Too Hot to Trot!

It is so hot outside these days. It was 105 in Little D today.

After work, as I was walking to my car and trying not to melt, I thought about all the ways that I could stay cool. Going to a movie was on the top of the list, but I didn't have time today; so, I went to the grocery store instead.

Speaking of movies....I haven't mentioned any on the blog in like...forever! I have watched a few in the last several weeks:

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead is an interesting study of avarice and greed gone bad…or would that be worse? Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei star in this movie about two brothers who decide to rob their parents’ jewelry store. The opening scene is more than racy. I would think that Marisa Tomei, with her credentials, would have more self respect and a better sense of personal responsibility, but no one asked me. It was pretty good, but it’s one of those movies that is like watching a train wreck. You know what’s coming and you are powerless to stop it.

John Cusack stars in Grace is Gone, about a man who becomes a widower with two daughters when his Marine wife is killed in Iraq. It was predictable, yet good.

I finally was able to see I’m Not There, the biopic about Bob Dylan. Different actors played Dylan in the different stages of his colorful life. Among them are Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale and Richard Gere. It was pretty good.

Jimmy Carter Man from Plains is a look at President Carter’s book tour following the release of his book Palestine, Peace Not Apartheid. It was really good, and it reminded me why I like the guy. He is very smart and he has a lot of guts. Right or wrong, the man is very genuine and he calls it like he sees it. I think that the Isreali-Palestinian issue is one of many tragic examples of man’s inhumanity to man. I wish both sides could agree to disagree and live side-by-side in tolerance, but I suppose that is my usual Pollyanna answer to all the conflicts of the world. “One World” is my motto, but unfortunately, we (the collective we) are too mortal and flawed to see past our own interests and prejudices to make it work. I think that will be our demise, unless we wise up quickly.

Gloomy Sunday – In German with English subtitles. I stayed up late to watch this movie and was dragging my behind at work the next day, but it was worth it! This movie is based on fact. Gloomy Sunday was a famous song in the 1930s, and there is an urban legend going around that over 100 people committed suicide in Hungary over an eight week period.

Christmas in the Clouds – cute, cute movie involving a ski lodge, a travel critic, a retired Indian chief, cross-country pen pals and romance. It was good.

Sophie Scholl – The Final Days is based on the true story of the only female in a non-violent resistance movement in Nazi Germany. It is in German with English subtitles. The movie was nominated for Best Foreign Picture in 2006. The actress who played Sophie won the German equivalent of the Oscar for Best Actress. It was very good.

There are more, but that's all the time I have today...

MK out.