Recently seen movies...

Friends With Money: There could be a worst mixture of likable actresses (Catherine Keener, Joan Cusack, Frances McDormand, and Jennifer Aniston), slender plotlines and hanger-on boyfriend-husbands for each, for an hour and a half. We are plopped in the middle of everyone's life: Kenner's distant marriage, McDormand's post-40 depression, and Aniston's struggle to figure herself out as she wades through an unfulfilling job as a maid and inability to get over her last lover. Cusack meanwhile seems the most well-adjusted (and scrutinized for being wealthy--on her own, no less), and not entirely sure why she's even with this group of friends anymore.

With snatches of witty banter stretched across the length of the film, there's enough cleverness in the words (if not the story) to keep one's attention, but it's too muddy. Everyone's interesting enough; it seems like a pilot for individual films for each of the leads, right down to the dead-end finish that completes the final scene. But we're not given enough, really, and while it may have been a lark to watch a few weeks of the lives of 4 very different women, neither they nor us have gained very much in the end. We're all just depressed.

Notably better than: Your Friends and Neighbors, which is similarly socially cynical and painful to watch.

-*-

Rumor has it...: I heard awful, awful things about this romantic comedy. It's all about Jennifer Aniston again, and she's still not quite sure what to do with her life (ditto that: Picture Perfect, Office Space, The Object of My Affection, Friends With Money; everything she's ever done). This time, she has the Right Man (Mark Ruffalo reprising his blank stare from 13 Going on 30) but doesn't know if she wants him forever and that terrifies her. Spending my life married to Mark Ruffalo terrifies me, too.

And then somewhere along the lines, she discovers that her mother and grandmother may have been the basis of the book and film The Graduate, and that there's a chance the would-be Dustin Hoffman is her father. A roadtrip to the soundtrack by Nellie McKay follows.

Aniston is sweetly likable again here (she's punking us again with the same role she's always playing) even as an impulsive ho, and even Kevin Costner (as her potential father) is genuinely good. It would have been more interesting, perhaps, if we didn't learn immediately ( Read more... ), and it's important because immediately after, ( Read more... ).

Shirley MacLaine (as the grandmother Katherine) is typically wonderful and given (again, typically) the best lines. That said, it's entirely expected that she'll be sassy and irreverent. Probably expecting her to be too campy for too long, her screen time is significantly shorter than it should be. Kathy Bates gives a thankless cameo. Mena Suvari is a vapid, but that's the point.

So, no, not high art. And in a better frame of mind, maybe I'd decry the mindless drumming of it all, but it doesn't talk down to the audience; it's just unremarkable.

Better MacLaine: the underrated Mrs. Winterbourne.

(p.s. - Livejournal's new format sucks. I'll adapt, but it sucks.)

Today was a pretty full day of work. It wasn't really stressful or difficult or anything, but it was pretty busy. I ended up being very, very tired by the time 5 o'clock rolled around. Sometime after 6, I even laid back in my chair, cranked up Aqua, and apparently fell asleep. The nap did nothing but make me cranky when woken up.

Matt and I did food shopping in two parts. The first part was him walking around and putting things in the cart. The second part was me actually being alert and putting food for myself in the cart. It ended up being $170, which was pretty obscene, and I still haven't exactly thought about the inexcusable shopping cart rape that was so blatant and unforgiving... Money's not exactly tight, and most of the things we were getting were for pretty general consumption (I did end up getting two boxes of raspberries simply because they were there and not a bad berry in the bunch). I have to say that I don't really want to live in a world where an individual water filter is $10.

Two websites that I frequent like the dickens are bugging the hell out of me. I got into the habit of updating directly from Livejournal.com, using that embedded text box they have, after about two years or more using one of their stand-alone clients. I just hated that I couldn't change the mood icon that I wanted to use if I was feeling a different adjective than the pre-determined 130-some. Anyway, now when I'm typing, the window keeps expanding, and making that horizontal scroll bar, and part of my entry obscured. Fuckers.

The second is last.fm, which is taking a very long time to load my total artists list. As someone who acknowledges that it doesn't matter what my music stats are as long as I am enjoying the tunes, I am also someone who really likes to know "who's in the lead" or whatever. It's all still uploading, but the artists are updating individually as opposed to the whole chart. After Yes, Virginia's release on Tuesday, there's a good 60-some tracks that haven't been added to my list for the Dresden Dolls since then. Nellie McKay is listed on my weekly charts as having 52 plays last week, but my overall hasn't even updated her past the otherwise anemic 40-some that came before that. Blargh.

Matt and I watched another episode of Lost yesterday, which was very interesting. Only one for tonight; Matt has a registration system to make functional by tomorrow.

I'm alone in my section of the office, tomorrow. That sucks.

My shoulder still hurts, but only really now when I touch it. Jamie thinks it's a pinched nerve. That sucks, too.

Livejournal just set it so people can 100 userpictures/icons.

I am giddy and horrified.

I may never use the same icon again.

Or I may keep using the same 10 or so like I do now.

Either/or. Wow.

As conversed about at useless_facts:

WTB: "65% of 'facts' are made up."

( Read more... )

Asked to me from the safety of an anonymous comment!

17. If you could meet any of your LJ-only friends IRL, who would you like to meet and what activities would ensue?
( Read more... )

Now, you ask.

1. On Wednesday, Genevieve and I went into New York City to see Dar Williams at Madison Square Park. We didn't get to see most of the show, but caught "The Pointless, Yet Poignant Crisis of a Co-Ed," "As Cool As I Am," "Hudson," "When I Was a Boy," "The Christians and the Pagans," "It Happens Every Day," and I think "The Beauty of the Rain." I don't know that last song; I'm just guessing from the lyrics I vaguely recall.
She was good; very personable, and very amusing. Favorite quote came before "Co-Ed," where she said "This may or may not be true story. But it definitely happened."
We also had a great meal at the Olive Garden.

2. Jonathan Adams, Dr. Scott from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Narrator (Criminologist) from the 1974 London cast of The Rocky Horror Show died on the 13th, but it's only finally making it's rounds on the Internet. He was 74.

3. Genevieve, eLiz, Jamie, Matt, and I celebrated Midsummer last night, and had some excellent food and merriment.

4. Genevieve stayed over last night. We didn't go to sleep until long after 4. Our topics involved polyamory, suicide, respect for the dead, and probably some other stuff.

5. Strange Livejournal aside: "polyamory" isn't a recognized word in their Spellcheck. Although, neither is "Spellcheck."

I am so tired. Like my-eyes-keep-closing kinda tired.

Fun, fun work day ahead.

That and I have "Lonely No More" by Rob Thomas stuck in my head. Y'know, that song that sounds like he's fronting Maroon 5... and sucks.

Made a new mood theme... I should be going through that annoying process later today. I am very much enjoying the "tag" concept that Livejournal has brought in. I was actually considering making every entry a memory to "categorize" them. 'Cause I'm a freak. But, now it's so easy. I went back tagged a good 70 entries back, too... Wish it was easier to view the entries that are 60 or so back... The "daily view" idea is actually really annoying.

I'm all kinds of rambly today.

Uh, hi. This is my first attempt at writing an entry here. Well, actually that's not true. I attempted about three times so far but this time I think I'm actually going to get it right. New concept, please excuse my stupidity.
Wish I had some interesting things to say... Hey! How about an update on what I like to call, "The Men George Never Had But Obsessed Over Incredibly for a Really Long Time". Okay, I've never called it that. In any event:
I listened to the song "Paper Bag" by Fiona Apple today. For all those that don't know, I have forever equated that song with Mike, Boy Crush #1 from Sophomore year. I started listening to it and I had to almost remind myself the relevance the song once had on me. I love that song, don't get me wrong, but I hadn't listened to that CD in a really long time... And yeah, for a lot of sophomore and junior year I listened to that CD. No, more like that song. Well, dammit be proud 'cause Boy Crush #1 barely entered my mind listening to it. Of course I stared at him a little in Christian Life today so that probably cancels that out.
Ah, fuck.
I don't have a song for Logan, do I? I may... Probably a few. I'll have to recall that week 'cause I know I listened to a lot of songs. Alanis' "Wake Up" seems pretty in tune with that whole situation.
But why am I dwelling.
Because I have no one else?
Maybe.
Brandon... You live in Michigan. I live in New Jersey. Distance sucks. I need a local boy. Will you move to New Jersey so that you can be a local boy?
Ok, that's about that for now. I've had about I want to say tonight involving my nonexistent yet ever-eventful love life. I have an Algebra II exam tomorrow. I should get some sleep.

I should sleep.