February Round-Up - 2009

Oh, February...Back when the year still seemed new and rife with possibilities.

Movies Seen: Eleven, with one in a theater. That one was "Coraline," and it was definitely worth seeing in a theater, as I saw the 3D version, which was awesome. It totally reminded me of these books I had as a kid where instead of illustrations, there were photos of puppets, and the covers had 3D lenticular images. Actually, I think I only had one, "The Little Mermaid." Anyway, if you're going to see the movie, that's the way to go. Unfortunately, I think that chance has passed. Alas.

The DVDs I watched were pretty unmemorable. The best was probably "Operation Filmmaker," a documentary that doesn't go the way you think it will. The worst was "Nights in Rodanthe," and yeah, I know some of you are just going to say, "What did you expect?!" And perhaps they're right. But sometimes what a girl wants is some predictable romantic fluff. But the way this one ended just caused me to yell "FUCK YOU 'NIGHTS IN RODANTHE'!!!" at my TV.

Books Read: Two. One was another of Charlaine Harri's Sookie Stackhouse vampire books, and I think I'm going to have to lay off the series for a little bit. And the other was "Disquiet," a weird little novella by Julia Leigh. I would probably deem it quite gothic, if I actually knew what that term meant when it comes to fiction, so instead I'll just say it kind of reminded me of a V.C. Andrews story, if V.C. Andrews had been a better writer.

I also finished the "Y: The Last Man" series of comics. I'm glad I learned about the comic late and was able to read them all at once (well, as quickly as they became available at the library, that is), because I would have been dying if I had to wait every month for years for a new issue. It wasn't a perfect series, but I liked it a hell of a lot, and there was one panel in the last issue that just made me burst out crying. I think the last graphic novel or comic that made me cry was "Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth," so that's saying something.

Fancy Dinners Out: Really only one, at Ruth's Chris. I had to have one last steak before I went on my annual Lent-inspired forgoing of the red meats. I also went to a fabulous afternoon tea at Crown and Crumpet, which you can read about here.

Live Shows Seen: I think a night of Cinematic Titanic counts as a live show, yes? For those who don't know, Cinematic Titanic is another venture created by "Mystery Science Theater 3000" alums. I've spoken of RiffTrax before, and Cinematic Titanic is pretty much the same set up, at least as far as the live shows go. The cast includes Joel Hodgson, Trace Beulieu, TV's Frank (sorry, I just can't call him anything else but that), and Mary Jo Pehl. The movie they did was an awful Filipino vampire movie called "Blood of the Vampires."

Shoes Bought: None. And I am seriously jonesing for some new footwear, let me tell you what.