Breach

FLICK It’s spy vs. spy when trying uncover the greatest security breach in US intelligence history. Chris Cooper gives a gripping, multi-layered performance in this incredible true story about super-intelligent FBI double-agent Robert Hanssen who sold secrets to the Soviet Union. Ryan Phillippe is fine as Eric O’Neill the nervous mole with a quizzical look who initially knows little about his assignment while trying to gather evidence against Hanssen. Phillippe may not be as strong an actor as Cooper but the pairing proves beneficial as we misjudge Phillippe just as Hanssen fatefully did O'Neill. Nothing is as it seems as O’Neill plays against a master deceiver. As O’Neill’s superior, Laura Linney takes a moderate role and adds dimension and personality so that we have as much a sense of who she is as we do the others, with half of the screen time. Director and co-writer Billy Ray, who also directed Shattered Glass, about another real-life liar, takes a life and death situation and presents a cat-and-mouse game that is as thrilling as any bestselling novel.
What's lacking in the screenplay is information about how and why Hanssen became a US traitor. We’re told he has freaky sexual obsessions and has a strong religious devotion, but it's not enough to put it all into context. Still there is enough suspense to stay involved even though the outcome is common knowledge. Let’s hope Cooper is remembered next Oscar season for this intense portrait of Hanssen vacillating between confidence and slight paranoia. My Score: 8 out of 10.

THE SOPRANOS – Made in America

TELEVISION There was so much going on in the finale of "The Sopranos," you could write a book about it. But after doing a lot more thinking and reading and talking about that final scene, and almost everyone was buzzing about it today, here is a summary that makes sense to me. It seems that Tony would be dead. My initial thought was that he is now paranoid, always looking over his shoulder and never knowing who will shoot him as he has shot and killed others. That was the life he would have to live. But the editing tells the story. Everything in the diner is from Tony’s point of view. He sees who is coming and going and where everyone is. And just before the screen goes black, we see him – it’s our view of Tony. When the screen goes black, it’s his POV again. He sees nothing because he got whacked. It's like Bobby mentions a few episodes earlier that you probably don’t hear it when it happens. We heard nothing.
There are many suspicious people lurking around in the diner. In the credits, the anonymous man at the bar in the diner is listed only as Man in Member's Only jacket. It’s been pointed out that the African-American guys were the ones who had tried to shoot Tony in the first or second season. There was also another suspicious looking guy wearing a USA cap (who someone referred to as the truck driver with a bug in his hat).
A scene that was nerve-wracking was Meadow trying to park the car. She had a hard time fitting into the parking space because, like the car, she didn’t fit into the family. She’s going to take up criminal law and work for those who try to bring down people like her father. If there were to be a happy ending, we would have seen Meadow join the family for a nice dinner.
The reason they were at the diner instead of at home eating Carmela’s manicotti wasn’t just because she had meeting, but because they are an Americanized family, eating hamburgers and onion rings. This is also why AJ gives up his idealism of wanting to fight the war on terror, so he can have the material things that are so important to his parents. [Carmela is out of touch with her children it was funny when she makes a funny face as she walks out of Meadow’s bedroom after hearing that Hunter, who had partied a little too hard, was in her second year of med school.]
The cat has several references. It could be the ghost of Adriana, staring down Christopher, or even represent Big Pussy. In any event, the cat unnerved Paulie who sat watching as he was sunning himself at Satrialle’s.
Songs like "You Keep Me Hanging On" and "Don’t Stop Believing" are telling us to set me free, get out my life why don’t you. And Carmela is certainly just a small town girl, living in a lonely world…
In the end, "The Sopranos" is like modern day Shakespeare. The following was forwarded to me from a friend who found this on a blog, comparing the last scene to Hamlet. A duel takes place and ends with the death of Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet. Shakespeare ends with the words "the rest is silence."

MY FAVORITE BROADWAY – The Tony Awards

THEATER Tonight the 61st annual Tony Awards will be broadcast from Radio City Music Hall in New York City. They haven’t been doing well in the TV ratings in recent years and I’m not sure how they will fare airing against another Tony in the series finale of The Sopranos. But there is always an excitement when watching this particular awards show, probably because the scenes of the live performances are just a taste of what happens when you see an actor on stage becoming a character for two hours. I regret having to say that this is the first year in twenty of regular New York theater going, which I have not seen any of the nominated performances. Not that I haven’t been to NYC, but I guess I’ve spent too much time in movie theaters since last fall.

In Good Company
Having said that, it still looks like an impressive season. I love live theater and a few shows I’d rush to see are "Frost/Nixon," "Grey Gardens," and "Spring Awakenings," the musical by singer/songwriter Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater. But the one at the top of my list would be the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s "Company," about a single man and his five married couple friends. This is the first show I ever saw on Broadway and it changed the way I looked at and listened to theater. It was nothing like the Rogers & Hammerstein shows I was used to. The music had a more contemporary feel and the lyrics were clever, precise and thoughtful without being overly sentimental. Sondheim is one of the best musical writers ever. One among many reasons to see this version of "Company" is for Raúl Esparza, who, I’m certain, is commanding in the lead role of Bobby. The one time I saw him perform live was playing Riff Raff in the revival of "The Rocky Horror Show." (On stage, he was fully clothed in a funky suit, but I was seated close enough to notice that when he bent over his pants were split and you could see his ass crack. I mentioned this to him when I met him outside the theater and he asked me if it was too much. I said it was perfect!) He is an amazing performer and one for whom you should keep your eyes and ears open.
I’m Just Wild About Audra
I’m totally in awe of Audra McDonald who is nominated a sixth time for a Tony (she’s won four times) in the revival of "110 in the Shade." The nominated performance Ms. McDonald didn’t win, but was certainly worthy, was for the lead in the musical "Marie Christine" based on "Medea" but set in 1890’s New Orleans. She is an incredibly versatile actress who has a soprano voice that would be well suited for opera but is perfect in Broadway musicals.
When on stage in concert, Audra combines a warm personality with a beautiful voice easily alternating from ballads and lullabies to powerfully belting out standards and show tunes. She expanded her repertoire with the recently released solo album, Build a Bridge, which includes music written by contemporary singer/songwriters like Elvis Costello, John Mayer, Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, and Laura Nyro, among others. I once met Ms. McDonald who was quite personable and it comes across during a performance. I’ve seen her in concert several times, the most recent being when she shared the stage at the Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall in Philadelphia with another Broadway legend, Barbara Cook. This blending of voices from two generations was thrilling and something rarely seen nowadays. After an evening of performing songs tailored to their specific styles, they concluded with a patriotic medley of "Of Thee I Sing/America the Beautiful" and "God Bless America."
If you’re a musical fan (and if you’ve read this far, you probably are) one concert available on CD and DVD that is a must-see and a must-hear is My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies recorded live at Carnegie Hall. It’s one spectacular performer after another, including Bebe Neuwirth, Liza Minnelli, Linda Eder, Jennifer Holliday and Elaine Stritch. Audra McDonald appears in two numbers, a version of "Down with Love" that begins slowly and builds into a manic frenzy. Her second number is a real high point, The Webber Love Trio that includes the Andrew Lloyd Webber songs "Love Changes Everything," "Unexpected Song," and "I Don’t Know How to Love Him." Each are lovely on their own but combined in this particular arrangement creates feelings of love from blind elation to humiliation. Each of the women, Audra McDonald, Marin Mazzie and Judy Kuhn, sing one of the songs, respectively, which eventually intertwine creating a poignant mosaic and concluding with a powerful finish. Audra passionately belts out the line "Love will never let you be the same." This song will never let you be the same, and is one of the most moving recordings I’ve ever heard. Maybe ALW isn't so bad...

Tony’s:

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/index.html

Raúl Esparza Official website http://www.raulesparza.com/

Audra McDonald sites (non-official): http://www.nonesuch.com/Hi_Band/index_frameset2.cfm?pointer=mcdonald.gif

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audra_McDonald

Côte d’Azur

FLICK It’s a romp on the beach as directors Olivier Duscatel and Jacques Martineau (Adventures of Felix, My Life on Ice) pull out the stops and have fun in the Mediterranean sun in this hilarious screwball comedy, which never neglects the meaning of friends and family. When Marc and Béatrix take their teenage children Charly and Laura for a seaside vacation, it’s anything but relaxing as everyone has romantic secrets that escalate into mixed messages and sexual high jinks.
Complications arise for Marc (Gilbert Melki, Intimate Strangers) when he meets his gay childhood friend Didier (Jean-Marc Barr, Le Divorce), now a plumber, who gets his signals crossed and can’t let go of their past. The delightful Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi plays the open-minded mother, Béatrix, who is very supportive of her straight son that she believes is gay, and must hide her clinging lover Mathieu who unexpectedly pops up everywhere. Bruni-Tedeschi is as light, sexy and breezy here as she is intensely serious in the François Ozon film, also from 2005, 5x2. (Blink and you’ll miss her in Munich.) Melki and Bruni-Tedeschi easily anchor the shenanigans, which seems to stem from eating oysters and shellfish (alluding to the original French title Crustacés et coquillages) that create an aphrodisiac affect.
The misinterpretations and surprises surrounding everyone at the beach house are reminiscent of French farce, though no one is slamming doors. (But there is something going on with the hot and cold water in the shower!) The atmosphere is enchanting, the acting is pitch perfect, and there is even a musical number! Côte d’Azur is fun for the whole post-modern family. (2005) My Score: 8.5 out of 10.

TOP CHEF 4-Star All-Stars

TELEVISION What makes Top Chef such an exciting competition program is that there are so many things that have to come together instantly. Once you’re given your challenge, you have to blend creativity, technique, art and beauty, know-how to tastefully combine an array of flavors and do it with speed and accuracy.
I’m glad TC is back and relished the Season One Vs Season Two face-off since both teams have a lot of talent, and it didn’t disappoint. First of all, the most obvious thing to notice was Ilan’s sculpted and Elia’s white hair. Marcel still looks like Eddie Munster. This brings back memories of when they were going to scalp Marcel, and Cliff ended up getting kicked off. Speaking of Marcel, it’s still so easy to dis the little rapper wannabe. Even the Season 1 chefs were telling him to shut up when they were in the hotel room. I cracked-up when he whipped up the saffron foam for his eggs in the Quick Fire Challenge, and then winning to become the team captain. He savored beating Ilan, calling it a real smack down, but all I really wanted to do was smack him down.
Though the TC1 team ended up winning both challenges, the personalities of the TC2 chefs are much more congenial. I’d certainly like to hang out with Sam, Elia and Ilan who are much more easy-going than uptight Tiffany, snooty Stephen and bitchy Dave. Harold is sort of laid back yet a little moody. It was nice that Dave held it together and didn’t cry. And way to go Lee Anne Wong who got a job on set as a Culinary Producer. I wonder what exactly that position entails.
Tom, Padma and Gail were in good spirits with Ted Allen making a nice addition to the judging table. Having the Season 3 competitors add their two cents didn’t really do much except to give them an idea of what to strive for and to introduce them to the viewers.
Seeing the two teams side by side during the dinner challenge made it easier to compare strengths. Though many liked Dave’s smoked scallops, Elia had a great idea and won with the combo seared and uncooked scallops with the citrus marmalade. That seemed to fit the hot environment, rather than Marcel’s melting geleé and tableside-presented lobster foam. Stephen, the TC1 captain, took the honors with what sounded like a delicious cauliflower créme angles with the lobster. The judges were disappointed with both winning Top Chefs’ duck dishes, saying that Harold’s lacked flavor and Ilan just having too many things going wrong. Ilan blew it earlier too when his eggs were too salty. (He should be a little more careful as I think he’s just generally clumsy, and didn’t intentionally try to sabotage Marcel when he dropped his diced mango.) Tiffani and Sam seemed to be the most evenly matched but the judges loved her raw Kobe crudo more than Sam’s seared Kobe beef with mushrooms and coriander.
Kudos to Season 1 team for winning $20,000 for Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer organization. Sam must have read some unflattering things about himself online when his parting recommendation to the Season 3 contestants was that they shouldn’t read the blogs because they may find out things they may not want to know about themselves. How could you be nasty toward Sam? I say it only helps to create a better recipe for living. Bring it on, Season 3!

The photos are from the Bravo site, where you can also check out a more-detailed summary of the episode. http://www.bravotv.com/blog/thedish/2007/06/food_fight.php

5x2 & Time to Leave (Le Temps qui reste)

FLICK My initial reaction to watching a François Ozon film is how simplistic it seems, but his movies tend to stay with me and upon reflection, I respond to them more over time, finding a vast depth in the characters and their stories. Tonight, Sundance Channel is airing two films written and directed by Ozon back-to-back beginning at 10pm.

5x2 follows French couple Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) and Gilles (Stéphane Freiss) in five different periods of their unhappy marriage. The film begins at the end of their doomed relationship and ends at the beginning, which lets the viewer leave on a lighter note, only to ponder how this mismatched couple stayed together for so long. Ozon uses the reverse structure to add mystery though there is no defining moment of where things go wrong. Bruni-Tedeschi and Freiss turn in absorbing performances and are completely credible in this heart wrenching portrait. (2004) My Score: 8 out of 10.

Time to Leave (Le Temps qui reste) is not a perfect film; however I was again won over by filmmaker Ozon’s style and tone. Romain (Melvil Poupaud), a fashion photographer with a hot boyfriend, is told he has brain cancer, refuses treatment and goes on nasty tirades hurting those closest to him, including his sister and her children. The only person he confides in is his grandmother, French icon Jeanne Moreau, knowing she’s going to die soon too. Romain continues to create social distance until he later develops an unusual relationship with a waitress, played by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi (5x2, Côte d’Azur) which initially seems selfish but ultimately satisfies them both. The handsome Poupaud (who plays another unlikable Frenchman in the Merchant-Ivory film Le Divorce) is very engaging as the unsympathetic character and easily handles the extremes and subtleties of dealing with certain death. His outbursts are what keep the film from becoming overly sentimental. Ozon may not provide reasons for Romain’s offensive behavior but he excels in creating mood, which is what takes us to the inevitable end. The title’s literal translation is "The Time That's Left." This is supposedly the second in a trilogy (Under the Sand being the first) about mourning or death. (2005) My Score 7.5 out of 10.

Bug

FLICK A friend of mine wanted to see the film Bug because he had seen the original Off-Broadway play and wanted to compare the versions. I went along knowing only that it starred Ashley Judd and was directed by William Friedkin. Don’t expect another Arachnophobia or Starship Troopers. It would give the appropriate audience a better context if it were playing in art-house theaters instead of screening in the major theater chains and being marketed as a simple horror flick. I imagine this to be much better on a stage than on screen. Sharing an intense madness, Bug reminded me of theater like “The Chairs” by Eugene Ionesco, although the former being more of a psycho-drama than the latter’s absurdist farce. This doesn’t mean Friedkin doesn’t deliver the disturbing goods.
Bug tells the story of cocktail waitress Agnes (Judd), who has guilt over losing her son and fears her recently paroled ex-husband (Harry Connick, Jr.). But it’s her deceivingly calm friend Peter (a compelling Michael Shannon, recreating his stage role) who shows up and has the most impact on her. Couple Agnes’ worries and insecurities with Peter’s (who is also off his medication) growing paranoid schizophrenic personality and you have a folie à deux, which translates to double insanity. This happens when two persons closely associated with one another suffer a psychosis simultaneously, with one member having influenced or “infected” the other and then believe in and build on their delusions. Friedkin nicely contrasts the openness of the desert with the interior of Agnes’ claustrophobic motel room, reflecting differing and deteriorating mental states. As Agnes and Peter descend into madness, they talk of government conspiracies and look for bugs – the insect and man-made kind – under their skin and in their teeth, which results in self-mutilation and lots of blood. It’s insanely powerful stuff. If you’re itching to see this R-rated film, leave the kids home, unlike some of the parents who brought them along to the screening I attended and probably now have traumatized zombies running around the house digging their eyes out. My Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Screened Out

June is bustin’ out all over as many TV networks celebrate gay pride month by pulling both old and new film titles out of the closet. Every Monday and Wednesday this month, Turner Classic Movies will air films to compliment Richard Barrios’ book “Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood from Edison to Stonewall,” which follows gays and lesbians in the movies from the earliest years through the 1960’s. With varying themes, like film noir, prison drama, horror and comedy, each night is not only entertaining but also like watching a film history course. Tonight’s theme The Early Years kicks things off chronologically with a mix of silent and early talkies from 1912-1933. It’s interesting to note how some things have changed in the last 95 years as gay men from this period were presented only as flamboyant pansies and lesbians as cigar smoking butch-types in suits. These characters illustrate not only the public’s perception of the love that dare not speak its name in the early part of the 20th century but also how gays perceived themselves.

Tonight’s films include:
8pm Algie, the Miner (1912) about a man who goes west to become a cowboy
8:30 The Monster (1925), a horror-comedy with Lon Chaney
10:15 Exit Smiling (1926), a theater comedy with Beatrice Lillie and Franklin Pangborn
11:45 The Broadway Melody (1929), the first film musical, and Best Picture Oscar-winner
1:45am Way Out West (1930) William Haines is playful as a carnival barker who cheats 3 cowboys
3am The Office Wife (1930), features a cigar-smoking lesbian author
4:15 Stage Mother (1933) sordid backstage drama, includes a director who likes male companionship…

Go to the TCM site to view full details of their Screened Out programming. http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article/?cid=159623

Read a review of the book, written by out actor, director, and author Simon Callow. http://film.guardian.co.uk/books/story/0,12788,891250,00.html

Knocked Up

FLICK I always thought knocked up was a derogatory term for something a guy did to a woman, making her barefoot and pregnant. So, instead of the crude parody I was expecting writer-director Judd Apatow, who also directed The 40 Year-Old Virgin, gives us a well-balanced romantic comedy that focuses on the people, with the situation as a jumping point. Apatow blends the right amount of frat boy humor with lighthearted commentary on singles and married couples, plus some well-placed pop culture references, to show how it takes two to make a thing go right. Grey’s Anatomy’s Katherine Heigl is the lovely Alison who goes out to celebrate her E! Entertainment job promotion and has such a good time she winds up the evening having unprotected sex with slacker Ben (Seth Rogan). Two months later, Alison decides to pop the news to Ben that they are with child. You end up believing in Alison’s choice to let a dorky loser like Ben take part in the situation because the sincerity in the acting convinces us that these opposites could work it out. Heigl amazingly has a way of conveying a look of doubt while exhibiting confidence in her decision. And Rogan has a light innocence instead of a brashness that is typical of over-the-top performances from actors like Adam Sandler and Jim Carey. Contrasting unplanned parenthood and presenting a cautious view of married life are Alison’s sister Debbie (a perfectly cast Leslie Mann, who is also Apatow’s wife) and her restless husband Pete (Paul Rudd, owner of the best smile ever) who have a few issues to work out. But the central question remains: can a responsible woman actually make a go of it with an immature guy with whom she’s had a one-night stand? In this case, knock on wood. My Score: 8 out of 10.

Mr. Brooks

FLICK Not being a Kevin Costner fan since way before he called Madonna’s Blond Ambition concert "neat" I wasn’t planning to see him star as Earl in Mr. Brooks, but I’m not disappointed that I did.
We get to see the duality of Earl Brooks up front at a banquet receiving a man of the year award and then going out for a night on the town as the elusive Thumbprint Killer. Costner gives a nuanced performance and has a way of making this unsettling serial killer so darn likeable that you hope he gets his wish to stop his renewed killing spree. He even goes to AA meetings for self-therapy thinking he’s on the path to quitting his addictive behavior. The most effective scenes show Earl having regular conversations with his conscience named Marshall, played with gusto by William Hurt. They make a great couple, like two-stepping partners dancing in rhythm and never tripping over each other.
The film begins promisingly but loses focus when it takes too many jarring turns away from exploring Brooks and his alter ego. Dane Cook gives a one-dimensional performance as Mr. Smith, a photographer who has witnessed one of the murders and blackmails his way into becoming Earl’s apprentice. Tracey Atwood (Demi Moore) is the detective hot on their trail. The script should have concentrated more on her hunt instead of investing time with distractions like her ongoing nasty divorce case, and that she is the target of an escaped convict’s revenge. There is also a dash of the film The Bad Seed in a subplot concerning Earl’s daughter (Danielle Panabaker). Though there is only one Rhoda Penmark, I never quite bought the central hereditary theory of that film either.
This visually stylish suspense-thriller succeeds as a Jekyll and Hyde tale but gets a little schizophrenic and distracted when adding others to the mix. My Score: 7 out of 10.