mollyandjc: Weekend in St. Louis

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Weekend in St. Louis

Went to St. Louis to visit my high-school and very good friend Becky. She and I survived and subsequently escaped Raleigh, North Carolina back in 1974. She is a Professor of Japanese Literature at Washington University in St Louis (it says so right on the sign). Becky is the one that invites me to Japan when she is over there for her research and teaching. I have been lucky to go twice now and it is some of the best travelling I have ever done with a great tourguide and travelling companion. So she has come to visit me in DC a few times and it was now my turn to go to her turf. Last time was just a layover in 1992 with Michael on our way to Tucson. I got to see her fabulous house in University City. St Louis has alot to offer, but man it was the hottest weather so far this year! It will be great conditioning for Bahrain next month. YIKES! Becky is in the best shape of her life - correction, she is in the best shape for a 20 year old! I'd hate her if I didn't love her. So I met her wonderful friends/running partners too. Here is Becky, Iva and Nancy...

1 comment:

msc said...: "a lot" is two words

i learned that in Mrs Henley's class. It was also posted on our wall.

otherwise, this is stellar!; July 28, 2008 at 1:28 PM

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What did Molly watch on Net Flix?

Mama's Boy - with Jon Heder (Napolean Dynamite) a good funny movie that JC and I watched instead of getting some packing done.
SATC - I waited to watch this with Heidi and carefully timed its arrival from Netflix. Finally! the planets aligned this week and we watched it while Heidi and Mike visited. The movie was funny and brought these great girlfriends back to us in a familiar way. They all looked their age (that was brave) but the story was a bit askew (Carrie getting all the sympathy about her breakup, but not Miranda?) and the sex/nudity was over the top (why is that so surprising? because it was Miranda and Steve - oh my eyes!) But as a fan of the show, I liked it. Might even watch it again before I send it back. The ending was a bit rushed but was satisfying.
Across the Universe - Jessica and I liked it. Clever knitting of a story from Beatle's songs (except for a weird psychedlic episode in the middle). And it starred the guy from "21" who could be my kid based on his IMDB bio and what it says his Top 5 favorite albums are "Check Your Head" by the Beastie Boys, "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake, the Stone Roses' self-titled album, "Demon Days" by Gorillaz, and "Rain Dogs" by Tom Waits.
Baby Mama - HIL-arious! Tina Fey is genius and smart and secure enough to let Amy Poehler get the BIG laughs! Watched this in Raleigh with Mary.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead - ugh! horrible movie! HATED it! JC and I watched this in Bahrain and not sure why we sat through to the end. TERRIBLE! and it got such good reviews with Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
In Bahrain with JC we watched Bucket List - a good message, but why do these movies ALWAYS require someone to have gobs of money to afford ridiculously expensive trips? and Find Me Guilty - the Vin Diesel movie that was interesting only because it was based on the true story of a mobster that defended himself in a federal trial that lasted 21 months!
On my flight back from Bahrain in September, I watched 6 movies: Indiana Jones (Shia was really cute) 21 (liked the lead guy - more on him later) Made of Honor (passable) Meet Bill (with Aaron Eckhart, very quirky) Disco (about roller disco haha) What Happens in Vegas (Ashton is still pretty cute)
Surf's Up - what a great movie - I am going to buy that one because JC will love it, and so will the kids. The animation was like nothing I have seen before - made it look like a handheld camera. And the surfing was pretty good to watch too!
The Dark Knight - I am going to steal Mitch's comment on this and agree that it could have used some editing. AND a better script/story, too much that didnt make sense or was hard to follow. And Heath Ledger was very good, he really added alot of layers to the character, but I liked everyone equally. Just didnt care for the story - the 2 ferries was an awkward introduction of an interesting moral question, but didnt make sense to the story. Or is it just me?
Be Kind Rewind - what a good premise, but a disappointment, hard to get through. Jack Black a bit too much, the pace was slow. I made it through most of it and had to stop it. Then I finished watching the rest a couple days later and turned out the end was the best part. It had some great Michel Gondry style. And it was filmed in Passaic New Jersey. Yeah!
Get Smart - ok, saw this one in the theater and don't believe the reviews, this one is LOL FUNNY. Steve Carrell hit the right note, the script had the perfect amount of homage to the TV show and the chemistry between Steve Carrell and Ann Hathaway was adorable and believable.
Definitely Maybe - with cutie pie Ryan Reynolds - this was cute and reminded me of another movie (A Lot Like Love with Ashton Kutcher) - boy meets girl, boy and girl attracted but put off acting on it to get their life on track... who does that sound like?
John Adams (HBO) - one of the greatest books I have ever read. This surprised me - the script (what they included of all the material), the cinematography was strange, the lighting bothered me alot. Surprise also was how I liked Laura Linney (I dont usually) and how I didnt like Paul Giamatti (I like him) and loved Thomas Jefferson. The movie was much kinder to him than the book. All in all, a disappointment.
Freedom Writers - finally watched this one and enjoyed it for the story of incredible accomplishments of a small group of people changing the course of their lives.
Saturday, May 31 - Kinky Boots - cute brit comedy - some great music and energy. predictable to a degree, but these days that is nice to have in some aspect of my life.
Girl with a Pearl Earring - having read the book, and since Colin Firth is a dastardly good looking Brit! wanted to see what they did with the movie. A quiet movie and very simplified from the book, which was a good move.
Tonight I watched two faith-based movies - a classic and a contemporary. Okay the contemporary one will NEVER be a classic, but First Sunday with Ice Cube and Tracey Morgan was actually good. Not great, but not over the top, it was good. Then on TCM was one of the best movies EVER. Lillies of the Field with Sydney Poitier. A bit Zen-like in its beauty and simplicity. I am going to start calling John McCrillis 'Homer Smith'!
Death at a Funeral - the actor who plays Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (with Kiera Knightly) is now a favorite. But the pace was slow and not too many surprises. Still, always enjoy British comedies if only for the accent and phrasing.
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room - finally! an interesting movie about ACCOUNTING! I recommend this to Michael to learn the lesson of ambition and ego gone awry in business.
Love in the Time of Cholera - Javier Bardem naked was the only thing good about this movie - not that that isn't something.
Charlie Wilson's War - typically fantastic from Aaron Sorkin. Great script, loved the Julia Roberts scene in the bathroom separating the mascara on her eyelashes with a safety pin. Tom Hanks was excellent! And the Zen Master story at the end told by Philip Seymour Hoffman (who was also great) was right on. Politics are opportunistic - who may be our 'friends' today, may be our adversary tomorrow.
Lars and the Real Girl - omg love love love Ryan Gossling and this script was near perfection. So tender and so odd at the same time. A very universal theme actually - our ability to relate and interact with each other.
Saving Grace - lovely British film - Trainspotting for the middle agers - really a fun film. With the late night show host Craig Ferguson (who wrote/directed/acted in the movie). I always liked him, even before he was the boss on the Drew Carey show. Then I just saw a tv interview with him where he was talking about parenthood and he said his child's mother describes it as 'wearing your heart on the outside of your chest for the rest of your life'. I agree.
Margot at the Wedding - Nicole Kidman is so amazing - best actress today - but she picks the worst movies - everyone including Jack Black did a great job, just really hated the characters - reminded me of The Squid and the Whale because once again the children are subjected to their really screwed up parents.
K Street - the HBO series - pretty interesting since it was filmed in DC and had a Middle East subject
No Country for Old Men - ok, i started watching it on the flight home from Bahrain, but didn't want to watch it on such a small screen. Then I started to watch it Friday nite after I got home from Freddie's having had a few too many. Finally watched it Saturday morning at 7am after taking the moon shot in my back yard. I loved it! even though I had a hard time hearing the lines, I just got it and the subtlety of it was beautiful. Definitely a great movie. Oh! Javier!
Prime Suspect - Helen Mirren is beautiful and so good.
Dan in Real Life with Steve Carrell - really liked it
Watched In the Shadow of the Moon, Michael Clayton and The Kingdom with JC during my visit to Bahrain
No Reservations - didn't like it either. Sappy and not that funny.
The Namesake - ok, but not great. I had heard good reviews, but it was a letdown and in some scenes, just some plain really really bad acting
The Jane Austen Book Club - watched with Mary in Raleigh... pretty good, Hugh Dancy is pretty darn cute!
This weekend All Movies All the Time... segueways and degrees of separation... Idiocracy with Luke Wilson, based on the premise I used to ALWAYS say way back when that "only the stupid people are breeding." The clever concept in the movie was the degradation of language to a mix of hip hop and valley girl... exactly! Then I watched an episode of Sex and the City with the tall woman from 3rd Rock (tv sitcom) who was in Music and Lyrics... Ok leapfrog from Idiocracy to The Family Stone with Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson and Dermott Mulrooney, who is in Must Love Dogs. So I watched all of that this weekend while I tried to get my Christmas cards done (it's January 27th) ha!
Thicker Than Water - Jack Johnson/Malloy Bros surf film. The best part was the extras, great music and footage of incredible waves and the men who surf them.
Rescue Me Season 1 - great black comedy and Dennis Leary is awesome. Would love to hang out with him.
Mr Brooks - creepy good, watched in the middle of the night on New YEars after getting woken up in Bahrain in JC's apt from the big party on the floor above us. Apparently they will be doing a sequel. Kevin Costner was good in this.
Transformers - JC and I watched it in Bahrain. Great action and special effects.
Evan Almighty - the critics need to lighten up, this was enjoyable. I particularly liked the message in the middle of the movie with Morgan Freeman as GOD.
Watched movies with JC...Oceans 13 (not the best one but the hotel in the movie was so much like the architecture in Dubai), Live Free or Die Hard (very action packed ala Bourne Ultimatum) we enjoyed that one, and We Are Marshall which we really liked.
Thumbsucker - I originally was interested during my Vincent Vaughn days...
Entourage - Season 3 - Just finished Disk 1, trying to make it last. Still so great, like a great date with the funnest people you know. I love how they write so quintessentially about the search and the journey seeking truth while living life to the fullest and staying true to oneself. The fact that the corruption of Hollywood is the backdrop with all of its evil temptations is the perfect metaphor. I am curious about the literary background of the writers. And E is still the man. The episode where he is proving to Sloane how much a romantic getaway means to him is pure strength.
License to Wed wth 'Jim from The Office', Mandy Moore and Robin Williams (which made me doubt I would like it) but this was laugh out loud funny and for those girls (Rachel Rice...) who think 'Jim from The Office' is cute, well this will put him into Sexiest Man Alive status.
Broken Flowers - this movie won Cannes back in 2005 when it was released. Jim Jarmusch wrote and directed. Not much dialogue. Great premise for a movie, particularly for my age, looking back, wondering where I am... This is more than a where are they now story. Like the director himself said, its all up to your own interpretation. GREAT cinemetography and locations.
Entourage - Season 2 - Disc 3. OK it is freakin' official, I love 'E'. He is a "stand-up, don't-even-think-you're-messin'-with-me-just-because-I-am-short-with-red-hair-and-freckles" DUDE. Damn! And then, he comes into the scene wearing a freak-ing Frank Zappa t-shirt. I miss Cali!
Entourage - Season 2 - still very fun, I especially like 'E' - wonder if anyone ever tells him he looks like Red Buttons. and wonder if he would appreciate that. The Red Buttons of the WWII movies - he was cool.
Red Buttons
E from Entourage
The Upside of Anger with Joan Allen and Kevin Costner - it had some very honest and real scenes, but at the end I didnt care about her much. I dont want to be her, or even close to being her.
Entourage Season 1 - totally hooked!
The Painted Veil with Ed Norton and Naomi Watts - I liked it