Runester

Movie Review: Cold Mountain

Lisa & I went to see this, Friday afternoon. I had heard two things about it: one, it was excellent and an Oscar contender; two, it was over hyped. I don’t really buy either one. The best performance in the piece was (by far) Ren?e Zellweger who was almost unrecognizable behind her role as “Ruby Thewes” (a simple / practical country girl). Jude Law (“Inman”) does a good job, but that job is mostly reacting to his environment, which is often quite bizarre. Nicole Kidmans’ “Ada Monroe” (as the Victorian woman pining away for her beau) didn’t really giver her enough opportunity to display her full talents as an actor.

What no one told me, was that this is a prototypical Victorian romance in the “bodice ripper” / romance novel tradition. The correspondence and the voice over and the endless pining away between the two “lovers” was heavily reminiscent of Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights. In fact, Wuthering Heights is referenced in the movie!

Maybe I am over simplifying, but I honestly suspect this movie is a classic “chick flick” with one difference. In an effort to make it more palatable to men, they include some graphic violence by way of civil war combat, and some disturbing sexuality in one scene which I can only describe as “mountain hicks gone wild.”

Actually, the part that meant the most to me, was not the actors or sets … it was the amazing scenery. There were breathtaking views of a wild and rugged America as it must have been 100+ years ago and as it must be, somewhere. One particular scene has Inman (Jude Law) walking through a lush green valley ringed by tall mountains – fantastic! I’d like to live there …

Overall this movie is worth watching. If you are into landscapes, see it on the big screen. If you are into tear-jerking romances, wait for it to come to video.

In other news …

For the record, I have continued to update my weekly body weight chart, which shows a noticeable slowing in weight loss. I can blame some of it on the holidays, but now that I am back to “real life” and exercising a couple of times every week, I hope to (again) see an appreciable delta.

Some links you may like

Writing.com (opens in a new window) This is one amazing website! There is a free membership level, which includes enormous opportunities for writers to practice their craft and receive thoughtful reviews of their work … as well as readers to access thousands of works by aspiring writers. There is so much here, all I can call it is … vast.

The Scriptorium (opens in a new window) this is another great website for writers, especially the list and review of software especially designed with writers in mind.

Blogging Network (opens in a new window) has a fascinating payment model that rewards good bloggers and encourages more people to keep on blogging.