Archive | 1:00 am

Not Funny, Not Good

5 Sep


Saw Junebug today. It’s a southern-fried dramedy about a couple who go to North Carolina and decide to make a detour to see his estranged family. There was great buzz about Amy Adams, who was in Catch Me If You Can, and I’d heard good things about the film in general, so I finally checked it out.

In short, not going to recommend this one. It’s unusual for me to want to walk out of a movie — even rarer for me to actually do it, which I’ve only done once, during Woman on Top, which starred Penelope Cruz — but the temptation was there. It wasn’t funny, it didn’t seem to be about much, the characters didn’t seem all that different when it was over, and it was just too long (two hours, almost exactly). And Adams didn’t live up to the hype. I enjoyed her more in Catch.

Actually, there was one good quote that stayed with me: “God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way.” (It’s funny what quotes resonate with me sometimes.)

In the end, I’d give this one a C.

Incidentally, this was the 29th movie I’ve seen this year (if you don’t include the fact that I saw Wedding Crashers twice, and you only include movies that are deemed 2005 releases). Just in case you’re keeping score.

The $69 CD

5 Sep


Never let it be said that I am not a sucker for a free anything. Especially when there’s a minimum purchase required. (Or cake. Mmmmmm … free cake.)

The Gap is currently giving away a “free” CD with covers of different singers’ favorite songs. All you have to do to get it is spend a minimum of $60. I’ve spent more for less in the past. And not that I needed the sweater and shirt I bought, but hey — there was a CD at stake.

So how is it? Well, I flipped to the next track about halfway through Joss Stone’s “God Only Knows” (even Mandy Moore sings that one better) and Michelle Williams’ “Let’s Stay Together” gave the bass in my car a good workout before I became embarassed to have it playing with the windows down. But I quite enjoyed John Legend’s “Hello, It’s Me” and Jason Mraz’s “One Love.” Even Alanis Morissette’s “Crazy” and Michelle Branch’s “Life on Mars” are good.

But the really great track on the CD is Brandon Boyd’s cover of “Alison.” (He’s the lead singer of the band Incubus.) I was trying to figure out if it’s just a great song or if Boyd’s version is just that good. In the end, I decided it just didn’t matter and I decided to “song pon de replay.”

I can’t say for sure if the CD was worth the clothes I bought. But what I do know for sure is that today I wear a big S on my chest for “sucker.”

And I’m fine with that.

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