I Do Not Wear Prada

But apparently the devil does. So I'm watching The Devil Wears Prada now. I'll cut it off in a little bit to watch the PBS special for Paul Simon that Mr. Tony went to. Stanley Tucci's character is one I like.

The mighty Cubs have won six games in a row and are a game under .500 right now. They've really heated up coming into the stretch before the All Star Game. A couple of LSU players have been playing rather well, Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot. Fontenot went 5-for-5 the other day.

A couple of weekends ago I saw a two movies in the theater: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Day Watch. The first wasn't very good, but it had its moments. I liked the Surfer. This may be the picky geek side of me coming out, but am I really supposed to believe that an elastic man, invisible force-field woman, flying fire-man, and strong rock-guy can beat THE Silver Surfer? Come on. He's the Herald of Galactus. He wields the power cosmic. He's way too powerful for them to take down. Ach.

Day Watch was much better. I thought the events that took place were more interesting than what happened in the Night Watch, though that was pretty good too. I'd never heard of Zhanna Friske before, but then I don't pay much attention to Russian pop music.

On the Netflix end of things, I watched Run, Lola, Run (Lola Rennt, auf Deutsch). I thought the boyfriend was annoying. The flash parts where they showed the different futures for various characters was a neat idea. A friend from C&A really liked it. I'm a bit on the fence.

Flags of Our Fathers, I was a little disappointed in . Didn't see all that much to get excited about. I think the story is a good one, but I just wasn't feeling it (I sound like Randy Jackson). I prefer Letters From Iwo Jima.

And Ghost Rider, which was awful. Bad story, terrible acting, horrible ending, bleh. I thought it looked good the first time I saw a preview for it in the theater, but it was all downhill after that.

I was in a meeting today where we were given the option of telling our favorite movie quote. I said "the entire opening speech from Patton, which isn't really a quote, and "Among women I pass for one, Your Grace", from A Man For All Seasons. It's really the context and how it's delivered that make it so great.

Thomas More made sure that his daughter Margaret received an education the equal of any man, better than most. When Henry VIII pays a visit to More's estate, he is introduced to Margaret. They have the following exchange:

"Why Margaret, they told me you were a scholar."
"Among women I pass for one, Your Grace."

That's great. Social context, wit, humility, pride, all wrapped up in just a few words. Love it.

One more note before I go: Transformers comes out on July fourth. I don't expect it to be a very good movie. But I have to go see it. This was it when I came home from school. Bought the toys. Saw the animated movie in the theater. Pretended to be Optimus Prime. So I'll pack myself into a seat and watch with glee. However, a world where Megatron doesn't have a giant fusion cannon attached to his arm isn't a world in which I want to live.

Restarting Netflix

I watched Curse of the Golden Flower, which was pretty good. Not as much action and fighting as I'd thought, but a really good story, good acting, and what action there was was very well done. Lots of great visual scenes. And the ending after the great climactic battle--ah, it was good.

I finished watching Little Miss Sunshine last night, which everybody and his brother seemed to gush about. It's good and funny. I wanted to bash Greg Kinnear's face in the first half of the movie, but came around on him the second half. Liked the kid who didn't talk, thought the country's preeminent Proust scholar was good, thought the grandfather was a little annoying (but Alan Arkin won an Oscar for playing him), and thought Toni Colette's character was a pretty good one. I know everybody loved the little girl, but other than being cute, I was a little indifferent to her. Sure, she drove the story, but I'm not as smitten with her as lots of other people seem to be. The little girl playing her was good, though. Don't know if I'd fawn over her the way others did, but that's okay.

The Queen

Before I get to The Queen, I saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End over the weekend. I thought it was pretty good, better than the second and probably as good as the first. I'd heard people talking about how long it was and I knew it was supposed to be around 2:40 or so, but it moved pretty quickly. Lots of fun all around, I thought.

I'm about in the middle of The Queen, and I'm really enjoying it a lot. Too bad there's something wrong with the DVD. Here's my notes so far:

They call hunting "stalking".

Prince Philip comes off as a sort of bartardish character. Sometimes I like him, sometimes I don't.

Tony Blair appears nervous and unsure of himself when around the queen, but comes off pretty good. He seems like he really wants to help Her Majesty.

Cherie Blair: I'm sure she's a nice lady in real life, but she comes off as a bit bitchy in the movie. Doesn't like the Queen, takes every opportunity to pick and prod and jibe at her, and mocks her husband whenever he expresses any sympathy for her.

The Queen Mum is funny, fun, and likable.

The Queen's secretary, Robin Janvrin, is a great character. He has to balance between serving the queen and advising her in her dealings with the public. His speech, his mannerisms, the way he carries himself--I think it's all great.

Prince Charles: I think he comes off better than everyone else in the movie, with the exception maybe of Herself. I wrote down "sensitive, emotional, vulnerable, sympathetic." He realizes that the public's reaction over Diana's death isn't going to subside and knows that the royal family has to treat her memory with respect. Post-divorce, he seems to hold a higher opinion of Diana than his parents do.

The Queen is the Queen. I don't know how to describe her. Helen Mirren is great and won the Oscar for Best Actress.

This is a really good movie. No really tough, unwatchable parts that make me pause it in the middle. I like it.

Garcon! Oh Garcon!

Uh, I mean Waitress! It was pretty good. Funny. Sometimes sad. Sometimes angry. Andy Griffith is fun. Keri Russell is good as the centerpiece. Her supporting cast does their jobs well. I'd go see it again.

I've discovered a treasure trove of youtube clips of Broadway musicals. Well, I say "Broadway"... The twist is that they're not in English.

Click here to see "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables in Japanese.

Click here to see "On My Own".

and here to see an absolutely fantastic rendition of "All I Ask of You" from Phantom of the Opera in Korean. The song works well in Korean and the signers are excellent. (Edit: I see it has been removed for the ever-popular "terms of use violation". Sigh)

Lou Piniella got suspended for four games for kicking dirt on (and making contact with) an umpire. We went 3-1 with him out. I was wondering if management was going to ask him to stay suspended a while longer, like maybe till we got back to .500. But he came back today, and the Cubs beat the Braves 2-1, so maybe that's okay. Four out of five since losing about six in a row. They're getting Felix Pie in the lineup some more, Soriano moved back to left where he belongs (as far as the outfield is concerned, anyway), and punching Michael Barrett seems to have settled Carlos Zambrano down a little bit. Hang in there, boys.