Thursday, July 2, 2009

Books and Movies

With all this traveling, I've had a chance to do some reading and see a few movies, including...

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - This is the book we read for our June book club. It had been on the New York Times Bestseller list for a while, and I was curious. I'd read (and enjoyed) Pride and Prejudice before, and I'm always game for a zombie story. Sadly, I wasn't very impressed. It wasn't particularly funny, and the zombie parts were mostly added in places where it had no effect on the story at all (i.e. any time they rode in a carriage, they fought zombies along the way). So it didn't really add entertainment or much of a new twist to the story, except in really superficial ways. I'd say you can probably skip this one and go for the original instead.


The Alchemist - I'd always heard good things about this book before, so when I saw it in a book store in Narita airport, I thought I'd get it. It's a pretty short book - I was able to finish it in the first part of the flight home, but I really enjoyed it. It's about a boy who decides to follow his dream, and not give up just because it seems impossible. It's fun, interesting, and the philosophy is uplifting. I'd definitely recommend this one.




The Duchess - I had actually seen the first half of this movie on a plane a long time ago, and just finished it recently. The movie is supposed to be based on a true story (I think). It was interesting, entertaining, a little sad.







Race to Witch Mountain - I watched this on the plane, but I have to say, it was not the greatest movie I've ever seen. Slightly more interesting just staring at my own feet. Well, maybe not that bad, but it was corny and slow moving. Skip this one and watch the original instead.







He's Just Not That Into You - This was another 'on the plane' movie for me. It was pretty well and was entertaining. I had actually read the book in the past and found it funny and well written. The movie had a lot of the same ideas and themes as the book.







Rachel Getting Married - This movie was as depressing as it seems like it would be from the trailers. Emotionally troubled recovering drug addict comes back for her sister's wedding, selfishly making herself the center of attention at every opportunity and causing emotional difficulty for everyone involved. Anne Hathaway was good in the role, though, quite different than her Princess Diaries beginnings.




For Your Consideration - This is the most recent Christopher Guest movie. Hilarious, of course, though not as good as Best in Show or Mighty Wind. It seemed like there wasn't enough time for the characters to really develop, since there are just sooo many actors.

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