It's Sunday and guess where I am? No, not at Kinko's, at the library! Glendale is open on Sundays, you see, because they are a very civilized library.

Yesterday we went to both movies at the Academy, Spartan and Secret Window, both of which were quite good.

Spartan was the new Mamet, which had the same problem that all Mamet films have, i.e. most actors cannot handle the language. Mamet writes the way people talk, with hesitations and interruptions and awkwardness, which is all very well and good if an actor can make that sound natural and spontaneous, which is extremely difficult. His rhythms are specific and if an actor cannot make that rhythm his own, he sounds like an asshole. In fact, I'd say that almost nobody can speak Mamet properly.

The funny thing is that some actors famous for doing Mamet don't do it well--I happen to think that Rebecca Pigeon is horrible at it, and I don't happen to think that Joe Mantagna is that good at it either. He just doesn't sound natural or as though the words are coming out of his mouth as he thinks them. The best people tend to be foreign, actually, since they tend to sound slightly stilted anyway.

I mean, my point is that if your exchange is something like:

"Well, it's just that, I thought, I thought..."
"What did you think?"
"I thought, well, I thought..."
"What did you think?"
"I thought that..."
"Yes?"
"I thought that..."
"What did you think?"

...the whole thing can't go all smoothly in a row as though this is exactly what you meant to say and how you meant to say it.

In Spartan, Val Kilmer was quite good, and spoke Mamet quite well most of the time. Remember when Val Kilmer was a good actor and not insane? This was a glimpse of him again. I hope he stays.

Derek Luke was excellent, as was Bill Macy in his tiny role, and Kristen Bell. I didn't care for Ed O'Neill or the head secret service guy whose name I don't know or David Paymer. Now these are all actors that I love, but I just didn't think that they made the language sound natural.

The other movie, Secret Window, had no such complications. It's fun and mysterious, even though I guessed the end in the middle, and Johnny Depp was very good, and even John Turturro, who tends to overact like a motherfucker, was just right in his overacting for this peculiar role. It's not a movie that will be remembered years from now, but it's a fun way to spend a couple of hours.

Today's horoscope:
The world is treating you very well indeed. Your blessings are so many that counting them would be a waste of time. Do something that will both inspire you and make you proud.

One year ago today:
I think that I am lucky because, unless I die tomorrow (which I'm not particularly planning on) I have my happiest time to look forward to. Looking forward rather than back can only be a hopeful thing, not a sad thing.

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Last Updated Sun 28 March 15:51:14 2004