In a darkened room

So I've seen 3 movies in the theater in the last 4 weeks, which is more than I've seen in the last 6 months, I think. I'm just so picky about movies, because a bad one makes me feel like I'm wasting time *and* money. And TJ and I don't like the same kinds of movies, so it's pretty hard to find one that we both want to see.

TJ and I saw 'Cars' a couple of weeks ago, and it rocked. Yes, it was predictable, and the characters were stereotypes. (e.g. the flashy lowrider was voiced by Cheech Marin, with an obvious Mexican accent) But it was a fun movie thanks to the attention to detail that comes in Pixar films. The scenery was gorgeous - there were scenes where the animators were just obviously showing off what they could do. The soundtrack was actually pretty good, too, with a kickass cover of "Life is a Highway" by Rascal Flatts. Since it was a kids' movie it wasn't too long, either, and we came out of the theater happy. We'll buy that one on DVD when it comes out.

Next I saw 'The Devil Wears Prada' with Dre last weekend. It's definitely a chick film, and TJ knew that, and didn't want to go. I had read the book - definitely not a literary work, but quick and enjoyable nonetheless. I liked that the book and the movie focused on the main character's career, and not about her trying to get a man. There was some peripheral relationship stuff in there, but it wasn't the central plot. The movie was a lot of fun - amazing fashion, good music, and lots of witty banter. The best was Meryl Streep as the evil Miranda Priestly - she was so elegant and so disdainful - it was delicious. She also reminded me of a certain professor I had in college - mind you that professor wasn't as mean, but also exuded that ice queen condescension at times, and commanded incredible respect. I'd buy this one on DVD as well and would happily see it again.

Last night, TJ and I saw 'The DaVinci Code'. I know, we're a little behind the times, since the movie is on its way out here - there were only a few theaters still showing it. Neither of us was impressed. It was ok, about as good as 'National Treasure' which we saw last year. Tom Hanks looks like a dork with that long hair, and the movie was way too long. I guess it's hard to condense such a long, detailed book into a 2.5 hour movie, but it was mostly not very believable because Tom Hanks' character would just suddenly come up with answers to the riddles, etc. I guess it's hard to convey that process on-screen. It reminded me of the oh-so-annoying Vincent D'Onofrio's character on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, who just "intuitively knows" things, out of the blue. There were some cheap attempts at suspense and surprise when the evil monk would just pop out and try to kill someone, but otherwise, I kept checking my watch to find out how long we had left. And that's definitely not a good sign for a movie. I don't plan to buy this on DVD, but would still like to read the book.

And speaking of movies, we're going to buy a projector for our living room to slowly begin the process of making that room a better space for us to hang out in. Woo hoo!