fifty movies: Gangs of New York

I was in high school when this movie came out...I remember wanting to see it, but too scared because of the R-rating. Well, it was on AMC today, and I realized I needed to watch fifty new movies, so I kept it on while I sorted computer files.

My first impressions? Leo DiCaprio: awesome. Daniel Day-Lewis: awesome. Liam Neeson, Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly: awesome. Cameron Diaz: what?

Seriously. I don't understand how Cameron Diaz got this part, or managed to keep it. She's just terrible. She's a rom-com, cheesy action flick, television show remake kind of actress in an A-list actors' film. Her accent is awful and she never seems to connect properly with anyone else around her.

On the other hand, the film is beautifully colored, historically authentic, and tells a compelling story. It's almost like Newsies for grown-ups, just without the song and dance numbers and with a lot more violence.

I might watch it again, maybe if it pops up on TV another day. I really enjoyed, but I'm glad I didn't watch it as a fifteen-year-old. That would have been too much.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

Rose and I finished our thrifting afternoon with Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Shaun of the Dead, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Plus I had fish and chips for dinner, so the British quota was quite high.

But really, if you've never seen Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you ought to. It's chock full of gems like this:

"In the beginning, the universe was created. This made a lot of people angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move."

Sartorial choices are hard to find- the main character, Arthur Dent, wears a bathrobe for the entire film- but the humor is wonderful, especially Alan Rickman as the adorably depressed Marvin. And Zooey Deschanel plays Trillian, so the cool factor is upped by several points.

So, in short, if you feel like watching an enjoyable British sci-fi movie, this one is excellent.

And if you ever wake up to find that the Earth is about be blown up to make way for a intergalactic super highway, grab your towel, stick out your thumb, and most importantly: