Donna Freitas: March 2008 Archives

New York Times reporter Terrence Rafferty has a wonderful ode to the famous (and infamous) golden age movie star Bette Davis, on the occasion of her centennial—born one hundred years ago. In "The Bold and the Bad and the Bumpy Nights," Rafferty highlights Davis's scandalous turn as Julie Marsden in "Jezebel," who shows up to a party as the quintessential "woman in red" (while everyone else wears white), only to regret this brazen decision and long for a too-late redemption.

At the center of Davis's "performer's soul" was always the mantra "better to be noticed, for whatever reason, than ignored," writes Rafferty, about some of Davis's rather baffling role choices. "But on the occasion of her centennial, it's worth remembering Davis as she was in her prime, in the 1930s and '40s, when she commanded the screen with something subtler and more mysterious than the fierce, simple will that carried her through the mostly grim jobs of work that followed. (Though the will was there from the start, and her formidable technique never wholly deserted her.) In her heyday, as the reigning female star at Warner Brothers, she was as electrifying as Marlon Brando in the '50s: volatile, sexy, challenging, fearlessly inventive. She looked moviegoers straight in the eye and dared them to look away."

Click here to read the full memorial-ode to the actress that Rafferty describes as "drama in the flesh."

Apparently, U.S. Customs is not only protecting citizens from terrorists entering the country, but also from British writers with questionable morals. In this week's New York Times "Possessed" column, David Colman writes about "infamously debauched writer" Sebastian Horsley and his adventure at Newark Airport trying to enter the United States from Britain on an author tour for his latest book, "Dandy in the Underworld." After a long interrogation, he was put back on a plane to England for reasons of "moral turpitude." (Um, who would've thought?)

Apparently, what tipped them off (pun intended) was Mr. Horsley's very tall top hat--officials wanted to know what was under it.

Eckhart Tolle may be Oprah's new spiritual guru of choice--inspired by his long time bestselling self-help favorite The Power of Now, but this weekend in the article "The Wisdom of the Ages, For Now Anyway," New York Times reporter Jesse McKinley wonders how much audiences--and Oprah herself--really know about this man whose spiritual-you-can-change-your-life with positive thinking message is worshipped like a religion in its own right.

Who is Eckhart Tolle, really?

In this weekend's New York Times Sunday Magazine, reporter Virginia Heffernan covers what she calls "God's Workout" and its followers, otherwise known as CrossFit.

"The superfit walk among us," Heffernan writes. "They saunter or strut, depending on whether they’re showcasing their magnificent agility or their oxlike strength. They ignore the chatter in the health media over treadmill technique and pedometer steps. They scoff even at seemingly rigorous practices like Mysore Ashtanga yoga and marathon training. They are America’s self-styled fitness elite, adherents of a punishing online exercise regime called CrossFit, which orders its followers to cultivate a distinctly martial--not to say paranoid --ideal of 'physical preparedness.'"

Likening CrossFit to a "ministry," Heffernan explains that adherents to this "workout" tradition follow the online instructions for daily workouts as if the Book of Common Prayer. CrossFit adherents are true believers, though well aware that the level of excercise required by the regimen can be deadly, at the very least injury-inducing. "The CrossFit crowd," Heffernan writes, "see exercise-induced injury as martyrdom to the cause."

Sounds a bit over the top to me. I'm happy with a nice walk or long run now and again, end of story.

Working out, staying fit, losing weight, and God have long been associated, especially among Christian women. For an amazing book and extended look at this topic, see Princeton University religion scholar R. Marie Griffith's "Born Again Bodies: Flesh and Spirit in American Christianity."

When the movie theaters fail to live up to your romantic aspirations and sensibilities (though I have hope for the upcoming releases of Priceless starring Audrey Tautou, and Sex & the City, of course), there are always the time-tested, tried and true, favorites on DVD to make you sigh, believe in love again, and all that good stuff. Some tickle the funny bone, some are sure to make you weep, some are old, some are new, and some are cheesy, but they are wonderful all the same. Here are my top ten:

1. Pride & Prejudice. I feel guilty of betraying the beloved BBC Colin Firth six-hour Jane Austen P&P fest, but here I speak of the Keira Knightly, Matthew Macfadyen 2005 version of this ultimate romantic classic (though I own and love both). Sure it's cliche that this is my #1, but can you think of a better romantic film than either version of this story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy? I didn't think so. Aside from rereading the novel for the 100th time, this film never fails to make my heart go pitter patter.

2. Shakespeare in Love. Imagining what, or rather, who inspires Will Shakespeare to write Romeo and Juliet is not only wildly romantic and a wonderful idea, but throw in Joe Fiennes as the young playwright, and Gwyneth Paltrow as his muse and audiences are sure to swoon. To watch Will play the part of Romeo and Viola play Juliet after watching them fall in love on screen gives new meaning to the play itself. Be sure to have Kleenex nearby for this one. Sigh.

3. Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate). Tita's cooking abilities come from the depths of her soul and reach out to nourish the heart more than the body. When she loses the love of her life, Pedro, to her sister's marriage bed, Tita pours all her emotions into her famous dishes, which affect everyone that tastes them (literally). So many filmmakers have tried to marry love and food, but none so successfully and magically as this classic.

Alana Newhouse, a journalist who writes frequently for the New York Times, writes about having to step up her traveling--and flying--lately in her article "At 36,000 Feet, Closer to God." A nervous flyer, she talks about how a Jewish prayer--the...

Delightful is the best word to describe "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day," a gem of a period film starring Amy Adams as the zany Delysia Lafosse, an aspiring actress, and Frances McDormand as Miss Pettigrew, a governness turned social...

Last year during Lent I gave up the Internet. That's right! I got myself off email, web-surfing, all of it between starting Ash Wednesday and ending on Easter Sunday. The one consession I made, for work purposes only, was to...

Last week's episode of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," got all apocalyptic. Well, not that it's not already a show about a coming apocalypse, but "The Demon Hand" episode got explicitly Christian this time, evoking the Book of Revelation, and...