recent cinema experiences

If I had had this thing up and running a few weeks ago, I would have had lots to say about the now passed Academy Awards. Most pertinent might have been the films selected for best foreign film, which included neither France's Persepolis nor Romania's 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days. The former, I saw about a month or more ago and it was just phenomenal. It delved into some territory with which few in mainstream or even alternative America might be aware while simultaneously managing to be heartwarming and comical. The latter I just saw yesterday and while vastly divergent in tone, it was equally as profound. Both of these films are must sees and should have been on the ballot for best foreign film. I mean, 4 Months won the Palm D'or! What does a foreign film have to do these days?

Here's a Variety article which endorses not only this point of view, but also comments on other categories which have noticeable problems:

To belatedly announce my pick for best (American) picture, it would be There Will Be Blood. I won't belabor my opinion by citing aspects of the film I'm sure we've all heard a hundred times over.

Outside of the big screen, I've been watching a lot of past Cannes winners like L'Enfant and Caché as well as some older classics like Band of Outsiders and Breathless. The latter Godard film I'd seen before, but I had failed, somehow, to ever see the first. I guess it goes without saying that it's a masterpiece, but I really wasn't prepared for exactly how much I dug it. It was completely superb, and the last five or ten minutes were just unbelievable. I also watched Antonioni's La Notte recently, which I didn't like as much. The film was really superb up until the last ten minutes which were a bit of an understatement, I felt.

Of course, I've kept up my weekly quota of watching waaaayyy too much of The Wire, which has more than captured my attention. I'm currently about half way through season 3. Classics aside, I plan to watch Minority Report for the second time later tonight.