Birth right

I just watched the documentary "Born into Brothels." It follows children of the red light district in Calcutta and how they see their world when given a camera. It was quite powerful and heartwrenching. If you have Netflix, you can watch online as I did. I highly recommend it.

Austen it isn't

So, who's read/seen "Vanity Fair"? I watched the first episode of the A&E version, and wow, that was odd. Are the characters really such stereotypes in the novel? Interesting. I'll keep watching, of course. I chose this over the Reese Witherspoon version since I heard it completely veered from the novel, though at lease the Mira Nair film would be pretty. This one so far is very, very brown. Hmmm.

Not the capital of Alaska

I finally watched "Juno" and that was a great film! I loved that everything didn't go perfectly! And while Ellen Page and Jennifer Garner were perfectly cast, as a former West Wing junkie, I ADORED Allison Janey as a nail tech stepmom!!

My favorite line from the movie, thanks especially to Allison Janey's delivery: "Somebody else is going to find a precious blessing from Jesus in this garbage dump of a situation."

Sadly, some of the teenage banter went totally over my head. Even when I WAS a teenager, I probably wasn't up on all the lingo, but wow, at 30 I'm clueless.

Almost well rested

And with this Monday morning, Spring Break ends. Abigail was at the beach all week with Nana, and was I productive? Of course not. Well, I was with the magazine, but not with the house. I read a book -- in one night. The husband and I went out to eat and saw a movie in a place called a "theater". I napped a lot. I slept every morning until at least 8 a.m. I call that a good vacation.

The book was "My Sister's Keeper," and it was surprisingly good. I'm giving my book club till the end of spring since they're nice ladies, but the book selections leave something to be desired. But this was actually good. It tackled lots of interesting ethical dilemmas and didn't try to say one side was right or wrong -- which really, in the cases presented, there wasn't a right, just varying levels of wrong and painful but necessary. The writing was decent, though not many amazing passages, but it was a compelling story. I just wish the author hadn't copped out finally and ended an otherwise complicated story with something too pat, too "deus ex machina."

The movie was "Stop-loss." It was pretty good, some flaws in continuity and some unbelievable side stories, but definitely a powerful view of the torment soldiers may be going through. And it was interesting to hear Brad's thoughts as a man, about under what conditions he would fight and why.

Movie plug

This will not count as an official movie review, since I have become lazy in my old age and just don't write that much in blogs anymore. Sorry.

But you simply must see "Death at a Funeral"! Brad and I were in hysterics the whole time. The drugged fiance should win an Oscar, and the bit with the dwarf and the drugs and the coffin ...!!!!! Oh, it was good.

Once

This weekend, the husband and I saw an absolutely amazing movie. "Once" is an Irish drama/musical. An Irish street musician meets a Czech immigrant who is also musical. The movie then follows their friendship/love through the creation of a CD. Rather than a story highlighted by music, it's music highlighted by story. It was stunningly simple and emotionally powerful. Go to the site and hear the beautiful music. Go to your nearest art movie theatre and see the film.

This means you, Rambling, a., Smitty, Dunces, even Diane if you're dropping in from Scotland!

The knights who say "Neh!"

Abigail has decided that she no longer says no. Or nope. When she wants to express herself in the negative, she says, "Neh." Part of me is quite delighted that she does this. The other part finds it a bit odd and wonders where she picked it up.

On another note, she is watching "Cars" for the first time. The pace is a bit slow for her, and she's totally not into the racing scenes, but her little friend Jacob talks about it all the time and she wants to see it. I personally think it's pretty funny, though a bit slow, and the animation is absolutely AMAZING. Wow, the things they can do with a 'puter.

Did I like that?

I finally watched "The Last Kiss" last night after it had languished on top of my entertainment center for a week and a half. I think I really liked it. I could obviously relate to a story about 29-year-olds trying to figure out if their lives were heading in the right direction. And I liked it visually, all the use of neutral colors. I even thought the acting was good; Jacinda Barrett has come a long way from "The Real World."

But I'm conflicted about Zach Braff's character. Now, I like him as an actor, really liked "Garden State" and dig his taste in music (he loves Jump, what else is there to say?). But I wanted to claw his character's heart out last night. Eviscerate him. Castrate him. I won't necessarily say why in case anyone is planning to see the movie, but GRRRRRRRRRR, you don't DO that to a pregnant woman!!!!! I could forgive and even empathize with the character up to that one act, but now I'm not even sure I'm okay with the ending!

Can I thoroughly despise a character and not be 100 percent about the ending of a movie and still highly recommend it?

Thoughts from last night

I couldn't get to the computer last night, so I "blogged" old-school in a notebook. Le voila:

I just finished watching "Elizabethtown," which was a really good movie. Not great because it dragged a bit, but really good. In watching it, three things occurred to me:

1.) In 2000, I had scheduled an interview with the paper in Elizabethtown, which I cancelled after I took the job here. Who on earth would I have become if I'd wound up in Kentucky?

2.) I have always wanted to be a marvellously quirky girl like the character Claire. I wanted to wear odd vintage clothing and hats, know all kinds of indie music, and say incredible things to men at the drop of a hat. Yet I'm me.

3.) I really, really have to take a cross-country road trip. Maybe it stems from growing up near Route 66, but I have always wanted to have that quintessentially American experience. I want to see the bizarre roadside attractions out west, get stuck at stoplights in small towns, eat at diners, and lose myself in the loneliness of the plains. I'm just not sure when I'll do it or with whom.

In all Earnestness

A friend not too terribly long ago posted a funny snippet from "The Importance of Being Earnest" (I was going to link, but damned if I can find the post. It was funny, about muffins.), and I quickly added it to my Netflix. After my recent amusement at Edwardian literature, I bumped it to the top of the queue. And thus it became my naptime entertainment for the day (I told you I adapt whatever manner of speaking I hear -- and I can't seem to stop myself!).

Anyway, it was really, really funny! I may have to watch it again before I return it, just to catch all the tricks with words. Why is Colin Firth so appealing? I don't think he's all that attractive, don't get why some people get all gushy about him, but he's a great comic actor! As was Rupert Everett. And all the funny flashes of daydreams and tattoo parlors were great! Hmmm, maybe I should actually read the play and see if they're in there ...

Hot lead

Finally saw "All The President's Men" -- now THAT'S a journalism movie!!! Hell yeah, makes me want to go back to the night shift!! Well, maybe not that. But yeah! Go journalists! Go people bringing down the crooked government! Go young cub reporters getting the trust of the publisher! Go people doing all kinds of shady, twisted questioning to get the truth! Yeehaw!

There was so much clacking of typewriter keys in that movie that my fingers are twitching to move. How great. I absolutely adored the scene right toward the end when Woodward goes to Bernstein's house to tell him Deep Throat told him everything -- and that their lives were in danger and they were being bugged. Woodward (a quite nice looking young Robert Redford, now I understand the hype) cranks up Bernstein's stereo to blast trumpet-laden classical music, then goes to the typewriter, unwilling to speak. He types, Bernstein types, the clacking of keys and the booming of brass, and the power of that cinematography is fabulous.

And the age of the film was fabulous. Bernstein smoking everywhere, rotary phones, an ancient Xerox machine, all the manual typewriters that didn't even do automatic return at the end of a line. And the decor at the Post: flourescent lights, tacky carpet, horrible desks and filing cabinets, whitewashed pillars -- all brand new in the 70s, and all somehow still the decor at my old paper ... Shana, it's like deja vu, only no swastikas in the ventilation screens.

And I love how you have absolutely no clue who Deep Throat was. Now I see how it was such a mystery.

Woo-hoo, so glad I saw that! So glad, also, that I didn't read the book. That cast of characters would have been mind-boggling and the various crimes confusing. But a great movie.

Have you no sense of decency, sir?

This past weekend, the husband and I decided to revive my stagnated NetFlix queue and watch "Good Night, And Good Luck." (Sad to say, the previous movie on my queue was a Spanish movie that sounded great but languished on my entertainment center for about two weeks and was finally returned unwatched.) The film we did watch was George Clooney's acclaimed take on Edward R. Murrow bringing down Joe McCarthy. I thought it would inspire all kinds of journalistic fervor in me, which I need a boost of, but sadly, it fell a bit short. I laud the CBS folks for standing up to McCarthy's Red Scare, and I found it appaling how people had bought into the hysteria of those show trials, but the movie didn't live up to its material. Why? It was slow. Really, really slow. The envelope said it was just 1 hr. 33 mins., but man, it felt a lot longer. Probably even more so for the reformed smoker Brad since every character lit up like a chimney in every scene. They were trying all kinds of dramatic angles and lighting and so forth, but they left the drama out of the plot.

It was, of course, interesting for its historical matter. And for how what were no doubt Murrow's exact words were so applicable for our current administration's tactics. And it was fun seeing the film clip of McCarthy's censure, which I otherwise only knew from R.E.M.'s song "Exhuming McCarthy."

After a period movie that's supposed to arrive today, the next film on my queue happens to be "All the President's Men." Yet another aspect of journalistic history that I lack any real knowledge of. Sadly, I owned this book but hadn't gotten around to reading it before Mark Felt outed himself as Deep Throat. Kinda takes the thrill out of reading it, so I'm opting for the visual version. Hopefully this will stir me up a bit more.

McNausea

I just watched Super Size Me, and I don't feel very well. The film is disturbing, of course, and a bit far-fetched in that the man ate all his meals at McDonald's for a month and super sized when asked. He had to eat everything on the menu once, but of course he didn't have to eat the Bic Mac and friends all the time, could have mainly eaten their salads -- even if they are nasty iceberg lettuce monstrosities. But still, ick. The worsening of his health was incredibly fast. And the sizing comparisons were unreal. The original size drink is now the kid's size -- and the largest offered in Europe. Anyone remember the paper bag of fries, not the paperboard sleeve? I'm just so thankful that I almost never eat fast food, and if I do it's Chick-fil-A or Wendy's, where you can be a bit more sane. And while Abigail love's those Chick-fil-A nuggets and waffle fries, she's also perfectly happy just to get a few fries and chow down on her fruit cup. But after this, I'm even going to rethink how many fries I let her have -- and make myself not finish them off.

They intereviewed people at Madison Junior High, which was in my old town of Naperville and was built right as I went to high school. What the kids bought from the line was of course attrocious, and I know a lot of schools are finally changing, but kids are kids. I remember in high school in Naperville, I would eat my lunch from home, then go buy a soft pretzel with cheese, a Twix and a fruit punch. No wonder I had weight issues! There was this little cubicle set up in the cafeteria that sold nothing but candy and chips and the like. Crazy. Thank God my Pittsburgh school didn't have quiet the options -- though I did love those gingerbread men they sold after school.

I slogged through gym every day in Illinois, then just two or three times a week in the 'Burgh. Now, thanks to good ol' No Child Left Behind, our local school district only does gym once a week for 20 minutes in elementary school. Now, I always hated gym, but that's insane! (Besides, where will these children learn to square dance?) I have heard countless teachers say No Child Left Behind is destroying American education, but that's a whole different topic ...

Later addendum: Oops, Madison was a preexisting junior high, I was thinking of Kennedy. But it's all moot since I went to Washington. Go Warriors! Or rather, Wildcats since our really rather racist caricature of an Indian was finally deemed offensive. Oh well. My sister's high school was the Redskins. Guess who's now the Redhawks?

What big eyes you have

I just watched "Everything is Illuminated" and am now thoroughly in love with that film. It was visually amazing, Ukraine is gorgeous. The soundtrack was a wonderful mix of Jewish klezmer and Ukrainian hip hop or ska or something and all sorts of other great tidbits. The character Alex was highly amusing, especially his take on American hip hop culture, and there was plenty of eclectic humor throughout. And I found the ending to be pleasantly unexpected -- though I guess you "pleasant" may not be the most apropriate word. I fully recommend it if you like slightly disjointed post-modern stories.

Of course, I'm now dying to know if Jonathan Safran Foer is really that bizarre.

A Tree Grows in Dorset

Abbey is either napping or quiety on her way to doing so, so I've settled in to blog with a cup of coffee. Raspberry coffee. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. It smells good, but it's coffee. The combination may not be a winner.

I have lately found myself watching "Masterpiece Theatre" on Sunday nights, inevitably while I iron. Some may say I'm much too young for this, but hey, it's good, and the film is usually a period piece, which is one of those fool-proof genres for me. Well, except "The Count of Monte Cristo", which was a nightmarish disaster.

Anyway, last night was "Under the Greenwood Tree", a Thomas Hardy novel I had never heard of. (Looking at that Hardy site, damn, the man was prolific!) The movie had all the Hardy trappings: set in Wessex; honest, salt-of-the earth villagers; questionably motivated "modern" men; the charming local tradition, here a church choir; the sinister symbol of industrialization, here a harmonium, which of course replaced the choir; and a love affair doomed by class. And when I saw the lovely Dick Dewey (coincidentally, exactly what I would have thought Jude in "Jude the Obscure" looked like), I SO wanted the love affair to work, even if the heroine wasn't the greatest. But it's Hardy, right? Surely, following the model of poor Tess and Jude, there would be death and tragedy? Wait, the evil modern men are going away! The class issue is being forgotten! They're getting MARRIED! Hooray! I guess Hardy was a bit of a sentamentalist in his early years. Of course, I haven't read the actual novel, so maybe it was sanitized for TV. Don't want to upset all those little old ladies watching their evening PBS.

The latest addiction

Are any of you on Netflix? I have recently signed up, only four movies a month which means it will take forever to get through the drama and foreign-film heavy queue. This also means I have discovered the joys of having "Friends" on Netflix, offering the opportunity to yell at friends and coworkers things like, "What?! You mean you hated 'High Fidelity' and loved 'Being John Malkovic'? What are you smoking?!" So who all is on, so I can be incredibly nosey and look deep into the inner-psyche of your movie watching habits?

By the way, my most recently watched film was "The Chorus," a French film set just after the war in a boarding school for delinquents and orphans. The premise is that a failed musician comes to the school to work as a -- ugh, how to translate this idea? -- a "surveillant," someone who watches the boys during study hall, recess, at night in the dorms, etc. He then gets the idea to start a chorus for the boys, which of course in movie-land works like a charm and improves the lives of the boys. Maybe a bit optimistic, but how WONDERFUL!! A belief in the redemptive power of the arts and education reminiscent of "Dead Poets Society." This was a great, great, great film, won the Oscar for best foreign film a couple years ago. I more than highly recommend it.