Juliette and I had been thinking off and on about seeing this movie ever since a random stranger recommended it to us when we were out at a Japanese restaurant. Over the next couple of months one of Juliette's friends mentioned that she liked it, and then last night Juliette noticed that Dooce also recommended it. So, even though it was late on a school night, we decided that we weren't satisfied to end our movie weekend with Death at a Funeral, and drove downtown to see Once. I'm so glad we did. The movie tells the story of a Dublin street musician and a Czech immigrant girl he meets, and of the music they end up creating together. The plot is relatively sparse and is more or less standard "boy meets girl" stuff; what really drives the film is the music. If, like me, you have a taste for indie/alternative acoustic singer-songwriter pop, you will love this movie. The first duet that the two leads sing actually brought tears to my eyes, partially because the song was pretty but more because of the emotion in the scene, awakening on their faces and bursting through their voices. The home-made feel imparted by the handheld camera and grainy film stock worked wonderfully, giving the whole thing a very intimate feel. The one word of caution I will give is that if you're not the kind of person to be grabbed by this kind of music then you may not love this film. For me, though, I think the highest praise I can give is that it made me want to sing.

Viewed: 2007-09-22 | Released: 2007-05-15 | Score: A

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Having not been out to a movie together in over a month, Juliette and I went and saw Death at a Funeral this weekend, mainly because it was the next movie playing when we decided to go out. We've had some good luck picking movies that way before—notably Waking Ned Devine back in college—but, unfortunately, this one wasn't that good. Not knowing what to expect, we both had high hopes for a witty British comedy after the opening scene, but things descended pretty rapidly into the sort of sitcom-style humor that revolves around people being put into awkward situations. If that kind of thing appeals to you then most likely you'll find this movie hilarious—certainly many of the other audience members were laughing uproariously. For us, though, it's just not our bag.

Viewed: 2007-09-21 | Released: 2007-07-10 | Score: C

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Considering the sales and buzz that this movie has produced, you've likely either heard of this one already or you're not interested in movies. I definitely pick this one as my comedy of the summer and I expect it'll be at least a runner-up in this year's SMAs (and we all know how prestigious an award that is). I had been under the impression that the raunchy teen comedy genre had jumped the shark by now but then along comes a movie like this one. It's unlikely that Superbad will revitalize the genre, exactly, but it was still damn funny. What really worked for me wasn't so much the swearing and sex—although I'll admit that I have a fondness for crude humor—but the honesty, the amount to which I was (sometimes embarassingly) able to see my own young self in the characters. Juliette and I mused about how different it would be to see a movie like this as a teen instead of as an adult, because at this point when we laugh at a movie like this we're really laughing at ourselves. (By the way, in case it wasn't obvious from the R rating, this movie is not suitable for kids or young teens.) Anyway, I liked the movie all-around and in particular it looks like Seth Rogen's star may be rising. It should be interesting to see where he goes from here.

Viewed: 2007-08-19 | Released: 2007-08-16 | Score: A

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It's been several years since I read Stardust but I recall thinking that it was a nice little fairy tale, although nothing particularly astonishing. I feel more or less the same way about the film. The story seems to have survived the transition from print to screen pretty well, and if it doesn't have quite the same magical feeling as it did on the page, well, it's hard to imagine how it could. Well, maybe not—Pan's Labyrinth certainly managed it. But Stardust is, on the whole, a much fluffier story than Pan's Labyrinth so the fluffiness of the movie is appropriate. The only thing I didn't particularly care for was Michelle Pfeiffer's performance, and I know I'm in the minority there. She certainly looked the part but I've just never been particularly impressed with her acting abilities. Everything else, though, was pretty good and I particularly liked the humor elements, which I thought made for a lighthearted and fun film.

Viewed: 2007-08-09 | Released: 2007-08-09 | Score: B-

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It was interesting to see the differences between this story and it's movie adaptation, Blade Runner. If anything, the future painted in the novel is even more bleak and unfamiliar than the one in the film. That makes it, to me, both more difficult and more compelling. I'm not sure that I'll be rushing out to get my hands on Philip K. Dick's complete works—his style and vision are a little too harsh and discomfiting for me, but I'd still say that this one was well worth the read.

Started: 2007-08-20 | Finished: 2007-08-30

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There's an obvious comparison between this series and C. S. Forester's Hornblower series. Both follow the career of a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic wars. Still, they are separate works. For one thing, O'Brian's Jack Aubrey is a very different sort of person from Forester's Horatio Hornblower. Where Hornblower is reserved and intellectual, Aubrey is much more rough around the edges, rambunctious and appreciative of wine and song. I suppose that in some ways Aubrey is the anti-Hornblower. I think I prefer Forester's series, in part because of the characters but also in part because, oddly enough, O'Brian's prose seems more stilted and archaic, despite having been written some thirty-odd years later. Still, I did enjoy this book overall and will be continuing the series, at the very least until I run through the ones I already have.

Started: 2007-07-17 | Finished: 2007-08-18

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I'm not sure that any book could really live up to the kind of expectations that some people put on this one but, personally, I really liked it. In fact, I might even go so far as to say it was the best one of the series. Maybe not. Inevitably, some of the sense of wonder that you had in the early books has been lost along the way. But by now it's been replaced with familiarity, which really mirrors the development of the central characters as they progress from childhood to adulthood. I can't say how you'll feel about this book, but as far as I'm concerned, it did everything I wanted it to, weaving in parts that were appropriately epic with parts that were more intimate, and tying it all up in a way that I found very satisfying.

Started: 2007-07-21 | Finished: 2007-07-23

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I was a little apprehensive about this one, both because of an inherent distrust of popularity and because I'd gotten a somewhat bad review from a friend, but I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The first two parts of the novel were witty and fun—somewhat like what I imagine a Jane Austen novel would be if I had ever been able to laugh at a Jane Austen novel. (Mind you, I haven't read any Austen since high school—maybe I'd like her work better if I revisited it today.) The third part was darker but no less engaging. I think it's quite an accomplishment that Clarke was able to write a novel in over a thousand pages that never felt slow or boring to me. In fairness, though, I must admit the possibility of some bias—since I first started the Hornblower series I've been becoming more and more enamored of fiction set in Napoleonic-era England.

Started: 2007-06-18 | Finished: 2007-07-11

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In my review of the last installment of this series I found myself hoping that the next one would be better. Now that it's here, I find myself both relieved and disappointed. I did think that this one was better than the previous one but it still left something to be desired. The problem is that, for the most part, I'm not sure what it really could have done better. The whole thing seemed very rushed to me and, of course, a lot of the book was left out. But that's simply unavoidable when adapting such a long book for the screen. I still didn't like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore but, in fairness, I think he also improved. The performances in general were pretty good, and Imelda Staunton in particular stood out as the odious Dolores Umbridge. Really, I think that the problem was more with me than the movie—having read the book and seen the more complete story there was probably little chance of my being satisfied with the film. I think that's probably borne out by the observation that nearly everyone I know who saw the film without having first read the book liked it.

Viewed: 2007-07-12 | Released: 2007-07-10 | Score: B+

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That's right, I just gave four stars to a Michael Bay film about giant, transforming robots based on an 80's toy line. The fact that I also own and love the 1986 animated movie should tell you a bit about the place Transformers held in my childhood esteem. Still, it wasn't just nostalgia that made me love this movie. OK, yes, that was a big part of it. I had very little hope that this movie wouldn't make the kinds of changes that invariably piss me off but, on the contrary, I was impressed by how respectfully the source material was treated. (And, really, the cartoon wasn't exactly Shakespeare—treating it as reverentially as people, including me, do is more than a little silly.) I particularly loved that Peter Cullen, the original voice of Optimus Prime, was brought back to reprise his role. But apart from merely appealing to my inner 7-year-old, there was plenty to appreciate as an adult. It goes without saying that the special effects and action scenes were top notch. The acting, though, was also quite good. Shia LaBeouf has a real talent for comedy, I think. What was even more surprising is how good the robots themselves were. Between the excellent voice acting and animation, the Transformers really did come to life for me, managing to make me both laugh out loud and get choked up. (OK, so I'm a little ridiculous. I can deal with that.) Of course, the film wasn't without its flaws. More than once I found myself rolling my eyes at some of the human technology in the film. (Giant, sentient, shape-changing robots? Yeah, of course that's fine. Connecting a 40's-era radio to a modern desktop PC in under five minutes with no schematics or specialized equipment? I can't roll my eyes hard enough.) And then there was the fact that, as usual, the producers picked a very pretty girl with absolutely no acting ability as the female lead. Still, at the end of the day it's an action movie—we can forgive it a few mistakes as long as the rest is suitably awesome. And it was.

Viewed: 2007-07-07 | Released: 2007-07-02 | Score: A

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