David Strathairn in "Good Night, and Good Luck"
courtesy of Sony Home Entertainment
"Strathairn Was Robbed"

In just about any other year David Strathairn's performance as Edward R Murrow in the film "Good Night, and Good Luck" would have been a sure thing Oscar winner as Best Actor. The man was brilliant in the role. But sadly, even more brilliant-er was Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote in "Capote." It just doesn't seem fair. Maybe it ought to have been a tie. But to rob Strathairn of his due is a cruel twist of fate.

"Good Night, and Good Luck" without Strathairn's performance would have been a good but not outstanding film. The story of one man trying to expose the fear mongers and Communist haters among us would have boiled down to a "David and Goliath" film concerning Murrow and Joe McCarthy. It would have generated some interest but nothing spectacular. Did you see any other acting nominations flow out of it? 

Director George Clooney knew what he was doing in casting Strathairn. He was letter perfect in his performance. And so was Ray Wise, an overlooked actor who had a pivotal role as a man who was destroyed by McCarthy's rantings.

Since the film is now out on video it can be watched and even studied by acting classes. They will see an actor doing an outstanding job in his performance. In any other year it would have been award worthy, but this year David Strathairn was robbed!

Someone else who should have gotten a nomination was Viggo Mortensen. He was so good in "A History of Violence." I'm not saying he should have won but he sure should have been nominated. He was much better in his role as the restaurant owner who may or may not have had mob connections, than William Hurt was as his brother. And Hurt got a nomination.

Ed Harris was also great as the mystery man who came to town looking for Mortensen's character. And what about Maria Bello who played Mortensen's confused wife. She was better than Catherine Keener in "Capote" but she didn't get a nomination. 

Get this DVD and look at these performances. You will find they are engrossing and versatile. Getting a nomination is a toss up sometimes and these guys didn't win the toss. Support them by watching the DVD and telling others about it.

Denzel Washington is all over town in his new film "Inside Man." He is getting good reviews for his performance but if you want to see Denzel at the top of his game, watch "Remember the Titans" one more time. It is out in a new DVD version titled "The Director's Cut."

The movie is based on a true story about one coach's actions to integrate his team, and the reaction of his players and the town where they lived. There is additional commentary and deleted scenes in this new version but the highlight as always is the performance by Washington as Coach Herman Boone.

Washington is good in any role he undertakes but in this film he achieves universal popularity and greatness. Watch it one more time and see how he pulls the whole story together. He is the man in the center of the action and the actor at the heart of the film.

Another sports film that will hold your attention is the documentary "Through the Fire." This movie tells the story of Sebastian Telfair, a brilliant high school basketball player, who has to make the decision to either try to get into the professional world or go into college athletics. This is not an easy choice for Telfair because he also has to weigh how much he owes his family.

This film showed recently on ESPN but the DVD has more footage and more added bonuses. It is a riveting film and shows how intense thew world of professional athletics can be. It is not always an easy choice as to what road to pursue, and sometimes it is like walking through fire to get to the right place.

Finally there is the romantic comedy "How To Lose Your Lover." This film concerns a young man (Paul Schneider) who decides to leave Los Angeles and start fresh in the east. He also decides to come clean to all his friends and tell them nothing but the truth about him and their relationships with him.

In the meantime he meets the girl of his dreams (Jennifer Westfeldt) but he knows they can never be happy. She too will see through him eventually and move on - so he decides to speed things up. He will "lose his lover" in record time.

Poppy Montgomery and Tori Spelling co-star in this comedy along with the irrepressible Fred Willard. This is a feel good, have fun movie that you should get on DVD and enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

©2006 Jackie K. Cooper

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