Tales in the City

One of my film buddies passed along this series for me to watch. It's night time soap for cable. It wasn't to bad and it had a few twists. It reminded me a little of the story I had written, Skeletons. Takes place in an apartment complex with lots of twists. What intrigued me most was the cast. There was Olympia Dukakis, Laura Linney, David Moffet, Chloe Webb, Cynda Williams and Thomas Gibson, to name a few. All of the characters seem to have a secret that reveals itself over the course of 3 discs. Cynda Williams had starred in Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues and the film One False Move. But it was the surprise of seeing Thomas Gibson in the film. I met Thomas at SIFF in 94 or 95, and he was playing a gay character in the film Love and Human Remains. It was one of my favorite films that year. It was a very interesting film. Thomas was one of the first married actors I had ever met who had played a gay character on screen. It seems he would be type cast in similar roles. Good looks can hurt an actor just like the roles he chooses. If you have nothing to do and you like episodic television, give it a look. I just found out that the 5th season of Oz is now available. I need to see if I can get a cheap copy and I'll wait a few months to watch it since I just watched 1 thru 4 and I like to start from the beginning. That's just me.

I saw another interesting film, Garden State. The writing in this film was great. It was real, but not over the top like Tarrantino. The film was written, directed and starred Zach Braff. I think that's the correct spelling. The film stars Natalie Portman in a nice role, but its going to be hard for her to ever top her role in the Professional. Some actors get that first film role and they never get to show off their talents that way again. A few get lucky. Leonardo DiCaprio got a chance when he did Basketball Diaries, but What's eating Gilbert Grape will be his best role. Kurstin Dunst has had a few good roles, but Interview with the Vampire is where she really shines. Her role in Mona Lisa Smile was good. I think she has a better chance of getting better roles than most of the young actresses in Hollywood. There are however many things to factor in. A stars contract sometimes bounds them and they have to do so many films and that's why we see them in such awful stuff and we say, " Why did they do that?" Well, now you know. The other factor is money. If there lifestyle doesn't call for much then they may do one or two good films a year. If they need money sometimes they'll just show up in anything.

Now back to our feature. Garden State is a film about pointing blame. It's about finding out who a person really is. Making the right choices because its what is right for the individual and not the people around them. It's a film about life and how some people move forward and others just stand still. I recommend this film on many levels. If you are an artist or a film maker. If you feel like your life just isn't going anywhere and if you just want to see something different. Give it a look see. Thanks for stopping by, keep an open mind.