Love, As Always, Pete

The Weekly Letters, by A. Pedersen Wood

October 18, 2007

Dear Everyone:

The big news at work is about the “Information Management Solution”.  That would be how the company plans on managing its information.  We thought the answer was SharePoint, but at the end of last month The Powers That Be announced that maybe that wasn’t such a good idea after all.  So they appointed a team to “Recycle” (translation: go back to the drawing board) and look for some kind of alternative.  They have until the end of this month to produce a result of some sort.

Rumors, of course, are flying in all directions.  Everything from, “The Enterprise File Plan is going to be completely scrapped,” to “Nothing will change; business as usual.”  We’ll see.  In the meantime, movies!!!

The Kingdom…

At the beginning of The Kingdom, a group of Americans in Saudi Arabia are playing softball in their company compound.  Suddenly all hell breaks loose.

Back in Washington, Jamie Foxx, as the lead FBI agent, breaks the news to his crew that a much-beloved person died in the attack.  There’s the usual, “Why can’t we go and do something about it?” met with the usual, “Because they won’t let us.”

But then Foxx pulls a rabbit out of a hat and suddenly his team are in Riyadh where they don’t know the language or the customs, but they do know how to reconstruct a blast site.  They are aided by a Saudi colonel who really just wants to do his job, as they do.  A truce of sorts begins to take place.

An American granny that no one takes seriously turns out to be a lot sharper than anyone gave her credit for and now the hounds are loose and our heroes are on their way to save the day.  Unfortunately, there is one major drawback:  The director.

This is one of those directors who think the best way to make the audience “feel” the action is by shaking the camera all the time.  Advisory:  This movie contains adult language, violence and may induce motion sickness in some people.

Elizabeth:  The Golden Age

Cate Blanchett was nominated for an Oscar in 1999 for playing Elizabeth.  She won the Oscar in 2004 for playing Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator.  Now she’s going to be nominated again for playing an older-and-wiser Elizabeth.

And why not?  She’s got Clive Owen playing Walter Raleigh (he gets the “Sir” added later in the movie.)  He throws his cloak down, claiming there’s a puddle in the road threatening one of Elizabeth’s gowns.  Later he presents her with treasures from the New World:  Potatoes and tobacco.  Oh, and lots of Spanish gold, of course.

He flirts with her to catch and keep her attention because he needs her approval and cash to mount another expedition to the Americas.  Instead, she deliberately maneuvers him into a relationship with one of her ladies-in-waiting; then throws a fit when they fall in love.

And, of course, what would a movie about Elizabeth be without her cousin, Mary Stuart?  As played by Samantha Morton, she has a mild Scottish burr.  Apparently no one told her that Mary grew up in France and would be more likely to speak English with a French accent.  Or maybe she was just trying not to confuse American movie-goers.

It was Mary’s execution that prompted the king of Spain, played as a complete loon by Jordi Mollà, to launch his Armada to invade England and depose Elizabeth.  As Mother would say, “Man proposes and God disposes.”  The Armada did not fair well.

“Jeannie” pointed out afterward that there wasn’t a lot of suspense involved.  You weren’t on the edge of your seat, wondering if Mary would get a last-minute reprieve, or if the Spanish would really take over.

If you had to sum the movie up in one word, it would be:  Sumptuous.  Gorgeous people wearing gorgeous clothes.  The battle between the Armada and the English fleet is depicted with glowering clouds as the storm forces Spain to retreat.  And this is one director who knows how to use a camera!  He favors shots from above, catching all the elegance without making the audience seasick.

If you have to make a choice, dump The Kingdom and wait for the DVD.  Go see Elizabeth on the largest screen you can find.

Love, as always,

 

Pete

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