Psycho-Sexual: Male Desire in Hitchcock, De Palma, Scorsese, and Friedkin by David Greven; rating: 7/10

I didn't get through this whole book, but I did read a good part of the chapter discussing how a number of Hitchcock films seem to have an undercurrent of the gay vs the feminine. A male character befriends a male protagonist or even the villain and fights with a female lead for their loyalty. Greven pursues this thesis through a number of movies including Man who knew too much ('56) and North by Northwest.

I must say it's an interesting thought. Hitchcock did seem to have a lot of overtly gay characters and actors. The housekeeper, Ms Danvers, in Rebecca, the bodyguard, Leonard, in North by Northwest, the killers in Rope (taken from real life though), etc. It seems to be a topic which fascinated him, or possibly he had some personal interest in.

Anyhow, it puts Hitchcock in a new light, and could be a reason to revisit his films.

The perks of a wallflower (2012) rating: 8/10

Charlie (Logan Lorman) is a bit too tall, sufficiently good looking and having too fine a voice to realistically be an unpopular freshman in high school. Still there are some things to like about this movie. Probably a lot of real people have the idea that they weren't popular in HS, that they were outsiders. And this movie is an ode to those wallflowers. But Charlie here promises to be an extreme case, though his early high school isolation actually lasts exactly one whole day. On the 2nd day he meets very mature teenagers in step-siblings and seniors, Patrick and Sam, the latter in a fine performance by Emma Watson. In essences these two are more like adults, but with their own unique problems and challenges. They are not popular, but they are strong enough to stand on their own. They sort of take Charlie under their wings and help out the friendless kid and he starts to gain confidence. He has an obvious crush on Sam, but Sam already has a boyfriend. You can guess parts of what happens next. Overall it is well acted and the story while unrealistic in many aspects can be related to.

** spoilers **

Charlie also has a lot of problems. His aunt was killed when he was little, but

Django Unchained (2012) rating: 9/10

I am not a big fan of Quentin Tarantino. I think most of his films are needlessly violent, though I understood that was part of his style. At the time of its release, I liked Pulp Fiction probably because of the great music. But I had reservations about the promotion of hit men as good or funny.

But Django Unchained is different. It is less ambiguous about its good and bad. And I guess I just like a simple good versus evil story. This is something this movie delivers in spades with a couple unequivocally good and smart heroes.

Waltz switches sides from the villian in Inglorious Bastards and becomes the worldly yet practical German bounty hunter (here, a good guy version of hit man) who in fact speaks excellent French as well. Eventually he takes Foxx's Django as his protege. Later, they take on the wicked but smart DiCapro playing plantation owner, Candie.

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) rating: 7/10

The beginning of this film was difficult to watch, and in fact I didn't. I skipped it. From there it gets more interesting. We follow the young female CIA agent who kept after the trail. Her instincts are mostly spot on and she has the confidence to follow them. And shows even more confidence to keep after the path when everyone else express doubts. And of course we know how this all ends, but seeing it executed is riveting.

A couple negatives aside from torture: (1) too many seconds of darkness in the early part of the actual mission starting from the stealth helicopters.  I could see including some few seconds of this, but I think it went on too long. (2) too many times, calling out the name of the person to kill them. I wonder that this trick won't work again after every terrorist in the world has seen this movie. I thought it unrealistic that it worked every time. On the other hand, perhaps it is true that it does work. If so, did they give away a useful tactic?

Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012) rating: 7/10

A professional woman with greater education and a better career can't stay married to a man with no job and no ambition. But darn it, she gets along so well with the guy that they are still best friends. Seems implausible, but the movie spins it into comedy and interesting choices for the woman.

Elijah Wood plays the girl's gay sidekick (actually boss), but his part is very poorly scripted unfortunately.

Life of Pi (2012) rating: 6/10

I didn't like this movie much, but it has its moments.

Argo (2012) rating: 6/10

Best picture, nah. But it was the feel good movie of 2012 where Hollywood is partial hero. There was a manufactured drama feel to much of it. I got the feeling it might not have been that nerve wracking, but hey no drama, no movie. Nevertheless, ok.

North Sea Texas (2011) rating: 9/10

This movie has nothing to do with America and Texas. The author and director are Belgian. The movie is set in a Flemish seaside town. A quiet young gay boy with a neglectful single mom finds refuge with a neighbor and her children. Yes, it is a coming of age tale, full of innocent love and love lost. The boy protagonist is nearly silent which makes anything he says full of emphasis. The older actor (still only 14 years old) playing him does a good job portraying his growing up.

Here is an excellent interview of the director, Bavo Defurne, about the film.