BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS

To illustrate this documentary's effectiveness, I went into it not having read anything by Bukowski, and came out of it wanting to devour his back catalog. This is an intelligently constructed, frankly sincere portrait of a great poet. It acknowledges his mythical status as an alcoholic, misogynist visionary, but through lots of fascinating archival footage and interviews, it reveals dimensions to the man that occasionally contradict that very image. Although the film's over two hours long and proceeds at an expectedly leisurely pace, it never dragged. Nor did it go the slick, empty-headed, regretfully "hip" route documentaries about counterculture figures are often prone to. Much more worth your time than Super Size Me.

***

Ahhhh, what a blissful weekend spent making blueberry pancakes, dining on tapas, bicycling down to Roslindale, reading the new David Sedaris tome, Dress Your Family in corduroy in Denim, and finally getting around to watching Pixote. Summer weather may not be here yet (not to mention summer itself), but things are feelin' wonderfully lazy and leisurely for now.