It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, so I’ll start with something frivolous: movies that I’ve watched recently. In no particular order:
Watched “GI Joe” on the plane over to India. It was actually somewhat better than I thought it was going to be, mostly on the strength of nostalgia. The cartoon was a staple of my childhood growing up (that and Transformers) so remembering some of the characters as I’m watching was fun. It wasn’t a “good” movie by any means, but it was fun to watch. Once. On a 16 hour flight.
The best movie I’ve seen in a long time is “500 Days of Summer”. I was completely and utterly bowled over by how much I loved this movie. Probably because I identify so strongly with the central character (I probably could have written some of those scenes as autobiography) , and the story is one not told too often. As it says, the movie is about love, but not exactly a love story. And the last moment , while probably predictable in hindsight, caught me off-guard and had me exclaim with surprise. An almost perfect movie, complete with a musical dance number by Joseph Gordon-Leavitt. Highly highly reccommended. Will be buying this one for sure.
“Away We Go” was also one of those small movies that we really enjoyed. Not nearly as much as “500 Days”, though. I had quibbles with the ending, but the story of searching for where to raise their child struck an obvious chord.
“Julie and Julia”: Quite charming, and my slight crush on Amy Adams grows. (Even if she does play the same character in every movie, it seems.) And to watch Meryl Streep channeling Julia Child is a bit eerie. Wow.
On Netflix live (or whatever you call the watch instantly thing) I saw “Dear Zachary: A Letter to A Son about his Father”. If you decide to watch this, do me a favor and don’t read ANYTHING about this film before you do. It’s a documentary, and the less you know about it going in the more shocked you are going to be about the events. It’s really really well done (although a bit heavy handed with the editing in two or three spots, minor stuff) and a monumental effort of love on the part of the filmmaker. I challenge you to watch it and to have a dry eye at the end. Go on, I dare ya.
Jay Leno: Glad he’s gone.
Conan O’Brien: Never watched him on any consistent basis.