Capote - In one of the best performances of any biopic ever, Philip Seymour Hoffman has captured the iconic glamour, unctuousness and, more revealingly, the unsympathetic predatory nature of one of America's best known authors, Truman Capote.

The director Bennet Miller and writer Dan Futterman have created a unique film, at once a revealing character portrait of the bizarre, driven Capote and also a creepy, visceral crime drama in which the conflict is not clear cut. Capote, an already famous celebrity in the late 60s, is portrayed not only as a fish out of water as he arrives in South Dakota seeking insight into a brutal murder of a family in a remote farming community, but possibly as a complete alien to everyone around him.

A preening, self-important man and open homosexual convinced of his own genius, Capote is played without an ounce of sympathy - succeeding only when his witty charm finds an audience. Only the presence of his researcher, the writer Harper Lee (who would later author To Kill a Mockingbird) played by Catharine Keener, gets him his initial intro into the traditional lives of the locals. Against expectations, there is no story about his meeting humanity or redemption. Rather, often in spite of himself, Capote grinds forward in his own desire to find that work of genius he is convinced exists in this stark dirty crime.

Capote's mission finds its extra dimension once he is able to gain access to the two suspects in the murders. One of them is a grinning psychotic but the other, who gains Capote's interest, is a lonely introspective half-Indian who hints at a deeper psychological history. To Capote, the young man serves as prey that Capote must squeeze the truth from first by bribing the warden for access and second by skillful manipulation. Far from sympathizing with the suspect, Capote needs only material for his story and, in the final act, a satisfying conclusion with his execution. The scenes of Capote and the man on death row remind me of The Silence of the Lambs in the scenes between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling.

2046 - How can you say no to a film directed by Wong Kar Wai, shot by Christopher Doyle and starring four of the most beautiful Chinese actresses in the past two decades? Toss in lush costumes, scenes dripping with romantic languor and even some science fiction and you have the excessive and somewhat successful "2046".

"2046" which showed at last year's Cannes in a severe rough cut and then dribbled into theatres a few months ago because marketers didn't know what to do with it is indeed a curious project. It took far too long to make and caused legendary Australian cinematographer Christopher Doyle ("Hero", "Chungking Express") to say he would never work with Wong Kar Wai again. At first no one, not even the cast, knew what the film was about. Seeing it you can realize how true this is.

At first it begins with an elegaic fragment of a story taking place in a future Earth where trains criss cross the globe. A Japanese man has gotten himself passage on a train called "2046" which is supposed to allow him to visit (or revisit?) an episode of love. Before that fragment is followed through we realize that this is actually a work of fiction being written by a man in Hong Kong in the early 1960s played by the handsome Tony Leung Chiu Wai, in fact the same character as the love-besotten journalist in Wong Kar Wai's "In the Mood for Love".

Apparently, years after he stopped pining for the lost love of the Maggie Cheung character from "In the Mood for Love", Tony Leung's character is now a rogue, looking every bit like a Chinese Clark Gable, taking home a different woman every night and carefree with his money and attachments. Early on, he is just leaving Macao where he has been a gambler. In a brief scene he tries to get the legendary beauty Gong Li to leave with him but she demurs. There is a hint at something stronger going on. It will be revisted later. This first story rooted in the writer's world establishes the episodic structure of "2046" and the theme of love lost because of bad timing, the right person at the wrong time.

After arriving in Hong Kong he becomes intrigued by a former dancer he knew from another city and follows her home (Carina Lau). How much time has passed since he left Macao is unstated. Instead of bedding her they talk long into the night and he puts her to bed intending on following up later. However, when he looks up her apartment (number 2046; that was also the number of the hotel where he and Maggie Cheung spent their unrequited affair in "In the Mood for Love") in the next few days she has turned up dead (though he doesn't realize it).

Out of whimsy Tony Leung's character moves into the apartment next to "2046" and soon becomes an observer and then a participant in the romantic entanglements of various women centered around the hotel. He is interested in the affairs of the elder daughter of the hotelier, played by Faye Wong who is unable to get her father to agree to meet her Japanese boyfriend, played by the same actor Takyua Kimura as the protagonist in the science fiction story. Still later, in the most lively episode, #2046 is rented out to a club hostess played by Zhang Zi Yi, a flighty popular girl who Tony Leung manages to ensare but then keep at a distance. They are "just drinking pals" he says even though Zhang Zi Yi has fallen in love with him. Just so you know, I'm in love with Zhang Zi Yi too.

Ordinarily such a long summary isn't really needed but I couldn't really write about "2046" without mentioning at least all of the appearances of this all star cast of Chinese beauties, their incredible fashions and dreamy looks. So much for a selfish reason. Another reason is to give you an idea of the sprawling overindulgence of the film. If you have two hours to spare so that you can linger over the glossiness of Doyle's photography, the coquettish and melodramatic behaviour of the stars, wet lips and tearing eyes; it could very well be a good evening. You may want to watch this for probably one of the most lingering and electric kiss scenes I've seen in film when Tony Leung seizes Gong Li and crushes her with his lips for almost two minutes. After that I went: "wow". Your date might too.

To say that "2046" is bloated is to really miss the point of the extravagance of Wong Kar Wai's attitude toward the film. It is as messy, fleeting and episodic as the emotional history of Tony Leung's character. All of his relationships, the ones that might have been, become fodder for the interweaving story that he is writing. As maddening as the lack of form is (well, of course there is form), it does fit. If you are looking for something in a neat package, this is not for you. "In the Mood For Love" is the more complete, more powerful film for that.

Brokeback Mountain - Although probably weighed down by expectations, "Brokeback Mountain" is deservedly one of the year's most intriguing and reflective dramas, hanging its success primarily on the powerful and nuanced performance of Heath Ledger as well as a supporting cast playing the men and women who are stricken by the circumstances of lost love. It is probably one of the most compelling films I've seen not only on the subject of loss but on emotional history. A lot has already been written on the circumstances besetting the two men in the film, cowpokes living in the rugged west in the 1960s, who know rightly that coming out could be fatal. On a deeper level, both men are unable to move beyond their own emotional prisons although the Jake Gyllenhaal character, Jack Twist, is more earnestly optimistic. Ledger's Ennis is fragile man built in a rugged stone. His emotions seep out of cracks.

Director Ang Lee wisely has made a sparse film visually, allowing empty rooms and wide expanses fill up with emotion. Those who remember "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will recall the scene where the Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat characters are sitting in an stark white room, saying nothing. But in the subtext of the story of their unexpressed love for each other the composition of the scene is perfect. It is the love that not only dares not be spoken, but does not need to be spoken. They both know it, they both are at ease.

In "Brokeback Mountain" the feeling is a bit different; primarily it is a painful ache of sorrow, knowing that distance and society are preventing both men from being together. Anyone who has ever felt the loss of love and the melancholy of wondering : what if? will connect with the pang and anger that Ledger's Ennis feels. When Ennis explodes into anger or violence, it declares his painful lack emotional language. The one short scene after the two men part for the first time, Ennis crumples in a space between buildings, punching the wall because of his inability to grasp happiness, while beyond the free western blue sky of the cowboy world, is seemingly at odds with what he feels encompasses the contradictions of his world.

The emptiness but beauty of the mountain scenes that langorously open in the first act of the film speak also to the loneliness of the cowboy characters. The wilderness speaks of freedom but the men who work the range speak few words, are inexpressive and constricted; their grasp on what they feel is inchoate. This idea itself speaks against the missplaced criticism that the 'gay cowboy movie' is wrecking the ideal of the western. Some see the lone rider on the plains, desert or mountains as a symbol of clarity. But a character in a space is not just simplicity; it is a canvas for imagination. The absence of detail provides for the flowering of imagination, the flow of emotions, the feeding of context. Actually what many of these critics are showing is their fear of imagination. If I ever get to meet Larry McMurtry, co-screenwriter (with his wife Diana Ossana) and legendary western author, I'd like to ask him about this. Tellingly, no one has seen fit to criticize McMurtry for wrecking the cowboy film genre. The writer of Lonesome Dove's pedigree is undisputed.

As in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Ang Lee shows an independent streak at odds with contemporary opinion on pacing and structure. "Brokeback Mountain" has a third act that lingers longer than it should, but then the entire film is paced long and probably consciously. He's shown this throughout all his films, notably again in "Ride With the Devil". Unlike "Crouching Tiger", there is no big wind up to the tragic end, and the big moment of the film is, like the emotions hidden within the characters, a quiet heartbreak.

I don't know what is more depressing, watching "Brokeback Mountain" yesterday, President Bush defending wiretapping without warrants in the U.S., or news today that global warming is drowning polar bears.

Syriana - Comparisons between this and "Traffic" are on the mark. This is a movie that looks, feels and has the same muddy conclusions as Steven Soderbergh's Oscar winning film on the politics behind the 'war on drugs'. Here, writer of "Traffic", Stephen Gaghan, takes the helm making a film in which the muddiness is not a negative, it is an essential part of its thesis. Viewers may come out of this film having no further insight into the depths to which the U.S. oil business, national security and its affect on Middle Eastern politics except this: it's too big for the little guy.

In the late 60s and 70s there were a number of conspiracy films that reflected the same anxiety. "The Parallax View", "Three Days of the Condor" and "The Manchurian Candidate" all tapped the fear by the audience that the government was putting one over on the public and that it was all too big for one man to bring down. "Syriana" is more rooted in realism. Instead of a single conspiracy or evil corporation pulling the strings, it is the system of money politics, lawyers, oil projections and bureaucratic decisions all working together to destroy careers, put people in jail, assassinate leaders and topple governments. Unlike those movies, no one person knows what is going on, regardless of which sides they are on. In fact, there are no sides. It is akin to a poker game.

The events of the film take place in the background of a merger between two powerful (fictitious) oil companies which will create the fourth largest in the world, a larger economic entity, the film points out, than many countries. At the beginning of the story, however, the nascent mega corporation has two hurdles to overcome. One: it has lost its rights to a key Gulf country that is about to undergo a succession struggle as its ruling shayk gives away to one of two ambitious sons . Two: it must come clean on any corrupt practices it may have concealed to the Justice Department before the merger can be approved.

On the ground, we follow the threads of three protagonists. Matt Damon plays an energy consultant for a Swiss firm who, through a tragic accident, becomes the chief economic advisor to one of the princes in line for power (played by Alexander Siddig - Dr. Bashir from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). The prince has ambitions to turn his oil producing country into a beacon for modernization in the region, but he must contend with his equally ambitious but not so benevolent brother who is more concerned with the wealth that comes from being an oil-shayk. Jeffrey Wright is a corporate lawyer for one of the oil firms who is assisting in searching for evidence of corruption in both companies, which they must eventually show to the Justice Department. Finally, George Clooney is a career CIA field agent who yearns to be sent back out into the field and away from the ambushes and skullduggery of the Washington scene.

Of the three, Clooney's character is less the babe in the woods. Early in the film Clooney's agent blows up a car in Iran in a bid to stop U.S. Stinger missiles from being traded to a terrorist network. However, when the veteran agent is recalled to Washington he refuses to fit into the CIA's career climbing path and unknowingly primes himself to become a political victim. That part of the story appears at first to be less well delivered. Later, when he realizes he is being set up for something, he is at a loss as to why he has been selected to be a fall guy. The audience knows no better. In fact, that is part of the theme. The system grinds out winners and losers. Who it is depends on who has acquired power to themselves and who has not.

That lesson is learned well by Jeffrey Wright's corporate lawyer character. He quickly realizes that his job as the investigative lawyer is to find a sacrificial victim to give up to the Justice Department. Everyone knows that there have been corrupt practices but all parties, including Justice, wish the deal to go through. Therefore, he discovers he must find those who have not protected themselves well, those who are not powerful enough to defend themselves.

Well-scrubbed Matt Damon's character comes from a background as an analyst, not a player. After he has been drawn into the inner circle of Siddig's prince character, he snidely lectures the prince on what he should do to rationalize his country's oil distribution for the benefit of his country. In return, Siddig answers that he knows all of that, he has a doctorate from Georgetown. All of that knowledge means nothing unless he gains power.

It is no secret that "Syriana" ends with a victory for the system. It is not a story about the victory of individuals or even countries. It ends as the turning of a cycle with characters churned out and others staying on the merrygoround. Like its predecessor, "Traffic" the message is that it is all too big for heroes or even individual villains.

Firefly: the Complete Series - I admit it. I watched the first aired episode of Firefly, shook my head, and didn't give it a second chance. That first episode was "The Train Job" and it was a mediocre caper that didn't introduce any of the characters . The trouble was, that episode was in fact episode four in a series that was, in part, meant to be seen sequentially. Now that I've seen all fifteen of the episodes in the proper order I will join the loud sighs of Firefly's fans who lament the scuttling of what could have been a good series.

What brought me back to reconsider "Firefly" was the feature film "Serenity". Although a failure at the box office (blame marketing), I thought "Serenity" was a fun space romp with Joss Whedon's trademark funny dialogue and an entertaining pace. That opinion holds for the series. There are two or three groaners among the fifteen but for the most part, I'm scratching my head wondering why it's not being given a second chance on TV. "Serenity" for all its scope, still felt like TV blown up for the big screen. "Firefly" on the little screen is fine space fare. The characters are warm, funny and each episode's capers felt fresh in execution even though their setups were familiar. After finishing the last episode, I felt a twinge of regret. You mean, there's not another episode? There may be a happy ending for this, though, as there have been rumours of a TV movie for the Firefly crew in the future based upon brisk sales of the DVD collection.

Olympos - Dan Simmon's followup to his "Ilium" reads like a giant third act to the first book and so you won't want to pick it up if you were at all annoyed by the dangling questions introduced in that story of the Trojan war transported to Mars. At the end of the first book the genetically recreated historian Hockenberee and the robotic Moravecs from the outer rim of the solar system have succeeded in disrupting the Trojan war. The Greeks and the Trojans have banded together to take the fight to the Gods - who it is hinted at are superpowered humans. Meanwhile, on Earth, a group of humans have survived an encounter with literary monster Caliban and have destroyed the fount of their lax existence, regeneration tanks that have kept the few thousand humans alive on Earth. "Olympus" raises the stakes even higher as the Gods strike back, succeeding in restarting the Greek-Trojan conflict. On Earth, the human survivors have learned to begin to fend for themselves but are suddenly attacked by their robotic servitors and by a race of monsters patterned on the Caliban - the Calibanii. Got all of that? You can call both these books really dense Philip Jose Farmer. The entertaining aspects are seeing how science fiction can mess with the Greek Pantheon, the various conflicts between the notables from the Illiad, the conceit that a historian with a little foreknowledge can insert himself into the most important events in a myth. Not so successful is the explanation for why there are Gods on Mars, just who is putting all this in place. The stuff on Earth is simply less compelling than Simmon's grand descriptions of Gods killing each other with lightning bolts and Greek heroes cutting down swathes of their enemies.

The Jacket - This is a psychothriller in the same vein as "The Machinist" and "Memento". Starring Adrien Brody as a Gulf War veteran who is judged criminally insane after he finds himself at the scene of a Highway Patrolman's murder. Brody's character is sent to an asylum where a doctor (Kris Kristofferson) experiments on him by tying him up in a strait jacket, pumping him full of psychotropic drugs and shoving him into a morgue body storage unit. In the darkness, Brody's character goes through a 2001-esque mindfuck and he wakes several years into the future. In the future he meets the older version of a little girl he helped out prior to the murder, now grown into a hard scrabble waitress (Kiera Knightely). Brody discovers that his old self died only several days after beginning the treatment - now he is on a quest to discover how to prevent (or deal with) his upcoming death. All of this is a decent idea but one that doesn't really go anywhere satisfying. There are good performances by the cast (among whom is indie fixture Jennifer Jason Leigh) but I there is more set up than delivery here. Solving the mystery of the experiment is abandoned halfway through.

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C.R.A.Z.Y. - Tonight's event was a sponsored screening of the Quebec film - and Canada's entry into the Oscar's Best Foreign film category - C.R.A.Z.Y. It is the bittersweet story of a big Quebecois family through the 60s to the 80st told through the eyes of the middle son who is struggling with his sexual identity. Not surprisingly as it starts in just post-ultra montagne Quebec the main conflict is between the loving but conservative father and the boy. Already picked on by his older brothers for acting 'like a fag', the boy realizes his father's worst fears when he begins to show his attraction. C.R.A.Z.Y. is a bit of a cultural dance through the ages with a killer soundtrack providing the groove and the quick fashion changes providing much of the comedy. It is anything but maudlin. Director Jean Marc-Vallée's direction is kinetic even though much of the action takes place within the same four walls of the household.