“If you’re enthusiastic enough about stuff - even if you’re not good at it - your enthusiasm will get you to the point where people allow you to do it enough so that you become good at it."
- Daniel Radcliffe in today's New York TimesTake that, Amy Chua ( Read more... )

I finally got to see Crazy Heart yesterday afternoon at our local last-legs-run theater. As expected, there were wonderful performances and excellent music, even for someone like me who's not a huge fan of country music. And of course, it's always nice to see a movie that wasn't released in 3D (my new benchmark for grown-up movies).

But ( mildly spoilerific; no surprises if you've even read a plot summary )

I haven't done too well so far with my resolution to post more frequently, but today I'll combine my Media Monday and Ranty Wednesday themes into a single post (with a little hit of Friends and Family Friday for good measure ( Read more... )

Marley & Me. Very possibly the worst movie of 2008. Characters bland, boring, and unbelievable, plot nonexistent, and the dog doesn't get nearly enough screen time. I wasn't expecting much from this movie, but its awfulness exceeded my wildest expectations.

Has anyone seen a decent movie lately? I'd like to end the year on a positive note.

Just watched Werner Herzog's movie "Klaus Kinski: My Best Fiend" and remembered why I love Herzog so much. For those of you not familiar with them, Herzog is a crazy-brilliant German director, and Klaus Kinski was a crazy-brilliant German actor. Also the father of Nastassia Kinski, although if you're a young'un you've probaby never heard of her ( Read more... )

All the best intentions, yet the month is almost over and I've hardly written a word.

The kids had winter vacation this week. We spent two nights at Point Reyes National Seashore. Even though it's one of my favorite places on earth, I hadn't been there in years and years -I have a vague memory of taking my son to the visitor's center when he was a ( Read more... )

When I haven't posted in a long time (almost a month now!) it can be a little intimidating to get back in the game. So I'll start with a meme. This is gakked from pretty much everyone, but this particular version came from hobbituk - it goes back to my birth year.

Below is a list of all the films nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award since 1970 1961 ( Read more... )

Merry Christmas to all! I'm the last one up, and I just set out my spouse's surprise gift--a very nice carry-on size wheeled garment bag. I hope he likes it, as I got it on sale at an out-of-town store, so returning it will be tricky if it's even possible ( Read more... )