Well, that doesn't surprise me, but almost anything would have been better than red, from a social-propriety point of view. Unless, of course, that was the point. It seems a bit meta, though: there's no way Becky wouldn't know that red was not done.

there's no way Becky wouldn't know that red was not done.

I figured since they said that the colours deviated from what was correct/appropriate/representative, the red dress isn't not done because they threw the colour code out already.

Were there reactions to the colours in the movie?

Were there reactions to the colours in the movie?

You mean other than my thinking "I must have that fabric now now now"?

Were there reactions to the colours in the movie?

Nope. Becky wasn't accepted because she was the daughter of an artist and an actress, not because she dressed in red.

BTW, was that Reese Witherspoon actually singing in the movie?

I don't know if Witherspoon was actually singing -- although the voice they used wasn't actually anything worth writing home about -- but I did find out that the song she is singing is a Tennyson poem set to music, and was not written till 30 years after Becky was supposed to have sung it!

Yes, filmmakers seem to get off on inappropriate uses of red in historical costume dramas. (I think it's a color that films nicely, is all.) The most recent version of The Count of Monte Cristo does the same thing, having the mother of a 15 year old boy show up at his birthday party in strumpet red, and nobody notices. I mean, it is France, but it was totally wrong in that enthusiastically silly Hollywood way.

Sky Captain wins my seal of shelve-your-brain approval. I was pleasantly surprised that the actors could pull off that fast-paced, wacky can-do, early 40s style of acting (I think they had varying success, but Giovanni Ribisi as Dex Dearborn was probably best at it). It's rare that a movie can win me over with wonderment and beauty without engaging my critical faculties, but this one did.

BTW, was that Reese Witherspoon actually singing in the movie?

Nope, it was a soprano named Custer LaRue.

I liked the movie. I haven't read the book, but after reading a review that compared the two (spoilery, of course), I found myself wishing the writers hadn't deviated so much from the text in some scenes. They tried to make Becky more likable, and I wish she'd been more wicked.

I finally got to see Garden State and Hero last week, and I enjoyed them both. Hero was gorgeous, and Garden State was just perfect -- I was pleasantly surprised that it actually lived up to all the hype. I also saw Cellular, which was really funny (I've seen it described as a "smart stupid movie," which is an apt description). I saw Wimbledon, too, and it was exactly what I expected: a cute, amusing movie.

I also saw two movies as part of the Atlantic Film Festival (I was on a family vacation and staying right next to a theater -- not to mention looking for any way I could to avoid the family -- so I saw a movie every night): Shaun of the Dead and A Hole in One. Shaun of the Dead was, of course, hilarious, and the theater was packed with people who'd laugh and clap whenever someone overpowered a zombie, so it was a lot of fun. A Hole In One... wasn't. I wanted to like it, because it was filmed in Halifax, NS while I was attending college there, starred Michelle Williams and Meat Loaf (as a gangster!), and was about a girl in the '50s who wanted to get the latest "in" surgery: a trans-orbital lobotomy. I found it overlong, draggy and disjointed, unfortunately, and I didn't really care about any of the characters. I felt bad for the writer/director, who was at the screening, because I could hear people around me whispering about how bored they were, and some people even left before it was over.

I felt bad for the writer/director, who was at the screening, because I could hear people around me whispering about how bored they were, and some people even left before it was over.

Oh, ouch.

I can't take "Cellular" seriously, even though I haven't seen it, just based on its premise and its name. IF THE CONNECTION DIES, SO DOES SHE. I made my best friend laugh uncontrollably by applying the same action-thriller-announcer voice to my own ad slogan: HOW MANY BARS DO YOU HAVE?

The beauty of Cellular is that you aren't supposed to take it seriously, though. I dragged my little brothers to it (despite being 16 and 18 and usually enjoying stupid action movies, they didn't particularly want to see it) and they loved it. The three of us laughed all the way through. It's a total suspension of disbelief/just enjoy the ride movie, full of lots of great jokes that poke fun at the premise and the characters.

Although Mrs. High-School-Biology-Teacher- Kill-A-Guy–With-One-Tiny-Stab-Wound-That-Doesn't-Actually-Bleed-Much should have realized that with your life on the line, you don't assume the hardened murderous cop will stay unconscious indefinitely if he's just barely been choked into stillness. In that situation I'd have dragged the handcuffs chain back and forth til I struck carotid artery .