Tuesday Round Up: Weirdness, Hanna

Today has been full of weird happenings, reader. It started with a neighbor pounding on my door at the crack of dawn to tell me he found a wallet in the garage so if anyone was looking for it, he had given it to another neighbor to hold. Who, when I told the building super later, turns out to be out of the country for the past month so this is not possible. Was it a dream? I remember holding Gus, flailing in my arms, desperate to win my neighbor's love. I remember that I wasn't wearing any pants. I remember having the thought that it may not have been the best decision, answering the door with no pants on, but I thought it was the super telling me the building was burning down or something equally urgent. The mystery remains unsolved; hopefully this is the end of any somnambulist tendencies.

This afternoon we had 3.8 earthquake, which isn't huge but definitely noticeable, especially on the 105th anniversary of the 1906 Big One. I was in a meeting and said, 'oh we're having an earthquake' and my coworker said, 'we are?' Her whole office was shaking and rattling but she didn't feel a thing. Later, as I drove over the seismically unsound Bay Bridge I tried not to think about it but failed, of course. Why o why is it taking them so damn long to fix it? JUST FIX IT ALREADY.

The girls and I went to see Hanna over the weekend. Roger Ebert called it a first rate thriller and we were all like: zzzz. Although visually arresting, particularly the opening sequence and early forest scenes with Hanna (the stunning Saoirse Ronan, whose name I still don't know how to pronounce) and her father (Eric Bana, looking great), and with a great Chemical Brothers soundtrack, there just wasn't much there there. Cate Blanchett couldn't decide whether to play an evil Brit or an evil Southerner, so she did both to jarring effect. Halfway through the movie I stopped caring; even the sight of Bana in his skivvies couldn't bring me back. I'm not sure that I would even recommend this as a sick day movie.

Happy Passover, Jews and Friends of Jews!

The Royal Wedding, Plus

November is a long month, reader.

So William and Kate are getting engaged. Frankly, this pair is a bit of a snore so I won't be making room in my cupboard for the commemorative mug but I am looking forward to seeing the dress. Kate, please don't disappoint.

I guess Facebook thinks they don't claim enough of our time. They've just announced a messaging service so they can no doubt mine more of our personal information and compromise more of our privacy. Why yes, I did just see The Social Network! Terrific writing (screenplay by Aaron Sorkin, as evidenced by rapid fire dialogue), wonderfully acted, especially Jessie Eisenberg as Mark Zucker. Where did this kid come from? He's like a Michael Cera with gravitas. Trailer for you:

Professional Critic's Media Picks

What it is, reader! Here are some of my recent media picks:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I started but didn't finish the popular book by the late Stieg Larsson, and too bad, because this was a thoroughly captivating thriller, albeit a bit violent. Fantastic chemistry between Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace, so more to look forward to, as this is part one of a trilogy. The second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire, is in theaters now. This is in Swedish with English subtitles so be warned this isn't multitasking friendly.

Also in theaters now is a surprisingly enjoyable documentary, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. I had somewhat unkindly relegated Joan Rivers into the plastic surgery freak/has-been category but at 77 (and with more energy than you can imagine) she is very much back in the game, and hilariously funny.

Another documentary recommendation, The Great Happiness Space, about Japanese host boys, who are paid astonishing sums to entertain wealthy women. This movie takes unexpected twists and turns; at a brief 75 minutes, definitely worth a look.

My only exposure to comedian Louis CK was in his turn playing cop boyfriend to Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation. His great character was written out of the show, but for a good reason--he now has his own show on FX called Louie. Here's a clip:



Enjoy, reader!