand with a gender-balanced cast is Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and even that's very much the guys' play.