of elephants, millionaires, and milk

Fuck, I used to get comments on here. What happened??

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I saw Milk earlier tonight. First things first-- Sean Penn knocked it out of the park. That bro can seriously act. Gus Van Sant's direction was decent. It was really a character-driven story, so the best way to service the story was for the director to get the hell out of the way and not make things too fancy. Van Sant is an expert at that.

A few years ago he made Elephant, a super-low-budget indie film about the days leading up to the Columbine massacre. It basically consisted of about fifteen to twenty tracking shots, following random students as they walked through hallways and around the school grounds. The film was about as tense as the Great Chevy Malibu Race. We all know what happened at Columbine, but that doesn't give you the right as a director to simply show PEOPLE WALKING AROUND for ninety minutes and expect instant drama.

Plus, the kids' conversations with each other are completely inane. Yes, you say, but at least it's realistic. I could make a nine-hour-long movie about the average day of a mail sorter and have it be fully realistic-- would that also make it compelling?

Then just as the tragedy is finally about to unfold, *spoiler alert* the fictional Harris and Klebold have a gay love scene in the shower. Uh..................... What?!?

Of course, Elephant went on to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2003. (No lie. Look it up.) Van Sant also won Best Director. I think a movie doesn't have to be good to win the Golden Palm-- it just has to be indie enough.

Milk has no such problem. Van Sant couldn't add tension to a paintball match on the Gaza Strip, but luckily for him the story doesn't need it. It's an inspiring true story about a gay businessman (Harvey Milk) in San Francisco who ran for public office in the 70s, eventually succeeded, and helped protect the rights of homosexuals by leading a grassroots movement to strike down Proposition 6 in 1978, before being assassinated days later.

It's too bad Van Sant wanted to hold this one back for awards season, because there are some real eerie connections with a certain California proposition that ended up passing this year. If Milk had been released two months ago, who knows how things might have been different?

James Franco really surprised me with a great turn as Harvey Milk's oldest lover. Although this isn't the first time this year he's put out a great performance. Saul the pot dealer in Pineapple Express was brilliant.

And Saul the pot dealer was just recently nominated for a Golden Globe. Woah man. That's like... wait, what?

I also saw Slumdog Millionaire this week, which I won't get into very much. But that film could seriously win Best Picture. It was THAT GOOD. Electric, perfectly paced, whirling with emotions and colors. I can't recommend it highly enough. In fact I won't give away anything else-- because you need to see this movie, and you need to see it in theaters.

You'll thank me. You'll be all like-- "That Iggy really gave me a good tip about Slumdog. I'm glad I visited that silly website of his. What was it again?"

http://iggysquest.blogspot.com

Now start commenting! Goddamn it. Do I have to get over there with a rubber hose and--