Beltmann

Fat Girl is one of Breillat's better movies, I think. If you haven't already, you should check out Sex Is Comedy, because it's an interesting, somewhat successful companion piece. Anne Parillaud plays a film director much like Breillat, struggling to shoot two sex scenes from a movie much like Fat Girl (in fact, the lead actress in the movie-within-the-movie is the same actress from Fat Girl).

Last fall I was at the Milwaukee International Film Festival, and between screenings I was hanging out in the lobby of the Oriental Theater with another festival hopper. Suddenly she said, "Hey, it's the Maestro!" Sure enough, Mark Metcalf, who played the Maestro on Seinfeld, was ambling through the lobby. I turned to my acquaintance and said, "And he's with Harold Ramis." Ramis was in town to introduce a screening of Groundhog Day, part of the festival's tribute to his career. As he neared, I said hello, and as luck would have it, his festival guide asked him to wait right there while th

That's it exactly. I'll vouch for the neti pot, too. As for the ear candles, I have never used them. But my wife tried it and somehow singed her womb. I don't think she did it right.

Plus, the eMusic download comes packaged with an exclusive Track 10, "Love To a Monster."

I nearly threw up while this was happening. Even worse, the Brewers used five pitchers after Gallardo, thereby completely taxing an already overworked bullpen in a fruitless endeavor. This team has been breaking my heart on a nearly daily basis ever since the All-Star break. But Gallardo's going to be okay. He's going to be a rock star pitcher in the very near future.

Renaissance / Christian Volckman / France / 2006 A gorgeous landmark in animation--live-action footage was painted over, rotoscoped into high-contrast black-and-white--but still one of the year's biggest disappointments. The dystopian sci-fi story (some nonsense about corporate greed and a covert attempt to unlock the secrets of immortality) is comprised of dull action and stock dialogue. There just aren't any characters or ideas to latch onto, which renders all that beautiful animation utterly soulless. There's never anything at stake other than style.

I intensely disliked it. Since the characters are so far removed from recognizable human behavior, Breillat tosses away their symbolic value, right next to their clothes. And if you're like me and think Breillat's basic premise is total hooey, it's easier to notice that she has nothing useful to say about the inescapable gulf between the genders. But I like some of Breillat's other movies.

It's minority opinion, but my favorite is Cold Roses.

I'm diggin' it! More thoughts later.

Pretty good stuff by a band featuring VC's very own Whitty.

Haven't seen it yet. Speaking of Asia Argento, she acted in three movies at this year's Cannes festival, and received some pretty great notices: Olivier Assayas' Boarding Gate, Abel Ferrara's Go-Go Girls, and Catherine Breillat's Une Vieille Maitresse. (And if you're having a Disturbing Festival, you could do worse than a slate of Breillat flicks. I'd start with Anatomy of Hell.)

It was easily one of the most ludicrous plots of the year--and I mean that in the best possible way. There's nothing wrong with sci-fi hooey, as long as the movie manages a certain degree of flair and internal logic. (It does get overly hokey near the end with the spiritual elements, but by then it had earned enough goodwill that I was willing to let it go.) Wanna go out with a bang? Give this one a shot. Sell it as "Memento with a love story!"

I liked it!

Le Cercle Rouge is one of my favorite Melville pictures (although I slightly prefer Le Samourai). Delon is some kind of badass. I have a large interest in the short subject form, and yesterday watched a bunch of older ones, including a slate of very early Vitaphone shorts: Introductory Speech by Will H. Hays / 1926 Overture: Tannhauser / 1926 Mischa Elman / 1926 Roy Smeck: His Pastimes / 1926 Marion Talley: Caro Nome / 1926 Zimbalist and Bauer: Kruetzer Sonata / 1926 Giovanni Martinelli: Vesti La Guibba / 1926 Anna Case in La Fiesta / 1926 Opening Night / 1930 Also took in a handful of s

33

Sure sounds like it... and the movie, too, seems like it might be among the year's best, if Haynes can pull off the central gimmick.

Over the last 15 years, if I wanted to see a film like this I always had to drive to Milwaukee. But two weeks ago a small theater in our small city re-opened as a Cinema Brewhaus, which is great news for me: Instead of driving 40 minutes one way to see La Vie en Rose, I had only to drive two minutes down the neighborhood street. Actually, it's closer to a minute-and-a-half. Hopefully our community can support such a business venture... the crowd was a little sparse tonight.

Away from Her Hot Fuzz (or was this too early?) Knocked Up Once Paprika Ratatouille Sicko Sunshine

Sure, I'll give it a spin!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Kate!

For TV and movies, do a Word Search in Soundtracks at the Internet Movie Database.

Reminder... Leno tonight.

The Virgin Spring is probably my favorite overall. Like many Bergmans, it's a philosophical inquiry of forgiveness wound up tight around the aesthetics of faith and suffering, but like few Bergmans, it has a magical, fable-like quality. It's interesting to me that Bergman's reputation has nosedived over the last 10-15 years. For many film aficionadoes, Bergman has become rather passe--too introspective, too tormented, I guess--but when I first started getting into film, he was definitely top tier. Strange how things ebb and flow. Three Bergman masterpieces that unfairly exist in the sha