Yeah, I’ve been doing a lot of watching. Reading will pick up a bit once the semester winds down!

I’m not sure I’m going to hit everything I’ve watched recently. I’ll encourage Rand to refresh my memory if necessary!

On DVD

Stranger than Fiction…it got tepid reviews, but I have to say that I rather enjoyed it. The story was clever, it was told well, it had a satisfying ending, and Maggie Gyllenhall was adorable.

The Passion of the Christ…I told Rand I’d watch it if he’d skip the Jesus beatings for me. He’d seen it when it came out, I hadn’t. It was very, very Catholic. Many images were exact replicas of the Stations of the Cross that you see hanging on the walls of Catholic churches, except the movie images were bloodier. There were moments worth seeing, but I still thought it was mostly gratuitous and not really necessary. Give me Jesus Christ Superstar any day.

Shaun of the Dead…I loved this movie! I loved the way it played with your expectations. I loved that it was both genuinely funny and genuinely scary. I loved the way Shaun went from being a hapless loser to being a hero. Yeah, there were a couple of moments when I had to turn my head, but overall, I just adored it.

Let’s Go to Prison…I wouldn’t have seen this if hadn’t been made by Bob Odenkirk, who I know is funny. I enjoyed it. It was subversive and subtle and indeed very funny. Will Arnett was pretty much Will Arnett, but he does it well.

At the movies

Grindhouse…Actually went to the theater! I really enjoyed the first feature, Planet Terror, which was directed by Robert Rodriguez. It was great fun. It starred Freddy Rodriguez and Naveen Andrews (yum!) for one, and Robert Rodriguez really kept his sense of humor about him. I’d watch this movie again. The fake trailers were hilarious.

And then there was Death Proof. Sigh. I’m not a Quentin Tarentino fan to begin with, but I think he’s become more insufferable, if that’s possible. His movie was deadly serious, and not really all that good. I was bored. I was bored during a dramatic car chase that had a girl clinging to the hood of one of the cars. Tarentino’s dialogue wasn’t even very good. It was tedious and pointless. It wasn’t clever. It wasn’t funny. He’s obviously in love with the sound of his words. I’m not.

On TV

Ooh, these last few episodes of Lost have been fantastic. I’m completely riveted! I’m back into waiting on the edge of my seat to see what happens next.

Rand and I have watched all 6 episodes of Andy Barker, PI and found it quite fun. I knew, though, not to get attached. It’s already gone buh-bye.

Looking forward

New Heroes next week. Yay!

Saw a trailer for 1408. Stephen King + John Cusack = GOLD! 🙂 Well, that is if they don’t screw it up. And given that neither William Goldman (Misery) nor Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) is involved, well, the odds are pretty good that it’ll be screwed up. But I’m in anyway.

Hot Fuzz, from the same guys who brought us Shaun, also looks promising.