Mask-the-Cher-movie not Mask-the-Jim-Carrey-movie

Mask is sentimental and sweet. In kind of a boring way. And the more I think about it, the less I like this movie. The trouble with Mask is that it literally has no surprises in store for viewers. 

Actually, there is one moment were I was really surprised by a turn Mask took. This really nice guy who we've known the whole film turns against his best friend and is really mean to him. It's an odd sequence because the movie never revisits this terrible moment. The kid never apologizes for it, and the film doesn't seem to find this behavior to be a problem. 

The ending of Mask is sort of odd, too. Bogdanovich, who has made a very sentimental movie, chooses not to go for a big sentimental finale. It's an understated choice, and it definitely makes for a better movie. But it's too little too late. I thought this was cheesy.

The Last Picture Show

I guess I don't write too much about movies I've seen before. I don't really re-visit movies that often. But I am participating in the Supporting Actress Smackdown this month over at Stinkylulu's place, so that means I'm screening all of the Oscar nominees from 1971 for Best Supporting Actress. This means I needed to revisit The Last Picture Show, a movie I first saw in October of 2000. I'm sure glad I did, too. Seven years ago means most of my focus was on the young hero of the film (Timothy Bottoms) and my love for the very-cute-at-that-age Jeff Bridges, who is second-billed. The film is about sexual awakening in a lot of ways, so I'm sure that was drawing most of my attention back then.

But The Last Picture Show is a quiet epic of sadness and ennui. Larry McMurtry's script is a beautifully crafted thing and the black and white photography gives this film about the 1950s an air of something already forgotten even while it's being shot. It's a sad, lovely, movie with some absolutely brilliant performances. Ben Johnson in particular is just perfect as the town's lifeblood Sam the Lion. Check this flick out if you haven't seen it. It's worth the re-watch.