Cold Mountain does an excellent job with the diegetic music, the music that is actually part of the story. I think we can even accept the well-tuned church congregration that sounds like it's been rehearsing those close mountain harmonies.

Otherwise, I found the film a little too polished. It suffers from what Leta characterizes as Hollywood political correctness: the heroes always have the most progressive social views, sometimes anachronistically so. (I really don't believe that Ada Monroe, raised in 19th-century Charleston, would call them "Negroes.") No matter how grubby our leads' fingernails may get, their hair always looks perfect.

But the picture does kick into the next gear when Ruby Thewes (Renée Zellweger) shows up: she smacks some good sense into everyone. And she only does that squinty thing once, by my reckoning.

posted: 11:01:42 PM  

Steve Talbott, as one might expect, has something insightful to contribute to the recent PowerPoint nattering:

Paradoxically, those who complain about PowerPoint in the most profound and truthful manner may be those with the least right to complain. Their understanding of the software leaves them with no excuse for being dragged down by it.

posted: 10:38:16 PM