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Feb. 20th, 2007
Notes on the oblong weekend
Feb. 20th, 2007 01:03 pmPoor Mike--he's been sick for the past week. I've been fortunate so far in not catching whatever he has (he's called it a number of things, from e. Boli--e. coli and ebola MIXED--to something insanely funny that I'm blanking on...). He actually felt ill enough to call out of work yesterday, which is really a first for him. Of course, by 10a, he seemed to be well on the way to recovery, because that's when he started talking about having a sex romp. Did you know that a sex romp is when you have sex at least three times in one day? Now you do!
Instead of a sex romp (ew, he was still coughing and his nose was whistling and every so often, he'd yelp in pain because his ears were ringing), we picked up special food for the cat and hit Genuardi's out in Conshohocken. Because my schedule finds me off at odd times, I've done a lot of the grocery shopping by myself for the last half a year or so. It was nice to have company yesterday, but the total bill came to almost $100 more than I normally spend on our 4-6 week grocery bill--and that was with the $56+ I saved in coupons! Damn you, Mike!
Once we got home, returned the PCS Prius, and put away the groceries, we settled in not for a sex romp, but a movie marathon. I had borrowed a few movies from the library and I had a few movies from my parents (they've joined some sort of Columbia House dvd thing...), and we had one Netflix selection in the house (the other two returned in record time for us). Here're my reviews.
Strangers with Candy
Designed as a prequel to the Comedy Central show, this movie was every bit as awkward, annoying, tiring, and trying as a day in high school. I'd been meaning to watch this one for some time if only because it came![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mmmmissy-recommended. But, I was never a fan of the show, so I didn't make watching this a priority. It would be hard to recommend this movie to anyone that isn't a fan of the show, but only because the comedy itself is an acquired taste. At times positively painful to watch, we still laughed because we'd been there. If Napoleon Dynamite met Weird Science and then had Jerry Springer write, produce, and direct a high school flick, it might come close to this story of a boozer and loser trying to make right. A pleasant surprise was the number of familiar faces that popped up (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Allison Janney, Kristen Johnson... And even though I don't like them, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, aka Dee Snider--scroll down halfway for the side-by-side).
In short, if you aren't offended by someone saying, "I'm as moist as a snack cake down there," then queue this flick up--it's at a library near you!
El Espíritu de la Colmena
The Spirit of the Beehive
I have to be honest--I grabbed this movie from the return bin at the library simply because the cover art looked intriguing and because I've long held a fascination with bees, beehives, and the like. Reading the description on the back of the dvd, my interest was further stoked since the film was regarded as Spain's greatest film. Slow to start, the film begins with several possible threads, but eventually focuses on Ana and her fascination with finding the spirit of Frankenstein. The cinematography is breathtaking and draws you in making the landscapes palpable, the wide-eyes of the girls tangible, the abandoned sheep shed pungent. The film is a careful, calculated piece that never feels forced and never lets up. It's evocative and unsettling: the fugitive, Isabel choking the cat, Ana running away... IMDb lists some trivia for the film, which makes me regret returning this film without a second viewing.
Hands on a Hard Body
After the Earl episode where the gang tries to win a vehicle by seeing who can touch the prize the longest, Josh recommended we see this documentary (OH WHAT CHRISTOPHER GUEST COULD DO WITH THIS STORY...). None of us rushed out to find the thing on VHS or DVD, so I chalked it up to Divine Providence when the video ended up in the donations bin at work. Nothing I read or heard about the film prepared me for the experience of watching it--this documentary was by far one of the funniest films (intentionally or otherwise) that I have ever seen. It's presented as a feature film, to some extent, in that the end result isn't revealed until, well, the end. Watching it, we found ourselves picking favorites--I didn't want Benny or Norma to win--and otherwise getting into it. I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't some sort of farce, but instead, real live Texans trying to win a new Nissan. It's interesting all around: from the methods of endurance preparation, to the breakdowns as people come up on 50+ hours of standing awake, each minute of this film holds your interest. I never would have expected this subject to be more interested than a blinking contest between two semi-blind snails, so I'm pleasantly humored that this was such a good film. If you want to borrow my copy, let me know.
That was Monday. We also watched You, Me, and Dupree (on Lance Armstrong: "He's doing more with one testicle than you and I could do with three!"), predictably funny. And Sunday, we watched the first disc of Season Two: Arrested Development. That show is the best thing we can no longer watch. I seriously want to buy the series just so I can watch the "Good Grief" episode 25 more times.
This week: furniture shop and configure, collection matters, program planning, and more. Jody's coming over on Saturday for some long-awaited knitting time and Sunday, we might be hosting our new pals Rebecca and Cole (and the IreneBean) for board games and fancy Chinese. I know that's still a ways off, but I've got to have something to look forward to, right?
Oh, and for anyone still following, we never did have that sex romp. That's what 10 years gets you!
Instead of a sex romp (ew, he was still coughing and his nose was whistling and every so often, he'd yelp in pain because his ears were ringing), we picked up special food for the cat and hit Genuardi's out in Conshohocken. Because my schedule finds me off at odd times, I've done a lot of the grocery shopping by myself for the last half a year or so. It was nice to have company yesterday, but the total bill came to almost $100 more than I normally spend on our 4-6 week grocery bill--and that was with the $56+ I saved in coupons! Damn you, Mike!
Once we got home, returned the PCS Prius, and put away the groceries, we settled in not for a sex romp, but a movie marathon. I had borrowed a few movies from the library and I had a few movies from my parents (they've joined some sort of Columbia House dvd thing...), and we had one Netflix selection in the house (the other two returned in record time for us). Here're my reviews.
Strangers with Candy
Designed as a prequel to the Comedy Central show, this movie was every bit as awkward, annoying, tiring, and trying as a day in high school. I'd been meaning to watch this one for some time if only because it came
mmmmissy-recommended. But, I was never a fan of the show, so I didn't make watching this a priority. It would be hard to recommend this movie to anyone that isn't a fan of the show, but only because the comedy itself is an acquired taste. At times positively painful to watch, we still laughed because we'd been there. If Napoleon Dynamite met Weird Science and then had Jerry Springer write, produce, and direct a high school flick, it might come close to this story of a boozer and loser trying to make right. A pleasant surprise was the number of familiar faces that popped up (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Allison Janney, Kristen Johnson... And even though I don't like them, Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, aka Dee Snider--scroll down halfway for the side-by-side).In short, if you aren't offended by someone saying, "I'm as moist as a snack cake down there," then queue this flick up--it's at a library near you!
El Espíritu de la Colmena
The Spirit of the Beehive
I have to be honest--I grabbed this movie from the return bin at the library simply because the cover art looked intriguing and because I've long held a fascination with bees, beehives, and the like. Reading the description on the back of the dvd, my interest was further stoked since the film was regarded as Spain's greatest film. Slow to start, the film begins with several possible threads, but eventually focuses on Ana and her fascination with finding the spirit of Frankenstein. The cinematography is breathtaking and draws you in making the landscapes palpable, the wide-eyes of the girls tangible, the abandoned sheep shed pungent. The film is a careful, calculated piece that never feels forced and never lets up. It's evocative and unsettling: the fugitive, Isabel choking the cat, Ana running away... IMDb lists some trivia for the film, which makes me regret returning this film without a second viewing.
Hands on a Hard Body
After the Earl episode where the gang tries to win a vehicle by seeing who can touch the prize the longest, Josh recommended we see this documentary (OH WHAT CHRISTOPHER GUEST COULD DO WITH THIS STORY...). None of us rushed out to find the thing on VHS or DVD, so I chalked it up to Divine Providence when the video ended up in the donations bin at work. Nothing I read or heard about the film prepared me for the experience of watching it--this documentary was by far one of the funniest films (intentionally or otherwise) that I have ever seen. It's presented as a feature film, to some extent, in that the end result isn't revealed until, well, the end. Watching it, we found ourselves picking favorites--I didn't want Benny or Norma to win--and otherwise getting into it. I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't some sort of farce, but instead, real live Texans trying to win a new Nissan. It's interesting all around: from the methods of endurance preparation, to the breakdowns as people come up on 50+ hours of standing awake, each minute of this film holds your interest. I never would have expected this subject to be more interested than a blinking contest between two semi-blind snails, so I'm pleasantly humored that this was such a good film. If you want to borrow my copy, let me know.
That was Monday. We also watched You, Me, and Dupree (on Lance Armstrong: "He's doing more with one testicle than you and I could do with three!"), predictably funny. And Sunday, we watched the first disc of Season Two: Arrested Development. That show is the best thing we can no longer watch. I seriously want to buy the series just so I can watch the "Good Grief" episode 25 more times.
This week: furniture shop and configure, collection matters, program planning, and more. Jody's coming over on Saturday for some long-awaited knitting time and Sunday, we might be hosting our new pals Rebecca and Cole (and the IreneBean) for board games and fancy Chinese. I know that's still a ways off, but I've got to have something to look forward to, right?
Oh, and for anyone still following, we never did have that sex romp. That's what 10 years gets you!