When the cat's away . . .

Occasionally, my husband travels on business. When he's gone, I miss him very much.

BUT I get to eat exactly what I want to eat. Like the flash-fried steak with white bean mash that I had last night. And the mushroom-lemon-thyme pasta that I made for lunch today. And the spinach and feta omelette that I made for dinner earlier this week. And the salmon that I had tonight. These are all dishes that, for one reason or another, he would have had an objection to.

And the OTHER thing that I get to enjoy when he's out of town? I get to catch up on all the movies that I've TiVo'ed that he doesn't care to see. Here's my rundown of the four I watched:

I saw The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, first. This movie is basically about Ben Randall (Costner), a "legendary" rescue swimmer for the Coast Guard. After a rescue that goes drastically wrong (Ben loses his partner and crew), Ben is assigned to teach for a few months at the Coast Guard Academy. There, he meets Jake Fischer (Kutcher), a swim star who is determined to break all of Randall's previous records. After some initial head-butting, Randall and Fischer become close friends, later working together.

Ok, this is no Stay, but it is fairly entertaining, and it does give one more appreciation for our good folks at the Coast Guard. (There are some pretty tense rescue scenes. While it makes you appreciate the Coast Guard, it makes you wonder how these people get themselves into these messes. Chalk it up to the changing nature of the sea?)

I thought Costner was pretty darn good in this, and Kutcher, well, he wasn't wonderful, but he wasn't awful. I'd be willing to give him another chance in a another film. (If given the opportunity. He seems much more interested in production.) Not a must-see, but if it comes on tv, there are worse ways to kill a couple of hours.

Then, I saw The Good German. My Lord. I thought this film was pretty darn amazing. Starring George Clooney, Tobey Maguire, and Cate Blanchette, the film is set in post-war Berlin. Newspaper reporter Jake Geismer (Clooney) is covering the peace talks, and enterprising young Tully (Maguire, in probably the least sympathetic role I've ever seen him play) is his military-assigned driver during the trip. Who should Jake run into but Lena (Blanchette), his former lover? And Lena now just happens to be involved with Tully. Sound like too much of a coincidence? You bet it is. When Tully turns up dead, Geismer spends the rest of the movie trying to figure out whodunit and why. Fascinating stuff.

Shot in black and white, in the film noir style, the cinematography is a beauty to behold. Rich, dark shadows with angles of light. Blanchette's hair, black for the film, stands out in sharp relief against her pale coloring. Costumes are gorgeous and almost worth killing for. Even the cigarette smoke cooperates, wafting eerily through the scenes.

The performances are unbelievable. Blanchette is a chameleon. I fully believe this woman can be ANYONE. Maguire was easy to hate as the mercenary Tully, which was a nice change for him. His boyish face, which has worked so well for him as an awkward hero in the past, adds subtle dimension to this role as a very hatable character. See this movie ASAP.

Then, I saw The Queen, which tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II in the weeks leading up to and after the death of Princess Diana. Helen Mirren plays Queen Elizabeth, and no wonder she was nominated for an Academy Award for this performance. It is a tour de force. (Incidentally, Mirren has a resume longer than my leg. The dame knows what she's doing.) She embodied the Queen, making her a character that was at times exasperating, at times sympathetic, at times down right inspirational.

Michael Sheen as Tony Blair is also solid. And Elizabeth's dour warning to him, about how the public will someday turn on him as well, has eerie significance now. James Cromwell as Prince Phillip comes off as the definition of the "out-of-touch monarchy" the film seems to address.

I really liked that this film used actual footage of the events depicted to reinforce the world of the production. It IS interesting to imagine what must have been going on in the royal household during those times - whether they watched the coverage, how they handled the two young princes, etc. Worth seeing if only for Mirren's performance, though I think you'll find it entertaining as well.

Lastly, I saw Notes on a Scandal. There are almost no words to tell you how good this film is. Dame Judy Dench and Cate Blanchette. Those two names alone should have you running out to rent or buy this movie. Barbara (Dench) is a rather prickly teacher at a high school. She is not liked by the other faculty members, but she has been at the school for a loooong time (she's on the cusp of retirement) and the kids fear/respect her. Enter Sheba (Blanchette), the young, beautiful, wispy new art teacher. Barbara, who's looking for a way to end her solitude, strikes up a friendship with Sheba.

As the story unfolds, we begin to suspect that Barbara is angling for much more than friendship with the pretty new instructor. And when Barbara discovers that Sheba is engaging in a love affair with a 15-year-old student, she is at first angry, and then devilishly delighted, as she can use the secret to further enmesh herself in the life of her new "friend."

Barbara is one of the best characters I've seen on the screen in a while. First of all, she's our narrator, so we are privy to her innermost thoughts (which can be arresting, abhorrent, understandable, etc., at different points in the film). She's cunning. She's deperately lonely. She's almost parasitic in her need for "companionship." She is a woman of action. And Dench plays her fully, with a truth, a roundness, and a believability that one rarely sees in anti-heros.

And, not incidentally, Barbara is a woman of a certain age. It is refreshing and wonderful to see such a vibrant character written for a woman old enough to retire. There aren't enough parts like this out there for older, more accomplished actresses. Clearly, they can play them. So where are they? Writers, take note.

Blanchette is also amazing to watch in this, but Dench truly steals the show. (How could she not, eh?)

As the viewer, you begin to sense what is coming. And yet, it is fascinating to see all the strands of the web come together as the end of the film nears. The music used in the score is also very cleverly used to heighten this effect. A must-see.