what i'm up to...

reading... a painfully accurate account of academia and family

listening to... still as fresh today as it was 20 years ago. Bono looks so young!

watching ... the book, especially its ending, was better, but I still enjoyed it. It's a frothy little fairy tale, much in the vein of The Princess Bride, and I have to say, I enjoyed the addition of Robert De Niro's character. Much better than the BBC adaptation of Neverwhere.

tivoing... Go Sun! You smack that Juliet bitch around some more!

wanting... my preordered Battlestar Galactica Season 3 DVDs to arrive already! And for April 4 to come so I can watch season 4. I'm on a bit of a BSG kick here. Then again, when am I not?

Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup

Zack and I just watched Across the Universe, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. Zack did too, though maybe not as much as me. It's a musical love story set to Beatles songs during the Vietnam war movement. Lots of Beatles songs, and not much actual dialogue. Yes, it sounds cheesy, but it actually works. I would say that I would have liked to see this in the theater, as the visuals are stunning, but Zack and I kept singing along to the movie... it's pretty hard to resist doing so, and while our fellow movie patrons might appreciate the sentiment, they might not appreciate it being actualized. Purists may object to the films adulteration of the songs, but I found myself developing a new appreciation (if that's at all possible) for the construction of the songs. Paul's songs dominate, which is fitting since it's a love story and mostly balads are used, but the title and the ending belong to John. They threw George a couple bones, and well, there were a few more songs I can think of that could be used before they got to Ringo. I challenge anyone who ever liked a Beatles song to watch this without at least humming along.

Can you imagine the schwag possiblities?

Zack and I just saw The Darjeeling Limited, and even he admits that that the plot central luggage set specially designed by Marc Jacobs/Louis Vuitton for the film is an object of desire.

I'm a big Wes Anderson fan, but I felt underwhelmed by his last endeavor, The Life Aquatic, especially as a follow up to one of my favorite movies, The Royal Tenenbaums. Style without substance, we said, as we left the theater. The Darjeeling Limited is a return to form, a study on fractured familial relationships, especially between siblings (brothers), with an undercurrent of grief (their father died one year earlier). Like Rushmore, it's a boys' movie, but it's also a quest (like the Life Aquatic). The latest addition to Anderson's cast of characters, Adrien Brody, injects a certain melancholy vulnerability that was missing from The Life Aquatic. I hope he pops up in Anderson's movies again. And one can't help be feel a weirdly prescient (imagined or not) vibe in Owen Wilson's performance as the oldest brother who has recently survived a motorcycle accident that may have been on purpose. As usual, the mise en scene (including that luggage) and the soundtrack is impeccable.

Call it the Joss effect

Watched Children of Men, a tight, gritty view of the not too distant future. Zack and I liked it quite a bit; hoever, I have to admit that the Orson Wells purist in me was a little disappointed to learn that some of those single takes were actual cobbled together with CGI. But given all the stunts and effects involved, I'm willing to give Cuaron some leeway. The tracking shots are exquistely choreographed (not exactly "beautifully" - people's heads are getting blown off) and the mise en scene is visually stunning. The plot was provocative and Clive Owen, as usual, was mesmerizing to watch. But call me jaded... sometimes I can just smell what's going to happen to each character. Like if a major actor is cast in a movie, yet the trailers don't really feature said actor. Yep, that character's dead. Sometimes, the way a character is fleshed out telegraphs his or her fate. Oh yeah, he's going to make it, she's not, she is, he's not, etc., etc. Maybe I've been spoiled with too much Joss Whedon over the years, but I like a movie to surprise me with the the fate that's dealt to the characters. I totally did not see the deaths of (spoiler alert!): Doyle (Angel), Joyce (Buffy), Wash (Serenity), Fred (Angel) and the one that broke my heart the most, Tara (Buffy). Or maybe it was Joyce. Or Angel's... but he came back. Or Oz's (non dying) departure. Um, I digress. Anyways. Pan's Labyrinth surprised me. Not exactly in a good way, though. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but definitely not a kid's movie.

Le rat qui cuit!

Folks, if you've got TiVO, fire up the 9 minute Ratatouille preview. I have decided that I totally can't wait for this one! How you you resist a haute cuisine restaurant in Paris getting the Pixar/Brad Bird treatment? And I love how the shot of the one of the kitchen staff's legs displays those ubiquitous checkered black and white pants and Dansko clogs.