As promised, I’m back to take aim at a couple more issues from the weekend,site related goodies and more.

Cami and I went to see The Interpreter on Friday night and had a really good time. The film is expertly put together. A well-paced adult drama that is never gratuitous, but you can tell it has a smart head on its shoulders.

I think what I appreciated most about the movie were the small charactertouches that fleshed out the lead actors performances. Sean Penn, in particular.

When we’re introduced to Penn’s weary Secret Service agent, he’s in a dive bar presumably drowning his sorrows. Penn’s body language communicates as much. In the background a grating country song is blaring out of the jukebox.

Without a word, Penn gets up and saunters over to the jukebox. He unplugs it, cutting the abrasive tune off before it’s finished. He immediately plugs the jukebox back in, puts in a dollar and punches in the digits for a different song.

Penn’s song is melancholy, wistful and romantic. He drags himself across the bar to the pay phone. We think he’s about to call someone the song reminds him of, but the pay phone is broken. He whips out his cell phone.

He calls the number and waits for someone to pick up. It’s the machine. It’s a woman’s voice. He smiles. He listens to the message and then hangs up. He immediately calls back and listens to it again. He smiles.

Without a word of dialogue, we know Penn misses this woman terribly. And the vibe isn’t creepy like he’s stalking her. It’s affectionate

* THE REST OF THIS BLOG POST WAS LOST WHEN THEATER HOPPER MOVED TO WORDPRESS IN JANUARY 2009 *