Movies so far

An owl in flight:

Below are the movies I've seen so far in 2010. My reviews are brief because 1) I'm not a film critic 2) there are plenty of reviews available online and 3) I've provided links to reviews.

Broken Embraces: The latest Pedro Almodovar film and, I think, one of his best. I enjoyed the sensuality and intensity.

Up in the Air: Another movie I enjoyed. My mother didn't think it was funny at all but she doesn't and hasn't really ever worked outside the house and hasn't flown in an airplane in over 30 year. Much was lost on her. Of course, it wasn't all funny but the wee bit of tragedy really added some depth.

Three Monkeys: A foreign (Turkish) film that came with much recommendation - always a bad thing. Movies are inevitably not so good when someone really plays up the expectations. It certainly had intrigue and some excellent shots but maybe I'm too American or maybe I've seen too many fluffy American movies. It felt a bit too vague, a bit too sullen but sullenly inexplicable.

Sin Nombre: This is a tale of gang culture in Central America juxtaposed (and ultimately smushed together) with everyday folks trying to make it across the border into the US. The stories are compelling and the images stick with you.

Funny People: This Judd Apatow film is unlike 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked up, which is why I think I found some humor in it. It felt a bit more multi-faceted than some of his other efforts. I also appreciated the addition of Jason Schwartzman. I'm not saying it's great but I'm trying to get a bit more comedy into my film diet and this wasn't so bad.

Extract: I'm not a 100% on what I think of this one. It was pretty stupid but did have a few funny bits. That's all I have to say.

And today we saw The Book of Eli. This one is not good. Now maybe if they'd thrown in some zombies it would have redeemed the movie but no such luck. I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic material and I purposely didn't watch the trailer so that I wouldn't get too much info before the movie (some trailers just give it all away). Not a good strategy in this case.

Ok, that's the movie story for mid January 2010.


A cat kicking a dog's ass:

Nothing

Hey, guess what's going on here that's interesting? That's right - nothing. Today was just a normal day, which isn't necessarily bad. It went like this:

• Wake up at 6:30 am
• Breakfast (homemade smoothie, dry toast, black tea, water) and internet (thank you bloggers)
• Shower and get ready stuff
• Walk to work and listen to Slate Spoiler Special podcast on "Up in the Air" No matter how smooth Clooney is or how candy-coated they say it is, I think it was a perfect movie for our times. It hit on many elements of our modern lives, modern technology, modern relationships and the good and bad consequences of it all. It was smooth but not completely devoid of depth or tragedy.
• Arrive at work and work...attend meeting and get peeved. Talk to co-worker and feel better. Continue to work.
• Leave work and go to gym. Swear never to visit Karyn's desk for mini 3 musketeers again (Don't miss the *awesome* recipes at the web site).
• Meet Sandy in the lobby. Catch the 20 bus.
• Get off at Marczyk's. Purchase spicy hummus, an avocado, smokey chipotle chips, baguette and red wine.
• Arrive home. Reheat chili. Eat chili with a Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout (provided by Tony E).
• Purchase animal photo from etsy - Sharon Montrose.
  
• Look at the interwebs until eyes bleed...
• brush, floss, do 5 minutes of crossword puzzle and then sleep.
  

There you have it. Genevieve's Monday.

Oh, here is a Sharon Montrose example (but not the one I got):