Five Movies

At The Cinema                            FIVE Here's five videos I watched last week that I thought had merit. Sleepwalk With Me I've heard Birbiglia's name before, but didn't know much about him. Now I do, and now I'm a fan. In this autobiographical tale based on director Mike Birbiglia's successful one-man show, an up-and-coming stand-up comedian deals with career and relationship issues while trying to ignore his outrageous sleepwalking habit.  This is a smartly done comedy about Mike trying to get established as a comedian, and hold on to his longtime girlfriend who wants to walk down the aisle.   PS - He actually suffers from the most dangerous kind of sleepwalking. PPS - his girlfriend is in every way the most perfect woman anyone could want.  (Actually, she is MoSup). John Pinette: I'm Starvin' MoSup was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.  I knew she would. Gangster No. 1 This story follows the violent rise and fall of the title character, an unnamed East End London thug (played by Paul Bettany and, at a later age, Malcolm McDowell) who gets hired by high-profile gangster Freddie Mays (David Thewlis). The eager young gun -- an irredeemable, inhumane psychopath! obsessed with power -- eventually replaces his boss as top gangster by way of lies, manipulation and murder.   This is the complete film The Long Good Friday Forget that this was made in 1980 - it's another Brit gangster film starring Bob Hoskins (Roger Rabbit( and Helen Mirren.  Bob Hoskins made his mark with a vivid portrayal of a London mob boss sweating the big deal designed to make him rich and legit. Suddenly, everything goes wrong when a series of bombs literally destroy his world. He escapes unharmed, but now faces the knowledge that someone wants him dead soon. A tough crime saga, The Long Good Friday paints a bleak portrait of a man caught up in forces beyond his control. This is the complete film Capote When he was alive I looked at Truman Capote like I would a freak roadside accident. Still, I both read and saw the movie In Cold Blood, and thought both were brilliant (I have never seen Breakfast at Tiffany's). This film covers the 6 or so years he was writing the book.  Philip Seymour Hoffman nailed Capote— if he didn't win an Academy Award for this portrayal it can only mean he's a Republican.  One fascinating thing, his researcher and long time childhood friend friend "Nellie," was Nelle Harper Lee who had To Kill a Mockingbird published while she was helping Truman with Clod Blood. PS -  I shared none of Capote's remorse when the trap door opened under Perry's feet, but I can understand how such an attachment can occur.  PPS - Capote had a running feud with Gore Vidal, a man I despised, so in that I saw Truman Capote as an ally.  This is the complete 2.09 movie