Crazy Heart

February 6.

Jeff Bridges will always be The Dude to me, but I have to admit he was great as Bad Blake, the faded country star. He's probably going to win an Oscar for the role, and he should. The character lived a hard, selfish life and now at 57 he's on the road playing small bars and bowling alleys (I was looking for Donnie and Walter while he was there) to a handful of people.

In addition to an amazing performance, he sang all his own songs, as did Colin Farrell who plays Bad's former touring partner Tommy Sweet. Tommy is hot (obviously), successful, and famous, which makes Bad look even more depressed.

Maggie Gyllenhaal (one of my favorite actresses), who played Bad's love interest, gave me hope for Bad's future. He seemed to want to change to be with her and was great with her son, Buddy.

I don't think there are any big twists, you can probably guess how the chain-smoking alcoholic turns out, but the performances are amazing. Robert Duvall, who plays Bad's father, only has a few scenes but they are full of wisdom.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

January 31.

I really don't think I would have seen this "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus" if Heath Ledger hadn't died, it didn't really seem like my type of movie – weird, gypsies running around London and then morphing into some alter-universe. But, when he died while filming the movie and director Terry Gilliam hired three actors to play Tony in the imaginarium I had to see it. And I'm so glad I did!

I would have loved the movie even if Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Colin Farrell didn't step into Ledger's role. The movie was visually interesting and the story of this family make-shift family was great. I was engrossed in the fantasy of Doctor Parnassus, played by Christopher Plummer and his daughter Valentina, Lily Cole.

It was disturbing to see Ledger hanging from a noose in his first scene and I did think about how the movie might have be different had Ledger lived ( was he cut out of scenes? there was one where you heard him but didn't see him) but mostly I was entertained and and lost in the imaginarium.