The Mayor of Casterbridge

My Netflix list is about 200 movies long, and the Netflix website is SUPER slow. I get on there when a movie I wanted to see in the theater but didn't because I just couldn't justify paying a babysitter plus the 8 bucks for the ticket because it wasn't a "big screen" necessity comes out on DVD. Did you follow that? I put that DVD at the top of my queue, and while I'm there, bump a few others I'm in the mood to watch up there as well. So if I don't get on there for a while, I get a surprise in the mail! This week I was surprised with "The Mayor of Casterbridge," starring Ciaran Hinds. I read the book when I was 19 or 20, so my memory of the story was a bit hazy, but I remembered liking it a lot. I didn't have high expectations for the miniseries, despite the cast, because it was made for TV and no one had told me anything about it at all. I was captivated from the opening scene to the final credits. The music, the cinematography (sp?), and the acting came together to tell Thomas Hardy's story in a miniseries that was moving and beautiful.

The story opens with a young couple and small baby arriving at a market day fair. They stop in a tent for a meal, which ends up being a sort of soup, which, for a little extra cash, can be laced with rum. The husband drinks bowl after bowl of laced soup, and ends up auctioning off his wife and baby to a passing sailor. 20 years later, that wife and daughter appear at the same fair, inquiring after Michael Henchard, who has become mayor of Casterbridge, has kept a vow of temperance for 20 years, and is the richest and most successful corn merchant in the county. They are reunited, but keep his shameful past a secret from the town. However, his pride and stubborness reappear after a business rival arrives in town, and their lives are all affected by his selfish choices.

Thomas Hardy's specialty is finding a character flaw, in this case, pride, and illustrating how that flaw can lead to the ruin of relationships and a downward spiral of self worth. Henchard is described as a large, brooding, serious and sometimes dangerous man, and Ciaran Hinds embodies all of these characteristics in this production. Donald Farfrae, Henchard's Scottish rival, is played by James Purefoy (also seen in A Knight's Tale as the Prince). I enjoyed his acting, which was perfect, but I was also hypnotized by his Scottish accent. The rest of the cast was also great, although I think they could have done a bit better in casting Elizabeth Jane. She looked like she was on the brink of tears the entire movie. I know it's a tragic story, but there are happy parts, too.

The movie stayed true to the novel, which I found refreshing. Hardy's novels include so much description that anyone wanting to know details for costuming, casting, geography and dialogue can simply read the book and have all the information they need to make a good movie. It's amazing how rarely that actually happens. It was wonderful to watch a movie and think, "This is exactly how I pictured this when I read the book." The music was beautiful, and, more importantly, added to the movie, and didn't distract from the storytelling. (Have you seen Ladyhawke? Because that is an example of really bad music. Electric guitar while running towards a castle? Really?)

I highly recommend this one. I must warn you, though. It does not have a happy ending. It is not a good one to watch if you're depressed. It will make you cry like a little girl. But it is an excellent story and worth the emotional rollercoaster.

10 Must See Movies

Due to the incessent rain, I've spent a lot of time watching TV. There really isn't that much on right now. There are only so many episodes of Designed to Sell I can watch before I get bored with taupe paint and neutral drapes. And yes, there is always Wipeout, but it's only on once a week, so for the other 6 days, I'm out. I guessing I'm not alone in feeling this way. This is why I'm doing a list of my favorite movies for a rainy day. I'm keeping the list to 10, or this post would never be finished. These are my opinions, and, since everyone is entitled to their own opinions and tastes, you can ignore this list, or you can give these a try. I'm doing a countdown format, with my favorite at #1.

#10 Napoleon Dynamite Has the rain got you down? Are you feeling a little low? Do you need a good laugh? Or do you just need to reminisce about what you wore in high school? Take a ride with a true geek--awkward and loveable at the same time.

#9 X-Men Any of the movies will do. Who couldn't use a little Hugh Jackman in their life? Totally escapist fun.

#8 Return to Me I'm a cry baby. This movie makes me cry. But sometimes, on a cloudy day, a movie that brings out the tears is just the catharsis I need. And I only cry at the beginning and the end. The rest is funny and sweet and clean. It's like a little spot of sunshine in my gloomy day.

#7 The Office I know this is really a TV show, and not a movie, but it is as good as any movie out there, and if you have a chance, you should start from season 1 and watch all the seasons that are on DVD. I think the next season will be out very soon. Loads of laughs.

#6 Horatio Hornblower Ioan Gruffold has made it big these days as that guy in Fantastic Four (Mr. Fantastic?), but he started out in this series about a young officer that slowly finds his confidence in the British Royal Navy. There is a lot of sailor jargon (Aye aye cap'n!) and swashbuckling adventure. I think there are 8 different adventures altogether. Each one has a beginning and an end, so if you don't have 8 hours to sit around, you can watch one at a time and still feel satisfied.

#5 Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure I have suggested this at movie night time after time, and I just keep getting shot down! It may look goofy, ridiculous, immature, and downright silly, but that's because it is. And that's why it makes my rainy day list. There is nothing to think too hard about, or cry about, or talk about. It's about 2 guys who are failing history, are given one last chance to redeem themselves and save Ted from military school, and are given a phone booth time machine so they can pass history and save the world through their rock band, Wyld Stallions. I find it hilarious. And it's Keanu Reeves' finest work. After my dad saw this (which he laughed at, and he's a tough critic), he finally got why we kept saying, "Whoa" when we saw Keanu in other movies.

#4 Strictly Ballroom I love love love this movie. Take a clumsy, shy, bespectacled girl with bad skin and a smooth, fancy ballroom champion, put them together, and you've got a show. The flamboyant costumes, the clever dialogue (which is all extremely quotable, especially at ballroom competitions), the excellent acting and the sport of champions, and you have the perfect movie for a grey day.

#3 Lord of the Rings Pick one, any one. But maybe start at the beginning. Even if you're not a nerd like me, these are loads of fun. What's not to love about hobbits? And if you haven't seen these, you really should, just so you know what people are talking about. They're fantastic. And you can watch them with the spouse, because they appeal to both boys and girls.

#2 Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin Firth. If you haven't seen this one yet, please come borrow it from me. Yes, it's 5 hours long, but it's raining anyway, so you might as well watch something good and enjoy it! Great story, great romance, piano scene piano scene piano scene.

#1 North and South, starring Richard Armitage. Don't confuse this with the Civil War drama. This is a BBC production, it's British, and it's a period film. The best way I can describe it is a combination of Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. A young woman and her frail mother are uprooted by her father from their idyllic home in the south of England, where it's lush and green and beautiful, to the north, to an industrial town, full of smoke and soot and unhappy laborers. She becomes wrapped up in the union's struggle against the mill bosses, and romance and drama ensue. This is my #1 for a few reasons: 1) Richard Armitage 2) It's very well made, and long enough to get you through the rotten weather, and 3) Richard Armitage.

I own all of these movies, and if you are interested, pop by and borrow them. If not, what are your favorite rainy day movies? I can always welcome another good movie into my life!

Laughing Out Loud

Announcement: I have found the cure for a blue day.

I was feeling a little low today. Little things were getting me down (my pants were too tight, my hair looked super bad, blah blah blah). Now, I enjoy a funny show as much as the next person. I laugh at funny shows, but seldom do I laugh out loud. Just little tee hees. I don't find America's Funniest Home Videos remotely amusing, because I really don't think watching 8 kids in a row hit their dad/grandpa/coach in the crotch with a baseball bat is much to laugh at. Maybe because I'm not a 7-year-old boy. So you would think that I wouldn't find people falling into the water after running as fast as they can towards a giant bouncy ball that is floating on the water funny at all. But there is something about the TV show Wipeout that makes me laugh out loud. Not just a little. I mean, hysterical laughter. Imagine a really macho guy, dressed in a life vest and a helmet, beating his chest and telling the lady with the microphone how easy it will be to jump from one swinging giant banana to the next. He will NEVER fall in the mud!!! 5 seconds later, he has jumped onto the first giant swinging banana, slipped off the front, hit the second one, hit the first one again, folded in half, and landed directly in the mud below. It is hilarious. From giant swinging bananas to giant blue bouncy balls to enormous water noodles swinging in a circle, it's one disaster after another that always results in spectacular splashing crashes. So, if you're feeling a little blue, set your DVR to Wipeout. It's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Okay, they're about to do the Wipeout zone. Time to go.

The Rundown on the Roomba

What I don't like about the Roomba:

1. It doesn't put toys away for me.

2. It doesn't do stairs.

3. It doesn't paint my toenails.

4. Sometimes it gets a little confused when it gets in a corner or under a chair, and needs a little nudge in the right direction.

5. It takes a long time to clean a room, so you have to plan your use of the room around that.

What I do like about the Roomba:

1. It vacuums my floors when I push the Start button.

2. It's easy to empty and clean. The brushes come right out and it came with a brush cleaner that really gets the nitty gritty out. (So my husband tells me--he has been spending the most time with this activity.)

3. It cleans under the changing table and crib, the armchairs, the beds, and the tables, and I don't have to move a thing.

4. It returns to its charging dock when it finishes cleaning and juices up for the next job.

5. It actually gets the floors clean. It's not just a fancy show that leaves half the dirt still in the carpet. I know this because when we emptied the canister, half of it was fluff from the cheap carpet.

6. It comes with "lighthouse technology," which means you stick a little tower thingy at the edge of one room, and it will clean that room. When it's done with that room, it moves on to the next room and cleans it. When that's done, it heads right to the dock. The lighthouse can also be used as a wall, so if you have a great room, but only want to vacuum the kitchen section, you can put the tower at the edge and it treats the signal as a wall and stays in the kitchen.

7. It only cost $150, because of a deal we got on woot.com. I would recommend going that route, since they are usually around $300. If you are like us, and have a LOT of carpet, this is worth every penny.

8. It entertains both my 4-year-old and my 8-month-old for hours at a time.

Don't forget to vote in the poll, if you haven't already. No votes for Edward Cullen? Really?

Housekeeping for dummies

I swear I'm not trying to copy my sister-in-law, Rachel (I know a lot of Rachels). Okay, I may be copying her a little. She did a post a few months back about how excited she was about getting a Roomba. This is a Roomba:
I saw her post and thought, Oh, that's nice. I hope it works out for her. Then I sort of forgot about it. We went to visit her and my brother last weekend, and I saw the Roomba in action. My life was changed. The world opened up to me. I was transported into a land of flying cars and hovercrafts. A land where robots do the housekeeping and modern women get to sit around on their tiny laptops and blog while their floors become magically clean. Conveniently, our Eureka Boss is living out it's final days, with a hole in the hose, unbearable noise and a handle you actually have to use to PUSH the vacuum around! So, after a tip from Rachel that there was a deal on the Roomba on woot.com, I ordered one. Today I have been tracking my Roomba every 5 minutes, waiting for it to arrive on my porch. I have been imagining all week, since I ordered it, what I could do with the time I usually spend vacuuming. This is ridiculous, since Tim is actually the one that does the vacuuming at our house, and it won't change how I spend my time. The difference is that the floors will already be clean when Tim gets home, and instead of him spending his evenings vacuuming so Tyler won't eat grass that Jacob tracked in from the yard, we can play the Wii or go on a walk. I say that's money well spent. Plus, it's cool. Stephen and Rachel named their Roomba. I think I'd like to do the same. I'm going to copy Rachel yet again, and do a poll for what we should name our new toy. Please vote. Now I'm going to check the tracking again and see if the location has changed in the last few minutes.

P.S. Please think hard about the names I have listed. Jaws: Mr. Mom. Broomhilda: a large German woman that sweeps floors. Edward Cullen: vampires suck (and I mean that in the nicest possible way). Lancelot: my knight in shining armor. Really. The Roomba we got is shiny and silver.

P.P.S. I didn't have the energy to do an entire post about it, but is anyone else super pumped about the new season of So You Think You Can Dance?