The Grand -- If you cut me, I would shine. - the conversation i was having in my head

14 cents

I love Charity's idea for two-cent reviews, so here are a few of the things I've been watching/reading lately. As Joie said the other day, sometimes I live a life of entertainment:

Veronica Mars: I had heard about the series and finally picked it up from Netflix. I got so caught up that I bought the series, and Jason and I just finished watching it again. It was just as good the second time through. I love the overarching mystery, the great writing and acting, and the general tone and pace of this smart, funny, charming show. At the risk of sounding like a marketing soundbyte, it really is far more than your average teen drama. I'd put it up there with Firefly (but maybe not quite Freaks and Geeks) for characters that I care about and just love, even when I don't particularly like them. I'd recommend this show to just about anyone. Pick it up; you won't be sorry. (The second season comes out on DVD August 22; I'll be preordering.)

Superman Returns: I thought the trailers looked amazing, but I had read a couple of lukewarm reviews, so my expectations were pretty low. I was entertained, certainly, but overall I thought the movie was lacking any tension or heart. It wasn't a bad movie by a long shot, nor did I think it was a waste of time at all. It just didn't do anything for me; I left the theater emotionally unchanged, which is actually quite rare. My main criticism is that the movie relied too much on the viewer's knowledge of Superman's story; you would have had to have known, for example, that Superman and Lois Lane were supposed to be in love and that Superman and Lex Luthor were supposed to be archenemies. The movie on its own does not build those tensions, and in my opinion it falls fairly flat. I would recommend it, but it's not amazing. (Jason has written a few thoughts about the movie as well.)

Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest: I was thouroughly entertained by Pirates. What I loved about the movie is that it never takes itself too seriously, and it really works. Several times I thought it was going to cross into the gross and/or creepy (and I have a pretty low tolerance for gross), but it was light and engaging the whole time. I would have liked to brush up on Pirates of the Carribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl before seeing this one because I found I had forgotten many of the characters. The movie did a good job of standing on its own; I just think some of the funnies might have been funnier had the plot of the first one been fresher in my mind.

Cats: Brook, Joie, and Zach went at 6:30 to enjoy a picnic dinner and save seats at this year's Pinewood Bowl production. Rebecca and I strolled in at 7:45. Nice. I'd never seen Cats, and Rebecca warned me on the way in not to feel pressure to like the show but to enjoy the music and the dancing. And that's exactly what I did. I was incredibly uncomfortable to find the performers wandering through the crowd before the show started--oh how I hate interacting with people in costume, especially if they're also in character! All was fine until the trippy song in the second act with smoke machines and Chinese takeout boxes. I'm fairly certain ALW was on crack when he wrote it, and if I ever had a chance, I lost all hope of ever figuring out what the musical was all about. Overall, I'd say it was an excellent, excellent performance but the show itself was not my favorite, and I won't be seeing it again (on purpose at least).

Cars: We've seen Cars twice (the second time because at his company picnic at The Grand--theater, not our house--Jason just couldn't bring himself to see Click). It's enjoyable. Not Pixar's best but definitely worthwhile. It takes a fair amount of suspension of reality to enter a world where every character is a vehicle, down to the flies that are teeny, tiny Volkswagon Bugs (get it?). The story is utterly predictable, but who cares? It's funny. You'll like it. Also, if you can, see it at a matinee full of kids; I know it sounds like a nightmare, but they laugh (hard) in all the right places, which is cool.

Dead Like Me: Pppllllbbbbbttttt!!! Ugh. What an awful show. Awful. Jason accidentally got this from Netflix, so we thought we'd give it a shot. The disc had just the pilot (thank goodness!). I hated the main character, and not in a "love to hate" sort of way. A petulant, bored (and boring) college dropout, who sassed her parents and her bosses--and not in a witty way, just kind of mean. And none of the secondary characters were really all that interesting either. I also had trouble with the fact that the show was openly hostile to God, and not even thoughtfully so, just an out-of-hand dismissal, which would bother me anyway but was particularly unsavory when the whole subject of the show is the afterlife. The writing was cliched and flat. Just bad.

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl: This is a great, quick read. Ruth Reichl was the food critic for the New York Times for six years and had to visit restaurants in costume to avoid being recognized (and therefore given the super duper red carpet treatment). She tells of taking on in her real life the dispositions and habits of her characters (the good and bad ones) and chronicles the ways others saw and treated her as well. Interesting, interesting.

Posted by Renae at July 11, 2006 11:03 AM