I'll write soon about Saturday's anti-war rally (and eventually post photos, once I print and scan them). But for now, two good movies I've seen lately:

Secretary, based on a Mary Gaitskill short story, may not be for you. Would you like a comedy about a sado-masochistic relationship? With graphic depictions of masturbation? And a lawyer spanking his secretary, a woman? If not, might as well stop reading now. The books I've read of Gaitskill's (Two Girls, Fat and Thin and Because They Wanted To) tell relentlessly disturbing stories about people, frequently girls and women, acting cruelly to themselves and one another. If any of them finds a peaceful resolution, I don't recall it. I stopped reading Because They Wanted To midway through; while I admired Gaitskill's writing, it depressed me and left me despairing. Thankfully, the movie takes leave of the short story to deliver a happy ending, albeit "happy" on the character's own terms, certainly perverse in the eyes of some. But I dare you not to love the brilliant Maggie Gyllenhall! Now I have a crush on her and her her brother.

Bowling for Columbine is the first Michael Moore film I've seen, but I understand it's typical of his style, both hilarious and heavy-handed; shamelessly manipulative, but totally sincere. He investigates a difficult question deeply, if broadly: Why are so many more Americans killed with guns each year, when other countries watch the same movies and have similar bloody histories, and, in the case of Canada, have a comparable number of guns per household? The answer, he believes, and I agree, is fear drummed up by irresponsible news coverage. Some segments -- an animated history of the United States are funny, but over the top; others, like security camera footage from the Columbine High School library the day of the massacre, are deeply disturbing and brilliantly employed.