Abbie Cornish rising

So, I really like Abbie Cornish. If you don't (yet) know who she is, you're not alone, but you do have a major flaw, which is that you did not see last year's film Stop-Loss, in which she starred with Ryan Phillippe. Many people made the mistake of ignoring Stop-Loss because for some reason the so-called "movie-going public" has largely refused to see films that make statements about the Iraq war. Besides the zero respect I have for such a refusal, I pity you for missing out on Stop-Loss, if that is in fact why you missed out on it, because it is a quiet, heart-breaking, and extremely well-acted drama about how messed up all the returning Iraq vets are. And, how trapped they are: the title of course refers to the neat trick of not letting people get out of the military when they are supposed to, which kept Bush's crap wars going and kept forcing soldiers back into them.

Abbie Cornish's performance in that film really impressed me. I mean, part of what I liked so much about the film was how it studied "average people" in the U.S., and specifically military families, without either condescending to "middle America" or going all nutsy praising the "heroes." She exemplified that essence of real person-ness, and by that I of course mean real-person-not-in-L.A.-and-New-York-ness. She was also in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. But the latest and greatest is that she stars in the upcoming Bright Star, which is about poet John Keats' tragic romance and is directed by Jane Campion. The movie has been getting some very good press, critical acclaim, and - wait for it - Oscar buzz! for my girl Abbie. How terribly exciting. Besides The Road, I am probably most looking forward in the next few weeks to seeing Bright Star. Granted, I am a literary snob (so they tell me), but by all accounts you don't have to be one or even like poetry to enjoy the film.

But you will get to see Abbie Cornish! So, go Netflix Stop-Loss and then hie thee to a theater to watch Bright Star. And when she's all Oscar-nominated and stuff, you can remember that I told you so. Bright bright bright, indeed!