Anyone seen Sayles' latest? I can't wait. I loved Do the Right Thing. I do believe the point of it was to make everyone watching it feel uncomfortable, regardless of their race. That is something Spike does really well in all his movies. I thought Son of Sam was brilliant, as I did Malcolm X. I'm also a big fan of documentaries. Love 'em. Barbara Kopple is a goddess.

I don't really care if a film is a Hollywood film or not, as that is a silly thing to use as a standard for what is a good or a bad or a mediocre film. I think there has been excellent work done by indie filmmakers. John Waters is another one of my faves. Pecker was fabulous.

As to the Shakespeare films, there is really no shortage of really bad ones. I don't think Shakespeare translates to film very well. I like the Romeo and Juliet version I mentioned because it did work for me, and I loved all the NY actors in it like John Leguzamo and Paul Sorvino. I didn't much care for the performances of either of the leads, but the rest of the cast was damn fine in that film, and the sets were brilliantly done. It seemed credible the way they made it in a contemporary time setting. I'd agree about the Ethan Hawke "Hamlet". And the remake of Great Expectations was a disappointment--that one with Gwyneth Paltrow. I was really bummed about that one, because I adore Anne Bancroft. Oh well, they don't always work, but I give many more kudos to the filmmakers who try something different and innovative, instead of following the Hollywood formula rule book.