Exciting news today: Gabriel took his first-ever class field trip. He and his class went to the Statesboro Public Library for a story time and puppet show. How cute is that?
Well, he liked the bus ride but not the puppet show. He was escorted from the room!
Oh, well.
Also, Savannah is finally getting a Whole Foods! Now if only Statesboro would get a Target.
Let's get right to the new movies opening this week:
The Avengers The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (?) (Jeremy Renner). Yep, they're all joining forces against evil in the team-up fanboys have been waiting for. Directed by Joss Whedon, partially filmed in Cleveland, and getting some good, of tepid reviews. No one thinks it's great.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel The UK hit jumps over the pond. John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, The Debt) directs this tale of a group of Britishers retirees who, for a variety of reasons, find themselves in India. What a cast: Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Dev Patel (well, it is India). Critics like it, describing it as comfort food.
A Little Bit of Heaven Predictably dreadful reviews for this "cancer comedy" starring Kate Hudson (so you know it's a great movie, right?) as a young woman afraid to open up to love and commitment. Well, so she come down with the Big C, a life-changing event - but also one that allows her to discover true intimacy with her doctor (Gael Garcia Bernal). Naturally, Kathy Bates is around, and so are Treat Williams, Peter Dinklage, and Whoopi Goldberg, the latter appearing as God. Yes, this is the kind of movie where Whoopi Goldberg plays God.
The Perfect Family There's faint echoes of Serial Mom in this tale of a suburban mom (Kathleen Turner, where have you been?) who runs for Catholic Woman of the Year at her local church but is then forced to convince the selection board that her nonconformist family is up to snuff. Co-starring Richard Chamberlain, Emily Deschanel, and Jason Ritter, this independent dramedy sounds decent. Critics are split on it - some singling out Turner's work, others not quite on board with the handling of tone and the tidy resolution.
I don't have much to write about today, but I will add that, once again, I think you should check out my wife's blog. She has posted quite a bit recently, particularly in regards to the hoopla surrounding the $120 million dollar sale of Munch's The Scream.
Here is her website again:
http://arthistorymusings.tumblr.com/
And happy would've-been-79th birthday to North Georgia's funkiest, the late James Brown (1933-2006).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Qr8NMDtN8
One of his better songs.
Next time, Julia and I are in Augusta, we'll try to find the riverfront statue dedicated to the hometown boy.
(That is, if we don't spend too long in 2nd and Charles!)
A tune by James Brown, 'I Feel Good.' This is probably James Brown's most widely known hit.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is probably his most recognizable, iconic tune. I'm not a huge JB fan, but he was certainly influential. I used to have one of his greatest-hits compilations - he really did have a lot of excellent songs (even if most of them just devolved into squeals and grunts...)
ReplyDeleteI also am not a fan of James Brown...I lean towards "Classic Rock" music. I only put the tune up because 'I Feel Good' is the tune I think of when I hear or see his name.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm more Classic Rock too. Some bands and songs I've gotten tired of (imagine that - I'm only 31, yet I feel I've been listening to them for 100 years) - the Beatles, CCR, Van Morrison - but there are some that just never get old: The Band, The Kinks, Led Zeppelin, the Stones (minus, of course, those overplayed chestnuts like "Brown Sugar"), Paul Simon, etc. I'm sure you've told me before, but who are your favorites?
ReplyDeleteIn answer to your question "who are your favorites?" I hand coded a Classic Rock Website 4 years ago which is still on-line.
ReplyDeleteThe tunes are all linked to 'You Tube' and the quality of the tunes has diminished since Goggle purchased them. When I have some time I will go through the site and see if all the tunes play.
Now...the owners of the record labels want to be paid for the use of their tunes. Apparently Goggle has not tried to bargain with them.
I have approximately 60 songs on the website but I have now attempted to choose the ones with the best sound quality.
The site needs some work, when I think it is okay I may send the link to you.