I haven't been to the theaters much lately, but I did see one out there recently...Life as We Know It is a really funny movie about two people who don’t really like each other, but are mutual friends with this other couple. When the couple dies and leaves their daughter for the two of them to raise, they are forced to take good hard looks at themselves, as well as each other. It stars Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, and while it is not Oscar-worthy, it is very good.
I got an iPad for my birthday and have been watching some movies via the Netflix app. I highly recommend it!
Please Give, with Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Rebecca Hall, Amanda Peet and Ann Guilbert, is an interesting character driven Indie. Keener and Platt play a couple of successful antique store owners who live next door to Guilbert, a cranky old lady whose apartment they want to buy when she dies. They intend to expand their living space. Hall and Peet play the old lady’s granddaughters. It was interesting. On a side note, Ann Guilbert played Millie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and more recently (for you younguns), she played Yetta on The Nanny. It was pretty good, and a little bit quirky.
Mid-August Lunch is another character driven movie, this time from Italy. It is subtitled in English. It is about a middle-aged man who is still living with his mom. They owe money for the rent and probably have a tab for most of the goods and services they consume. His landlord and his physician decide to collect, by bringing their mothers by for him to watch while they go off to celebrate the midsummer festival of Ferragosto. It was quite entertaining to watch this guy try to keep up with four cranky old ladies who were each set in their ways. Also entertaining was how entitled Gianni and his mother are, despite living on the good graces of others. I really liked it.
Alexandra is about a woman who visits her grandson in the Chechen army. In Russian, with English subtitles…It is a character-driven story, but slower than most. It was alright.
Broken Embraces, in Spanish with English subtitles, and starring Penelope Cruz and Lluis Homar, is about an actress and director who start an affair. Unfortunately, the actress is the producers mistress, and when he finds out what is going on, he plans his revenge. It was alright.
The Soloist is based on a true story about Nathaniel Ayers, a talented cellist who ended up on the streets after his second year at Julliard due to his mental illness, and Steve Lopez, a journalist who happens upon Ayers and attempts to help him get his life together. Jamie Foxx does an excellent job portraying Ayers and Robert Downey, Jr. plays Lopez. Catherine Keener also stars. It was good.
A Secret, in French with English subtitles, is a character driven Nazi story. It is about Francois, who was a sickly little boy and who grew up feeling that he is a disappointment to his parent. One day, he finds an old toy in the attic, and eventually finds out secrets that his family never wanted discussed again. It was very good.
MK out.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Yankees Go Home
I was taken out to the ballgame last night, and it was pretty fun. The Rangers beat the Yankees to win the American League Championship.
They did a little post-game celebrating.
Here's Josh Hamilton receiving the MVP award.
Off to the World Series...
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Me and My Big Ideas...
I had a skein of Buffalo Gold's Lux yarn - in Yellowstone (green and gold), one of the special colorways dyed by Lorna's Laces. I wanted that colorway because it is Colorado State and Dallas STARS colors. I saw the cutest scarf designed by Evelyn Clark called Wildflower Lace Scarf at the Fiber Fest last April; so....
I was knitting along happily, using a size 2US needle, but didn't take notice that the Addi's size 2 needles are 3.00mm, not 2.75mm, as the pattern suggests. I tend to knit a little loose (and I did notice that my scarf was looking a little wider than the model from what I remembered). I was worried that I wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish, but reasoned that usually, when knitting along in a looser gauge, it takes fewer yards to get the length desired. However, I forgot to take into account that the pattern has a set number of rows and a set number of repeats...I kept knitting, until I was 3/4ths of the way finished. At that point, it was apparent that I was not going to have enough yarn to finish the scarf.
Since I didn't really like the gauge of the fabric I was knitting, I frogged it on Friday and started again on 2.5mm needles. (Remember, I do tend to knit a little loose...) I think it is coming out just fine.
MK out.
I was knitting along happily, using a size 2US needle, but didn't take notice that the Addi's size 2 needles are 3.00mm, not 2.75mm, as the pattern suggests. I tend to knit a little loose (and I did notice that my scarf was looking a little wider than the model from what I remembered). I was worried that I wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish, but reasoned that usually, when knitting along in a looser gauge, it takes fewer yards to get the length desired. However, I forgot to take into account that the pattern has a set number of rows and a set number of repeats...I kept knitting, until I was 3/4ths of the way finished. At that point, it was apparent that I was not going to have enough yarn to finish the scarf.
Since I didn't really like the gauge of the fabric I was knitting, I frogged it on Friday and started again on 2.5mm needles. (Remember, I do tend to knit a little loose...) I think it is coming out just fine.
MK out.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
I Got Crab
Hello, my pretties!
The Husb and I were in Baltimore on my birthday. It is a great place to celebrate a birthday if you like crabs, and I really do.
This dude didn't stand a chance against me.
Then, there was a birthday slice of Key Lime Pie. Yummy!
MK out.
The Husb and I were in Baltimore on my birthday. It is a great place to celebrate a birthday if you like crabs, and I really do.
This dude didn't stand a chance against me.
Then, there was a birthday slice of Key Lime Pie. Yummy!
MK out.
Friday, September 24, 2010
A Drive-By Post...
It has been a trying summer at Chez MerryKarma, but I really have not forgotten my two readers out there...
To get back into the groove of more regular posting, I have movie reviews to share.
DVDs I've watched recently:
The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. It is adapted from a novel by Jon Ronson. McGregor plays a war reporter who meets up with the characters of a former platoon of New Age soldiers. This group would try to find ways of peaceful combat by using extrasensory perception skills. It was quirky and pretty funny.
Rock and Rolla is a quirky mob movie by Guy Ritchie with Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Jeremy Piven, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Thandie Newton. A lucrative real estate deal is about to go down in London, and all the players are vying for a piece of the action. It was good.
Sherlock Holmes is another Guy Ritchie movie. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Holmes, Jude Law plays Dr. Watson, and Rachel McAdams plays “the girl.” It was a good adaptation of the comic book series by Lionel Wingram, based on the characters originated by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired is a documentary about the unlawful sexual assault on a minor charges that were brought against Roman Polanski in 1978. Since that time, he has not lived in the United States. Granted, the judge in the case treated him unfairly, but a crime was committed. It was interesting.
Javier Bardem, Benjamin Bratt and Giovanna Mezzogiorno are the players in a love triangle in Love in the Time of Cholera. Basically, Bardem and Mezzogiorno’s characters are star-crossed lovers who spend practically their whole lives apart, waiting for the time that they can be together. It was kind of dumb, actually.
Religulous is a documentary following Bill Maher while he travels around the world asking religious leaders and regular people about their views on religion. It was interesting.
Defiance is based on a true story set during WWII. It is about three Jewish brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) who help a large group of people hide from the Nazis. It was good.
Clint Eastwood directed and starred in Gran Torino, about a Korean War vet, Walt Kowalski, who catches his Asian next door neighbor trying to steal his car as part of a gang initiation. By Asian custom, the teenager is forced to make up for his misdeed by being Kowalski’s personal slave. It was a very good movie.
Mongol tells about the early years of Genghis Khan. The acting was really good, the story was interesting and the cinematography was lovely. I really liked this movie.
I did manage to go to the theater a few times:
Winter’s Bone is about a back-woods girl standing up to the community’s code of silence to find her meth-cooking, bail-jumping father before the sheriff repossesses the family’s home in exchange for the bail money. It was very dark and powerful. The conditions in which this family live are appalling. There were many good performances, especially by Jennifer Lawrence who played the teen. I liked this movie.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a documentary giving insight into the Queen of Comedy’s life. On the outside, she appears to have it all, but as abrasive as Joan can be in her acts, she is just as vulnerable and insecure as the rest of us. It was interesting.
Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a psychological thriller about a guy who can insert himself in another person’s subconscious. This talent is a weapon in the world of espionage, and it got him in trouble in the past. Ellen Page plays a very talented dream architect who helps him try to reclaim his reputation. It was complicated, but very well written. I liked it.
The Kids are All Right is a really cute movie about an unconventional family, starring Mark Ruffalo (and y’all know how I feel about Mark Ruffalo), Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson. The lives of a lesbian couple with two kids are turned upside down when their son finds his biological father. Me likey!
Eat, Pray, Love, starring Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins and Billy Crudup, is based on the Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir about taking time out of her life to find out what she really wanted and needed. It was good, but I didn’t think it was anything to write home about.
The Switch is a silly, but very funny movie with Jennifer Anniston and Justin Bateman. They play two long-time friends who become tied forever when Justin’s character, accidentally switches his genetic material with the sample intended to impregnate Jen’s character. It is definitely worth seeing.
Going the Distance, with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, is about a couple in a long distance relationship. It was cute overall, but the crass language and antics of these people who are supposed to be thirty-something is more suited to twenty-something year old people.
Since it would never do to sit still too long, my next big project is to change wallpaper and window treatments and to have the entire house repainted inside and out. Stay tuned for details...
MK out.
To get back into the groove of more regular posting, I have movie reviews to share.
DVDs I've watched recently:
The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. It is adapted from a novel by Jon Ronson. McGregor plays a war reporter who meets up with the characters of a former platoon of New Age soldiers. This group would try to find ways of peaceful combat by using extrasensory perception skills. It was quirky and pretty funny.
Rock and Rolla is a quirky mob movie by Guy Ritchie with Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Jeremy Piven, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Thandie Newton. A lucrative real estate deal is about to go down in London, and all the players are vying for a piece of the action. It was good.
Sherlock Holmes is another Guy Ritchie movie. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Holmes, Jude Law plays Dr. Watson, and Rachel McAdams plays “the girl.” It was a good adaptation of the comic book series by Lionel Wingram, based on the characters originated by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired is a documentary about the unlawful sexual assault on a minor charges that were brought against Roman Polanski in 1978. Since that time, he has not lived in the United States. Granted, the judge in the case treated him unfairly, but a crime was committed. It was interesting.
Javier Bardem, Benjamin Bratt and Giovanna Mezzogiorno are the players in a love triangle in Love in the Time of Cholera. Basically, Bardem and Mezzogiorno’s characters are star-crossed lovers who spend practically their whole lives apart, waiting for the time that they can be together. It was kind of dumb, actually.
Religulous is a documentary following Bill Maher while he travels around the world asking religious leaders and regular people about their views on religion. It was interesting.
Defiance is based on a true story set during WWII. It is about three Jewish brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) who help a large group of people hide from the Nazis. It was good.
Clint Eastwood directed and starred in Gran Torino, about a Korean War vet, Walt Kowalski, who catches his Asian next door neighbor trying to steal his car as part of a gang initiation. By Asian custom, the teenager is forced to make up for his misdeed by being Kowalski’s personal slave. It was a very good movie.
Mongol tells about the early years of Genghis Khan. The acting was really good, the story was interesting and the cinematography was lovely. I really liked this movie.
I did manage to go to the theater a few times:
Winter’s Bone is about a back-woods girl standing up to the community’s code of silence to find her meth-cooking, bail-jumping father before the sheriff repossesses the family’s home in exchange for the bail money. It was very dark and powerful. The conditions in which this family live are appalling. There were many good performances, especially by Jennifer Lawrence who played the teen. I liked this movie.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a documentary giving insight into the Queen of Comedy’s life. On the outside, she appears to have it all, but as abrasive as Joan can be in her acts, she is just as vulnerable and insecure as the rest of us. It was interesting.
Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is a psychological thriller about a guy who can insert himself in another person’s subconscious. This talent is a weapon in the world of espionage, and it got him in trouble in the past. Ellen Page plays a very talented dream architect who helps him try to reclaim his reputation. It was complicated, but very well written. I liked it.
The Kids are All Right is a really cute movie about an unconventional family, starring Mark Ruffalo (and y’all know how I feel about Mark Ruffalo), Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson. The lives of a lesbian couple with two kids are turned upside down when their son finds his biological father. Me likey!
Eat, Pray, Love, starring Julia Roberts, James Franco, Javier Bardem, Richard Jenkins and Billy Crudup, is based on the Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir about taking time out of her life to find out what she really wanted and needed. It was good, but I didn’t think it was anything to write home about.
The Switch is a silly, but very funny movie with Jennifer Anniston and Justin Bateman. They play two long-time friends who become tied forever when Justin’s character, accidentally switches his genetic material with the sample intended to impregnate Jen’s character. It is definitely worth seeing.
Going the Distance, with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, is about a couple in a long distance relationship. It was cute overall, but the crass language and antics of these people who are supposed to be thirty-something is more suited to twenty-something year old people.
Since it would never do to sit still too long, my next big project is to change wallpaper and window treatments and to have the entire house repainted inside and out. Stay tuned for details...
MK out.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Well, Well, Well...
...Look what the cat dragged in.
That would be me.
I've been in a funk lately. I have lost my knitting mojo...I have not seen as many movies as I've wanted to...but I have seen some.
First, on DVD:
Choke is a really dumb movie about a guy who pretends to choke in restaurants to raise money to pay for his mother’s boarding fees at a skilled nursing facility. He has issues and he self medicates with sex. Did I mention how dumb this movie is?
Synecdoche, NY is a dumb movie without point. Some really good people are in it, such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Emma Watson, Samantha Morton, Dianne Wiest and Hope Davis, but what a waste! This guy spends his whole life making a movie about his life, and he can’t seem to get it perfect enough. Dumb.
I have seen some that I've liked:
Michelle Williams (Wendy) stars in Wendy and Lucy about a girl and her dog (Lucy). They are making the trek from Indiana to Alaska where Wendy will try to find work. She makes it to a little town in Oregon before her car breaks down. It’s just the beginning of the obstacles that detain them from making it to Alaska. It was pretty good.
Where the Wild Things Are is a good adaptation of the book. It is much more involved, of course, because one can zip through the book in about five minutes. I think it is better suited for older children (than younger children), but it is very entertaining.
Alice in Wonderland, with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasakowska, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and many more, is an interesting adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic story of a girl who visits a magical place. Wasikowska plays 19 year-old Alice, who follows a white rabbit with a pocket watch down a hole to Underland. The Red Queen (Bonham Carter) has taken the land hostage and chops off the head of anyone who disagrees with her. The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) tries to help Alice find the weapon that can kill the Jabberwocky, allowing the White Queen (Hathaway) to take over the throne. It was quirky, as all of Tim Burton's movies are, and pretty entertaining.
I've seen some good movies in the theater:
Sex and the City 2 starring the usual subjects is an entertaining movie that is great if you are a fan of the tee vee show. I liked it. It was fun.
The Secret in Their Eyes was Argentina’s entry this year for Best Foreign Picture. It won. It deserved it. It has mystery, romance, drama, suspense and good acting. The movie is set in Argentina (duh!), from the 1970s to the turn of the century. A retired investigator is haunted by the case he never really closed, even though he solved it. It was really good...one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while.
Julianna Margulies, Andy Garcia, Emily Mortimer and Alan Arkin star in City Island, a dark comedy about a dysfunctional family. Each member has a secret that is screaming to get out. It was good.
Eclipse is the third installment of the Twilight books by Stephanie Meyer. It was pretty good, despite the fact that the acting isn’t. The movie is definitely for the fans. I really liked the books and I liked the movie.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a biographical documentary about the legendary comedienne and her constant struggle to be out there and working. Joan is a complicated woman. She is funny, although her liberal use of the f-word and the c-word makes my ears hurt. I abhor the c-word…Anyway, it is interesting to see just how insecure Joan remains, despite the fact that she has achieved hard-won success throughout her life. I liked it.
MK out.
That would be me.
I've been in a funk lately. I have lost my knitting mojo...I have not seen as many movies as I've wanted to...but I have seen some.
First, on DVD:
Choke is a really dumb movie about a guy who pretends to choke in restaurants to raise money to pay for his mother’s boarding fees at a skilled nursing facility. He has issues and he self medicates with sex. Did I mention how dumb this movie is?
Synecdoche, NY is a dumb movie without point. Some really good people are in it, such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Emma Watson, Samantha Morton, Dianne Wiest and Hope Davis, but what a waste! This guy spends his whole life making a movie about his life, and he can’t seem to get it perfect enough. Dumb.
I have seen some that I've liked:
Michelle Williams (Wendy) stars in Wendy and Lucy about a girl and her dog (Lucy). They are making the trek from Indiana to Alaska where Wendy will try to find work. She makes it to a little town in Oregon before her car breaks down. It’s just the beginning of the obstacles that detain them from making it to Alaska. It was pretty good.
Where the Wild Things Are is a good adaptation of the book. It is much more involved, of course, because one can zip through the book in about five minutes. I think it is better suited for older children (than younger children), but it is very entertaining.
Alice in Wonderland, with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasakowska, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and many more, is an interesting adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic story of a girl who visits a magical place. Wasikowska plays 19 year-old Alice, who follows a white rabbit with a pocket watch down a hole to Underland. The Red Queen (Bonham Carter) has taken the land hostage and chops off the head of anyone who disagrees with her. The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) tries to help Alice find the weapon that can kill the Jabberwocky, allowing the White Queen (Hathaway) to take over the throne. It was quirky, as all of Tim Burton's movies are, and pretty entertaining.
I've seen some good movies in the theater:
Sex and the City 2 starring the usual subjects is an entertaining movie that is great if you are a fan of the tee vee show. I liked it. It was fun.
The Secret in Their Eyes was Argentina’s entry this year for Best Foreign Picture. It won. It deserved it. It has mystery, romance, drama, suspense and good acting. The movie is set in Argentina (duh!), from the 1970s to the turn of the century. A retired investigator is haunted by the case he never really closed, even though he solved it. It was really good...one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while.
Julianna Margulies, Andy Garcia, Emily Mortimer and Alan Arkin star in City Island, a dark comedy about a dysfunctional family. Each member has a secret that is screaming to get out. It was good.
Eclipse is the third installment of the Twilight books by Stephanie Meyer. It was pretty good, despite the fact that the acting isn’t. The movie is definitely for the fans. I really liked the books and I liked the movie.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a biographical documentary about the legendary comedienne and her constant struggle to be out there and working. Joan is a complicated woman. She is funny, although her liberal use of the f-word and the c-word makes my ears hurt. I abhor the c-word…Anyway, it is interesting to see just how insecure Joan remains, despite the fact that she has achieved hard-won success throughout her life. I liked it.
MK out.
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