Monday Morning Errata
I spent a lovely weekend hunkered down in the Bogus Bunker while the Minnesota weather once again attempted to kill us all. Sub-zero temperatures and several inches of snow being whipped around by 20-30 mph winds meant danger to any sane traveler on Minnesota's roads. To me it meant "Put in a movie or two." So I rewatched a couple favorites: Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense - still the greatest concert movie ever - and That Thing You Do - still ridiculously fun and infectous and still amazing that they did it all with original yet seemlessly authentic sounding songs.
The family also settled in last week to finally watch Wall-E, from Pixar. That makes... (googling)... nine movies from Pixar in a row without a sucky one. That's a pretty amazing run. My favorite is probably still The Incredibles. But I have no complaints about Wall-E. Thoroughly entertaining. Everyone from me and the Missus down to our four year old were riveted the whole way through. Warning though: Watching this movie may give your four year old the notion that head-butts are "Wall-E kisses." So take precautions.
On further entertainment news, the Missus and I are watching the first season of The Tudors on DVD. It took a little while for me to really get into it. I get bothered by little historical anachronisms or liberties taken from known events in historical dramas - and this show is frequently guilty in that department. However really like how they've captured a certain emotional reality of the Tudor era. These people weren't stiff and proper like they're so often portrayed. This was the period of the Renaissance where rules were broken and change was in the air. They've captured that feeling nicely. It's also nice to see a portrayal of Henry VIII as a young and vibrant man, which he most certainly was, rather than the obese glutton he became later in life, which is the only version we usually see. Anyway, I could quibble with this or that, but being honest I think it's a pretty good example of historical drama done in a compelling cinematic way, if not perhaps accurate enough (and way too R-rated) to use as classroom instruction. Also Sam Neill turns in a surprisingly strong performance as Cardinal Wolsey. Who knew he had that kind of character in him?
Anyway, off to my grueling two day work week before the holiday break (and calling it "holiday" does NOT make me part of the "War on Christmas," thanks very much.).
The family also settled in last week to finally watch Wall-E, from Pixar. That makes... (googling)... nine movies from Pixar in a row without a sucky one. That's a pretty amazing run. My favorite is probably still The Incredibles. But I have no complaints about Wall-E. Thoroughly entertaining. Everyone from me and the Missus down to our four year old were riveted the whole way through. Warning though: Watching this movie may give your four year old the notion that head-butts are "Wall-E kisses." So take precautions.
On further entertainment news, the Missus and I are watching the first season of The Tudors on DVD. It took a little while for me to really get into it. I get bothered by little historical anachronisms or liberties taken from known events in historical dramas - and this show is frequently guilty in that department. However really like how they've captured a certain emotional reality of the Tudor era. These people weren't stiff and proper like they're so often portrayed. This was the period of the Renaissance where rules were broken and change was in the air. They've captured that feeling nicely. It's also nice to see a portrayal of Henry VIII as a young and vibrant man, which he most certainly was, rather than the obese glutton he became later in life, which is the only version we usually see. Anyway, I could quibble with this or that, but being honest I think it's a pretty good example of historical drama done in a compelling cinematic way, if not perhaps accurate enough (and way too R-rated) to use as classroom instruction. Also Sam Neill turns in a surprisingly strong performance as Cardinal Wolsey. Who knew he had that kind of character in him?
Anyway, off to my grueling two day work week before the holiday break (and calling it "holiday" does NOT make me part of the "War on Christmas," thanks very much.).
Posted by Doug Williams on
Monday December 22, 2008 at 10:04am
