jodie, jodie, jodie

Much of the internet is still buzzing over Jodie Foster's acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award at Sunday's Golden Globes. Some people are calling it a "coming out" speech. Others are disappointed that she wasn't more, clear, more political, in her delivery. Sheesh.

I honestly don't get all the negative press or the seeming demands that Jodie out herself publicly at every opportunity. Hasn't she already done that? Why is just living your life, without a confessional talk show interview to explain your beliefs and sexuality expected as de riguer these days? The pressure to live our lives publicly is what I think Jodie was driving at in her speech, not what we all should know about her already, and frankly not care about.

Looking good at 50

Jodie Foster has lived her life in the public eye for a long time. I didn't realize she was acting since the age of three until she mentioned it onstage.

"Trust me, 47 years in the film business is a long time ... tonight I feel like the prom queen. Thank you. Looking at all those clips, you know, the hairdos and the freaky platform shoes, it’s like a home-movie nightmare that just won’t end ..."

She has pursued a career as an actress, which assumes a certain amount of public scrutiny, but she was also handed a very unwelcome spotlight when John Hinckly tries to assasinate President Reagan and said it was for her. Has everyone forgotten that? She's been under the microscope a long time.

I didn't view Jodie's speech, which some have characterized as unfocused and rambling, as a coming out speech,

" ... I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age, in those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family and co-workers and then gradually, proudly to everyone who knew her, to everyone she actually met."

but rather a plea for more sanity in how we talk about our lives.

" ... every celebrity is expected to honor the details of their private life with a press conference, a fragrance and a prime-time reality show. ... No, I’m sorry, that’s just not me. ... if you had been a public figure from the time that you were a toddler, if you’d had to fight for a life that felt real and honest and normal against all odds, then maybe you too might value privacy above all else. ... I have given everything up there from the time that I was 3 years old. That’s reality-show enough, don’t you think?"

It was also a bit of a goodbye speech. Like Kevin Costner, earlier in the evening, Jodie alluded to the fact that this might be her last opportunity to be up on that stage.

"This feels like the end of one era and the beginning of something else. Scary and exciting and now what?"

She was obviously proud of her career and her family, who she brought with her. The only strange moment for me was the zoned-out Mel Gibson sitting beside her. It was clear from Robert Downey Jr.'s introduction of the actress that Jodie is a fierce friend, and no matter what has been going on in Gibson's private life (and the public reception) she is not one to look or walk away. she explained Mel, too.

"There are a few secrets to keeping your psyche intact over such a long career. The first, love people and stay beside them."

I think she's awesome. The only disappointment for me was that they didn't show any clips from some of my favorite guilty pleasure Jodie Foster movies (or did I just blink and miss them?) Bugsy Malone, Foxes, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, and The Hotel New Hampshire.

when I grow up ...

I've been on an organizing kick lately, and found some of the kid's old drawings and writings and put them in an album for her (and me) to enjoy. This one, that she did in kindergarten, really tickled me.

"When I grow up I want to be a Vegetarian like Someone who takes care of pets."

another little gem of a movie: jack and sarah

Jack and Sarah is the kind of pleasant surprise of a movie that happens when you have a pretty basic and familiar rom-com script, but populate it with fabulous actors. Originally released in 1995, it was written and directed by British television director Tim Sullivan (The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, Coronation Street), and it is apparent that it was a labor of love:

"It took Sullivan four years to make Jack and Sarah, which germinated from an experience he had when working as a director at Granada TV. 'A friend of mine's childcare arrangements broke down and his wife was away, so he brought his six-month-old baby into work,' he says. 'Until that day he had been just an ordinary bloke, but suddenly he was the centre of attention — particularly with the women. And of course, one of the first things they did was take the child off him, as though he couldn't cope. 

Jack works out how to bathe Sarah

"It just amused me — as did the fact that he immediately seemed to become more attractive to women. If you start from the basis that all men are inherently shits — which many women believe and I do myself — when you see one with a baby, he seems more vulnerable and almost like an exception to the rule. Which he isn't." — The Independent

As the story begins Jack (Richard E. Grant) and Sarah (Imogen Stubbs) are about to have a baby. Jack is a rather self-absorbed lawyer who is thrown for a loop when Sarah tragically dies in childbirth. He goes on a bender, leaving his judgmental and disapproving mother (Judi Dench) and harried father and Sarah's mother (Eileen Atkins) to care for the baby. The grandparents team up and practice some tough love, soon leaving the baby with Jack and forcing him to step up to the plate, which he does, for the most part. But when bringing little baby Sarah (who he couldn't help but name after her mother in his grief) to work with him proves problematic, he begins to search for a nanny. Enter American Amy (Samantha Mathis), who knows nothing about childcare, but forms an immediate bond with the baby girl — and maybe her father, too. Rounding out the stellar cast are Cherie Lunghi as Jack's boss and Ian McKellen as an ersatz local wino turned butler/best friend/babysitter.

Amy (Samantha Mathis) changes Sarah's diaper as her two grandmothers (Eileen Atkins and Judi Dench) and William (Ian McKellen) supervise

Sarah and Amy

The London setting adds another dimension to the story. Jack may be a lawyer, but his flat and neighborhood are artsy — full of light and space and in an interesting area. I felt like I wasn't just watching a story but spending time with some people I like, much like the Notting Hill (where some of this film was shot). Jack and Sarah is not your typical romantic comedy, and that's very good, indeed.

hansel & gretel: warriors of witchcraft

Article first published as DVD Review: Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft on Blogcritics.

At first glance it may seem that Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft is just an obvious attempt to capitalize on the upcoming theatrical release, Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters. And it is, sorta.

The straight-to-DVD teen-centered film is set to be released (on January 22) just three days before the big-screen, more grown-up Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters, starring Jeremy Renner as Hansel and Gemma Arterton as Gretel, is set to be released in theaters. But Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft has more in common with films like The Craft and the recently cancelled CW series The Secret Circle. This film is all about the horrors of high school cliques, with some supernatural elements like witchcraft and covens thrown in to jazz things up.

Ella (Fivel Stewart) investigates her family's history as witch hunters.

Twin teens Jonah (Booboo Stewart, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Parts 1 & 2) and Ella (Fivel Stewart, The O.C.) are sent to an elite school in Salem, Massachusetts. Once there they are thrown in with the usual assortment of mean kids and teen cliques. One group, which isn't just a clique, but a coven, seems set on recruiting Jonah to join, while Ella meanwhile tries to unravel the dark secrets behind the secret society.

A sympathetic teacher, Ms. Keegan (Vanessa Angel, Hall Pass, Weird Science), and the ever-lurking headmaster (Eric Roberts, The Dark Knight, The Expendables) are both keeping a close eye on the new arrivals, but maybe with differing agendas. Cherie Currie (The Runaways, Foxes) is also on hand as another teacher, Ms. Thoman.

The two soon discover that they are descended from a long line of witch slayers, starting with Hansel and Gretel, and they may have to step up to the plate and use their heritage to protect themselves and others at the school - if they can stop working against each other.

DVD special features include commentary with director David DeCoteau (House of Usher, The Frightening) and the cast, a well as a stills gallery. The the sound is 2.0 stereo and subtitles are available in Spanish. The video format is 16x9 widescreen (2.40:1). Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft has a total running time of 90 minutes and the film is rated PG-13 for some violence.

The film has definitely more of a Gossip Girl vibe than similarly themed television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the more recent Grimm. It should be entertaining for the tween/teen set, who will relate to the high school shenanigans. But with the slow pace - the movie takes its time setting things up and establishing suspense before any real action happens - and the lack of any real romance or terror, Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft is watchable, but also quickly forgettable.