November 22, 2004

My Architect

My favorite movie of 2003 was a documentary. I enjoyed two other documentaries that were also nominated for an Academy Award for best feature, Capturing the Friedmans and Fog of War, but My Architect is the documentary that has stayed with me.

Yes, this is a biography of an important American architect, Louis Kahn, but the heart of the movie is the attempt by the director, Kahn's son, Nathaniel, to come to grips with his father's neglect. Nathaniel wants to see his father whole, like a compassionate novelist, and you leave the film full of admiration for his attempt.

Good news. The Architect is airing this Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. on Cinemax.

And if you, like me, pay for a subscription to Cinemax and rarely tune to it, amortize your expense by checking out Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, which is no masterpiece, but is definitely a step up from the other teen comedies of this year. If he plays his cards right, I think Topher Grace has a shot at being a major movie star. His comic timing in this movie is impeccable -- he's remarkably confident and sly. Wouldn't it be nice to have an American equivalent of Hugh Grant, only younger, to play in romantic comedies?

I'm looking forward to seeing Grace in P.S., playing Laura Linney's love interest. But until then, check out Tad Hamilton, which debuts at 8:00 p.m. this Saturday on Cinemax.

Who knows when My Architect will return to TV? I have a feeling Tad Hamilton will be running on cable as long as teenage girls want to check out two hot young actors (Josh Duhamel is the eponymous Tad Hamilton in the movie).