First post

Very dull title, but I'm not feeling all that original this morning. I'm excited about the snow. I completely revert to elementary school mode at the mention of snow. Unfortunately, even if my office closes, I usually still have to drag myself in because of the nature of my job. I still love the snow though.

Just watched two films on DVD that I had really enjoyed in the theater and they both held up: Garden State and Bright Young Things. I highly recommend both of them. Bright Young Things (http://www.brightyoungthingsthemovie.co.uk/) is an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel Vile Bodies. Waugh devotees (of whom I am one) may have issues with the changes director/screenwriter Stephen Fry has made, but I think they work. And it's a rather loose adaptation. The characters are much more fleshed out than in the book. After we watched it, Brian turned to me and said, "Was Miles gay in the book?" Well, maybe if you read really hard between the lines... But the gay subplot actually works, showing the shizophrenic nature of British attitudes toward homosexuality at the time: it's ok at Eton and behind closed doors, but no public flamboyance please. The film really captures the frenetic nature of the time period perfectly.

Garden State (http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/gardenstate/) has some minor flaws, but it's still rather an impressive feat for a first-time director. The soundtrack is amazing, and the music is used really well in the various scenes. I don't want to give away any major plot points, so I'll just mention the scene involving a Medieval Times knight, which is hysterical.