Passive pass-times
Mar. 3rd, 2007 01:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blodeueddI'd better do this now, before I forget all my thoughts on these:
The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver): A fascinating, gripping, heart-breaking read. The story is of a preacher from Georgia who takes his wife and four daughters along with him to the Belgian Congo (in 1959), thinking to convert the natives. It's told from the point of view of the mother and her daughters, trying to make the best out of a less-than-ideal situation. It's about being a woman, a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter. Sorry if it sounds cheesy, but I'm not quite sure how to articulate the effect it had on me, aside to say that it was powerful and deep.
Hoshi no koe (Mizu Sahara / Makoto Shinkai, English title "The Voices of a Distant Star"): A birthday present I hadn't gotten around to reading until now (thanks, M-P!). A sweet, touching love story. I'm always amazed at how manga artists manage to convey silence, space and distance with a few simple panels. Seems this was based on a movie? I'd be curious to see it. My only quibbles were that the girl is still wearing her school uniform in deep space (okay, I get the sentimental reasons, but still!) and the seemingly non-existent gravity of Jupiter. But then, it seems that I'm picky that way.
The Devil Wears Prada: I read the book last year (badly-written!) so I knew the story, but why did they change the ending like that? In the book, the point seemed to be that she chose her friendship over her ambition, but the movie made it into "My boss is evil, I don't want to become like her!" Again, the main character seemed whiny and unable to stand up for her decisions. Why couldn't she have just told her boyfriend and friends to begin with, "I won't be able to see you guys much, but it's only for a year. Please understand, this is important for my career," instead of continually breaking promises. But who cares, eh? This isn't the kind of movie that's supposed to make you think.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend: *yawn* I was crocheting as I watched this, so I was concentrating on my hands much of the time, but this was still very forgetable. Good points? Uma Thurman is hot and Eddie Izzard was pretty funny. Aside from that... *yawn*
Project Runway: Season 3: I'd seen season one, so I knew the format, and I'd also heard who the winner was before I even started watching, but the fun is in seeing the designs and in what order people are auf'd. And the creative craziness, as well as the certifiably crazies (Vincent). There were some seriously hideous designs, but also some gorgeous ones, as is to be expected. I loved Michael's and Laura's jet-setting ensembles. Jeffrey? Your tattoo is the ugliest thing I've ever seen and you weren't that pretty to begin with. Oh, and you're not cooler than everyone, so stop being an ass. Laura, you rock in so many ways, it's not even funny. Uli should have won, if they'd been basing it on the runway show alone.
America's Next Top Model: Season 2: I refuse to call them cycles. Anyway, I'd seen it pretty much all when it aired originally, except for a couple of episodes, but it just confirmed my thoughts that Camille had a hefty sense of entitlement, sure, but she wasn't half as crazy and bitchy as some of the girls on later seasons; loved April and if I'd been her, I don't think I'd have been so graceful under all the criticism about "not embracing her Asian-ness" -- let her be who she wants to be, already; Shandi seemed the most model-like of the bunch, to me, in that slightly odd, awkward way runway models often are. And Mercedes is so cute, I want to pinch her cheeks.
The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver): A fascinating, gripping, heart-breaking read. The story is of a preacher from Georgia who takes his wife and four daughters along with him to the Belgian Congo (in 1959), thinking to convert the natives. It's told from the point of view of the mother and her daughters, trying to make the best out of a less-than-ideal situation. It's about being a woman, a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter. Sorry if it sounds cheesy, but I'm not quite sure how to articulate the effect it had on me, aside to say that it was powerful and deep.
Hoshi no koe (Mizu Sahara / Makoto Shinkai, English title "The Voices of a Distant Star"): A birthday present I hadn't gotten around to reading until now (thanks, M-P!). A sweet, touching love story. I'm always amazed at how manga artists manage to convey silence, space and distance with a few simple panels. Seems this was based on a movie? I'd be curious to see it. My only quibbles were that the girl is still wearing her school uniform in deep space (okay, I get the sentimental reasons, but still!) and the seemingly non-existent gravity of Jupiter. But then, it seems that I'm picky that way.
The Devil Wears Prada: I read the book last year (badly-written!) so I knew the story, but why did they change the ending like that? In the book, the point seemed to be that she chose her friendship over her ambition, but the movie made it into "My boss is evil, I don't want to become like her!" Again, the main character seemed whiny and unable to stand up for her decisions. Why couldn't she have just told her boyfriend and friends to begin with, "I won't be able to see you guys much, but it's only for a year. Please understand, this is important for my career," instead of continually breaking promises. But who cares, eh? This isn't the kind of movie that's supposed to make you think.
My Super Ex-Girlfriend: *yawn* I was crocheting as I watched this, so I was concentrating on my hands much of the time, but this was still very forgetable. Good points? Uma Thurman is hot and Eddie Izzard was pretty funny. Aside from that... *yawn*
Project Runway: Season 3: I'd seen season one, so I knew the format, and I'd also heard who the winner was before I even started watching, but the fun is in seeing the designs and in what order people are auf'd. And the creative craziness, as well as the certifiably crazies (Vincent). There were some seriously hideous designs, but also some gorgeous ones, as is to be expected. I loved Michael's and Laura's jet-setting ensembles. Jeffrey? Your tattoo is the ugliest thing I've ever seen and you weren't that pretty to begin with. Oh, and you're not cooler than everyone, so stop being an ass. Laura, you rock in so many ways, it's not even funny. Uli should have won, if they'd been basing it on the runway show alone.
America's Next Top Model: Season 2: I refuse to call them cycles. Anyway, I'd seen it pretty much all when it aired originally, except for a couple of episodes, but it just confirmed my thoughts that Camille had a hefty sense of entitlement, sure, but she wasn't half as crazy and bitchy as some of the girls on later seasons; loved April and if I'd been her, I don't think I'd have been so graceful under all the criticism about "not embracing her Asian-ness" -- let her be who she wants to be, already; Shandi seemed the most model-like of the bunch, to me, in that slightly odd, awkward way runway models often are. And Mercedes is so cute, I want to pinch her cheeks.
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-03 02:14 pm (UTC)Eddie Izzard is da bomb and now I need to see My Super Ex-Girlfriend.
And where are you watching Project Runway and America's Next Top Model? Just on TV?