Review of Being Julia (2004) by Shane I — 17 Apr 2006

[b]Being Julia[/b] was a very entertaining Annette Bening vehicle. It was not exactly a profound film but the content was above average and elevated well above that by Bening's amazing performance. I have yet to see [i]Million Dollar Baby[/i] (shocking, I know) but Hilary Swank would have to have done something pretty special in order for her winning the Oscar over Bening to be at all justifiable. Also, Shaun Evans is hot. :o.

[b]Igby Goes Down[/b]was something a bit different. At times it seemed a little unfocused but overall it was a pretty good coming of age story. I enjoyed several of the performances including Kieran Culkin as a solid lead and Susan Sarandon as a somewhat vicious character where her natural likeability seemed at first in conflict with the character she was playing but later I thought it complimented it quite nicely. I also liked Claire Danes, who I think is a criminally underused actress.