The Junior Senator from Illinois

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He does cocaine

8. "Lord of War"
I wanted to see this film when it was released because of the poster. It's beautiful and sort of inventive. I'm glad I saw the film. It was beautiful and sort of inventive. The first 90-minutes flows a lot better than the last 30, but it's forgivable. By that point you're not expecting a lot and just hope Jared Leto doesn't ruin the film.

I like message films that use quick editing. They care less about pounding stuff over your head and more about making your eyes bleed. Like a Duran Duran video shown at twice the normal speed. More Nic Cage films seem to do this. He sure does have an odd hairline.

Watch now on Netflix

7. "The Visitor"
A good excuse to nominate Richard Jenkins for Best Actor. "The Visitor" is a simply shot, interesting film about strange changes in life. An unhappy, bored college professor comes back to his Manhattan apartment to find two people living in it. He forms bonds with the two and feels responsible when the male it arrested. Pretty basic stuff but really well done.

Jenkins is great like always. He's subtle and quiet for the majority of the film. He doesn't have a chance of winning the award, but at least he's getting some well deserved recognition.

A very important film

6. "The Reader"
When you hear that a movie is independent and deals with concentration camps you think of films like "The Reader". It's good in that it deals with a serious subject in an semi-emotional manner. Does that make it watchable? Sure. But it's pretty standard and boring and didn't need to be made. It's difficult to say that about a film with such a heavy topic, but it's true. Eh.

Kate Winslet was good, but, eh. Why did this film need to be made? I understand that the holocaust was awful, but haven't enough films been made about this? Can there ever be enough films about this? I'm not really going anywhere with this, but neither did "The Reader." The conflict the audience goes through with Winslet's character is more interesting than anything that goes on on-screen. Eh.

Kate Winslet should win the Academy Award but more so for being a great actress for over ten years. She's Scotti Pippen to Meryl Streep's Michael Jordan.

The sucker

5. "The Rocker"
Is Raine Wilson funny? He plays the creepy straight man on "The Office" so well he may not be a comic. His SNL hosting appearance was so-so and "The Rocker" did nothing to make me laugh. It was a formulaic film in every way. Very sparse laughs. Exactly what the posters and trailer makes it look like. I am a sucker.

Why was Teddy Geiger in this film? His music is awful and looks like an older Jonas Brother. If a former hair metal drummer wanted to play with teenagers he would pick something a little more blow friendly.

Yet another reason to teach children to read and not idolize Scarface

3. Robert Cooley with Hillel Levin "When Corruption Was King"
It's hard to believe anything Robert Cooley writes. He was a mob lawyer and true to form Irish American stereotype. His writing reeks of self mythologizing in the worst way. The stories he tells are obviously embellished, but they're the only reason to keep on reading. Cooley was a FBI informant yet refuses to admit any wrongdoing himself. The book read as a tell all without any regret. Good fluff, but unintentional.

Why did I finish this thing? It was difficult to follow any character and the characters (when I say character I mean real person but it's impossible to care about any of these people) I was able to follow I did not care about.

Why did I finish this thing?

Mr. Van Sant's Oscar film

4. "Milk"
A good film but not the best bio pic. We don't meet Harvey Milk until he's about to celebrate his 40th birthday. We see him til his death eight years later. In other words, we get a glimpse at a very interesting man's life. I only mention this because my friend Tony brought to my attention that every year at least one bio pic is nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

2008 was the perfect year to release this film. With the controversial Prop 8 ruling and the election of Obama, a film liked "Milk" thrived. The performances were excellent and all of the acclaim was earned. There's not much else for me to say that hasn't already been written. See this film. Encourage any homophobic teenager you know to see this film.

The use of David Bowie's "Queen Bitch" was excellent. The song was stuck in my head for days.

Lincoln Park, Chicago, February 2009

Lincoln Park, Chicago, February 2009, originally uploaded by Brandon Wetherbee.

Delay

My computer is temporarily out of service, hence the lack of updates.

The Wendy's on Division and Ashland is advertising a new sandwich. The sign reads "Catch Are New Fish Filet". I find this very sad.