embracing the quirk

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Who watches? (Um, me)
Watchmen in 25 words or less:

A worthy monument to a visionary masterwork -- but although its core messages translated, much of the original's subtlety and cleverness became (unpredictably) obvious as executed. B+.

***
And a note to those who watched the film with me -- it seems our recollections were wrong! Sadly, two of the most intrusive music cues do not appear to have been taken from the original. http://www.watchmencomicmovie.com/watchmen-comic-songs-music.php. And in fact, I now recall, thinking back, that that one scene (not to spoil it for others) worked much better with the original song, than with the one they used. Dagnabbit.

Current Mood: busy

Happy Birthday, fajitas
That is to say, Happy Birthday.

Current Mood: creative

on the carnivore nature of lolcats
How come none of the lolcats ever say "I can has veggieburger?"
I think I need an icon like that. :)

Current Mood: procrastinating
Current Music: indie 103.1 online

See it in 3-D if you can
Coraline (3-D) (warning: all-flash site) in 25 words or less:

A creepy and youthfully adventurous story, impeccably presented. Hovers imperfectly between (too scary for) kids and (too straightforward for) adults, but ultimately triumphs at world-building. B+.

Current Mood: working
Current Music: "Arrested Development" in background

Waiting
Look, I know it was only released on Tuesday, but grr. My copy of Spiral Hunt has not yet arrived. I want to read it now!

/whine

Current Mood: impatient

My Christmas Day let me show you it
This gives you an idea of how behind I am on the 25-word reviews. Anyway, these two movies -- talking about going to extremes! -- were how I commemorated this past National Jews Go To The Movies And Eat Chinese Food Day...

The Spirit in 25 words or less:
Turns out that "hard-boiled" and "funny" don't taste great together (outside of parodies). Nifty visuals didn't help save this from the "ridiculously awful" bin. D.

Slumdog Millionaire in 25 words or less:
Probably the best movie I saw in 2008. Manages -- improbably -- to show explore harsh images and themes without being depressing. Cinematography, soundtrack, performances . . . all awesome. A.

Current Mood: working
Current Music: Slumdog millionaire soundtrack in my head

View . . . review
The Dark Knight in 25 words or less:
Ledger's as virtuoso as touted, but these characters (and actors) deserved a more meaningful story. This seemed contrived, crowded, and coincidence-laden. Still -- pretty powerful. B+.

Current Mood: home
Current Music: catching up on the TiVo

Again with what may be an unpopular view. Ah, well.
Quantum of Solace in 25 words or less:

A better, cleverer story than Casino Royale, despite iffy editing. And Craig’s Bond works: his witty, charming killer is no psychopath, but at a cost. B+.

Current Mood: busy
Current Music: "Another Way to Die", Jack Black & Alicia Keys (surprisingly good!)

bwah!
More funny from the folks at Woot:

17 Fabulous Prequels to Broadway Musicals

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: tv in the background

Yep that's me, mauling the classics
I promised many of you that I'd post a full report on last weekend's doings. And so I shall. I've had a busy couple of days (for unrelated reasons) so I haven't had much time to process. But in the meantime, here's a movie review to tide you (ok, mostly me) over.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925, Lon Chaney version) in 25 words or less:
Markedly not the story of redemption I expected. Nor was it terribly logical or affecting. Nevertheless, today's monster/horror movies owe it (and Chaney) much. C+.

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: tv in the background

And now I totally want a stuffed Totoro
My Neighbor Totoro in 25 words or less:

Ultimately more shallowly optimistic than I had expected (or wished) it to be -- but still both delightful and meaningful, and told with amazing visual sensitivity. B+.

Current Mood: back home

California Ballot Measures
Every election,

pseudosilence and I meet before voting day to argue out the pros and cons of the ballot measures and referenda. This is a mildly wonkish thing to do, but we're both pretty wonkish people, and every time we do it, I am glad we did, since the discussion always shines a light on some issue or argument I hadn't thought of.

Every year, various people ask us to share the results of our discussion to help them come to a decision. So this year she's written up our conclusions here for all to enjoy. Hope it's helpful.

I also have data on the judicial elections for Los Angeles, and if anyone wants that I'm happy to share.

Current Mood: working
Current Music: TV in the backgroune

I know it's popular, but . . .
The 40-Year Old Virgin in 25 words or less:
The first 45 minutes were so discomfiting that it took days to get through. Once it became a love story, though, it was pretty good. C+.

Current Mood: working
Current Music: TV in the background

Worth seeing before the new one comes out
Casino Royale in 25 words or less:
Everything you want Bond to be: exciting, sexy . . . damaged. Worked even when it was predictable or contrived (or both). Plus, at least one great chase. A-.

Current Music: TV in the background

Zhang Yimou's dress rehearsal for the Olympics
Curse of the Golden Flower in 25 words or less:
Gong Li is a perfect tragic figure in this stunning drama. But despite its opera-like storytelling, it left me grasping for a sense of purpose. B.

Current Mood: working
Current Music: TV in the backgroune

Watched this a while ago
The interesting thing about waiting a while to post reviews (the result of slothfulness, for which I shall surely be punished in the next life) is that I get to go back and see what I thought of a movie that I saw a few weeks earlier. Often my opinions have softened toward the center. In the case of this movie, they really haven't.

Nacho Libre in 25 words or less:
Pervasive cartoonish and self-conscious mugging effectively neutralizes any of this movie's relatively meager charm. At least the orphans are cute. C-.

In other news, things are pretty good, but I still wish I were getting more done in my day to day.

smiles to all -

Current Mood: working
Current Music: a little ipod here and there

Working on the movie backlog
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in 25 words or less
The pacing of this film brings "leisurely" to a whole new level. But the digressions and pauses serve the story, and the cinematography is superlative. B+.

Current Mood: nervous
Current Music: Tonight Tonight Tonight, Beat Crusaders

Help me, fellow fans
Due to the vagaries of TiVo, I inadvertently saw the last 5 or 10 seconds of this past week's House at the start of Bones. Now I am dreading watching House. Not that I don't think I'll enjoy watching it, just . . . yeah.

Please, tell me something (non-spoilery) that will get me past the dread.

I know what I'm asking isn't easy, but I'd apprecate it :)

ETA -- I've relented and started watching. Thanks, guys!

Current Mood: crushed

Then I saw this one on a plane
Then She Found Me in 25 words or less:
The sort of story that's contrived only for movies, but still is supposed to seem realistic. Life is never quite that easy . . . or that hard. C+.

Current Mood: procrastinating
Current Music: Still that Stereolab album

This is what happens when TiVo gets the wrong movie.
Spy Kids in 25 words or less:
A simple plot with a hoky sledgehammer moral and beyond-gratuitous gadget effects. The themes (family, communication, self-esteem) are good. Everything else detracts. C+.

And here's a note, which is related, but not really a review of the movie: In my view, one of the things that makes great children's entertainment really great is that it talks with the kids, rather than talking down to them. Good children's entertainment speaks in the language of kids, rather than the language of adults-trying-to-communicate-with kids. The best example of this is Mr. Rogers: he seemed ridiculous to many adulds, but fundamentally, he spoke to kids in their own language. Sesame Street, and Winnie the Pooh, do the same: They approach things the way kids do. Movies like Spy Kids seem to me to be made by adults who assume that if you just cram something full of silliness, kids will love it. And maybe they will. After all, lots of kids love fart jokes. (Which, I note, are at least as abundant in a lot of distinctly grown-up comedies as well). But when we do that, aren't we losing something? Aren't we bringing kids down to the vapid level we expect them to be at? Isn't kid silliness different from adult silliness?

Current Mood: working
Current Music: Got the new Stereolab on the headphones