Complete Randomness

The day Alex was scheduled to return home she missed her flight. I love how the people who heard this wanted to know how that happened. It seems like the premise of epic tale of struggle and woe. And I guess it could have been if you think about the guy who recently died from playing is Xbox because that was what she was doing with her father two hours before her plane was scheduled to be in the air. In their defense, her father likes to point out that the airline moved the departure time up by 15 minutes.

Whatever the true cause,  she missed the last flight out of Small Town California so I was just going to have to wait to see my baby. I had to WAIT.  This waiting went on for DAYS. Ok - Hours. Many, many hours. As many hours as there are between 12 PM Saturday and 3 PM Sunday, which doesn't seem like many right now, but at the time, as the  minutes were amplified by my baby's absence and the thought that she would miss the next flight as well, it seemed like all of the hours that ever were, a collection of time so vast that I could have witnessed the Colorado River carve out the Grand Canyon, one layer of dirt at a time.

When she finally arrived home her eyes were glued to her new iTouch. Curse you Steve Jobs and all your fancy products and seductive marketing. I guess on the bright side of things she wasn't all that bothered when I left her a few days later to attend a gathering of Exploring Candidates. It was interesting and refreshing to meet other people who are heeding the call to ordained ministry. And the fact that the Candidates got to take the written portion of the psychological test assessment together made the three hour ordeal just a little bit easier because not so secretly everyone knows we're bat-shit-crazy. Why else would we be there?

As fun as that was - the best part of the weekend had to Sunday after noon when we went to see Smurfs. I'm not saying that you should rush to your nearest theater so see this one. Its cheesy ball and predictable and just plan dumb in parts, but as a person who was raised by Smurfs and Doogie Howser, M.D. it was an opportunity to relive the best parts of childhood for 90 minutes. The day they remake He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra Princese of Power my life will have come full circle.

"Oh, and one more thing..."

 This man. This wonderful man, Peter Falk, died yesterday afternoon. I just got off the phone with my sister. I had to call her as soon as I heard. Peter Falk and the characters his played, Sam Diamond in Murder by Death is one that jumps out at me, and of course, the role that will forever define his career, Colombo were a constent presence in my childhood. My mother loved to watch detective stores and Colombo was one of our favorites.

For years, he starred on TV as Lieutenant Columbo, the shabby detective whose apparent absentmindedness hid a razor-sharp brain.


He had this "awe shuks" way about him that always lulled his targets into believing they could pull the wool over his eye. The Lieutenant would arrive at the murder sceen in his old car and beat up trench coat, holding his smoldering cigar and simply ask, "What I don't understand is..." We always knew the case had been solved when we heard the words, "Oh, and one more thing..."

Peter had been ill for a number of years. My thoughts are with his close friends and family. I hope he is resting peacefully. There will be pulling out my copy of Murder by Death and heading to my sister's to watch the first three seasons of Colombo.

A True Classic

Since Alex was grounded on Monday (for reasons I won't detail) I have been celebrating the birthday week of Katharine Hepburn watching some of my favorite Hepburn classics.

At a time when women were seen as the weaker sex, she didn’t wear make-up or dresses, she didn’t cooperate with the media, and she had a habit of insulting other people in the business. She had red hair and freckles and a sharp cheekbone. But she was one of the best and most popular actresses of the twentieth century. She won four Academy Awards and was nominated for eight more. My favoriate films of hers include: Little Women (1933), Alice Adams (1935), Bringing Up Baby and Stage Door (1938), The Philidephia Story (1940), Women of the Year (1942), Adam's Rib (1949), The African Queen (1951), Pat and Mike (1952), Desk Set (1957), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1969).

She made a name for herself on Broadway in the role of an Amazon in The Warrior’s Husband. The role required her to come on stage by leaping down a flight of steep steps while carrying a stag on her shoulders, and a talent scout was so impressed by the feat that he offered her a movie deal. She starred with John Barrymore in A Bill of Divorcement (1932), and suddenly she went from making $80 a week to $1,500 a week. It took her just a year to win her first Oscar, for her role in Morning Glory (1933). After that, she handpicked each of her movies, a noted luxury in the golden age of Hollywood, and she often had a say in who the other actors in the movie would be. Sometimes she rewrote her own lines.
She said, "If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun."
And, "Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only with what you are expecting to give - which is everything. What you will receive in return varies. But it really has no connection with what you give. You give because you love and cannot help giving."
And, "If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased."



*References -  Me: Stories of My Life by Katherine Hepburn.
**Photo and date of films found at http://www.imdb.com/.

I turned on the radio this morning...

I turned on the radio this morning and learned that today is Star Wars Day. According to the online resource Wookieepedia, it is typically celebrated by sci-fi fans the world over with parties, movie marathons, Star Wars-themed toys, the occasional light-saber duel, and movie-quote exchanges on Twitter. You could also celebrate by reading one of the many Star Wars-related novels, playing a video game, or gazing at your collection of action figures in their original packaging. “It’s nice that this particular date seems to observe and celebrate the power of the Force, and we’re thrilled that Star Wars fans continue to find new ways to connect with a galaxy far, far away,” said a Lucas Films spokesperson.

Despite the fervor of some of its fans, Star Wars Day is not a religious holiday yet, although the Church of Jediism is lobbying hard. The City of Los Angeles prefers to celebrate Star Wars Day on May 25, the anniversary of the film’s release, but as for the rest of us ...

May the Fourth be with you.

Red Shoes Go With Everything

This fall I quiet haphazardly bought a pair of new red shoes at half off. I bought them not sure when of if I would ever wear them, but they were cute. Cute and half off. The longer I owned these particular shoes, I began to realize something magical. That red shoes go with everything.
I know that it is said that things can't make you happy and perhaps that saying is often true, but I draw the line at my red shoes. I am happier when I wear them. They bring an extra spark to any day, and I'm happy when I think about the fact that God made me the type of person who dares to own a pair of red slippers, Hans Christian Anderson's ghastly tale not with standing.

So it was that last night I slipped on my shoes to join the New Years count down with friends old and new. We ate too much food and had just the right amount of wine. We laughed and joked and pushed each other on to stay at the party until midnight. There is nothing quite like celebrating New Years in the middle of Bum-Fucked-Egypt. In the city they have things like laws that keep hooligans from shooting bottle rocks at each other in a misguided attempt at celebration. In BFE every one's a hooligan and there are no laws against setting off fireworks in your back yard, right next to that huge oak tree. The mayhem starts at midnight and we old battle axes drag ourselves out to the front porch in equal amazement and fright because even unsafe fireworks are magical and I'd rather be outside when the roof goes up in flames.

A lot happened in 2010. The Olympics and Jo at A Majority of Two introduced me to Vancouver, CA. And I feel head over heals for that beautiful city and the not a mascot Muk Muk. I also learned about vuvuzelas, cheered for Spain's World Cup win, and said fair well to Paul the Octopus.

This year I didn't listen to a lot of new music, or the new music I listened to all sounded the same, but I did see a lot of movies. I saw the Lisbeth Salander trilogy and loved it. The final Harry Potter, Part I was spot on. The Twilight movie I was sucked into seeing sucked more than I thought it would. Disney Animation's Tangled was good, but Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 3 was better. If we are talking best film I saw this year I would have to hand it to The King's Speech. Not because I just saw it or it stars the ever sexy Colin Firth, but because it was the first movie I left, having paid nearly $10 for and wanted to turn right around and pay another $10 to see it again.

In 2010 I discovered E.L. Koningsburg's wonderful stories and Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Finished reading Stieg Larrson's Lisbeth Salander Trilogy and finally read Harper Lee's magnum opus, To Kill a Mockingbird. My favorite non-fiction works include Neal Gabler's telling of Walt Disney's life story, Karen Armstrong's A Case for God and Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft.

I was laid off in October which was great because I had the chance to do some random things I normally would have passed on like visiting the Menial Collection and eating lunch in all kinds of trendy restaurants with my not so trendy friends. I found joy and courage in relaxation, art, journaling, prayer and loved every minute of being a stay at home mom. Still, if one is to buy red shoes, one must have an income so I was grateful to Elaine for retiring and to the people at the French oil company for hiring me on as her replacement. I finally responded to God's nudging and turned in my application for seminary and sat through necessary interviews with key Church people about pursuing a path towards ordination. That all sounds like I've worked out what I'm doing, but this is still just the preface. God is still preparing me for this journey. Ask me next January if we've reached the exposition.

So here we are. We lost a lot of good people in 2010, but you and I didn't die. Reason enough to celebrate. You and I go on. We dance our little dance and pursue the circuit of our dreams insofar as the hours of daylight permit. Love, courage, justice, faith, hope, charity. God bless you all.

From Novel to Movie

I have seen more movies this month than I have in the last year. With Disney releasing its 50th animated feature tomorrow that promises to be either to be the masterpiece that I've heard ramblings about or a the total dud that I've been dreading, I thought it wise to get the reviews of two more movies out of the way. No matter how it ends up, Tangled will deserve its own post.

Today's theme is book adaptations - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

Let's start with the later shall we? I don't have the same book to movie baggage with this one that I have with Harry Potter and that I had with the previous two Girl With A Dragon Tattoo movies, but to be fair I have rather liked the director's adaptations so far. Even though I came away from the second movie wondering if certain points would be lost a person who had not read the novel I felt the first two films translated the themes and character's of their respective books to the silver screen better than most I've seen.

However, the rapped pass in which these films have been released means that I had to see The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest before I had read the book. I know what you are thinking, that book has been out for almost a year, however its a rather popular book and as of this morning I am number 63 on the library hold list. I don't have much hope of getting my hands on the thing before New Years. So I have no Novel to Movie to compare here.

If you haven't read the books or seen the first two movies, you need to do your homework before going to the theater. This movie is the last in Stieg Larson's Millennium series and the whole story is amid at tying up loose ends. What unfolds is a fast past conspiracy story in which paranoia becomes the norm for anyone even indirectly associated with the central character Lisbeth Salander.

Lisbeth has the potential to be one of the great characters of the modern novel. Even in film as Noomi Rapace who plays Lisbeth in all three Swedish movies has come to embody this character. Pity poor Kate Mara, the young actress chosen to play Lisbeth in the coming Hollywood version of the saga. She will be compared to Rapace, who has captured just the right blend of psycho majesty and emotional cripple in the character.

We learn so much about Lisbeth throughout the course of the books and films, and yet I left the theater wishing I knew her better. Really, without giving too much of the story away that kind of sums up this movie for me. It made me want to read the book so I could find out what was left out. My friend assures me that was made it onto the screen was the mostly whole of Lisbeth's story, and if that is true, I am immensely saddened that Stieg Larson didn't live to write more.

Over all a great work of art. I'm not sure how it ends the series for me though. I give it a 3 out of 5, but I do think it is a must see - even if not in the theaters.

Harry Potter is a different animal. The first book came out in 1997 when I was a freshman in high school and needless to say, Jo Rowling's character's have been my old friends these past ten years. I was even willing to look past some of the bloated writing (what part of Goblet of Fire was worth 600 pages?). Conversely, the movies that started as rather unimpressive and shallow, and have become better and better with each installment (save Goblet of Fire).

Half-Blood Prince, among the worst of the books in my opinion, was turned into one of the best of the movies, thanks to excellent editing from being forced to condense the novel and the amazing direction of David Yates, giving the series the needed darker tone. Yates returns for Deathly Hallows, and while the first installment suffers from not being able to stand on its own, it has certainly left me excited for next July.

Without giving away spoilers, Deathly Hallows opens with warnings of the impending threat kicking off a more political aspect immediately gives the film a distinct feel that separates this one from previous installments. When the film eventually settles into the series of camping scenes, they are slightly less annoying than they were in the novel, and actually give the trio some much-needed character development. Its kind of sad that it took this long to actually get some real character injected into the movies, but at least it finally happened. Also worth noting is the facial hair worn by Radcliffe and Grint, officially making them no longer twelve.

Speaking of no longer twelve, please do not bring your young children to this movie. Harry Potter has grown up with its audience, and this film is the darkest yet. Yates has gone even darker than his take on Half Blood Prince, and the results are great. The film was given a PG-13 rating for a reason. I felt comfortable with my eleven year old seeing it, but I did worry for her friend's little brother who is six.

With the characters in the woods for so long though, the supporting cast is left rather useless unfortunately. Alan Rickman's Snape, one of the best parts of previous films, only has one scene near the beginning. However, some returning characters make the most of their limited time, notably Brandon Gleeson as Mad Eye Moody, Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange and Imelda Staunton as Delores Umbridge.

The biggest fault is its inability to stand on its own two feet. The film ends at the appropriate time for an intermission, but lacks the punch required of a proper ending. Deathly Hallows will be better reviewed once the film is complete. Fans of the novels should be pleased with the extended length, and fans of the films should at least enjoy the excellent visuals and astounding direction. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I is an extremely promising sign of what is to come.

I give it an overall 4 out of 5 with the potential of a 5 rating if the second part proves to be as good as I hope.

Mega Movie Weekend

This morning I am doing laundry and what a gift it was to have a whole weekend that was devoted to play and not chores. I hardly ever see movies in the theater but this weekend I took life by the horn and saw two very different, very well done movies.

The first was Dreamworks Animation's Megamind. I walked into the theater -3D glasses in hand - with great anticipation and apprehension. The previews looked great, the buzz from industry insiders was promising, but I had been lead astray before. Does anyone else remember the Monster vs. Aliens disaster? What had promised to be a spoof on the great B monster movies turned out to be a slightly less than funny pile of jumbled potty jokes and goo.

Today I am happy to report that I think Dreamworks is slowly learning its lesson. Megamind managed to have a story that made cliche gags and fart jokes unnecessary. They still tend to fill holes in their script with sound track and I think the villain Megamind is destined to defeat could have been more developed, but this outing is the best I've seen* from Dreamworks since Kung Fu Panda. I don't think the studio has surpassed the bar it set for itself with the spoof on the 1970s kung fu films. Still, I think Katzenburg and company are giving the Mouse and Lamp and solid run for their money in the story department.

That said, I agree with a review I read earlier on the Huffington Post. What Dreamworks has done by elevating the story is great, but I hope they continue to improve their overall animation skills. All the characters in Megamind had large foreheads and a plastic look about them. So bravo to the animators for thinking story first, and even throwing in some fun 3D gags that made wearing those stupid glasses almost worth it, they still have a ways to go if they are going to catch up with Disney or even the styling we saw in the background art of Kung Fu Panda.

Overall I give the movie a 4 out of 5 stars. I would encourage anyone to see it in the theater, and spring for the 3D the cheese ball gags are worth it in this one.
*It should be noted that I have not seen How to Train Your Dragon ...yet.

The second movie Alex and I saw the weekend, thanks to the movie passes I've been holding onto since May, was Secretariat. I have to be honest - I had no desire to see this movie. They've been advertising it on the Disney Channel and Alex wanted to see it and let's face it there isn't much on right now. Other useless observations - 1) I was shocked at how packed the theater was. How many weeks has this been out? 2) The crowd that goes to the movies on Saturday night is a lot better dressed than the afternoon crowd. 3) I guess Disney knows what its doing after all.

Yeah, when I first heard that Dick Cook gave the green light to another horse movie after the success of Seabiscuit I thought he was slightly insane. How many dark horse horse movies can a nation be expected to embrace? I guess we know that they can embrace at least two. (Full disclosure - I haven't seen, and don't care if I ever see Seabiscuit.)

All that back story and my own personal grinchness aside, I was delighted with Secretariat. It had a great story that was heartwarming but not in a gooey, overly cheese ball way. The photography was beautiful and though I was not surprised by the ending, the script did a good job of getting us there. My only issue was with the casting of John Malkovich as a French Canadian. Maybe he tried to have an accent and he discovered that it sucked, but really I found him entirely too distracting. While everyone else seemed to become their characters, I could never get away from thinking ... There is John Malkovich... why is he speaking bad French? ... oh yeah, he's suppose to be French Canadian...

Malkovich aside I liked the movie. I would give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars and would encourage anyone to see it when its available on Netflix.

This last weekend...

This last weekend I was blessed to be able to spend time with friends. This meant that I saw the third instalment of the Twilight film series. I haven't seen the first two, but I have be honest and say that the third film wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The fact that movies tell stories through pictures and not words made this one of the few times I came away thinking the movie was better than the book. As it turns out, if you take out all of Bella's pathetic inner monologue, the story isn't that bad. Its bad... its just bad in a way that made me giggle instead of roll my eyes and throw the book across the room. (Yes, when I was reading the fourth book, the book I was promised would make the torture of the first three books "worth it" I threw the thing across the room, twice. It was THAT bad. Awful, Awful, Awful! I still resent having been suckered into reading it. ARGGG. )

Sorry... okay, moving on...

On Saturday I had a real treat. I got to see the Houston Symphony perform Holt's master piece the Planets. It was an interesting mix of music and images that were a combination NASA and CGI. It was also an interesting mix of people. People who don't normally go to the symphony. People who were unsure of why we were applauding the concert master. People who clapped between movements. And the fun thing was? I was close enough to the stage that I could see the musicians faces when the audience exploded in a rock concert style yell of applause at the end. Holt's music is one that I played a lot of back in the day when my life was just one long orchestra rehearsal. Movements I and V, Mars and Jupiter, were crowd pleasers that conductors liked to through in at the end of a slow performance, just to get the crowd in the palm of their hands for the big finish. I have always had a soft spot for Neptune. Neptune is an odd planet in that its so far away, we didn't really know it was there until after planets had lost their god power. Neptune was discovered by science, not astrology. It doesn't have rings, a giant red spot or promise of aliens. Its just there. Its just blue with all of its strange weather patterns. And yet, Neptune, the Roman god of the sea the planet was named for and the Holt piece was written to capture, seems to fit the blue ball so very well.

Humans are used to conquering things. We cut down the forest and made open fields. We poured concrete over dirt so we could drive our cars around. We went to the moon and stuck a flag in her rock. We have not conquered the sea. To be out at sea in the middle of a storm is to surrender all control of your life to the force of wind and water. To look at Neptune and all her strange weather patterns is to admit that we have little answers to her inner workings. Mystery is the stuff of great life. When I surrender my want for certainty, my quest to conquer to the truth of mystery I find that life is experienced in a much richer way.


****A Youtube Clip of Holt's Neptune would go here if I wasn't writing this at work, but I am so... you have to got to Youtube on your own, but its worth it.******

The Valley of Mindlessness....

I feel as if my brain was fried in Florida. I'm suppose to be coming up with all kinds of intelligent things to say this Saturday when I lead art as prayer and so far, I have nothing. I'm stuck thinking about these pictures of people waiting 16 hours just to get into the Harry Potter themed LAND. Check out these photos via wdwmagic.com. This is not a line for a ride. This is a line to get into a section of the Universal Studios Island of Adventure Park. Once you get through this line you will get to walk around in shops, order something to drink, use the restroom... oh and get in line for one of three rides. Fun huh? I don't think I was ever more happy to NOT be in a theme park than when I saw these photos. And I thought our visit to Disney Hollywood Studios for the last day of Star Wars Weekend was insane. I know I love theme parks, and I honestly can't wait to see the new Harry Potter Land, but I also hate crowds. If you travel with me, you know I will do all things possible to avoid crowds.

Is there a way to parlay my anti-hot-sticky-crowd sentiment into actual productive thought? If you have any ideas I would love to hear them.

I can't even pull my mind away from this insane line thing long enough to write a proper review of Toy Story 3. I will say that Toy Story 3 is brilliant and amazing. A fine end to the series of stories that started fifteen years ago. Pixar, unlike any other studio just knows how to make quality films. I have heard Disneyites compare the completion of this trilogy to the first three Star Wars and on that count I say, no... its better. I have also heard them say that this trilogy is right up there with Lord of the Rings, and to that I say... you're insane. I'm sorry. I love me some Disney/Pixar, but I don't see how you can compare the depth of New Zealand photography and story of Lord of the Rings to Toy Story with a straight face. I just don't.

I will say that with the Lamp's release of this film, they have shown that it is possible to create a perfect trilogy of films about an original series of characters. Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 are of a quality that rises above the rest and also shows that it is possible to create a trilogy/series of films that don't loose story or artistic value in the all mighty quest to make the all mighty dollar.

Now, I'm not ready to say that the third Toy Story is better than the second (my favorite), but it is defiantly on par with the first. Its too early for me to wrap my head around it being better than the others, but it is the best movie I have seen so far this year, it deserves to be nominated for best picture (not just best animated), and I could deem it the best Toy Story movie after a few more viewings and the passage of time. Go see this one in theaters. The opening sequence alone is worth it. And just a tip, if you do stay until the end... make sure you bring your handkerchief, you'll need it.

Only in America...

I wasn't going to post anything today but then I read this: "Opening this weekend, the Hollywood remake of "Death at a Funeral" with Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, and Tracy Morgan"

WTF America? Why are we remaking a film that is not even 3 years old? Is there really such dearth of originality in Hollywood? - I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't ask such obvious questions.

No wonder the rest of the world thinks we are nothing but a bunch of morons. A remake of the perfect British folly that is Death at a Funeral?

If all of the resent floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions haven't made you at least ponder the end of times, the news of this abomination has to. Why do Americans feel the need to destroy everything? A huge part of what makes the original film hilarious is that its filled with British humor. I know that in this day and age we aren't suppose to generalize, but I don't think I'm over stepping when I make the observation that British humor is better than American comedy. British people know how to be subtle. They know how to address a ridiculous situation in an intelligent way with class and grace. In America everything is coarser and more obvious, aimed at a lowest-common-denominator. If British actors meticulously etch their performances, American comics scrawl theirs in crayon.

What made the first film funny – aside from an imaginative and jam-packed plot - was the contrast between the repressed British characters and the wildly inappropriate things they were forced to do. These characters were embarrassed at the mere idea of being embarrassed, which added a layer of humor that this version lacks. The British characters’ fear of being discovered and their horror at having to commit various acts seemed to multiply geometrically; the more outlandish the plot got, the more laughs there were.

I can't imagine the same would ring true in the American remake packed with over the top performances. The really depressing thing is, most people who see the new version will probably laugh. They will laugh and they will love it and they won't even know the original exists. As for me, you count me as one who will not be rushing to theaters this weekend. I will just sit in my little corner and morn the state of the world from my armchair.

*Oh, and the above poster is from the original. If you haven't seen it, I'll let you borrow my copy, or you can just add it to your Netflix cue.

Best of 2009

Best new song. Okay I don't have one. I have to admit that most of the NEW music I listen to is brought to me by Alex so my choices are limited by her tastes. Right now she is in love with Taylor Swift. Her songs are catchy and fun. Perfect for mother-daughter sing at the top of your lungs for no reason sessions, but I have to be honest. They all kind of blind into each other. I can't tell the difference between Stephen and Drew so I'll just say that in 2009 we danced and sang to Taylor Swift.

My favorite song of 2009 I will put as The Ugly Bug Ball by the Sherman Brothers and sung by Beryl Ives. I know its old and I didn't first hear it in 2009, but this was the year that I finally owned it on CD. I have always loved that song and now I can listen to it with out watching Summer Magic.

Favorite books: I have to start with Elizabeth McCracken’s heartbreaking but thoughtful An Exact Replica Of A Figment Of My Imagination. If you only read one book next year, read this one. The best spiritual/religious books I read this year were Richard Rohr's Things Hidden:Scripture as Spirituality and the one I just finished by Thomas Moore, Care of the Soul : A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life. I would be remiss if I didn't mention Eli Wiesel's two volume masterpiece All Rivers Run to the Sea: Memoirs and And the Sea Is Never Full: Memoirs, 1969-. Also, 2009 was the year I finally picked up a book by P.G. Wodehouse and it was love at first read. I love, love, love the British sense of humor. I have often heard various British artist I admire gush about how absolutely fabulous he is, and they were all utterly and completely correct. I am now resolved to read everything the man ever wrote. Oh and Meg Cabbot's Allie Finkle series has to be the best thing written for tween girls since Beverly Cleary pined the Romona series.

Now movies. I will add my disclaimer that I don't see adult movies in the theater. If I am going to pay the high price of admission I am going to take Alex and call me a stuck in the mud, but I don't take my child to see anything rated R. That said, my favorite movie this year was UP. It was absolutely wonderful. Not just for kids. I would argue that adults get way more out of it then the children do. As I just saw and reviewed Princess and the Frog, that one goes on this list too. Its not a master piece, but a solid mid-level Disney classic none the less. 2009 was a disappointing year for family film. There was a lot offered for families this year, but I'm sad to report that most of those movies sucked. Planet 51 was one of the better movies, but I think that is also because I payed $5 a ticket and didn't have to wear 3D glasses to see it. Can we STOP with the 3D already?

Movies I saw that probably didn't come out in 2009 were The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. All I can say without writing an entire post is WOW. Grand Torino was a movie I didn't expect to like, but did. Oh and I would remiss if I didn't mention Little Miss Sunshine. I reviewed it elsewhere on this blog, so I will just leave it at that. If you are looking for a good documentary, This Film Is Not Yet Rated is very entertaining and very educational. If you have ever seen a movie in the USA you need to see the film so you can fully appreciate the fact that everything is censored by a secret panel for your own good.

The Frog Reviewed

Actual conversation I had with Alex yesterday.

Me: Do you want to see The Blind Side?
Alex: No. Do you want to see The Chipmunks?
Me: No.
Alex: What?! You want to see The Blind Side, but not the Squeaquel?! What's wrong with you?!
Me: Yeah kid. I'm the insane one.

We saw The Princess and the Frog instead and I'm glad we did. Here's the thing: I was never, ever going to dislike The Princess and the Frog, just by dint of it being a new traditionally animated Disney film, but I am thrilled and relieved that it turned out as well as it did. It's not the second coming of The Little Mermaid (also directed by Ron Clements and John Musker), but it is nevertheless an engaging story told with bravado and full of enjoyable, well-crafted characters. Its musical numbers are entertaining. It has a surprising lack of awful comic relief. It is beautifully animated. It pays tribute to many great moments in Disney's past while breaking away from some of the most rock-ribbed traditions of that past. In short, it is a perfectly satisfying entry in the long history of Disney feature animation, one that will, in due course, join the ranks of the middle-tier classics.

Of course its not your typical princess movie. ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: it's the first of Disney's princess films - indeed, the first Disney animated feature, period - with an African-American protagonist. Two things I believe can be absolutely stated about this development,(1) the (white-male) executives, (white-male) directors, (mostly white-male, I'd wager) storymen thought that they were doing something really swell and progressive here, and (2) this was a decision at least partially driven by marketing concerns, because there was no black princess to hawk at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutiques.

Given Disney's inglorious track record on self-conscious political correctness (oh, Pocahontas) a lot of people were justly concerned about the delicacy with which the studio would handle this brave new world. When it was announced that the heroine was Maddie, a rich white girl's maid, there was, justifiably, a lot of hell raised. "Maddie" is much to close to "Mammy", and a maid has way to much historic baggage... So she was renamed Tiana, and made a waitress with aspirations to opening her own restaurant. From there the movie generally ignores the race question, save two nicely placed scenes. I think - and I'm a white female, just we're all clear - that for The Princess and the Frog to merely present a portrait of race and class in New Orleans in the 1920s, in a very passive and G-rated fashion, is the only way that it can still work as a drama. Message pictures tend to make for bad movies (Pocahontas). The movie could be more aggressive, but I don't think it could have been without destroying the story.

Moving on...

Tiana is an inordinately progressive depiction of female empowerment for Disney. Her goal is not to find and nab a prince, she wants to open a restaurant, having been given the cooking bug by her father, and that drives all her actions in the rest of the movie. Sure, she falls in love, because that is a generic convention, but she absolutely does not sacrifice her ultimate goal for her man (as we could argue that the other major progressive Disney heroine, Beauty and the Beast's Belle, tragically does) Instead, (because he isn't doing anything productive with his life), her prince helps her in realising her dreams. It's a bit miserable that in 2009, this should count as noteworthy, but Disney animation is ever prosaic in its gender representations.

Not to be left behind, Prince Naveen, shockingly, actually has a personality to speak of. Disney princes are noted above all for being blocks of wood, but he actually has a past and an attitude, and when you really take a good look at the story, he goes through much more of a transformative arc than Tiana does. By the way, what is his ethnic background???

Great. We have two heroins who aren't brain dead, but its really the villain, Dr. Facilier, that I would pick as the stand out character. Keith David's silky and wicked vocal performance is the best in the movie. The very concept of the character is delightful. His shadow is an animate, sentient object that can interact with other shadows, thus affecting those casting them. Facilier has a distinct X-factor, a creepiness that pushes right up to the edge of the G-rating. He's designed with a really fantastic color palette of purples and blacks (the natural colors of a Disney villain) and a lankiness that recalls a great villain like Jafar. Personal note: As the mother of a complete scaredy cat, I really appreciate the fact that the movie is at times spooky, but never terrifying.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out something else about the movie: it is chockablock full of big production numbers. I'm half-tempted to say that every song gets a big choreographed dance, but it's not true. Still, The Princess and the Frog probably has more such numbers than any other Disney film. And that's why I want to cry that the songs aren't better. (Can we fire Randy Newman already?) Oh, it's not that they aren't great in the film, they very much are. But compared to your Kiss the Girl, your Be Our Guest, they just don't have that much vitality as songs that you'd want to listen to for decades to come. Take Facilier's big statement of intent number, Friends on the Other Side. It works outstandingly well in the context of the movie: a roaring, dramatic number that gives us an instant idea of just how much this guy is bad news, like Poor Unfortunate Souls in The Little Mermaid. Great moment - sounds awesome, looks beautiful. By the time the end credits were rolling, I couldn't have hummed one bar of the song if you put a gun to my head. Outside of maybe the tremendously Newman-esque Down in New Orleans, the jazzy number that opens and closes the movie, none of these are toe-tappers.

Just two more points from the story that are departures from the traditional Disney formula. There's a character, who we like, who dies - who actually dies. I almost couldn't believe that the little guy didn't pop up all well and healthy, but the resolution to that death is exquisite and touching. There's also the tiny matter of the film's theme, which we might define as "When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true - as long as you put in plenty of work to help the star do its job".

Ay me, this film. It comes out of one of the longest, most difficult and richest traditions in American cinema. It suggests that despite all the proclamations over the years that, this time Disney animation is really dead, there's a whole lot of spark left in the magic. To hell with anyone who thinks that Disney is just playing the same old tricks. Why should they have to reinvent the wheel that has produced master pieces? This film has a lot of inside jokes, but there is a particularly great one near the end, one that hardly anybody who isn't a complete psycho for Disney films will get. It's a reference to the Firehouse Five Plus Two, a 1950s Dixieland jazz band made up of a handful of Disney animators. I kind of started crying when that joke popped up. Because it proved that somewhere, someone is still keeping the faith alive. For all they're hokey, musty stories and weird gender issues, the old Disney classics still work. It's like having a cup of tea and listening to classical music on the radio, sometimes you just want to have something comfortable, soft and inviting. That's Disney animation for me. The Princess and the Frog, with its sometime imperfections, is going to be one of the ones I come back to. Sometimes you can just tell when you meet an old friend for the first time.

Welcome Back...

Walt Disney Animation Studio's new hand drawn feature film opens in theaters today.

I would tell you that you HAVE to go see it this weekend, but since I probably won't be going to the movies either I will just say... GO SEE IT IN THEATERS.

Honestly, the future of hand drawn animation as a valued story telling medium rests in your hands. If Princess and the Frog delivers acceptable profits there will be a future for artists in the mainstream film industry. If the Frog's ticket sales lag, this could be the last film of its kind.

New Harry Potter Movie

I actually saw this the weekend it came out. All the credits are saying that this is the best Harry Potter to date. I would revise that and say that this is the movie shows the best performances the young stars have given to date. It wasn't my favorite movie in the series, but it also wasn't my favorite book so I don't know that you can really blame that on the director or script writer. Its an odd part in the story. The transition from the exposition to the climax. Its hard to make that stand on its own on film or in print.

I'm not one who goes to movies and expects to see the book I read on the screen. For one, no two people read the same book. The best part to me, might be droll to you. Still, when you have experienced both stories its hard not to make comparisons.

Over all I think the director David Yates and the script writer (whoever s/he is/are) did a great job of squeezing in the volumes of information that are necessary for the audience to have if the ending of the final film is going to make any sense to them at all. This is a giant feet. Not only because they are dealing with an over 600 page book, but also because so much of the story was left out of the previous movies. I will also give them props for how they developed the relationship between Ginny and Harry. One that score I think they did a better job than Rowling. Unfortunately, if I am going to be picky, I think they could have done a lot better job with Ron and Hormine. In the books, this relationship has been obvious since Harmonie dated Victor Krum in book 4. Unfortunately, we don't have the full advantage of this back story so to people who have only ever seen the films it was rather random and forced and I would have to agree.

Now for my major complaint. And this is the thing that killed the movie for me. As I said, there was a lot to get through in this one. It was long. There were a lot of long conversations that contained mountains of information. It all felt like it was leading up to something. Something big. We felt the anticipation building. Perhaps I felt it more because I thought I knew what was coming. In any event, the ending didn't end like most movies end with a big explosive climax. The ending was more like watching all the air slowly leak out of a balloon. There was no battle for Hogwarts. Harry and Dumbledor come back to the school. Dumbledor is rather weakly confronted by Draco. He is killed by Snape. Draco and Snape run out of Hogwarts with a hand full of other Death Eaters. As they leave, one of them rather lamely (and randomly) set Hargid's hut on fire and all the students are seen standing rather stupidly around Dumbledor's body. The next thing you know, everyone is heading home. The End.

Like I said, I'm not one who thinks EVERYTHING in the book has to be in the movie, but to NOT have the battle? That was a very pivotal moment in the story. Not to mention it offered what this film completely lacked, a good ending. So no, for me this was not the best Harry Potter movie so far. I rank it third. Right after Order of the Phoenix and Prisoner of Azkaban.

Mice, Pie and Little Miss Sunshine

Three things happened this weekend. Alex earned enough money to buy her mice. I wasn't mentally prepared for that yet so we compromised and I took to to the store to by the cage and bedding.

Like I said before, I have had mice before so I had an idea of what I wanted. Alex has been dreaming of mice for months so she had ideas of her own. The "Princess keeper". A pink cage with a crown shaped feeding bowl. Cute. But when I opened the box and examined it, I decided that the cage might hold a hamster, but the bars were too far apart for a mouse. (Snowball (may she rest in peace) taught me that very valuable lesson). We did find a pink cage that I approved of and they even had matching pink bedding. I tried to talk Alex into the more economical kind, but she refused. Its her money so I let it go. I think wants she realizes how much of her allowance is going to line the bottom of that cage, she will change her tune.

Then Alex spent the night with her Aunt, 2 cousins and Great Grandmother so I was left with a night to myself. What did I do with my free time? I channel surfed and got to watch Little Miss Sunshine for the first time. Honestly, I don't have an explanation for not seeing it sooner. The year it came out I went with my friend to pick up a VW bus in California and drive it back to Texas. Number one comment from people who found out about the trip, "HAVE YOU SEEN LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE?" Also, both of my sisters have told me repeatedly that the little girl in the movie was me. And its true. If you ever want to know what I was like when I was little, watch this movie. Even her wardrobe looked like it was plucked out of my childhood. I had red cowboy boots that I wore every where. When we were young, and my dad played a lot of tennis, I would always cover my arms with his sweat bands. Even the dinosaur shirt looked exactly like the one that was my most favorite shirt in the world.But mine was blue. The other thing that stood out to me was how much the dad in that movie reminded me of my dad. Specifically, that scene where they are in the dinner and he is telling the little girl that eating ice cream will only make her a fat loser and he has no idea that the other people at the table are glaring at him ... that is my dad. And that is my family dealing with all the jerky insulting things that just seem to spew out of his mouth. He is always mystified by the fact that he is so misunderstood. He truly doesn't get why no one wants to hear him speak. Poor guy. Anyway, it was a great movie. I will have to watch it again when its not on TV, the cuss words aren't bleeped and its not interrupted by commercial breaks.

And the pie. Well. I made two. No actually four pies. I asked my dad what kind of cake he wanted me to bake him for Father's day. His reply "Chocolate Meringue Pie." (See what I mean about the jerky things just spewing from his mouth?) Could he not pick a harder thing? No problem. I put out an SOS out to the only two people I know who could possible have ever even attempted to make a pie. One told me to buy one, (which, in retrospect was very sage advise) and the other said, "It's easy". I didn't believe the easy bit, but I was persuaded to believe that, with a lot of guidance, it might be doable. I wasn't looking for perfectly formed peeks. I just wanted a pie with chocolate and a white something that at least tasted meringuish. I ended up with two disasters and two mushy messes.

I blame my sister Anna. I went to her house to make it because she was given a top of the line standing mixer as a wedding gift (one that they don't ever use). She distracted me with all her "help". All her talking made me laugh too much and I lost my concentration. Also I was so worried about the meringue, that I didn't worry about the filling. The filling, I knew would be easy. It wasn't. Armed with "Mema's receipt" (not my grandmother's my brother-in-law's) I started to make the pie. Crust, no problem. Looked beautiful. Filling, well lets just say that there is a distinct difference between adding egg whites and adding yokes and you need to be paying attention. If you add whites you will have an Alex in the kitchen telling you your hot chocolate smells good. You can't just pick out egg whites. First go-round botched, we set out to try again. The second time was much better. The filling looked like filling, although I should have cooked it a bit longer than I did, it tasted good and looked like a pie. Time for the meringue. There are a lot of tips that I could have, should have utilized at this stage, but after 5 hours of baking (and three trips to the store), I was ready to be done. We rushed and botched the job. The meringue tasted good, but it didn't set right. I know why. We stopped and started the mixing process which I am afraid ruined any chance of peeks we might have had. Sill, it was a pie and it tasted good. I know that I can do better. So I will make another one soon. Too soon for my families own comfort.

UP! ....

... has landed. I know I am probably bias, but I loved it. Right now it ranks as my second favorite Pixar movie after Wall-E.

These guys seem to take the strangest ideas that anyone else would turn into a flaming ball of mediocrity and create a jewel of entertainment. At this point, you should be well versed in the film's storyline. An old man ties thousands of helium balloons to his house and floats off into the stratosphere. He is accompanied on this adventure by a young boy scout that accidentally stows away on his front porch. Together, they get into all kinds of crazy mishaps.

As with all films produced under the Pixar banner, director Peter Doctor (Monster's, Inc.) has filled his story with great, approachable characters that you feel for. I was surprised at the emotional depth the film packs. There is a clear and definite reason why this old man has decided to float his house into the heavens, and its rendered in a deeply touching ten minutes that just might break your heart. Still, the Pixar Humor is intact.

Now if you'll excuse me... I have some adventuring to do.

Two Steps Closer...

Disney has now released the first official movie poster for their newest hand drawn animated film The Princess and the Frog. And the new trailer can be seen here. Am I the only one with goosebumps? I just hope this movie is half as awesome as the rummors say it is...

My Movie Reviews...

I have seen a lot of good movies recently. This doesn't happen often, so when it does I like to brag. Also, I am aware at how my view of good entertainment has changed over the years. I find the shift to be interesting.

These are posted in the order that I saw them. I am using a rating system of 1-5 (5 being best). I will take the market audience into account into my ratings as well as type of film. In other words, An action film staring The Rock will not loose points for being shallow, but a cartoon marketed to children, but made for adults just might loose some. All right.. here goes...


This Film Is Not Yet Rated is a documentary originally released in 2006 about the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the anonymous ratings board that rates all movies hoping to be shown in theaters in the United States. I found this on the Independent Film Channel while I was flipping one night. (See why I don't want to give up cable!?!) So what is the big deal? The director Kirby Dick and other film makers interviewed in the movie, contend that the ratings board is tantamount to censorship. This is especially true when it comes to sexual content and that fine line between being rated "R" and "NC-17". Most movie theaters will not show "NC-17" movies on a good day, and hardly any would show one when produced by independents and not major studios. The problem really is that there are no clear guidelines. No way for these film makers to know what is acceptable and what is not. The board members just kind of make it up as they go a long on a case by case bases. So where is the line in the sand? What is okay and who are these people who are deciding these things for us? I think Kirby Dick does a really good job of laying out a very complicated situation in very real, easy to define terms that we can all understand. The interviews of directors telling their personal experiences are epically compelling. If you have any vested interest in the movie industry, and most of us do... I would mark this as a must see... so for that I give this one a 5. (Contains sexually graphic material. I would not personally recommended it for anyone under the age of 14).



Race to Witch Mountain may sound familiar. It is a remake of the 1970s movie Escape to Witch Mountain. To be honest, when I heard they were redoing this one, I was excited. I grew up on the old Escape movie and while it had a good story to tell, like most movies of its time, it suffered from lack of editing. This new one is definitely more fast passed. It moves fast and features lost of explosions. Dwayne Johnson (the Rock) gives a surprisingly good performance. He does great action scenes of course, but he also knows how to deliver a funny line. All and all, I liked the cast. The kids were good, even though I wish they had been given more to do. The girl still has her telepathic powers and the boy can still move through objects, even stops a speeding semi truck bare handed, but they aren't always the ones saving the day. Johnson does a lot of that himself. Garry Marshall had a great cameo as a UFO buff that revels the secrete government bunker "Witch Mountain". Again, I think they lost the opportunity to have some really great scenes if he had been given more to do. Over all I give this one sold 4. Disney has rediscovered the family sci-fi action film that you can take your kids to see with out having to cover their eyes. Its fast passed and fun. I would definitely see this one again.



Monsters vs. Aliens landed in theaters with a lot of hype to live up to. It has been described as a the Sci-Fi B movies version of Kong Fu Panda... I beg to differ. I was really excited when I saw the previews for this one and I went to see it opening weekend. I was expecting AWESOMENESS that never came. If I were going to compare this one to other Dreamworks animation movies I would say it walks the line closer to Shrek in that it has a story, but not an exceptional one. It will appeal to adults as well as kids but for all the wrong reasons. Once again Dreamworks is relied on an adult story line with adult humor to apologize for the fact that their movie was animated. Hello... you can make a movie that appeals to both audiences without having to compromise story! I thought that lesson had finally been learned with Kong Fu Panda, but I guess not. If you want to have adult humor in a Sci Fi movie, I'm all for it, but don't market it to kids. Aside from my personal issues with some of the content, I would argue that they didn't have a good story at all. I think it would have been better, funnier if they have concentrated more on Dr. Cockroach and exploited their casting of the comedic genius Huge Laurie for all he is worth (and I'm not just saying that because I adore him). My sister said she liked the movie because it had a moral. Sorry, I didn't see it. I didn't like the heroine, Susan (aka Ginormica) at all. I have had my fill of desperate women in retarded relationships that are clearly all about the man's ego. I much preferred Po figuring out that "There is no secret ingredient. Its been in you the whole time" to Susan FINALLY figuring out that her fiance is an egotistical asshole. For this reason I give the film a 2 1/2. Not the worst thing I have ever seen, but I am not going back and I will not buy it when it comes out on DVD.

Sorcerer's Apperintace? Really?

The internet is a buzz with these new photos of Jerry Bruckheimer's production featuring Nic Cage as the Sorcerer in Disney's new live action adaptation of the poem by Goethe. The same poem Walt based the famous sequence in Fantasia on. You know, the one with Mickey Mouse in his sorcerer's hat.

I know it's not just me. Almost everything I have read on this is commenting on how stupid Cage looks and what a dumb idea this is. Honestly WDC, not everything needs to be "re-imagined".

So is Cage a strung out character from the Matrix or a homeless Van Helsing? Was there something in the original poem about the Sorcerer that has been missed all these years? Is there a darker part of the Goethe poem that Walt left out of his original take?

I wasn't sure so I googled it and found this 1955 translation done by Edwin Zeydel.

That old sorcerer has vanished

And for once has gone away!

Spirits called by him, now banished,

My commands shall soon obey.

Every step and saying

That he used, I know,

And with sprites obeying

My arts I will show.

Flow, flow onward

Stretches many

Spare not any

Water rushing,

Ever streaming fully downward

Toward the pool in current gushing.

Come, old broomstick, you are needed,

Take these rags and wrap them round you!

Long my orders you have heeded,

By my wishes now I've bound you.

Have two legs and stand,

And a head for you.

Run, and in your hand

Hold a bucket too.

Flow, flow onward

Stretches many,

Spare not any

Water rushing,

Ever streaming fully downward

Toward the pool in current gushing.

See him, toward the shore he's racing

There, he's at the stream already,

Back like lightning he is chasing,

Pouring water fast and steady.

Once again he hastens!

How the water spills,

How the water basins

Brimming full he fills!

Stop now, hear me!

Ample measure

Of your treasure

We have gotten!

Ah, I see it, dear me, dear me.
Master's word I have forgotten!

Ah, the word with which the master

Makes the broom a broom once more!

Ah, he runs and fetches faster!

Be a broomstick as before!

Ever new the torrents

That by him are fed,

Ah, a hundred currents

Pour upon my head!

No, no longer

Can I please him,

I will seize him!

That is spiteful!

My misgivings grow the stronger.

What a mien, his eyes how frightful!

Brood of hell, you're not a mortal!

Shall the entire house go under?

Over threshold over portal

Streams of water rush and thunder.

Broom accurst and mean,

Who will have his will,

Stick that you have been,

Once again stand still!

Can I never,

Broom, appease you?

I will seize you,

Hold and whack you,

And your ancient wood I'll sever,

With a whetted axe I'll crack you.

He returns, more water dragging!

Now I'll throw myself upon you!

Soon, 0 goblin, you'll be sagging.

Crash! The sharp axe has undone you.

What a good blow, truly!

There, he's split, I see.

Hope now rises newly,

And my breathing's free.

Woe betide me!

Both halves scurry

In a hurry,

Rise like towers

There beside me.

Help me, help, eternal powers!

Off they run, till wet and wetter

Hall and steps immersed are Iying.

What a flood that naught can fetter!

Lord and master, hear me crying! -

Ah, he comes excited.

Sir, my need is sore.

Spirits that I've cited

My commands ignore.

"To the lonely Corner, broom!

Hear your doom.

As a spirit

When he wills, your master only

Calls you, then 'tis time to hear it."

WTF Bruckheimer? If the essence of this poem has already been captured in an iconic masterpiece by one of the greatest movie makers off all time why not, just this once, leave well enough alone?

Lost in Jane Austen

I stumbled on something this weekend. A mini-series called Lost in Jane Austen . Four one hour episodes were played over Sunday and Monday night on the Ovation Network.

Ovation isn't a network that I have watched a lot. In fact, I didn't even notice it until this weekend when I stumbled across and three part documentary recounting Andy Warhol's factory days. This played to my adolescent fascination with the avaunt guard of the 60s and 70s. I didn't learn anything new, but it was interesting to see some of the people I had previously only read about. Interesting because it is always fun to put a face to a name. Also, it was striking how there were two distinct types of people. Those who loved their days spent at the factory and looked back at it with a sense of nostalgia and the perspective time. Then those who who were clearly enthralled with the whole idea of the factory lifestyle and who still, even with the passage of time had not quite moved on. Like the cheerleaders and jocks who show up at the 20th high school reunion trying to re-live their glory days.

Anyway. Lost in Jane Austen. A whole new take on Austen's most famous novel Pride and Prejudice. I have to admit, when I saw the advertisements for this I rolled my eyes. So much has been produced in recent years to capitalize on Austen's stories. Everything from books about people who love Austen to books that imagine the next chapter in the lives of many of the characters. People wonder if Elizabeth and Darcy really did live happily ever after. Did Lydia ever woke up and realize what a twit she had been? There is even a series of mystery novels that cast Elizabeth and Darcy as detectives. Gross.

Still, my natural curiosity forced me to sit in on this train wreck. But it wasn't a train wreck. It was actually wonderful! I think its success as a story comes from the fact that it isn't trying to pretend to be Austen. In fact, the whole point is that its messing it all up.

The adventure starts when Amanda (what a horribly un-Austen name) who has read Pride and Prejudice so many times she has memorized its pages, walks into her bathroom only to find Elizabeth Bennet staring at her. There is portal you see, that connects her shower to Longbourn (the Bennet's home) and Elizabeth has walked through it. Amanda is not quite sure of the whole thing, but takes the chance to see what it is like to be a part of the book. And who among us wouldn't? Who hasn't day dreamed of being a part of their favorite book? Who wouldn't want to meet Mr. Darcy and walk the grounds of Pemberley?

The problem of course, if you haven't caught it already, is that Elizabeth is no longer in the story. She has gone to be a part of the 21st century and left Amanda shivering in her place. Without Elizabeth, how can the story possible turn out as it should? Well, of course it doesn't. All sorts of horrible twists and turns occur that would seem imposable to imagine in the original, but given the events of this story seem all too natural. What makes all of this calamity acceptable? The thing that drags us along with it, not kicking and screaming but dying to see the next turn, is Amanda. She is just as upset as we are. The story is all messed up and she knows it. Hates it. Wants to set it all right somehow. Amazingly I found that I was with her every step of the way. When it was over I was dying for more.

Given how great of a story this whole thing was I went to Amazon, because I new that something this wonderful must of have come from a book. But no, it is straight from scriptwriter, Guy Andrews' head. From google I also learned that they are trying to turn it into a motion picture. I wish Andrews would turn it into a novel and really explore some of the new and bizarre plot twists.

Either way I know I will be enjoying it soon. It comes out in American DVD format on April 13 and I have already pre-ordered my copy. Now.. . popcorn anyone?