SOLARIS, OSCAR TALK IS ALL GREEK AND MORE - To close out our 'Solaris' discussion... I do think a case could be made that Soderbergh did mislead Sam, and the rest of us, a little bit in making the central struggle of 'Solaris' appear to be that of Kelvin vs. Solaris -- man of reason and intellect, a psychiatrist, forced to confront something that defies all reason. I was going the same route and, like Sam, felt that Soderbergh perhaps forsakes this struggle too abruptly. The first time the fake Rheya comes, Kelvin keeps his sanity and sends her away, literally, out into space. The next time she shows up, however, he seems to succumb almost immediately to Rheya/Solaris' will. The next thing you know, he's shouting at the crew members telling them that he isn't going back to Earth without her. With all of this said, I had no problem following this "new" narrative thread, as it were. It's odd because every critic who complains about the movie says that Soderbergh reduced Tarkovsky's more poetic, philosophical film to a simple story of lost love; but as my initial post illustrates -- as misguided and confounding as it may be -- it's the larger statements the movie makes about freewill and the very nature of human existence that struck me as so fascinating, not the love story. I'm glad I could enjoy Soderbergh's vision without comparing it to Tarkovsky's, though now I am eager to pick up the new Criterion disc and scope it out. I also thought that Clooney's performance was one of his better ones, free of his usual ticks and mannerisms. I almost started to think Clooney was a good actor after 'Out of Sight' but after watching it a few more times I started to notice that he's not good so much as Soderbergh and writer Scott Frank make him seem good. Watch any scene that he's in with Don Cheadle and Steve Zahn and it's amazing how stiff and un-charismatic Clooney appears. But while Clooney may not be a great actor, he has, since the 'Batman' debacle, shown near impeccable taste, and I applaud him for that. And if Natasha McElhone doesn't get a Supp. Actress nod for her performance it's a shame. She's asked to convey the emotions of a being that isn't quite human and is filled with all sorts of memories, but none of them are her own. She's a creature, ultimately, with no freewill, no mind of her own, and somehow she finds a way to reflect this confusing state while also being incredibly sensual.

Reader Joe Horaney wrote in again with a complaint about the Oscar buzz 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' seems to be generating. "If 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' continues to get Oscar buzz just because it grossed over $200 million, I'll be sick," is how he put it. It's an interesting dilemma. I don't think most movie snobs like myself would say 'Greek Wedding' is one of the top 5 movies of the year, but it's also a fairly entertaining movie made outside the big studio system so it's hard not to root for it, or at least cheer it's amazing success. The Academy does love to throw in a light-hearted little comedy every year it seems, so I guess we should prepare to hear it's name mentioned when they announce the nominees.

The Movie Club next week will likely be a potpourri of whatever Sam, Eric and myself see this weekend. The only new movies opening wide are 'Empire', which I know nothing about, and 'Analyze That', and not one of us intends to see either one. I have to admit that the trailers for 'Analyze That' do seem semi-amusing, but I really did not enjoy the original and as long as Harold Ramis is directing, and he is, the movie will surely suck. The futuristic 'Equilibrium' with 'American Psycho's Christian Bale opens limited and is playing in Chicago, but the critics are really hating it -- only 20% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Of course, the movie we all want to see is 'Adaptation', but for some reason it isn't playing in Chicago. Rotten Tomatoes lists it as opening wide so now I'm really confused. The critics, as expected, are eating it up -- 91% positive.

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