The undisputed king of electric
blues is scheduled to play to a
packed audience Friday night at
Centennial Hall.
BB King is one of the most well-
known living blues musicians in
the world, and certainly the most
famous person to ever come out
of the tiny town of Itta Bena,
Miss.
The 2000 census pegged Itta
Bena's population at about 4,000
residents living within a 1.5
square mile area.
Yet the town still managed to
make it into the 2000 Coen
brothers film, "O Brother, Where
Art Thou?"
In the movie, a notorious
gangster terrorizing the the
Deep South stops George
Clooney's character Everett and
his crew and asks them how to
get to Itta Bena.
Name the gangster and the
actor who played him for a
chance to win a set of three
cookbooks.
Phil Villarreal has worked for the Daily Star since birth, but he's been the movie critic since February 2001. You could say he's a fan of the cinema. Each day he wakes up to a plate of steaming scrambled movies, which he washes down with a glass of movie juice, all while watching a movie. In his free time he plays video games and watches movies. Phil's new book, the humorous, money saving guide "Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel" is due out Sept. 1 and available for preorder.
Giving it away (spoiler alert)
04/18/2008 11:51 AM Phil Villarreal
Director Vadim Perelman wants you to know the ending of his film “The Life Before Her Eyes” before you see it. He says you’ll understand and appreciate the movie better if you’re aware of the late-film twist.
The story follows the plight of a woman in her 30s played by Uma Thurman, traumatized by a high school shooting she survived. In the flashback scenes her character is played by Evan Rachel Wood, who, along with her friend, is confronted by the killer in the school bathroom.
Perelman says most of the film takes place in the mind of the Wood character as she lay dying in the bathroom.
“What’s strange about this film is unless they know the twist, I don’t think they enjoy the movie,” Perelman said.
“The reviews that are trickling in say the metaphors are too heavy-handed. But by the time you know what the twist is, you’re kind of past it. Every single one of the visual metaphors and echoes only exist to support the main concept that she imagines her future life in front of her eyes. … I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s better to know and kind of follow along. I can’t expect people to see it twice.”
My full interview with Perelman will run May 1, when the movie opens in Tucson. It opens in larger markets today.
OOoooooh! Geez, I definitely am no movie buff and therefore had no idea what was going on with that ending. All the other reviews were criticizing the heavy use of “obvious” metaphors, and here I am thinking, “what metaphors? and what was their ‘obvious’ meaning?” Yeah…thanks for spelling out the “obvious” for me.
so, the whole movie is from dianas view on how her life would be if she lived and her friend died. she picks to be shot so her friend can live.. uma thurman’s part isnt real- its the girls imagination of what would happen if she married that professor and had a kid.. its very moving.
so Diana survived the shooting?
— jannice 05/01/2008 07:18 AM #
OOoooooh! Geez, I definitely am no movie buff and therefore had no idea what was going on with that ending. All the other reviews were criticizing the heavy use of “obvious” metaphors, and here I am thinking, “what metaphors? and what was their ‘obvious’ meaning?” Yeah…thanks for spelling out the “obvious” for me.
— raquel 09/18/2008 11:02 PM #
so, the whole movie is from dianas view on how her life would be if she lived and her friend died. she picks to be shot so her friend can live.. uma thurman’s part isnt real- its the girls imagination of what would happen if she married that professor and had a kid.. its very moving.
— jenna 09/21/2008 11:53 AM #