When a president does it . . .

A couple movie blurbs:

Frost/Nixon

I saw this Best Picture-nominated film today, and I thought it was great.  Ron Howard really does a great job behind the camera, creating wonderful tension, humor, and intrigue in this story about the famous David Frost interviews with Richard Nixon.  I learned a lot about this famous story that I did not know, but mostly I was captivated by the outstanding performances of Frank Langella and Michael Sheen.  Langella captures a sense of loneliness in Richard NIxon that really drives the film.

And now I have seen all the Best Picture nominees.

Frozen River

Seek this film out.  This tiny little movie is a work of quiet greatness.  Read the plot synopsis at the link above, but basically it is a film about a poor single mother struggling to get by, who is lured into an immigrant-smuggling operation that uses a Mohawk reservation as its jumping-off.  This little masterpiece builds with great tension and suspense, but all along it tells the story of poverty and people desperate to escape their situations.  Melissa Leo got a much-deserved Oscar nomination for this hidden film, and I was also very impressed with young Charlie McDermott, who plays the anguished teenage son.  Very few people have seen this, but if you get a chance, it is a must.

In other news, the semester ended last week, and I finally finished all my grading today, so that is a huge load off.  Tomorrow we have a teachers' workday, and then the new semester starts on Tuesday.  Most of my classes are the same, but I get to start teaching the film class I loved so much last year.