2003-11-06 - 8:57 a.m. Voyager " has reached the termination shock....", i.e., it's nudging towards the edge of the solar system!! Saw In the Cut last night. It wasn't great, but I have no regrets. With no undergirding of feasibility, plot, or character development, the surface of the film becomes the focus, and there is a lot on the surface to enjoy. The film is a series of bleary, woozy images of the Lower East Side, although maddeningly abstracted and non-specific, a Rolling Rock-soaked dream of the L.E.S., seen through the eyes of the classic Hollywood repressed-schoolmarm character. There is a plot, but it's stupid. Meg Ryan does a good job with this--her performance is instinctual and raw, although I grew weary of her perpetually humorless, frowny-sour expression, which seemed put-on and actorly. (Shoe aficianados take note: I also grew increasingly annoyed at her choice of footwear, these really ugly sandals that ruined every outfit...but I digress). Jennifer Jason Leigh gave her usual fearless but one-notch-too-much performance, and Kevin Bacon was suitably creepy. Mark Ruffalo...well, what can I say, except, "Ru-ffa-loo! Ruuuu-ffaa-loo!"... Bonus points to Jane Campion for giving the Meg character a believably tiny apartment, and to Meg and Jennifer (and Mark, for that matter) for proudly having natural-looking and un-fabulous bodies. The real star of the film, however, is the adorably ugly Chinese Crested who has a Kevin Bacon factor of one. Live Meat Puppets! thoughts? (0 comments so far) previous - next blog archive contact