What I Watched
- The Hangover (4 stars): This movie is, in my opinion, what Pineapple Express should have been. It was hilarious and outrageous, and my sister and I both had a fantastic time. It's surprisingly tame as far as sex and nudity goes until the closing credits. What really makes the movie work beyond the gags and jokes and shock-value moments is the fact that the movie has heart. In the end, it's really a story of four guys who care a lot about one another; it's just wrapped in the most ridiculous and loud package ever.
- His Girl Friday (3½ stars): This movie starts as a fairly typical screwball comedy but evolves into something that tackles some fairly serious subject matter before ending up back in screwball. And it works pretty well. Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant shine, as would be expected. This was apparently one of the first movies where actors talked over one another in order to better mimic natural speech. The technique might have been used a little excessively, but watching Russell and Grant spar was still fun.
- I Love You to Death (3 stars): This is a dark comedy starring Kevin Kline as a philandering Italian husband who finally gets caught cheating by his wife. His wife proceeds to try to kill him, but things do not go according to plan. This wasn't a fantastic movie, but Kevin Kline as an over-the-top first-gen Italian New Yorker was pretty hilarious. Worth checking out if you're in the mood for something silly and/or Kevin Kline.
- Benny & Joon (5 stars): I adore this movie. Seriously. So, so, so much. Sweet, funny, heartwrenching at times, and, ultimately, completely and utterly heartwarming. Johnny Depp, per usual, is fantastic, and Mary Stuart Masterson and Aidan Quinn are also great. I can't believe this has a below-7 rating on IMDB. Highly, highly underrated, and equally recommended by me.
- December Boys (3 stars): Full disclosure: I watched this on a smaller-than-I'm-used-to TV with mediocre-at-best sound in a condo with plenty of distractions. That being said, the movie didn't really do much to keep my attention. The exception being when Daniel Radcliffe was on screen, and I don't mean that in a cradle-robbing sort of way. The kid gives a very good performance, and his character struck me as by far the most interesting. I think the main problem was that there were just too many different storylines to keep track of in the movie; perhaps it would have made a better miniseries.
What I Read
I finished The Romance Readers' Book Club
. I don't like to do negative reviews of books (or of movies, really) because who's to say what someone else will enjoy? That being said, I didn't really like it, but I'd never tell anyone NOT to read a book. I'll leave it at that; if you want more details on my opinion, you can ask me in a more private forum. :-)I left American Gods
at the condo when we went on my sister's college visit, so I picked up The Undomestic Goddess
by Sophie Kinsella (author of the Confessions of a Shopaholic series) at a Target for the drive back. It was a frothy, delightful and quick read, perfect for the beach or a summer's afternoon or a day when you just need to focus on something not-so-serious for a while.The Good News
Last night, after trying very hard all day not to think (i.e., worry) about the BlueCat quarterfinalists being posted, I finally allowed myself to pull up the Web site around 10:15 p.m. only to find that the results had not been posted. My muse at that point started laughing at me because I was supposed to be touching up my outline for the screenplay I'm starting today.
So, I trudged back to my outline and did a few lines, but, about 15 minutes later, I could take it no longer and pulled up the site again. This time, the results were up. In reaction, I immediately tensed, and then I told myself it didn't matter whether I was on that list or not because it doesn't change what I do next, which is keep working.
So, after several nervous, catch-my-breath pauses whilst scrolling down the list, I finally came to the Ms, and then to the Mos, and then to the Mus. I took a deep breath, and then I moved my scroll wheel one more click. There it was! "Mute by Elizabeth Ditty."
After jumping around (and removing the last bit of water from my ear from swimming laps earlier), I called my family and told them the news, to which they replied, "We didn't understand you. Less squealy." So I told them again, and they were pleased for me. So, that's the good news. And, in case you couldn't tell, I'm pretty excited about it.
