Umm, story of my life?

I soooo want to see this movie.

Secret Shame

Ok, I admit it. I saw Twilight . . . and loved it. Yes, this angst-ridden vampire drama is definitely aimed at a teen audience, but that was what made it such a glorious treat after weeks of studying, writing papers and sufferring through exams. Even though I laughed through the entire thing, a part of me can't wait for the sequel.

My favorite part was when they were describing his vampire skills. The camera would cut to a close-up of the word "fast" on a computer screen and then show the vampire, Edward, running really fast, and then it would show "strong" and he'd lift something over his head. NOTHING was left to the imagination, and every point was made about five times to make sure you didn't miss it.

The next best aspect of the film was the dialogue, incredibly basic with a 4th grade vocabulary. However, it worked for the film. As much as I would love to think that I quoted Proust in my high school years with the ease of a Gossip Girl prima donna, I know better. It was perhaps better that the characters of Twilight were a bit on the quiet side (their sentences averaged at about 3 words per sentence, less if you factor in the meaningful stares as communication); any depiction of real high school banter would have been far less interesting.

My only regret about seeing it is that the author, who apparently has no imagination for dialogue and doesn't understand the concept of subtlety, will become fabulously rich from this whole endeavor.

You gotta love a guy in glasses . . .

How could anyone prefer Fred Astaire to Gene Kelly? Honestly?



I love this scene with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, but Cyd totally steals the scene. I don't know of anyone who managed to steal a scene when Gene Kelly was dancing.



To be fair, we'll even compare the two dancing with the same woman.



Can I just add I love Gene Kelly's glasses? I just love a guy in glasses.

Ups and downs

Today I attended a 3-hour debate on France's 5th Republic. The panel included some illustrious speakers including former Prime Minister Edouard Balladur and National Assembly member Jack Lang. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay focused for more than 5 minutes. As I am not terribly familiar with the French Constitution and its many reforms, I was lost from the start. It was frustrating to say the least.

On a brighter note, I went to see the film "Entre les murs" last night, and succeeded in understanding 95% of it. It's based on the experiences of a French junior high school teacher (who later wrote several books and stars as himself in the movie) in a poor Parisian school with primarily immigrant students. I liked how it isn't the story of an extraordinary teacher that manages to rally his students around him in admiration (this isn't the story of Susan Cramer), but more the story of the frustrations, small successes and setbacks this teacher had to go through. I could only find the trailer in French, but I think you can get an idea of what it's about.



Now if only I could understand elderly French people as well as I can understand teens from the streets. :(