Blue Monday: Big Fish

Blue Monday is hosted weekly by Smiling Sally.
To see more offerings, or to participate yourself,
please head on over to her blog.

Another photo from our trip to the beach earlier this summer. I've been seeing this big wooden fish sculpture at Rehoboth every summer for the last few years, but this year his shop had moved to a different location and I noticed they've got Mr. Fishy chained down now. Must have been wandering off. Now I know he's not a blue fish, but he does have a blue-ish eye, and he's surrounded by some nice bright blue awnings. (There was also a reflection – in one of the windows – of me taking the photo, wearing a blue T-shirt, but I've craftily cropped me out!)

(Click on photo to enlarge.)

Friday Fill-Ins #190

Friday again! Another week just flew by. Time for another round of Friday Fill-Ins. So here we go:

1. Laughter is the way to my heart. Or at least, that's what my husband always says.

2. "Hi. Thanks for" are the three words that started off the last email I sent.

3. What I'm most looking forward to today is flying to Paris for lunch at one of those little bistros on the Champs Elysees. (What I'm actually going to do is return some books to the library, then do the grocery shopping and laundry. My life is very exciting.)

4. Seeing M coming home from work puts a smile on my face.

5. Where in the world will we be in a year's time?

6. This new Mac computer is just what I needed!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing with the hubby and maybe doing some grilling, tomorrow my plans include the usual shopping and errands, if the weather cooperates, and Sunday, I want to watch the new episodes of Mad Men and Rubicon, and also get some reading done!

At the Movies

Sherlock Holmes
USA/UK, 2009

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.

Directed by: Guy Ritchie

Written by: Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, and Simon Kinberg (screenplay); Lionel Wigram (story)

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong

Synopsis:

Sherlock Holmes (played by Robert Downey, Jr.), along with his trusted ally Dr. John Watson (Jude Law), investigates a string of brutal ritualistic murders in this 2009 effort from British director Guy Ritchie. When Holmes and Watson arrive upon the scene just in time to prevent the aristocratic villain, Lord Blackwood, from doing away with his latest victim, the evil lord warns them that death has no power over him. And, seemingly, he's right about that: After Dr. Watson witnesses Blackwood's hanging and pronounces him dead, Blackwood reappears in London and continues on his murderous path. Scotland Yard is flummoxed, but Holmes is back on the case. And as they search London for Blackwood in order to put a stop to his evil shenanigans, Holmes and Watson are involved in a world of dark arts and dangers more deadly and surprising than any they've faced before.

My Thoughts:

Boring movie, really; nothing but special effects – and extremely annoying special effects, at that. The characters of Holmes and Watson were completely unrecognizable, but since the film was aimed at an audience that obviously had never read the Conan Doyle stories, I guess that really doesn't matter. I suppose the fact that the movie was based on a comic book version of the Holmes tales (by Lionel Wigram) should be a good indication of what to expect. I know I'm fighting the entire trend of the 21st Century here, but I really long for the days when movies had real sets, real locations, and real actors.

And about those real actors – Robert Downey was as watchable as ever, but even his performance couldn't save this one. And Jude Law seemed to have abandoned Dr. Watson in favor of a sort of stiff-upper-lip portrayal of Wilde's Dorian Gray. I'm afraid the rest of the cast wasn't very memorable, but then they had all those special effects planted firmly between them and the audience.

We watched this one on DVD, so maybe the experience of seeing it on the big screen might have improved my opinion. But I doubt it.

Nutshell Review: The best thing about this movie was the poster.

At the Movies

Ten Items or Less

USA, 2006

MPAA Rating: R for language

Written and Directed by: Brad Silberling

Cast: Morgan Freeman, Paz Vega, Bobby Cannavale, Anne Dudek, Jennifer Echols, Jonah Hill, Jim Parsons

Synopsis:

Once a world-famous movie star, Morgan Freeman's character (called only "Him" throughout the film) is now an aging actor who finds that his fear of failure has brought his career to a standstill. Now he's considering a role in a low-budget independent movie and, ever the professional, he's doing research for the role by spending a day in one of L.A.'s Latino community markets. While there, he's taken with the fiery young clerk (played by Paz Vega) in the "10 Items or Less" check-out lane, and when he's abandoned by his driver and can't remember his new home phone number, Scarlet agrees to drive him to his home in another part of the city. But Scarlet, who's hoping to get away from her dreadful dead-end job in the market, has a job interview scheduled, and as he rides along, the Movie Star gets involved in her plans. Their trek through Los Angeles takes them through unexpected situations and personal revelations, building an odd but compelling relationship that affects both their lives.

My Thoughts:

Wonderful little film, produced by Freeman. Funny and heart-wrenching by turns, it really should have gotten more attention. I'm a big Morgan Freeman fan – he never turns in a less-than-stellar performance, and he's amazing in this one. But the rest of the cast is pretty amazing, too – especially Paz Vega (a young Spanish actress I had never seen before although she's apparently a pretty big star in Europe) who plays Scarlet, and Jim Parsons (of The Big Bang Theory fame) doing a campy turn as a ditsy building company receptionist. Anne Dudek is also noticeable, as Lorraine, another check-out clerk; I kept thinking she looked really familiar but just couldn't place her until I found out she played Francine, Betty Draper's pal in Mad Men (my favorite TV show right now).

This one is definitely worth seeing. The DVD we watched also included a documentary about the making of the film which is also interesting if you're a film fanatic – it's almost as long as the movie itself, and very detailed. As M said, it's like a little tutorial in the making of low-budget independent films. But for us normal folk, it can get a little tedious – maybe your time would be better spent watching another Morgan Freeman movie.