Enter the Dragon

I expected this to be a crappy action movie, but I was interested in watching it after hearing the
soundtrack from the next room. Between that and the dude with the big 'fro, I expected it to be a blacksploitation piece, with at least a lot of camp entertainment value. ...but it actually wasn't bad as a movie. The choreography was very real and well-designed. I watched a very poorly-derived vhs print, so I have to wonder if the film had higher production values than it appeared. If it was originally made well and a print can be cleaned up, however, it's a keeper in the action canon. The foley editors obviously had a little too much fun with the sound effects and post-dubbing, making it cornier than it needed to be... but it was a fun romp. Rated 3/4.

Simpsons - Season 8

Homer's Enemy - so sad... i've seen it before and thought that it was sad then, too... I suppose that it's not poorly written, but I feel too much for the guy (and I don't watch 'Simpsons' for Schadenfreude) to rate it any higher than a 5.

Spin-off Showcase - Cute. Clever. Rated 4+.

The Secret War of Lisa Simpson - Cute. Would be cuter if it were ever alluded to again... 4+

From the Earth to the Moon (pt 1 & 2)

Too many guys who look the same for me to focus well on the narrative. And I'm seriously failing to see why I should get excited about a space program that was almost always one step behind the cutting edge... The second episode was a little easier to follow, however. Rated 5+.

Outfoxed

Why I am such a bad American? Because movies like this one are true. The more Fox you watch, the more falsely informed you are... yet those same people think themselves the truest, bluest patriots. We're going to H*** in a handbasket, but the journey has nothing to do w/ gay marriage. Whachagonnado? 'fraid nothin' can be done... Rated 3.

The Office (UK)

At first, I didn't think that I would be able to handle too much of this series at once. I've never had a boss who thought that he was funny, but I've worked with more than my fair share of discriminatory a**holes... I've pushed their memory in a corner of my mind where I do not wish to go. But the series is so brashly funny that it didn't eat at me as I thought it might, and I laughed and laughed and laughed. Comeuppance is in store, and in the end it's just a corny love story, anyways, no? Lovely. Rated 2.

Capote

Internal, quiet, intricate... Capote didn't blow me away, but it was good. I'd read the book ("In Cold Blood") several years back but didn't know that it was supposed to be so groundbreaking. It's so common nowadays. Yes, good performances, nicely understated... Rated 4+

Zoot Suit

A little bit "Cabaret", a little bit "Chicago", and a little bit "Fight Club... An original narrative, if not much as a musical. (Only the narrator ever sings, and only a few songs at that.) Taught me something, as I had no idea that "Zoot Suit" was a racist term for Latinos. I had only heard the term used, I think, in Billy Holiday's autobiography... Rated 4.

Maria Montessori - The Absorbent Mind

It makes so much sense to me: have your child treat every day as an opportunity to explore, and give them the structured freedom to explore, and they will be too busy to try to get into trouble. Kids *want* to learn. They have to be taught to be lazy. (Watching my daughter, I would say that this is so.) I am so lucky to have been allowed to study at a Montessori school for two of the prime formative years (thank you, Harriet!!!). Especially after reading this book, I see how - while I went on to learn some bad habits from later influences - a lot of what I learned there at the very least instilled in me a love of learning. Rated 2+.

Dead Like Me - RIP

"Last Call", "Always", "Haunted"
I'll lump these final episodes together in a fabulous heap. Such a beautiful way to end a series. Never has a series about death been so life-affirming to me. Rated 2.

Star Trek - All Good Things...

I had already seen this episode a while back. Q ends this series, at least, as mischievously as he entered it. I've been a fan of the time travel since my childhood (see previous post), so of course I enjoyed this episode. Rated 2-.

Star Trek - Q2

Farewell, sweet Q. I have now seen every episode featuring you.
You did not end with the same omnipotent bang with which you entered, but I respect you all the same.
I would have loved this episode if I were 12. Not only is the writing on par with the type of drama I would have found inspiring at that age, Q's mischievous offspring (also the actor's) somehow reminded me of my childhood actor-crush, Meeno Peluce. Rated 5.