Not much to say...in a disjointed way...

[rolanni]

Not much to write home about for the last couple days. Databasin', day-jobbin', and doin' the housekeeping bits of being a writer. Also, whatever is going on with my arm has been extremely painful, which keeps me awake, which makes me grumpy, and which in turn makes me less likely to post.

...which, taken in all, is probably a Good Thing.

For those who were breathlessly awaiting the outcome of the stairless approach to my office -- it's the cross-Sorority-Row-to-the-Pond-Road-and-walk-up-the-street for the win. At least until it snows.

I cannot express how much I am looking forward to November 4. In the meantime, I'm avoiding the local paper, especially the editorials. There are people out there who grew up on very, very scary planets.

On Monday evening, in an attempt to distract myself from the rodent gnawing through my arm, I watched The Replacement Killers, a movie suggested by our very own mizkit. It was an...odd experience, and I can't say, that I like it nearly so well as either Adventures in Babysitting or Earth Girls are Easy, though I was certainly engaged enough to forget about my arm for an hour or so.

I've been thinking about what made the movie so odd...It felt like watching a comic book -- which is fine -- but it also felt...suspended in a void. There were world-building threads -- did Mags' tattoos have a Meaning, for instance? -- and some attempt at giving the characters a past, but the threads sort of extended to a bit, then floated; they weren't tied down at all. Also, I started wondering what in Ghod's Name John was going to do when he went back to China, having been a hit man for the mob and all -- and when I start wondering about such things in the middle of the movie, it pretty much means I'm not fully at one with the narrative.

What I liked very much was the chemistry between Mags and John, regardless of the fact that expressing that chemistry was almost all on Mags (John was the strong, inarticulate type).

Bottom line -- it was OK; I'm informed and entertained, but I won't be buying the DVD.

So, what movies have you seen lately that you'd recommend? You know my tastes, Watson.

Comments

movies

[k-10b.livejournal.com]

The girl-child and I recently watched Inkheart with Brendan Frazier, and I was pleasantly surprised and entertained for the 100 minutes. All the overly verbose/expository bits did not translate to the screen, leaving all the action parts, good dialogue, a nifty mystery to solve, and Brendan Frazier.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

November 4 will come as a blessing . . .

Of course, we'll then have to live through the bitching and moaning from the various losers. Whichever they prove to be.

Pain

[kimuro.livejournal.com]

Back at the end of August I twisted one of my legs pretty badly, I think something went out of alignment on the knee. It's shifted back again, but I've got a nagging ache, especially at night. Something that helps ... and may help you with your arm ... is Tart Cherry juice (Knudsen).

It tastes cherry pie tart, not cherry-flavoured sweet - which could be a problem if you're someone who likes cherry-flavoured sweets. I drink about half a juice glass twice a day, morning and night (out of a tiny brandy snifter) and when I don't get it, my leg really starts aching.

That's my experience, here are a couple of on-line articles on the subject - http://www.joint-pain.com/cherry-juice-gout.html (gout and arthritis), http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/cherry-juice-new-sports-drink-21491.html(muscle pain)

[brock-tn.livejournal.com]

I suspect that you're already familiar with the film, but I'm horribly fond of Michael Curtiz's We're No Angels, which starred Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray, and a young Peter Ustinov. Bogart doing comedy is rare, and he's GOOD in this one. But then there isn't really a bad actor anywhere in the cast, including both Leo G. Carroll and Basil Rathbone. The humor is more often subtle and ironic than ROFL-inducing. But it's one of my favorite films.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

It's been years since I saw The Replacement Killers. I remember liking it at the time, but it didn't exactly stick with me. Well. Except for the remix of Trick's "She Makes Me Wanna Die" they used on the soundtrack. Still want a copy of that song....

I'm going to second Inkheart. I was pleasantly surprised by the film, and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. ETA: Oh, and for fun Halloween viewing, you can't go wrong with Cary Grant's Arsenic and Old Lace. :)

[cailleuch.livejournal.com]

A theatre in town is doing oldies on the big screen. Last week has Harvey which is very fun. Pookas! Tomorrow The Birds. A few weeks ago Maltese Falcon. Recent releases -not much from earlier in the year that was terribly memorable.

Julie & Julia (out first part of December)? light fun
Sunshine Cleaning - dark fun
Gran Torino
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs -- sorry most of the good movies I saw this year where animation

Saw Replacement Killers in the theater and liked it but it momentarily fulfilled a need for mayhem on a Friday after a bad week at work.

[(Anonymous)]

Most of my movie watching recently is on 6 in screens in aircraft, which does not help for catching the fine details. However. an older movie that I liked quite abit when it came out was Dogma - it had a number of noted stars who seemed to just be having fun.

Brom

[elektra.livejournal.com]

look for an old one called "My Best Friend is a Vampire." Better than it sounds. Really. Stars a very young Robert Sean Leonard (of House fame), as well as an incredibly eclectic mix of others: Fannie Flagg, David Warner, Rene Auberjonois, Kathy Bates . . .

Very light-hearted and funny.

Dark City

[muehe.livejournal.com]

Not sure if you will like it, but it is one of my favorites.

Movie possibility

[fitzwater.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" when I saw it recently. It actually overcame my reluctance to recommend.

[swedishsis.livejournal.com]

If you like animation, I liked Ponyo (Miyazaki) and Coraline (Selick/Gaiman). I'm kinda behind on movies. Don't get out much.

Not new but comfort movies for me are:
Undercover Blues - Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner
Holiday - Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn

Also recently enjoyed the 2007 version of Persuasion and 2008 BBC version of Sense and Sensibility.

Movie suggestion

[fitzwater.livejournal.com]

There is one other movie I might mention, although an old one (1983). It never got good reviews and you may have seen it, but it is one of my favorites. "Doctor Detroit" with Dan Aykroyd. The table-top soliloquy near the end on good and evil and heroes never fails to make me laugh, think and hope.