What can I say about Thank You For Smoking? Go see it. If you can get tickets, that is. Currently it is only playing in a few cities in the U.S., including four theatres in New York, which makes me feel kind of cool.

Aaron Eckhart carries this entire movie with his dimpled-chin charm. I heard conversations after the movie along the lines of “oh, he was in Erin Brockovich.” Eckhart might fly under the radar, but he’s been around for years. This might be your last chance to see Katie Holmes on the big screen, now that she’s sacrificed her career to Scientology. She’s not bad in this, but I don’t buy her as a reporter for a major Washington newspaper. They are just two players in a stellar cast that includes Robert Duvall, Maria Bello, Rob Lowe, and the always superb William H. Macy.

Thank You For Smoking is a smart, at times wickedly funny satire on lobbying and the tobacco industry. The real credit here goes to Jason Reitman, who was “established in 1977” according to the opening credits. He may be the son of director Ivan Reitman, but he has undeniable talent as both a director and a screenwriter. I am just so insanely jealous that he has accomplished all this and is only a little bit older than I am.

In no other film will the words “Winston-Salem” ever get as much dialogue. Having spent four years in college there, I can tell you with authority that big tobacco is one of the only things going for that town, aside from Wake Forest. It’s just too bad that Thank You For Smoking isn’t playing in Winston-Salem, NC…yet.

Let me preface this by saying that I love reading movie reviews and articles about the making of movies, but I have stopped reading many of them lately because too many of them divulge key plot points. My reviews, for all 3 of you reading this blog, will not spoil the movies.

V for Vendetta is the first movie I have seen in quite some time where I honestly did not know what was going to happen. The script was brilliantly written to give you the clues to the puzzle one piece at a time. This is one of those movies that I will have to see again just to make sense of the whole thing. It will make you think about governments, civil liberties, and the media. I am curious how this film will fare come awards season, because it definitely deserves some attention.

Natalie Portman delivered a brilliant performance. She has a few heavy scenes where she has to deliver the goods, and she passes with flying colors. The one thing that bugged me though was her accent. It wavered between being cockney, upper crust, and even reminiscent of the American South.

My guy is now glad that I dragged him to see Hedda Gabler, where we got to see Hugo Weaving live and in the flesh. The man has an amazing voice, honed through years in the theatre. He delivers an improbable tongue twister in the beginning that only an actor with years of vocal training could pull off.

V for Vendetta is one of those movies that is best seen on the big screen, so plunk down the cash and go see it.

Last night I saw Hedda Gabler at BAM. Now Hedda is not exactly a light, uplifting play, so it’s not normally something I would run (ok, hobble) to go see, but this production had the one and only Cate Blanchett in the title role.

I’ve been a fan of Ms. Blanchett’s work since Elizabeth, for which she should have won an Oscar. (Gwynnie was good and all, but I don’t think anyone but Blanchett could have humanized the first Queen Elizabeth. My guy was under the impression Elizabeth was in the vein of Pride and Prejudice, but if anything it’s more like Braveheart. Put it on the queue if you haven’t seen it. But I digress.)

My expectations were high for her performance, and she did not disappoint. Her actions were big and theatrical enough to carry to our high mezzanine seats, but you could still see realizations wash over her face and know instantly what Hedda was thinking. The entire Australian cast was excellent, including Hugo Weaving of The Matrix, Lord of the Rings, and more recently V for Vendetta fame. I highly recommend seeing this production, but tickets are scarce.

By the way, this is why I love living in New York. This stuff doesn’t happen in West Palm Beach.