Having an OK day. Not great, but not bad. It's c-o-l-d outside, and cloudy, and they're threatening snow again, which wouldn't be so bad but I drive 80 miles round trip on the Interstate to get to work and back, and I hate like hell to drive on the Interstate in the snow. Oh well, ces't la vie.
I have a sinking feeling about the news today about Generalissimo El Busho and his Homeland Security Act, like I'm sure many of you do as well. What can you do, though, except hope for the best...
New link: Whitney Matheson's Pop Candy, which is about all that good ol' trivial pop culture stuff and appears in the USA Today online. Fun stuff, well written. Go. Read.
As promised, my thoughts on the movies I watched this weekend...
I liked, didn't love Star Wars episode 2: Attack of the Clones. It was an impressive visual acheivement, I suppose, but it was wasted on an abysmal script with inconsistent acting. Ewan McGregor and Christopher Lee (playing Christopher Lee playing a renegade Jedi Master) came across the best as far as the main cast went, and Hayden Christensen wasn't bad as Anakin Skywalker. But Samuel L. Jackson sleepwalked through most of his meager scenes (and sounded ridiculous mouthing the cliche-ridden dialogue they gave him) and the lovely Natalie Portman alternately lit up and dragged down every scene she was in. She's very beautiful, but she can't act. Not a lick. But the whole Star Wars thing as a concept or whatever it is must be golden and magical, because I still found myself interested and caught up in the goings-on. Yoda was a hoot, as well. I've never been what you could call anything more than a casual Star Wars fan, and this installment isn't going to rev up the ol' fervor one iota.
I went into Brotherhood of the Wolf with high expectations, and wasn't disappointed. Much. Everything I had heard and read about it had me anticipating some kind of incredible smorgasbord of period drama, martial arts, sex, and monsters, and while it had all this and more I think I set myself up unrealistically because it was a lot more conventional than I expected, and consequently a bit disappointing. That being said, I still liked it very much and I have a feeling I'll like it more with subsequent viewing.
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels was no disappointment at all. I'm a sucker for fast moving, witty, clever movies about quirky characters that tend to fall into the toughs, hoods, and wannabes categories and so far Guy Ritchie has given us two of the best flicks about same. Lots of great, hilarious dialogue and outstanding performances. Great music, too, with two kick ass James Brown songs spotlighted. I think I liked Snatch a bit better, though-found its basic story to be a bit more fully developed- and it was a bit disconcerting to see many of the Snatch cast members playing different roles...but that is a minor quibble at best (and I'm sure it's because I've seen Snatch at least 50 times to LS&SB's 1) and I recommend LS&SB highly.
I also watched an excellent film on TCM, The Ox-Bow Incident, which starred Henry Fonda. Gripping all the way through, with beautiful B&W photography and a moral that many of our leaders today would be wise to remember.
My beloved Atlanta Falcons kicked some major ass yesterday, defeating the Carolina Panthers 41-0. Any victory's a good one, but what with all the turmoil and controversy the Panthers have been dealing with lately, this one almost falls in the "cripple-kicking" category. Still, I'll take it.
Music today- Camper Van Beethoven-Key Lime Pie, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels soundtrack, R.E.M.-Monster.
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