Little Miss Whatever

We saw "Little Miss Sunshine" the other day. Cute movie, but I don't get what all the fuss is about. It's being bandied about as an Oscar contender, and I just don't see it. It's a good movie, just not great.

The best part of the film is the cinematography, which is gorgeous, although it mostly plays off the yellow of the VW bus and the blue of the vast skies of the American West.

Otherwise, it's essentially a typical "dysfunctional family is thrown together in improbable situation and finally finds a measure of peace by coming together to get through adversity". Sort of like "American Beauty" meets "Trains, Planes and Automobiles".

Manhunter

Last night, we watched Michael Mann's "Manhunter", the first Hannibal Lecter movie based on the book Red Dragon.

It was pretty good and had an obvious influence on "Silence of the Lambs", which came just 5 years later.

But it definitely wins the Oscar for "Best Use of 'In-a-Gadda-da-Vida' in a Cinematic Setting".