Well, I'm looking like a total failure in the Oscars run-up--haven't chipped away at all at that list of films I still need to see. Is it fair to blame my wife? I'd like to, if that's an option. Oh, but I did see The Duchess, which I believe is up for an award for its costumes. Super.

No good excuses, really, except for the wife option, just haven't made it out. But I have been watching a lot of Deadwood (sorry to continue the TV theme). In fact, it's my fourth time watching it, if that counts as a testament to the following statement's veracity. If you have ever enjoyed a Western, you MUST watch Deadwood, because it is the BEST TELEVISION SHOW ever produced, and so long as you don't hate the "wild west" setting, you'll think so too, because:

1) Complex characters--every character showing depth and dimension over the course of the three seasons.
2) Fascinating language--you have the collision of Victorian civility with the vulgarity of the West.
3) Writing--tied in with both of the above, I am frequently struck by how perfectly each scene has been set, and love how it almost takes on a Shakespearian quality with characters delivering monologues, thinking aloud.

So I just trimmed down the argument above prior to posting because I realized I was going on for far too long on certain subjects, but again, I cannot commend this show strongly enough to you.

I've watched it the last two times on my iPod, I should mention, listening to it on the commute. I probably have a post coming down the road about movies on the Ipod, too, now that I think about it.

Cheers!