We saw the movie Borat a few weekends ago and it was absolutely sidesplitting, though I admit it wouldn't be for all palates. The humor was definitely crude, but in a brilliant and politically satiric way. It's basically a mock documentary (mockumentary?) about a journalist from Khazakhstan (played by SNL's talented Sacha Baron Cohen) who comes to the US and basically offends everyone he meets with his culture-shocked political incorrectness. Check out a preview of some of the funnier moments here: http://www.boratmovie.com/. I can't remember the last time David and I laughed so hard at a movie. What's amazing is now there are tons of people and groups that are mad at the movie producers because they were simply told it was a documentary, not a spoof, and they don't like the way they were portrayed. Ha!! That even further cements the film's brilliance, in my mind!
Let's see...recent Netflix movies have included:
- The Jagged Edge, a suspense thriller starring Glen Close who falls in love with the rape/murder suspect she's defending. I think someone told me a long time ago what happens in this movie, because the whole movie I kind of knew what was going to happen which kind of put a damper on it. But it was still good.
- North Country, starring Charlize Theron, about a class action sexual harrassment lawsuit against the a mining company in upstate Minnesota. Fantastically done, heartwrenching, inspiring.
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (a.k.a. Brangelina). Always thought that Angelina was amazing, but this movie also restored my respect for Brad (which for some reason I can't presently identify had waned considerably). Suspenseful, quirky, humorous, and lots of great buttkicking danger and entertainingly destructive fight scenes. Loved it!
So....read any good books lately?
I'm reading Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult, a real page turner about an Amish girl who is accused of (and denies) concealing her pregnancy and then murdering the baby she conceived out of wedlock. I think I've found another author to add to my "favorites" list which includes Dorothy Allison, James Patterson, Sena Jeter Naslund, Dan Brown, and Fannie Flagg. I think I saw the made-for-TV movie that it inspired, The Plain Truth starring Law & Order SVU's Mariska Hargitay, but fortunately I don't remember what happens so I'm still reading in suspense. :)James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia was refreshingly different, albeit much more gory and grotesque than I had expected, from my usual murder mystery reads. It is set in the '40's, in film noire language and tone. As I read it, everything was in black and white, and I was instantly transported. Fascinating, but again, not for the faint of heart (or stomach).
For anyone who thinks s/he has the worst job on earth and wants a change in perspective, you need to read Lauren Weisberger's The Devil Wears Prada. As part of my "quality chick lit" reading (in the reading rotation with whodunnit mysteries, legal thrillers, historical fiction, and non-fiction), it was a rather harrowing take on the tyranny of the fashion industry from the insider lackey's point of view. Although a work of fiction, the author writes from a very autobiographical standpoint as she was in a similar position as her protagonist for the editor of Vogue.
Happy post-Thanksgiving week!
2 comments:
We saw Borat the second weekend it was out. Yes, we thought it was hillarious, (more than most comedies)although some parts, especially the anti-Semitic stuff, made me feel icky inside.
I just read Fast Food Nation for the first time. Pretty eye-opening, and nasty, stuff about the fast food and meat packing industries. It's enough to make me gravitate toward the $8 per pound grass-fed beef behind the Food Co-op counter.
There's a Fast Food Nation movie coming out, too.
I'm revisiting _Energy Medicine_ by Donna Eden (about meridians in healing) and _The Journey from the Center to the Page: Yoga Philosophies and Practices as Muse for Authentic Writing_.
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