Em and I saw Closer last night with Karie and Donovan (aka DoFo). I hadn’t read much about it, other than a San Francisco Chronicle review (warning – contains some plot spoilers) that generally praises the film, but just TRASHES Julia Roberts. I mean… HATCHET JOB on Julia. Ouch.

Anyhow, I thought the film was really quite good. Clive Owen, in particular, was superb. And Julia Roberts – well, it turns out she was filling in for Cate Blanchett, who was originally signed to that part but had to drop out due to being pregnant. And maybe (probably?) Cate Blanchett would have been a better casting choice, but that’s hard to say. In any case, while I agreed with the reviewer about the good points of the film, I (fortunately?) didn’t really see how Julia Roberts’ presence “nearly tanked it”. It’s a little arty, having come from a stage play, but I like that sort of thing when it’s done well enough. There are certainly flaws, but there are also quite a few clever bits.

The Filthy Critic (SO not safe for work – not safe for many homes, either… not safe for anyone capable of being offended, in fact, so you’ve been warned), on the other hand, gave Closer a scathing “one-finger” (out of five) review. But while I almost always *enjoy* reading his reviews, I’m not as likely to *agree* with them. He has (as usual) some very valid criticism, but ultimately it boils down to some people (like Filthy) hate this kind of movie, and some (like me) don’t. But I still enjoyed his review. And I *love* that each review also has a “Quote Whore of the Week” sidebar. If you like your reviews, filthy, funny, filthy, observant, filthy, and honest (and VERY filthy), and not full of quote-bait from quote-whores, you may want to check out Filthy’s archives. But not at work. Unless you work at some place so unbelievably cool that they’re just totally down with that, in which case – are they hiring?

Time to get back to the grind. Gotta tie up all the loose ends at work, double-check that I’m all packed, and otherwise get ready to head to Florida very late tonight. Well, technically, it’ll be very early tomorrow morning when we fly out. Ouch. And connecting in Houston. Double ouch. Safe holiday travels, everyone.