As a reward for finishing up a big project today, I dusted off my latest netflix movie and settled in for some entertainment. I felt pretty sure I would like this movie because it’s about a piano player who plays Rachmaninoff.
Well, Shine was a bit disappointing. Though I am always happy to see someone with a physical challenge (like mental illness) portrayed in a positive way, the writers came up with a maudlin and predictable plot. Not even the ugly-man-bare-buttock-humor was redeeming (unlike in Waking Ned Devine, A Room With a View, or Bean).
More than anything I was annoyed that the piano scenes were awful. I wanted _real_ playing, not a poor imitation. And the concertos were all chopped up throughout the movie. What a shame.
Not sure why this movie was Oscar material–feeling pretty disappointed in the sad, sad state of American cinema. Does anyone out there have any really great movies to recommend?
–As if we all needed another reason not to do fast food, eeuuuuwwww! And just after I found out that Chipotle gives free beverages to anyone with a student ID! :)
–I can’t say how happy I am to know that the Chinese are clamping down on spitting. After spending a gruesome 2 hours sitting across from a woman in the Beijing airport who was spitting and blowing her nose onto the floor [read: at my feet], I’m happy to know that such behaviors will no longer be allowed…
–UCI made headlines today. Glad to be attending such a contraversial school. Hah.
–finally, a humane mouse trap. But what I want to know is how to adapt this for catching garden gophers…