one movie that has slowly trickled into public consciousness this past week is Two Lovers, which opened in US theaters last Feb. 13th. Two Lovers, which topbills joaquin phoenix and gwyneth paltrow, is actually too bleak or somber to qualify as one your usual valentine flicks, but it’s been getting a lot of favorable notice from various critics.

incidentally, Two Lovers (directed by james gray) made its debut in the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, and was actually one of the few notable films that stirred some noise in the said event. many critics (then and now) noted the fine performance of the cast, particularly joaquin phoenix — notwithstanding his bizarre stint (unkempt beard and all) in David Letterman’s show just a few days ago — along with gwyneth paltrow, vinessa shaw, isabelli rossellini, moni moshonov, etc.

many are hoping that joaquin phoenix won’t make good on his threat to quit acting altogether in order to embark on a new career direction as a rap artist (umm, say what? what is going on here?).

at any rate, Two Lovers also marks the third time that james gray and joaquin phoenix have collaborated on a film (the other two being The Yards and We Own the Night).

**************************************************************
i just couldn’t resist… that weird Letterman episode keeps popping up in my mind at odd moments so i’m posting it here via this ‘Tube vid.

if this doesn’t ring any alarm bells in your mind, maybe you should also consider the fact that during his first public performance as a hip-hop artist, joaquin phoenix reportedly didn’t make much sense (he made the same ‘mumbling’ delivery apparently) — on top of which he fell off the stage! uggh! *nervous laughter* whatever his point is, i hope that joaquin phoenix will wake up soon and get his act together.

what do you guys think?