“Up in the Air” and “Mr. Fox”
I really liked this film. There's a lot of great stuff here. George Clooney is a Cary Grant. He's just good. He's as himself as much as he is whatever character he's inhabiting, but it works. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xIUtRrTlgo?wmode=transparent] "The Fantastic Mr. Fox" was also good, but not nearly so much. It was cute, and there's a certain joy of creativity that comes with Wes Anderson's better films. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you already knew going in to it that you liked his movies.
I love it when fortune cookies are spookily accurate.
Late lunch at the Happy Dragon today, and got this in my cookie. An hour later found a check from a client from an invoice I sent Tuesday. Pleasant surprise indeed! Thanks, Predictive Cookie.
Charlie McManus at City Club
I really enjoyed hearing from Charlie McManus last night, owner of the Primo Grill. He touched on his own history as a chef, but is talk mostly covered recent culinary history and the movement toward local foods in recent years. He talked about some of the difficulties of the local food movement (ie, it’s easier in California than here because of the range of available food in seasons) and also advocated for “local” over “organic.” (“I’d rather have non-organic local food than organic food from China.”) Great speaker and a good topic. Next up: Lunch on December 16, where Sal Read more…
“The signs they carried” in the Volcano
“At that point, I told him he needed to move away from my daughter and give her space (especially since she was on the curb at one of the busiest intersections in Tacoma). He began to argue, and I cut him off saying, ‘Move away from my daughter.’ He did.” One car passenger threw a beverage, hitting an approve-71 volunteer. Other passers-by shouted “Death to all you faggots!” and “We should get the KKK here!” This wasn’t Birmingham in ’63 or Selma in ’65. This was Tacoma in 2009, over by the Red Robin. via weeklyvolcano.com An interesting article about Read more…
Good Hair at the Grand
"Good Hair," the documentary by Chris Rock is one of those documentaries where you actually learn a whole lot. Chris Rock explores the world of black hair, triggered by a question from his daughter–"why don't I have good hair?" There's a lot of really interesting stuff in the movie, and Chris Rock is a pretty good interviewer with some very funny lines. I learned a lot and had a lot of fun too. Good criteria for documentary. Here's the trailer. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A68UVn0nMvo?wmode=transparent] Plays through tomorrow at the Grand.
The Blind Side
I read (and loved) The Blind Side a few years ago. It's a great piece of sports writing with a great story in the middle of it. That story makes up the core of the movie adaptation. And generally, the movie stays pretty true to what actually happened. The biggest change from the book, and the hardest for me to get past, is the focus on the adopting mother (Sandra Bullock) as opposed to Michael. This is like watching the story of Hamlet through Gertrude's eyes–the most interesting character is not the focus. Even so, it's an affecting story and Read more…
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