Over the weekend, I saw Hitchcock http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/hitchcock/trailers/hitchcock-clip-psycho-31161776.html and while I thought it was interesting, I wouldn't necessarily say you must rush out and see in the theaters...not when a small soda is $4.75. It's fine. It's one of those Hollywood films wherein the "creative" team is trying to do far too much in order to make too many people happy. It's a film about Alfred Hitchcock's complicated relationship with his wife; with his leading ladies; about his battle to make Psycho; about his difficulties with the Hollywood studio system. But it's also about the notorious killer Ed Gein--who comes off remarkably sympathetic for a man who butchered people, and robbed graves and had the unusual habit of keeping bits and pieces of women's genitalia in his desk drawers--and Hitchcock's weight issues, oh and a love story and, why not, what it means to age in America and...anything else I didn't mention? Let me just push this kitchen sink out of the way.

I did find it interesting how unpleasant they were to Hitchcock. The filmmakers made constant fun of his weight, shooting him to come across as physically unattractive as possible...while simultaneously displaying a great deal of empathy for Ed Gein. Really? We're going to compare those two? Really? I mean, I know Tippi Hedren wasn't Hitch's biggest fan, and you'd never catch him reading Ms. magazine...but he did create one or two masterpieces, despite his corpulence. But poor misunderstood Ed Gein, hmm? Okey-dokey.

However, I suppose that's what passes for insight and rule-breaking in Hollywood.Well, that and doing remakes of The Great Gatsby...I'm not even going to address the fact that Les Mis is a film. When may I look forward to seeing the film version of Starlight Express?