Apart from getting up very early to buy groceries (I wanted nothing to do with a grocery store on the 23rd of December) it’s been a lazy, relaxing Sunday. Gift wrapping and corporate finance will come later; we decided to spend the morning watching movies.

We actually watched Keane (imdb | rotten tomatoes) yesterday, not today. It was not an easy film to watch, I thought, but it was impressive for two reasons: the nauseating feeling you got seeing this man get hurled into and out of madness, and the performance of Damien Lewis. He was on the screen for practically every second, every scene, every shot, and to so skillfully show this man being buffeted by the forces that afflicted him must’ve taken incredible patience. Damien Lewis might just be the most underrated actor out there.

Keane represented the last of our Zip movies. When it’s returned, my account will officially be closed.

Shifting gears, we watched Who Killed The Electric Car? (imdb | rotten tomatoes), a documentary about…well, you can probably guess. Some documentaries are haphazard and jump all over the place, or seem designed only to outrage, but this one had a very clear narrative and a real quality of production that you don’t often see from the genre. Lots of background and facts, but presented clearly and concisely. The story of the GM EV1 electric car is interesting, but the story about the car’s quiet demise — which I’d not really paid attention to — is rife with intrigue and conflict. Highly recommended.

Oh wait…shifting gears…I just got that. Sorry. I hate puns. They’re lazy humour.

Finally, about an hour ago, we watched Mrs. Henderson Presents (imdb | rotten tomatoes) which was ok, but not great. Cute and clever, to be certain, and the two leads — Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins — were awfully good, but it veered too close to schmaltz (and dove nose-first into sentiment, for that matter) too often. I suspect it would’ve been labeled a good family film except that there’re naked ladies every which way you look.

[tags]keane, damien lewis, who killed the electric car, gm ev1, mrs. henderson presents, judi dench, bob hoskins, windmill theatre[/tags]