I saw A Single Man today. The acting was great, it was stylish and well put together, but there was something about it that was very meh about it. I think it being Tom Ford's first movie, he was trying very hard, and some things came off as a little cliche.

I know I have seen movies by gay directors before, but I was never so aware I was watching men filmed by a man who loves men. Not that it was bad (Tom Ford made Colid Firth get a trainer and buff up and...Helloooo,) but it was really obvious.

Saw Up In The Air tonight.

While I was expecting George Clooney's character to not get love--in fact I suspected Vera was married, and we thought he'd get fired too I wasn't expecting the whole move to be such a crushing indictment of singlehood. How incredibly depressing. Whoomph.

Don't think it was an indictment of singlehood. It was an indictment of isolation. He not only had no relationships, he had no friends, he had cut off most of the contact with his family, he did not take part in internet chats or boards. The closest to a connection he had was canned greeting in airport lines, and those stupid speeches he gave. No wonder he fell in love with the first woman he fucked twice. (Not that she wasn't worth falling in love with.)

I might have thought that, except they reflashed back to the fired people who went on to talk about how the most important things was family and their husbands or wives, not money and then it went on to show that he didn't have any approximation of that. I think it was less than isolation. I may be particularly sensitive, after having spent a lot of time recently unemployed, single, and isolated, but I felt judged and found wanting--and they're not necessarily selling me things I want!

Middle ground, people, middle ground.

Are we sure it's not Boromir?

Sean Bean in Black Death which may go straight to DVD in the US.

Medieval England has fallen under the shadow of The Black Death. In this apocalyptic world filled with fear and superstition, a young monk called Osmund is charged with leading the fearsome knight Ulric (Sean Bean) and his group of mercenaries to a remote marsh. Their quest is to hunt down a necromancer - someone able to bring the dead back to life. Torn between his love of God and the love of a young woman, Osmund discovers the necromancer, a mysterious beauty called Langiva. After Langiva reveals her Satanic identity and offers Osmund his heart's desire, the horror of his real journey begins...

Thanks for saving me from seeing that, ita. I'd planned to go tonight, and that would have put me in a truly crappy mood.

leading the fearsome knight Ulric (Sean Bean) and his group of mercenaries to a remote marsh. Their quest is to hunt down a necromancer - someone able to bring the dead back to life. Torn between his love of God and the love of a young woman, Osmund discovers the necromancer, a mysterious beauty called Langiva. After Langiva reveals her Satanic identity and offers Osmund his heart's desire, the horror of his real journey begins...

Why would someone with the power to bring the dead back to life live in some remote, probably malarial marsh? If one is going to make a pact with the devil the least one should do is insist on a nice villa in Tuscany or Alpine chalet (if they're heat sensitive--in which case, dude, poorly thought out bargain, there).

That's often bugged me about these sorts of movies. Look for your satanic pact makers in the palaces, knights! Any satanist living in a hut in a marsh is probably too stupid to worry about and will likely be impaling themselves on their own wands before the swamp soaks through your boots.

That's often bugged me about these sorts of movies. Look for your satanic pact makers in the palaces, knights! Any satanist living in a hut in a marsh is probably too stupid to worry about and will likely be impaling themselves on their own wands before the swamp soaks through your boots.

BWAH. Perfect.

I also wonder about what seems to be the most popular goal among the big bads...total destruction of the world, in which they LIVE!

I much prefer the baddies who just want everyone to servelove them and peel their grapes. THAT makes much more sense to me.

What frustrated me about Up in the Air was the end, with the whole "look up in the sky, and the brightest light will be my wingtip as I pass over" or something.

So, he gets burned on his way to embracing a real romantic life, and? re-enters isolation? He realizes that he's so desperately alone and? accepts it?

I'm glad I saw the movie--I just didn't expect to feel that way when the credits rolled. It switched from being an individual realisation movie to a general sentiment.

Juliebird, at my most optimistic (I've been thinking about the movie all night) I figure that next time round he'll be better placed for something real. Some resignation, much regret.