alidancer: Wondering...

Friends

Cyber Sonic Melodic Pansy
Beautiful Jamaican man blogging in DC..
Big Dog Photos
A Massachusetts native and her many vacations.
Sweet & Vicious
I'm sweet. I'm vicious. But which one is the real me...
for serious? no, for JOKE
20-something Belgian former New Yorker who moved to Amsterdam.

Movies

Father Ted
THIS... is the experience you've been saving the good beer for...
Narnia
This film was so worth the small fortune it costs nowadays to go to the movie theater. I loved the books as a child but hadn't read them in years; and in a way I'm glad, because watching the story unfold onscreen transported me to the magical world I remember without being hung up on the details. C.S. Lewis' real strength lay in describing the wondrous places his characters wandered into, and the movie did an amazing job of conveying that.

As for the religious debate, I'm happy to say it really didn't figure in. The Christian aspects are obvious, but not preachy - a coloring from Lewis' own belief system rather than proselytising. Like any good story, what you take away depends on what you bring, and I think this movie should satisfy all but the most extreme on both sides... But focusing on religious imagery unfairly downplays the magical experience.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Finally saw this movie. And... sorry Jen, but Brad and Angelina make one of the smokingest, hottest couples to hit the silver screen. That is a WHOLE lotta prettiness. The movie itself was fun... though like most blockbusters, they sorta wasted a great cast. Brad and Angelina are some very hot, very convincing action heros, who deserve a tighter plot. Vince Vaughn, very funny - could have given him more. But overall, still fairly entertaining. Some good dialogue, and I liked the irony of the location for their last stand.

Random thought: why do men always work at male spy agencies (with female underlings) and women work at female spy agencies (again, with female underlings)? Is this a rule of the guild? Also, could we have some male underlings? Just for shits and giggles?
Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire
As always, the casting and the visuals were excellent. Everything was pulled directly from the book... which was exactly the problem. The slavish direct-by-numbers approach I forgave in movies 1 & 2 because I figured, well, perhaps there's no other way. But after Alfonso Cuaron's amazing adaption of book 3, it's obvious a real movie can be made out of these books - rather than a series of flashbacks checking off every major event. Still, as a Harry Potter fan, I have to admit I enjoyed it, and I'm sure other fans will as well.
Pride & Prejudice
LOVED this movie - it really was the perfect adaption of Austen. Managed to speed up the book to proper movie-length without losing the feel. The sets and casting were very right on - exactly how I had imagined. The Darcy and Elizabeth dynamic was particularly brilliant, unlike in other adaptions, where they are rather annoying.

Broader societal question... why DO women seek out Mr. Darcy - an unpleasant (but rich and handsome) jerk who we 'know' is actually shy and hiding a heart of gold? Open plea to Hollywood: Please stop making quite so many of these movies, they make us believe he truly EXISTS. I guess anything's possible, but I still blame you for the LONG litany of jerks I dated who turned out to be... jerks.