Movie Roulette

So, Josh and I went to see The Illusionist last night. Before he got there, I was in the lobby with these three old women. They had free tickets somehow--and no idea what movies were out. For more than 15 minutes (really), they stood at the ticket counter asking the lip-peirced emo i-hate-my-life cashier what movie they should see. She was obviously thrilled to help them.

I like going to the movies whenever I have a spare couple of hours and just seeing what's playing at that time. Just last week I found out that Charissa and Emily call it "Movie Roullette." I used to do it ever Sunday when I'd return from a youth group trip. Before even going home, I'd see a movie. I'd often do it between church and youth group on Sundays too. I'd often end up seeing hidden gems that I normally wouldn't have seen. But the difference is that I'd look at the marquee and have some idea of what movies were playing. These women last night acted as if they never have heard of a movie before. I wanted to help them, but I really didn't know what to recommend to them. I did tell them tho that The Last Kiss, which they thought sounded like a good romantic epic, probably wasn't for them. So several more minutes ensued as they debated. I thought Emo girl was going to walk into traffic.

Anway, I recommend The Illusionist. Good stuff. I could tell where the mystery was going...but it was told so well I just sat back and enjoyed it. It feels like an old short story written in the early 1900's that you'd read in English class. And it kind of is. It's based on a book, but a more recent one. Anyway, Ed Norton and Paul Giamati are fantastic. But what else is new?

While I'm wearing my Reviewing Shoes, I thought I'd point out a few things. I got to see the new show Jericho. The premise is interesting: A guy comes home to his small town after a mysterious 5-year absence. As he's leaving, nuclear explosions strike at least Denver and Atlanta. Uh-oh. What's happening? What does this small town do? It's been billed as Lost meets Little House on the Prairie. And oddly, that fits. And it should stick to the Lost end. It gets awfully schmaltzy. There's this one scene where all the town's eccentric personalities are confronting the mayor about what to do. And it feels like The Gilmore Girls with nuclear explosions. The tone is just off. It almost feels like a high school production of "Our Town" at points. If the tone was less sentimental and just pitched straight with more mystery, this could be a good show. But as of now, I give it a shaky thumbs kind-of-up.

Meanwhile, if you are confronted in a dark alley by the new comedy The Class, run. Just sprint away. It's horrible.

PTOIT Quotes of the Week

"A koala and a pooh bear? How can one guy be so lucky!" -Becki when discovering that I now have managed to get two free animal costumes. That right, I have a koala costume and a pooh bear costume. Oh yah.

"On the day after a game, you think about a game and how things could have gone differently. I thought this morning about our 84-66 record. Paul hit a grand slam to tie a game here last October. Scott Podsednik won another with a homerun. The point is: We went 11-1 in the playoffs and lost a total of 64 games last year." -Ed Farmer, talking gibberish during a Sox broadcast. With Ed, you always feel like what he's thinking must have a connection in his head. It must make sense...but then it comes out and is non-sensical.

"As a fan, you don't want your team to lose. You want them to win. When they don't win, they lose. And you don't want that." -Ed Farmer again.