This Looks Fantastic

Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. Watch the trailer. I cannot believe that is him. This looks like a superb film.

While I'm at it, here are some more movies I want to see:

• Good Night, and Good Luck -- Starring George Clooney, it's the story of how Edward R. Murrow stood up to Joseph McCarthy.


• Everything Is Illuminated -- It's got Elijah Wood in it, which means I give it better odds of being good (or at least interesting) than not. (To explain that, I think that Wood is a good--though not necessarily great--actor, but he manages to sign on to excellent, often thought-provoking films. E.g., Sin City, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Ice Storm, The War--even if he was still young for that one.)


• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress -- I read the novel by Dai Sijie and enjoyed it. It's about the Chinese Cultural Revolution.


• MirrorMask -- I've been looking forward to this one for a while. The critics haven't liked it, because the plot is apparently paper thin. However, from what I've heard, it's a fantastically beautiful work, which I think is more of the purpose. I'm glad to see it will be opening in more cities (Indianapolis in early November) soon.


• Pretty Persuasion -- I loved Evan Rachel Wood in Thirteen, as disturbing as that movie was to watch. In this one, she teams up with Ron Livingston, James Woods, and Jane Krakowski. Looks like a biting commentary on race and gender relations in modern America. Very dark comedy in the style of Election


• Thumbsucker -- Oddball comedy with a cast list a mile long.


• A History of Violence -- Viggo Mortensen as the man with the hidden past. William Hurt is supposed to be a mobster. I'm not sure how I feel about that. But the story seems interesting.


• Lord of War -- Hey, they can't all be artsy, fartsy films. Every now and then, you just need a nice, let's-blow-some-stuff-up flick.


• Domino -- See my comments on Lord of War. And it has Keira Knightley.


• Jarhead -- Based on the bestseller about a Marine in the first Gulf War. Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx, and Chris Cooper. Good cast for a bitter war flick.


• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- Dragons. Fun.


• The Libertine -- First, it has Johnny Depp, who is one of my favorite actors (I love odd, quirky roles, which are his trademark). Plus John Malkovich and Samantha Morton, who starred in one of the best films in recent years, In America.

OK, that's enough for now. And I didn't mention The Constant Gardener, because I've already seen that one. If you haven't seen it, do so. Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz are both wonderful.