I hope these posts are interesting. I figure if you guys took the time to recommend stuff for me, I should take the time to tell you what I thought of them.

Wallace & Gromit in Three Amazing Adventures: A kind but dense man and his faithful but overworked dog have adventures. I had high hopes for this after I saw Chicken Run. I was a little disappointed. It was cute, and the second and third episodes were pretty funny. But the first one was boring. And overall, I just didn’t think it was particularly funny. I think all the Futurama and Aqua Teen Hunger Force I watch has sharpened my tastes. Wallace & Gromit : American cheese :: ATHF : Gorgonzola, or perhaps Limberger. (Anecdote time. My husband actually likes Limberger. I refuse to let it enter the house because I cannot stand the smell of it–even if it’s still wrapped and sealed! Really.)

The Silver Stallion: A legendary silver horse in the Australian outback outwits the man who tries to catch him. It’s a bit like the Black Stallion but not really. I enjoyed the meta-fiction twist here: there’s a mother and daughter who like horses. The mother is a writer, and her daughter is reading the book her mother writes. Except midway through the story, the daughter realizes it’s true–this story is really happening as her mother writes it. It’s a nice magical touch that doesn’t need explaining. And I loved how the horse wins at the end and escapes with magic (or so it’s implied.)

Futurama–The Farnsworth Parabox, Three Hundred Big Boys, Spanish Fry, The Devil’s Hands are Idle Playthings: And with this disc, I complete my goal of watching all the episodes of Futurama. Pretty good set. I liked the alternate universe Fry/Leela romance and the bizarre things everyone did with their tax refunds.

Lost in Translation: Two Americans suffering culture-shock in Tokyo find solace in each other’s company. I thought this film did a terrific job of capturing what it feels like to be in a foreign country where you don’t speak the language. And I was extremely pleased that the two characters didn’t sleep with each other; I was cringing during the movie and hoping it wouldn’t lead to that. It was much better with the non-resolved ending where we can’t quite hear what he says to her. My favorite thing about the movie was how “lost in translation” was a theme on multiple levels: between Japanese and Americans, between friends, between spouses–nobody really gets what anyone else is saying. Ever.

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat: Musical version of the Joseph story from the Bible. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s work. Not as good as Jesus Christ Superstar, but it was a lot of fun to watch, and the number of colors and the crazy flashing lights nearly gave me a seizure. Good times. I’ll watch it again.

Stranger Than Fiction: An IRS agent discovers that someone is narrating his life and seems to know what’s going to happen to him. This was brilliant! It straddled that awkward line between funny and serious which so few movies accomplish–and there’s even a scene where the protagonist tries to figure out if the narrator’s put him in a comedy or a tragedy. Highly recommended.

This Is Spinal Tap: I figured I should try this after Best in Show. A mockumentary about a rock band. It had funny moments (I liked the part with the bread and sandwich meat complaints), but overall it was a lot of characters yelling at each other. The arguments were sort of comic, but I don’t really enjoy watching arguments and it left me a bit tense. I thought their music was pretty decent though.

More movies to come. Probably one more post, maybe two. I’m gradually returning to my life after this short intermission.