Spacey at the top of his form

The Usual Suspects; American Beauty; L.A. Confidential

Before all these great films, there was Swimming with Sharks, a dark comedy that turns the movie industry on its ear with its excoriating depiction of the rapacious power-hungry Hollywood exec.

Kevin Spacey is truly terrifying in his role of Buddy, a vituperating, foul-mouthed tyrant. He ceaselessly berates Frank Whaley's Guy -- a fresh-faced upstate New York tranplant who has risen to the extremely unenivable position of assistant to the pugilistic piranha.

As in most movies, the ending is somewhat unsatisfying and leaves a lot of loose ends. Nonetheless, the dialogue, acting, and overall momentum are unparalleled. Whaley comes to the striking apercu that revenge is a dish best served cold, although he buckles slightly while abusing his onetime oppressor.

I strongly encourage you to viddy this flick, before I rustle up some more big words in this thesaurus to throw at you to mask my deep-seated feelings of inadequacy...heh

sound advice, penned by me

Don't get me wrong -- 21 Grams is a great movie. You just need to wash down the foul "I need to ingest 21 grams of iodine" taste in your mouth immediately afterward with a healthy viewing of Fast Times at Ridgemont High. A dose of Spicoli will cleanse your soul and serve as a nice chaser for Alejandro González Iñárritu's downer extraordinaire.

Whoda ever thunk Sean Penn would become such a heavy guy? Aloha Mr. Hand indeed.

Olsen Twins

I know where I saw the Olsen Twins first. No, not Full House (although greeat show that was, really...Bob Saget, we hardly knew ye).

Dya remember that scene in The Shining where the twin girls in the hotel menacingly invite Danny to come play with them as he tears throught the corridor on his big wheel? The Olsen twins seem to be channeling the eeriness of Lisa Burns and Louise Burns in their one and only film appearance, and they really creep me out, all truth be told.

That NYU campus shall ne'er be the same.