THE LAST STATION (2009)

After almost fifty years of marriage, the Countess Sofya, Leo Tolstoy’s devoted wife, passionate lover, muse and secretary—she’s copied out War and Peace six times by hand!—suddenly finds her security threatened. For the sake of his newly created religion and in the final year of his life, the great Russian novelist has renounced his noble title, copyrights, property and even his family in favor of poverty, vegetarianism and celibacy. Sparks fly! Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren are extraordinary as Tolstoy and his one minute loving and one minute raging mate, and the story is both riviting and moving.

GREENBERG (2010) Memorable quotes

Ivan: Youth is wasted on the young.
Greenberg (Ben Stiller): I’d go further. I’d go: ‘Life is wasted on people.’
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Greenberg (writing letter): Dear Starbucks, in your attempt to manufacture culture out of fast food coffee you’ve been surprisingly successful for the most part. The part that isn’t covered by ‘the most part’ sucks.
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Greenberg: Wish it wasn’t too late to get my medical degree.
Ivan: It’s not too late.
Greenberg: I’d be over 50 by the time I graduated.
Ivan: What is it? Four years, right?
Greenberg: Yeah, but I know myself. I’d procrastinate, take time off. Eight years at best. Who’s gonna hire a 49… Let’s just call it 50. A 50-year-old vet?
Ivan: I’m confused. Are you going to vet school or regular medical school?
Greenberg: Neither, clearly.
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Florence: You like old things.
Greenberg: A shrink said to me once that I have trouble living in the present, so I linger on the past because I felt like I never really lived it in the first place, you know?

THE ROAD (2009) It’s long and winding, and you can’t take your eyes off it for a second

In a devastated, monochromatic post-apocalyptic world, a man (Viggo Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee, in an amazing performance) head for the ocean, dragging their few belongings in a cart. Along their difficult journey they must constantly forage for supplies and hide from cannibal hunters. Along the way, the man recalls in dreams and brief flashbacks the good moments of his past life with his wife (beautiful Charlize Theron, seen only in flashback), but these respites are few and far between. Eventually, the journey becomes so difficult that the man begins to turn savage, much to the horror of his son, and when they do finally reach the beach, the boy is faced with the toughest decision of his young life. DO NOT let anyone tell you THE ROAD is too depressing a journey.

PATRICIA NEAL (1926 – 2010)

From the young and incredibly sexy Dominique Francon in THE FOUNTAINHEAD to the much older, crustier, yet still sensuous Alma Brown in HUD (for which she won an Academy Award), Patricia Neal was one of America’s great actors, despite many personal trials and tribulations. Read more

FAIL-SAFE (1964) Technology 1, Mankind 0

A series of human and computer errors sends a squadron of American B-58 bombers past their fail-safe point and onto a direct course to nuke Moscow. The stalwart President (Henry Fonda), seeking to convince the Soviets it’s a horrible mistake, not a preemptive strike, orders the Strategic Air Command to help the Soviets shoot them down. But one jet manages to evade the Soviet missiles, which dooms the Russian capital. The President is then forced to make a trust-building decision that still makes me squirm. Directed by Sydney Lumet, FAIL-SAFE is a brilliantly crafted and suspenseful essay on the heavy price we risk paying by putting too much faith in technology – and if you think this 46-year old film has lost any of its relevancy, you haven’t been reading the headlines.