(M) Venus (Roger Michell, 2006) Grade: B
Peter O’Toole stars in this simple story about an old man who lives out the last moments of his life and unexpectedly falls in love with a young woman. I mistook Venus as a sweet film about friendship between two different generations, but screenwriter Hanif Kureishi said he wanted to spotlight old people (often ignored in Hollywood) as alive and with the same needs, including sexual needs, as those younger. Despite how uncomfortable I found this, I did enjoy the witty dialogue between the older gents.

(M) Babel (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, 2006) Grade: B+
Although I thought this film had its origins in the Biblical story, director Innaritu explained that the idea actually originated from 9/11, which took place four days after he moved to America. The connection to Babel came to him much later, when people compared the Twin Towers to the tower in the story. Babel is mostly about human relationships and how easily we mistrust, miscommunicate and disconnect, heightened today by the media and the fear of terrorism. An overall enjoyable film with an effective but not overly preachy message.