think alike? This morning I learned for the first time that a Massachussets couple has been running in parallel with us all thru “the 00’s” on a site called Reeling Reviews. I found them because I went on to Rotten Tomatoes in search of commentary on Agora (the new film about Egyptian mathematician Hypatia starring Rachel Weisz). Specifically I was raving mad about Michael Phillips’ 2 Star review in Friday’s Chicago Tribune, which totally missed the point of this beautiful, challenging, heart-felt film.
So, I asked myself, would another female film critic see Agora more like me? And that’s when I found Laura Clifford’s review, which, yes, indeed, gave Agora an A. But Laura’s review was accompanied by a review by someone named “Robin.” Robin gave Agora an A-. I assumed Robin was another woman, but surprise, a little digging quickly revealed that the Cliffords were a married couple much like us. In fact one interviewer wrote, “Even when they give a movie the same grade, it’s almost never for the same reasons.” Says Zell. “They just naturally approach it from different directions.” Wow! Words only recently out of my very own mouth!
Shout out to the Cliffords: Nice to meet you!!! And let me just say this to Laura: Maybe the guys who marry gals like us are the same guys who know how to value a film like Agora??? (And then I’ll let the counterfactual speak for itself…)
Click HERE to read our FF2 haiku for Agora.
Click HERE for review by my grad school buddy Bill.
25.Jul.10 
Raving/Ranting about Critics/Journalists 
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Click HERE for Chgo Dinner eVite (8/26/10)
Today is the anniversary of the first women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls, NY on July 19-20, 1848. Wow, what a great day to release our new Women’s Equality Day buttons on Cafe Press 
“New Bugler Girl” was designed in honor of this year’s Women’s Equality Day (8/26/10), the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women’s suffrage in the United States. NBG is based on the original “Bugler Girl” imagery created by Caroline Watts in 1908. Kudos to Melissa Wilks of WomenArts for taking my messy sketches & turning my dreams into reality!
Click HERE to order buttons on Cafe Press.
Magnets, stickers & t-shirts also available.
21.Jul.10 Events: Metro Chicago Only, Events: WITASWAN & SWAN Day Read more Comments (0)
Two Yemenite youth barely out of their teens gravitate to Bin Laden’s orbit. By the late 90′’s one (al Bahri) is OBL’s bodyguard & the other (Hamdan) is OBL’s driver. Skip ahead to 2008: al Bahri’’s a cab driver in Sana’a; Hamdan’s stuck in Gitmo. Fascinating parallel storylines with daily life in both places captured in haunting detail. Kudos to filmmaker Laura Poitras for her commitment to telling this story! Click HERE for FF2 haiku: highly recommended by BOTH Jan & Rich.
19.Jul.10 Reviews: N-P Read more Comments (0)
Fascinating doc (co-directed by Annabel Park with Eric Byler) focusing on immigration debate in suburban Virginia also provides insights into role of “new media” in politics at grassroots level. Film ends with Obama’’s ‘08 election, but has obvious implications for looming mobilization for Nov ‘10 campagns. Asian-American filmmaking team stays resolute even as they become actors in the drama. Click HERE for FF2 haiku: highly recommended by BOTH Jan & Rich! Click HERE to watch an interview with Park on YouTube.
19.Jul.10 Reviews: # Read more Comments (0)
Click HERE to download my WomenArts review as a pdf file.
Noble failure: What starts as broad family comedy (two kids raised by Lesbians) deteriorates badly after the siblings track down the donor of the sperm used to impregnate both Moms. Excellent performances thru-out, but despite Bening’s high wire acting, her character isn’t given enough depth to hold up her end of the complex triangle.
Click HERE to read my review on WomenArts.
Click HERE to read FF2 haiku.
Qualified Recommendation by BOTH Jan & Rich.
14.Jul.10 Reviews: K-M Read more Comments (0)
Click HERE to download my review as a pdf.
Beautifully made story about an Ozark teenager (Jennifer Lawrence) on an epic American journey–wandering through folkloric landscapes–meeting people of mythic depth. Based on Daniel Woodrell’s 2006 source novel (adapted by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini), film works equally well in both dimensions: dreamlike yet totally true to its own specific time and place.
Click HERE to read my full review online.
Click HERE to read our FF2 haiku.
Highly Recommended by BOTH Jan & Rich.
14.Jul.10 Reviews: U-W Read more Comments (0)
On December 11, 2008, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced their 2009 Golden Globe Nominations… and Penny went ballistic.
I was stunned when Loveleen Tandan (Slumdog Millionaire’s credited co-director) was not named as Danny Boyle’s co-nominee in the “Best Director” category. But my outrage quickly turned into energy, and I started an e-mail campaign on this blog that eventually attracted international attention.
After months spent in battle mode, I got to watch Loveleen Tandan mount the stage to accept a “Best Picture” Oscar with the rest of the Slumdog principals, and one year later, I got to watch Barbra Streisand hand a “Best Director” Oscar to Kathryn Bigelow—the fourth female nominee and first winner in AMPAS history!
And now there’s icing on the cake: On 5/15/10, I received a First Place Certificate in Category 34C (Website Development/Creation—Professional Sites) from the Illinois Woman’s Press Association, and I recently learned that I have also received a Third Place Certificate in national competition from the National Federation of Press Women (IWPA’s parent organization).
Now as “Professional Site” websites & blogs go, The Hot Pink Pen is technically very primitive, so receiving these awards is astonishing. I am deeply honored by this affirmation of my work, and I want to thank all the IWPA/NFPW judges for recognizing the cumulative content of my passionate outpouring on this subject. And I want to thank all of you for engaging in vigorous dialogue thru-out “my Slumdog Brouhaha” f2f, in public postings, &/or in private communications. Your feedback kept me going, and all the questions (especially the acrimonious ones), made me work ever harder to explain my rationale.
This is how change happens, folks. No, it’s not always pretty, but I sincerely believe some fights RE worth fighting!
Click HERE to read details in my press release.
09.Jul.10 Events: WITASWAN & SWAN Day, Rants: Oscars & Other Awards Read more Comments (0)
Posted today on Women’s eNews: “Let’s praise Sally Berger, a curator at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), for putting together a remarkable retrospective (July 7 to 24) of the films and videos of Sally Potter, the brilliant British feminist moviemaker.”
Kudos, Sally Berger! Brava, Sally Potter J
Click HERE to read my ’05 chat with Potter when she came to Chicago to promote her film Yes starring Joan Allen.
05.Jul.10 Jan's Chats Read more Comments (0)
