Now for something I know I'll really like, a review of my media consumption so far this summer and a few things I'm looking forward to.
Movies (seen on DVD or TV, of course)
Little Women - Winona Ryder's diction is distracting. Susan Sarandon is smug. Claire Danes has a bad crying face. Amy ends up with The Dark Knight. AND YET! I watched the whole thing in one sitting without noticing my husband or baby and I cried when Beth almost died. Then I cried when Laurie's uncle gave her a piano. And I fell in love with Laurie... again. Remember when I told a girl I worked with at Thanksgiving Point that she looked familiar and she said it was because she looked like the actress who plays older Amy? That was awesome.
Jumper - So much potential for a very cool story to go along with the very cool special effects. Instead we get a "love" story between two boring people. Rachel Bilson is boring. Not to mention the hundreds of unanswered questions. Meh.
Definitely, Maybe - How can you not like Ryan Reynolds? He's got that smirky look to him - like Chevy Chase. I rented this because we hadn't seen it and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The women in it were smart (why is that so hard to find in a movie these days?) and it was good for several laughs. Everything was going perfectly until I told Brian that it bugs me that one of Ryan Reynolds's eyebrows is longer than the other. Not the kind of thing you can un-notice. I also wondered a few times how old these people were supposed to be. He was finished with college when Bill Clinton was running for president the first time, so Reynolds's character should have been 37 years old by the end of the movie. He looked exactly like he did when he was 21. But whatever.
The Others on Lifetime (huh?) - Creepy and fun! Like me. I loved that the little girl looked like she really could drive a person mad. My favorite scene is when the boy and girl are in their bedroom and the girl is talking to the "ghost." AH! That poor little boy can hear the ghost talking and he thinks it's his sister teasing him. Also, one of the greatest twists in a movie maybe ever.
Mystic River on AMC- Color me impressed with Clint Eastwood directing this movie and writing the music for it. It was too dark and disturbing, though. I agree with all the accolades Sean Penn got for his acting - he is that good. And killing off Emmie Rossum in the first 10 minutes is a good move for any movie. I don't know, it left me feeling depressed. Or as Cookie Monster says, "slightly lachrymose." (I know, right? Who else is glad they never had that word in a spelling bee?)
Fun with Dick and Jane - Yeah, yeah, yeah, Jim Carrey is the funny one and he is funny in this movie. But Tea Leoni had Brian and me laughing so hard we had to rewind to hear what happened. I love that their housekeeper calls Dick "Ritard" and that their child speaks with a Latino accent. There are a few scenes that go beyond funny into I-don't-think-so, but making light of a real situation like losing your job and your retirement is fun for the whole family.Looking forward to... The Dark Knight (I know the whole world has already seen it), X-Files: I Want to Believe, Brideshead Revisited.
Television
Sesame Street - Some things never change and the same things that were good about Sesame Street are still good. Elmo wasn't around when I was a kid, but Maria, Gordon, Prairie Dawn, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, The Count - they were all there. Cookie Monster has a great vocabulary for a monster who thinks that letters are cookies. Maria is always (ALWAYS) fixing a toaster. Thank goodness we have a DVR so I can fast forward that rotten Baby Bear (a speech impediment is not an accent) and stupid Abby Cadabee and Zoe. I love that Bridget squeals just as high for Oscar as she does for Elmo. Oscar would hate it if he knew how much joy he brings her. Ha!Law & Order - I can look at the brief description of the episode on our guide and I know who did it. It doesn't matter that I've seen them all, if I start watching an episode from the beginning, I will have to finish it.
The Closer - Sure Brenda's accent is a little over-the-top, but I love the characters and the structure of the show. Brenda has some stereotypical woman issues (big handbag, love-hate relationship with vending machine treats, sometimes yells when she doesn't need to), but she also wears soft clothes and has beauty queen hair. I like that she's not trying to be a man. She uses her femininity to draw suspects in and make them forget they're talking to a police officer before she nails them to the wall. Fun stuff.
Project Runway - I came across the first season of Project Runway when Bravo was having a marathon of it on a day when I was doing a lot of laundry. I was riveted. Reality show contestants with real talent? WHAT IN THE WORLD?! The designers are given an assignment and usually 12 hours or less to come up with a design and execute it for a runway show. Sometimes the producers (I'm sure they're behind it) keep certain contestants on for ratings instead of their designs, but I'm always impressed with at least a few of the designers. This year (only two episodes to go on) I like the girl who looks like she came out of a 1940's magazine cover, Kenley. Bonus that the judges don't hold back when something is truly hideous. That's the "reality" check for this show. If the contestants have been coddled their whole life, it comes out quickly.
Mad Men - I'm completely and totally addicted to this show. It's beautiful to look at. I have to watch it twice and then read a review of it to catch everything because it is so subtle. The audience is left to figure out what's going on under the surface. The thing that hooked me (besides Brian telling me I should watch it) was seeing a few office scenes. Rampant sexual harassment that appeared to be accepted by the men and women. How glad am I that all that stuff is illegal now and I never had to work in such a toxic environment?! Nevermind all the smoking and drinking in the work place. In the season premiere Don Draper gets a physical and he basically has the body of a 60 year-old and he's only 36. Yikes. It's all fascinating.Looking forward to... Life, 30 Rock, The Office, and maybe that show with the old Dawson's Creek guy - is it called Fringe? I'm hoping it's the new X-Files.
Books & Magazines
A fantasy world at Grandma and Grandpa's house in Connecticut. There is plenty of obedience versus disobedience, dark versus light behind all the adventure and fairy tale creatures. The third book was frustrating in the beginning because it was basically the second book in New Mexico. Brian read these too and as soon as he pointed out that Brandon Mull probably played Dungeons and Dragons in his day, I couldn't stop noticing that some of the climactic scenes had a very video-game-y feel to them. Great fun, though. I'm glad I read them, but I probably won't read them again.
I had to read this back in 1999 for school. I underlined several things in order to be able to discuss it in class. Now that I'm 9 years older, I would underline different things, but it's been like reading a book with my 25 year-old self. I put it in my Top Five Favorite Books back then and now I'm reading it again to see if it deserves that spot.Looking forward to... Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. What else should I look forward to reading?
Sunset Magazine - Best place to dream about a vacation, see what would look good in my flower bed, and recipes that I really will try.
Salt Lake Magazine - The "Best of the Beehive" issue has been by my bed for a month now. I want to do so many of the things they covered!
Blog Stalking
Hopefully you've noticed a new blog in my neighborhood, Barlows in DR Congo. I don't know this couple, but Holliann turned me on to their blog and I'm glad she did. It's a beautifully documented LDS mission. It never fails to inspire me. If Holliann didn't have real stalkers (am I spelling that right?) you could laugh your head off like I do whenever I read her blog.
Other than the blogs on my list, who else should I be checking out? I leave comments - I'm not a slacker. I'm doing the work! (I saw a little of "What About Bob?" on my vacation this last weekend.)
And there you have it! I better make this a monthly feature so that it doesn't take me a week to finish next time.
6 comments:
Hello!
I was beginning to worry about you it had been so long! Glad you're ok.
I'm going to add the Barlows to my blog list. It looks interesting. I've been very interested in Mad Men, too, but haven't seen it yet. Maybe this weekend.
Angie
Jeff loved "Definitely Maybe." I liked it, too, but he never likes movies as much as he did that one. Also, Project Runway is my new fave. My only fave. Summer t.v. sucks! We're getting Tivo tomorrow, so now I'll watch Mad Men for we can be twins.
Read "Three Cups of Tea." The end.
I am glad that you are laughing, and not scolding me...Reg does enough of that:)
But, one thing you didn't answer in the post...what kind of cereal. Now I wonder, after all of these great things on the list, is it fruit loops, or granola.
What about the music? I'm so sick of that Kid Rock song and the Old Guys on the Block. Anything new on the horizon?
That was a really long post!
Who wrote Three Cups of Tea, Melissa? I have nothing as good as The Mix for breakfast, but lately it's been a lot of Apple Jacks (Costco box). And I love that you acknowledge that this was a painfully long post, but then ask for my music consumption. I love Coldplay's new stuff a lot. Otherwise it's Primary songs and show tunes I sing to Bridget in the bathroom. (boooo)
Oooh, I'm completely addicted to Mad Men and Project Runway, too! Or, um, I would be if my cable package included Bravo & AMC. As it stands, I catch them whenever I can on free preview weekends. Which is never often enough.
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