Do It. Colin Firth at the Aero.

If you read our review but still haven't seen Colin Firth's latest amazing role, here's another incentive: you can watch the film and see the man discuss it in person right afterward.

That's right: Mr. Firth will be on hand at the Aero Theatre tonight to discuss his Oscar-nominated role in A Single Man. It's your chance to get his take on what the fuss is all about, and to probably end up swooning over him anyway.

The discussion will then be followed by a rare screening of Firth's first big film role, in 1984's Another Country, which co-stars the also-dashing Rupert Everett, Cary Elwes (!) and (apparently in a small role) Daniel Day Lewis?! Brilliant.

The Aero Theatre is located at 1328 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, and the A Single Man/Another Country double feature begins at 7:30pm, with the Firth discussion in between the films.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: The Weinstein Company

Check It. A Single Man.

A lot can be said of crossover artists and the failure and ridicule they must be setting themselves up for--but that cannot be said of Tom Ford. The man (former creative director of Gucci, now oversees his eponymous label) knows how to make a suit, and he also knows how to make a movie.

A Single Man follows George Falconer (Colin Firth), a gay literature professor dealing with the loss of his longtime love (Matthew Goode). It's a story told through flashbacks and memories, shot gorgeously through rich sceneries and sensual close-ups and helped by a beautiful, emotional score. The performances are just phenomenal. Firth, known for his romantic hero roles in Pride and Prejudice and Bridget Jones, completely disappears as Falconer, wholly becoming this man full of undeniable pain and confusion. The close-up cinematography, which worked to enrich the sensuality of the scenes, gave no room for mistakes from the actors, and they surely don't disappoint.

The story, based on a Christopher Isherwood novel, falls short in some places, with a sense of rushing the storyline to focus too longingly on more trivial moments. But that's just like fashion in a way; it's more something that is meant to be seen, experienced, felt. It's all about the image, and Ford gets it.

-- Chau Tu

Photo credit: V Magazine