Sunday, January 01, 2006

Good Night, and Good Luck

Surprise! I went to the movies today. I also read for quite a while and cleaned up around the house. It was pretty much a regular Sunday except that I went to the movies which I haven't done on a Sunday morning in quite a while. It was nice to wake up on the first day of the year with a clear head and this marks the first time since I turned 21 that it has happened that way. I watched the disappointing "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve" program for about 15 minutes last night, just to see the ball drop and retired to bed shortly after that happened. It was profound seeing and hearing the post-stroke version of Clark because he was so unchanging for so many years. I'm not a Dick Clark fan, but there is something impacting about seeing someone's health so decline.

One of the books I'm currently reading (I have little self-control at times and begin 3 or 4 books almost simultaneously--very ineffective in reading books to completion) is Freakonomics. I don't typically read business or econ books but it was lent to me by a friend and I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm about half-way through and have been entertained as well as informed. Check it out if you're interested.

Before you realize that I'm quite boring lately, on to the film. "Good Night, and Good Luck" is George Clooney's film that looks at the McCarthy era through the eyes of the CBS newsroom, very specifically the eyes of Fred Friendly and Edward R. Murrow. Murrow's closing phrase is "Good Night, and Good Luck" and David Strathairn delivers this line and all others with lovely precision. If you are interested in this period of our history at all, the news, or an interesting film, see this one. It is short at 1.5 hours. George Clooney's maturing career as a true filmmaker is evident here with a very serious project that sheds light on a dark period for the US for those of us who were not around to see the newscasts when they occurred the first time. The film re-enacts actual news programs as well as gives insight into the decision-making process of constructing the shows. The incorporation of real raw footage and the actor's portrayals was interesting and flawless.

Good night and good luck to you.

2 comments:

Viks said...

Don't like Clooney that much. I thought he was a disaster for BATMAN.

Good, so this is a Movie Review blog. At least I'll check it up over here before actually going to the movies ;)

Though the problem these days is, it's just hard to find time to watch one. It gotta watch King Kong, argh!

-Viks

Viks said...

I gotta watch King Kong*