paul's pics & pans

Hostel Hell: First of all, I'm not even sure why I went to see this movie; maybe it was to prove to myself that I don't care for Quentin Tarantino's "art." Tarantino is an executive producer of the film and it shows. Stop me if you've heard this one: In the movie Hostel three guys backpack across Europe to make it with hot, foreign women. Whatever!!!! If I'm backpacking through Europe the last thing I'm going to be thinking about is scoring with a sexy woman (ok, that was just common sense because I am gay after all, but my point is made). Filmed in Prague by the director of Cabin Fever (which I never saw), Paxton, Josh, and Oli are trekking across Eastern Europe and end up in a hostel in Slovakia where the women are hot and easy and they can get plenty of drugs. Instead of having the time of their lives, however, they end up losing them. The victims turn out to be worth more or less depending on their nationality. The hot and sexy women offer up the victims to a torture club in exchange for money; Americans net the most money (naturally). There are plenty of scenes of torture and lots of blood and gore. There is a payoff at the end but not before the main character is tortured to the max. We should all know by now that Tarantino is the baron of blood (Pulp Fiction; Kill Bill) and yet I can't seem to think of him as anything but gross and pretentious.

Hallelujah Holiday: The next film is not laugh out loud funny but it is fun and heartwarming. Queen Latifah's new film Last Holiday tells the story of Georgia Bird who learns she has only weeks to live and decides to really live for the rest of her days. Latifah plays a sales clerk at a department store who, after hitting her head, finds out she has a progressive disease and will die in three weeks. She then goes on a European vacation (yes, another movie filmed in Prague) and lives it up. She buys new clothes, eats everything on the menu and even gets to cook with her dream chef. Latifah is nicely cast in this role, as is her love interest which is none other than LL Cool J. Georgia realizes that it took a death sentence to realize she hasn't been enjoying life, taking chances, putting herself out there. Not surprisingly, a lot of the funny parts are seen in the trailer but the film is really an ode to today's hustle and bustle society; going through the motions day in and day out without stopping to take in the scenery. That's something that is all too common in today's world. The film's prevailing theme is that it's not about what job you do in your life but how you live it, the people you touch, how you present yourself. There are a number of times in the film where suspension of disbelief comes into play, however, it's fun watching Latifah and the film does have an important message. One other thing, make sure you're not hungry when you see this film as there are many appetizing dishes that are shown throughout the film.

Good Gaul: The final film is called The Dying Gaul which tells the story of a young, gay aspiring writer whose play is picked up by a well-to-do film executive. First of all, the word gaul in the title refers to a Greek statue of a soldier found in Pergamum, Turkey. The soldier was vanquished; died too young. How it relates to the film is explained by the gay character; the many gay men who have died too young, in essence been vanquished, is similar to the Greek soldier. To take it a step further, one who compromises their core values and beliefs are in essence vanquishing themselves. Now back to the plot. Campbell Scott's character wants to change the gay couple in Robert's play to a heterosexual couple saying that more people will see it if it is a man and a woman. He says this minutes after saying that his company is not afraid of producing anything. Campbell Scott plays Jeffrey, the very rich, very handsome and contradictory executive who is quite taken with Robert, deftly played by Peter Sarsgaard. Patricia Clarkson plays Elaine, the stay at home wife of Jeffrey. She spends her days watching her automatic shades go up and down and taking care of the couple's two kids. Meanwhile, Jeffrey and Robert start a hot and heavy affair while working on the screenplay of Robert's play. What Jeffrey and Robert don't know is that Elaine inadvertently finds out about the affair and what follows next is a major mind game with Robert. The internet comes into major play in this film and shows just how easy it is to become anyone/anything one wants to be with the stroke of a key. Craig Lucas, the director of the film, also wrote the play. I've no doubt that it would have been better to see this on stage; it would have been powerful and tense. A lot of that is lost in the translation to film. Don't get me wrong all three of the leads are great, however, the film is lacking in the suspense that must have been prevalent on stage. I think all three leads did an outstanding job in the film, especially Mr-I'm-usually creepilicious-Sarsgaard whose performance in this film is extremely nuanced and it's one of his most memorable roles. I didn't understand why the film kept showing Clarkson's character swimming in the pool; I thought that would figure into the plot somehow. Also the ending is an unsatisfying cheat and again was probably more effective on stage. Sadly, Sarsgaard was not nominated for a Golden Globe for this role, nor was he nominated for his role in Jarhead. Hopefully Oscar will notice him as he deserves some major recognition for this movie. Go to Gaul for the acting but don't expect to be sated.