July Entertainment Extravaganza Recap

One of my goals for July was to watch some movies (and stay awake all the way through them) and read some books. Note that I did not set a specific number for either one, as it is very easy to satisfy the definition "some." So, here's a rundown of what I was able to accomplish, in case anyone's interested in "some" reviews:

BOOKS

Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner: Surprisingly excellent

This books falls right smack in the middle of the genre now known as "chick lit," which is usually the literary equivalent of watching "The Bachelor" (not that I do that...OK, I totally thought DeAnna would pick Jason. Shut up.) It's actually very well-written, though, and I wish I had read it before I became a mom--it's got a lot to do with life after having a baby. I laughed, I cried, yada yada yada.

Bonk by Mary Roach: Surprisingly hilarious

After seeing three different, rave reviews of this book and giggling at the title every time, I ran across it at the library and noticed that the cover has tiny "bonking" ladybugs on the title of the book. That sealed it--I had to at least give it a shot. It's a non-fiction book about how scientists have found out what they know about sex and reproduction, and the author is hilarious--I actually laughed for about 10 minutes straight at one point, with tears rolling down my face, at a segment about how they have actually made "sound-proof, deodorizing underwear" for, well, people who need such things. If half the stuff in this book could be repeated in polite company, I'd be the hit of every social gathering for at least a few months.

Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella: Decently entertaining

More chick lit. What can I say? I'm a girl and sometimes feel the need to act like one. This is the first book in the series that I've read, and I started out thinking, "This is the Most Annoying Character in the Universe...how can people read this stuff?" And then it got funnier, and ultimately won me over. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a "good, solid 7." Ten thousand points to anyone who knows what movie that's from, by the way.

MOVIES

Jesus Camp: Decent movie, but alarming

I'm not religious. But, I made up my mind to at least attempt to be open-minded about this movie, and not immediately see the subjects (Evangelical Christians who host a religious camp for kids every summer) as a freak show. This lasted until the moment when the leader began praying over the empty seats of the auditorium where she would be speaking the next day...and then said something to the effect of, "And Dear Lord, we ask for you to watch over our sound system, and to bless our speakers. Please, Lord Jesus, protect our PowerPoint presentation from the Devil who loves to interfere with our technology!" That's where she lost me. I know religion is a touchy subject, but I'm gonna go ahead and go on record as saying that if, in fact, there is a God up there, I certainly hope he/she/it is paying close attention to, say, the situation in Africa, and not to whether someone's laptop is malfunctioning. That's all I'm sayin'. That, and the next time I get an error message from Internet Explorer, I'm blaming Satan. Bill Gates is officially off the hook.

Lions for Lambs: Walks a thin line between smart and cheesy

I liked this movie. One of the things I liked best about it is the fact that Robert Redford (who directed) managed to tell three separate but related stories without employing the now drastically-overused devices of a) arranging the scenes in random order so that you spend most of the movie feeling like you're reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book straight through, and b) having all three stories "shockingly" intersect at the end during a "twist" that is supposed to be profound but is, instead, stupid. Can you tell I'm still bitter about Crash and Syriana? Anyway, the scenes between Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise were well-done, Tom Cruise is good at playing a sleazy politician, and though it borders on cheesiness at a few points, it's worth watching--if you're up for lots of political diaglogue about the Iraq war.

27 Dresses: Grudgingly, I admit enjoying it

Please refer to the above comments about being a girl as my excuse for watching this movie at all. It's pretty much required for anyone with a uterus to watch all movies involving weddings, just as everyone in possession of a Y chromosome is obligated to see any movie that features bullets moving in slow motion. Anyway, shockingly, it was actually good--and I mean "good" as in "romantic comedy good," falling somewhere between Miss Congeniality (highly enjoyable) and Must Love Dogs (worst movie ever made). It does use standard Romantic Comedy Rules, which state that any 6-foot tall, stacked blonde with perfect features can automatically be transformed into "average" or "homely" by dyeing her hair brown or giving her glasses (this one went with the hair)....but it's charming enough that I forgave them for it.

Bill Maher: The Decider - Don't bother

This entire comedy routine could be summed up as follows: "President Bush is an idiot." At one time, this was a controversial opinion, but now it's just beating a dead horse. I think we laughed once or twice, but the rest of the jokes were old, lame, or more depressing than funny. I would rather have spent that time shining the "Frodo Failed-Bush Has the Ring" sticker on my car, and called it a day.

Kyle Cease: Weirder. Blacker. Dimpler. - Eh.

If you ever get a chance to catch this guy's Comedy Central special, it's hilarious. Hilarious! This one, though, was a little disappointing.

Lucky You: Abandoned

Eric Bana's performance in this movie might cancel out his work in Munich, in the same way that Cuba Gooding Jr.'s Oscar for Jerry Maguire should have been revoked after he made Boat Trip. I couldn't even watch more than the first half hour or so. Maybe if he had put on his outfit from Troy, he could have saved the film, but as it was, I fell asleep and felt zero guilt.

Wall-E: Hooray for movie theaters!

For people who met at a video store and had a movie-themed wedding AND baby shower, it's shameful how rarely we go to the movies these days. Because of this, I waver between two sets of logic when I walk into a movie theater: "This Better Be Good Because It May Be the Only One We See This Year" or "Who Cares? I'm in the Only Place in America Where It's Okay--Nay, Encouraged--To Eat a Box of Sweet Tarts So Big The Insides of My Cheeks Will Forever Be Raw!" In either case, this movie was a wise choice. I'm not sure I'm on the Best Picture bandwagon, but the people at Pixar are geniuses and this movie is well worth seeing, though I still rank it below Toy Story. Keira would agree.

So, there you have it: 7 movies and 3 books. Not bad for a month's "work"! It will probably be a personal record for decades to come, because the new TV season's a-coming, I'm (half) employed again for the next three months, and I still have a playroom to finish decorating...and don't even get me started on August's To-Do list.