Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Scrabble, Interrupted; and Movies

Rachel and I started but didn't finish a Scrabble game. I was to go first, and I had all vowels, so I tossed in. Rachel went first instead. A few rounds later she had all vowels, and she complained for several rounds before I managed to convince her to skip a turn and toss them in.

By that point she was behind some 50 points and didn't feel like continuing.

My Sister's Keeper: Lovely tearjerker with beautiful visuals and music. I'm not entirely thrilled with the direction the story takes at the revelation scene near the end of the movie; it's a cop out. Instead of resolving the difficult moral problem the story raised, it all gets pushed aside, unresolved. Nevertheless, the revelation, given the characters involved, is sensible. Somewhat too much Hollywood. Still lovely.

Dead Man Walking: Fantastic movie that proves that you don't have to cut away from the difficult moral problem raised. This movie goes straight into the heart of what other movies shy away from and keeps going right down to the bitter, inevitable conclusion. Highly recommended.

Up In The Air: Hollywood formula, pleasant, shallow, and predictable, not at all deserving of the praise it received.

The Boat That Rocked: The equivalent formula from Britain. A trip through the early rock-and-roll era. The sides of the issue (rock music) are presented in a totally one-sided manner, as are many of the people involved. Still, the characters on the boat are sometimes fun. Also pleasant.

Crows N Bones magazine has an interview with Reiver Games, my publisher.

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