Survived the weekend, the hardest part of Todd's business trips are the weekends. During the week, I am alone most of the day anyhow... so weeknights it was a matter of just keeping myself occupied for a few hours (which I managed to do making major progress on my latest book)... but the weekends are the most challenging... a lot of time to fill!
Our TiVos are still quite anorexic... our main 140-hour one had 102 suggestions (which we use to gage how much free space we have) early last week. Currently it is in the upper 80s, mostly thanks to some movies I have recorded off HBO (some of which I burned on DVDs and sent off with Todd), so that has been the major TV entertainment of late.
But thankfully, I did get out of the house and have some social time this weekend. Scott was nice enough to lend me Buckaroo for dinner and a movie. We ended up seeing the big-screen reunion of Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves in The Lake House... a "suspend all reality," time-warp romance. It was pretty good... but if it has Sandy in it, that's usually good enough for me... but we agreed that it was probably a good choice to see without our significant others.
A funny thing happend on the way into the theater. We were looking around for seats and a group of women passed by us. One of them said to us "Oh, you're seeing a chick flick, huh." We were like "Yeah, I guess"... and then she quickly added "Well, that's a good way to meet girls." We could only smile and suppress a giggle after that one... I guess it's not the way to meet very perceptive or smart girls.
At home, it seems I am in a "romantic comedy" kick... here are some of flicks I recently caught up on:
Wimbledon - No explanation why I wanted to catch this one... being a tennis fan, plus the fact that the real Wimbledon tournament is conveniently just a week away. Pretty harmless, entertaining, and predictable flick. The leads, played by Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany, were charming... though I didn't quite get what attracted them to each other in the first place. But, I had some issues since I think I know a thing or two about tennis. First, I think it is highly doubtful that two players would start up a romance during a Grand Slam tournament. Not saying it doesn't or can't happen... but no terribly believeable. Ok, that one I can let slide... but a semifinal singles match would never be played on a outside court at the All England Club (which surprisingly allowed filming, even on famed Center Court). Perhaps real-life tennis commentators, Mary Carillo, John McEnroe, and Chris Evert (appearing in cameos) should have set them straight on that one.
Monster-In-Law - Not expecting much from this one, other than the run-of-the-mill romantic comedy... but it was not so bad. Like Sandy and Kirsten, Jennifer Lopez is pretty palatable no matter what she's in... and this one was pretty easy to digest... though the handsome Michael Vartan deserves sopme credit as well. Of course, this was Jane Fonda's big return to the silver screen and I give her props for having fun and doing something totally over the top... though Wanda Sykes does manage to steal nearly every scene she's in with the Oscar winner. TV fans will also catch Will Arnett (Arrested Development's Gob) in a supporting role... and a brief appearance by Harriet Sansom Harris (the devilish Felicia Tillman from Desperate Housewives).
Bride & Prejudice - This is the Bollywood re-telling of you guessed it... Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice (a book that I have never read or likewise seen any of the dozens of movie translations). Bollywood is the nickname of the Mumbai (formerly Bombay) based movie industry in India. In the film, our heroine is a young woman trying to find love in a land of arranged marriages... which puts her on the bumpy road to romance with an American hotel heir, William Darcy.
This was my first dip into Bollywood and I have to say it is a tad strange. These films are known for their extravagant and colorful musical production numbers. But it is not a musical per se... just a film, that occasionally breaks out into song... with the singing being not terribly well-dubbed by folks other than the actors. Overall it was an interesting and different experience... there are some good looking boys (though the guy that plays Darcy has the charisma of a wood log)... but the strikingly beautiful (and "The Queen of Bollywood") Aishwarya Rai is certainly worth a look. Oh, for Lost fans, Naveen Andrews also has a supporting role... see Sayid sing (well, lip-synch) and dance!
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