Well, Let's Go Home

"The Wire" is finally over and I'm bummed. David Simon was true to his world to the very end and everything was wrapped up fairly cleanly. Plus, I knew the homeless killer in college. Kudos to Simon, and I look forward to seeing his next project, apparently on the Iraq War. Some other things I watched this weekend:

• Look out for Drake (no matter what) and Belmont (depending on their matchup) in the tourney. Both play a Princeton-style offense that is so hard for most teams to prepare for. Drake also adds stifling defense.
• Saw two good Westerns this weekend on DVD:
• #1 was the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Very fun and cartoonish with the expected good acting. Strong recommendation for anyone looking for an action flick.
• #2 was quite different from the first -- The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford. The movie, at two hours and forty minutes, is even longer than the title and it is extraordinarily slow. I compared it to Capote, where the acting is fantastic and the pace can be excruciating, but it's the art form the director chose. It's also kind of made in a Ken Burns style with the narration. All of the actors do very well, and of course Casey Affleck was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (and deservedly so, I thought he was better in this than even in Gone, Baby, Gone). I don't get how the studios submit performances for rewards though; Affleck is in it as much as anyone else. It's kind of hard to believe that the kid we thought got his role in Good Will Hunting is a far, far better actor than his big brother and, dare I say it, maybe even than Matt Damon.