Sorry, I used the quick edit. Then I forgot that code is not magic. Should work now, I think.

I thought Joss once said he wouldn't direct anything he didn't write himself.

I just saw Cellular, and it's actually pretty fun. It doesn't take itself nearly as seriously as Phone Booth did (though I liked that one too, if only because it let me look at Colin Farrell and listen to Kiefer Sutherland for 90 minutes), and the main character's mistakes that keep the plot going are all fairly reasonable mistakes. (For values of "reasonable" which fall within the film's admittedly broad spectrum, of course. But the film does a pretty good job of balancing the instant action hero-ness with the regular-guy-who-makes-the-wrong-decision-sometimes-ness)

And William H Macy is terrific -- he has the best "figuring things out" face of anyone in the business.

Okay, now I see why Spinal Tap is so popular. That's a damn funny movie.

Although like "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" and "Play it again, Sam," the phrase "Turn it to 11" is never actually said in the movie. But there are a lot of other great quotable lines like "You can't really dust...vomit" and "Well you ask yourself, how much more black could this be? And the answer is...none...none more black."

Has anyone seen Fear of a Black Hat ? It's like Spinal Tap, but with a rap group, and it's a lot more ridiculous and a tad less grounded in reality. But very, very, very funny.

I also feel like changing my tag to "The Patron Saint of Quality Footwear."

Fear of a Black Hat

I am having a moment where "rockumentary" and "rapumentary" are convolved* into a word like "popumentary."

Pity me.

* Because 'convolved' is one of ita's favorite words, that's why.

In a world where "infotainment" is a word, it would take quite a bit to surprise me. Disgust and disappoint, easier. But not surprise.

Has anyone seen the silent The Passion of Joan of Arc? Very powerful drama that puts the viewer through the wringer. The movie starts with Joan's trial and continues through her execution. Maria Falconetti is a miracle as Joan -- you can feel her anguish, and the camera spends a lot of time in close-up. Actually, much of the film is close-ups of the characters -- something that adds to the power.

Not for the little ones, though. Some shots in the execution scene could be pretty disturbing for the pre-teen set.

Has anyone seen Fear of a Black Hat? It's like Spinal Tap, but with a rap group, and it's a lot more ridiculous and a tad less grounded in reality. But very, very, very funny.

My husband owns it and occasionally makes people watch it. Last time was when ita came to visit, and I retaliated by falling asleep on the couch.

Falling asleep? I don't think we can be friends anymore, Dana. How can you not love a movie featuring a rap group called Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme, who affirm their superiority over Salt 'n' Pepa for having four spices? And songs with lyrics like "when I doo doo, is my shit not brown?"

I've seen it like five times. It's not that funny.

Spinal Tap, now...

For the record, I did not fall asleep. I enjoyed it.