This is not really related to anything current, but I just came across a YouTube clip of my favorite scene from my favorite recent movie, Sideways (2004). Anyone who hasn't seen this movie is missing a hilarious, sad, touching story about the ups and downs of life, and should buy, rent, or Netflix it immediately. This particular scene features a conversation between wine aficionados Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Maya (Virginia Madsen), two lonely people who are beginning to realize that they have stumbled across their soul mate. To me, the scene is totally hypnotizing--especially Madsen's soliloquy. On the surface, the characters are each articulating the roots of their love for wine; beneath it, however, they are each really explaining themselves--their most closely-guarded pain, hopes, and fears--in as straightforward a way as they are capable of. This is modern moviemaking at its finest—it doesn’t require a $250 million budget, a special effects team, or a cast of thousands… just carefully chosen words (screenwriters Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor adapted Rex Pickett’s novel) delivered in a simple setting and a subtly nuanced fashion (Payne is as great a writer-director as we have) by magnificent actors playing 'real' people. I could watch it forever.