5 Random Thoughts about "Bright Star".

So I saw Jane Campion's Bright Star this weekend. I was really looking forward to it, however I was totally disappointed despite the rave reviews I read.

1. Abbie Cornish is fantastic in it. Carried the movie on her shoulders, she is immensely watchable. She is particularly excellent in a devastatingly emotional scene at the end of the movie.

2. This movie looks gorgeous. It is like it was made by a painter. Every scene is a beautiful canvass. The lighting, the setting, the vistas...all beautiful. Check out the scene where Cornish sits on a bed by an open window while the wind blows a curtain towards her. I have not seen a more lyrically beautiful scene this year.

3. Ben Whishaw underwhelms. I think he looks the part, all small and handsomely sickly. But he did not deliver. I did not believe for a moment that he was passionate about anything, not Cornish, not poetry.

4. There were a few other good performances. Both Kerry Fox and Paul Schneider were good. And Edie Martin who played the young sister Toots, was a charming presence.

5. But that screenplay. This movie was long, dull and boring. Yes beautiful to look at with a couple of emotional moments, but it took forever and a day. I was never more bored at the movies this year. Dull, dull, dull.

Tom Ford made a movie!

Uber-celebrity designer and former Gucci honcho Tom Ford, presented his directorial debut at the Venice film festival a few days ago. It is called "A Single Man" and stars Colin Firth as a gay college professor in L.A. contemplating suicide after the death of his partner. Julianne Moore stars as his friend who still carries a torch for him.

You can see from the trailer that the movie looks exquisitely beautiful and that Ford is in love with the male form. That's so surprise, however the buzz from Venice is that it's a good movie too. It's a major contender for the grand prize, the Golden Lion and reviews have been good to excellent. I love what the Times of London, said "....It looks like a Wallpaper magazine photo shoot styled by Douglas Sirk". High praise indeed. It also apparently gives Firth the best role of his career and Moore her best role in years.

Could Ford be the next big gay auteur? Watch out Gus Van Sant.

The Song of the Fall

So I was hoping that Whitney will rule the fall and have the biggest comeback. Unfortunately her album is not diva enough, it's just mediocre. There are a couple of OK mid-tempo songs (Alicia Keyes' penned Million Dollar Bill & For the Lovers). But the rest, save for a cover of Donny Hathaway's Your Song, are not memorable.

So who is going to rule the fall? I'm betting on Leona Lewis. Her new song Happy is bombastic and totally diva and has all the right moves. I've heard it more than 10 times in the last few days. On facebook and twitter it is being mentioned like crazy.

Even Perez Hilton endorsed it. And while I hate to follow a trend started by him, I have to say I think he is right this time.

This song delivers. Expect to hear it everywhere, well into 2010.