Frost/Nixon

Basically there are three movie seasons: summer movies, holiday movies, and everything else. Summer movies are the fun "popcorn" movies; they are blockbusters, usually action films or franchises that have a built in audience and make a lot of money. Holiday movies can be these blockbusters but also is the time where the arty Oscar films are released. That's why the holiday season is tied for my favorite movie season.

One of the Oscar-type films this season is called "Frost/Nixon". It's based on the play that has been running on Broadway for a couple of years now. The play is based on the series of interviews that was performed in 1977 between British talk show host David Frost and the disgraced 37th President of the US, Richard M. Nixon. Going deeper than just the interviews, the movie delves into the process of getting the interview set up, as well as the psyche of both Frost and Nixon, to show what each man had riding on these historic interviews. Here are my thoughts on this movie:

1. It's a fascinating subject. I think too often in movies, people just assume "Nixon" as a subject (as an example) and make a movie about him. I think I find that what makes movies and people more interesting are singular events that are told in great detail. That's what this movie is. Obviously we could see Oliver Stone's "Nixon" or watch something like "All the President's Men" to hear about Watergate. This movie is original in its singular focus.

2. Frank Langella plays Nixon. He is getting Oscar buzz for his role, and with good reason. He reprised the role that he played on Broadway, opposite Michael Sheen, who plays David Frost. Michael Sheen, it has to be noted, was excellent in "The Queen", which was a movie that was similar to this one, where it examined the nascent stages of Tony Blair's time as Prime Minister and his relationship with the Queen, which coincided with the death of Princess Diana. Both actors are brilliant in this movie. Langella gets to the psychology of Nixon with gusto. He nails his paranoia, his sixth sense of cheapness, his hatred of people, and his feeling of inferiority.

Well, really, those are my only thoughts on the movie. Go see it. But here are more holiday movie season thoughts:

3. I love going to the movies, but I really hate that most people don't know theater etiquette anymore. Here are a few hard and fast rules: (a) When you enter a theater, get a seat as far away from everyone else as possible. Do not sit directly behind someone. If you are sitting in the row behind them, sit a couple of seats to the right or left; (b) do not kick the seat in front of you. I repeat: DO NOT KICK THE SEAT IN FRONT OF YOU. If you are old enough to leave the house and go to the movies, you are old enough to mind your feet the entire time. There is nothing more annoying that having your seat kicked throughout an entire movie.

4. Here are other movies that I am looking forward to before the Oscars on February 22:
-The Wrester: Mickey Rourke is garnering a lot of Oscar buzz.
-Gran Torino: I'm not an Eastwood guy, but this movie looks thrilling.
-Rachel Getting Married: Anne Hathaway is getting major props for her role as a recovering addict.
-Slumdog Millionaire: Getting a lot of hype as the Best Picture.
-Doubt: an intriguing tale of racism in the Catholic church in the Bronx
-Revolutionary Road: Leo and Kate together for the first time since Titanic, which I refuse to see
-Ben Button: It might be too long though.

I may be forgetting some others. What are you looking forward to seeing?