Maggie Gylenhaal (sp?) was tremendous.

Gyllenhaal...I think. That is one hell of a last name to have to spell. And yeah, she was amazing in that movie. I must have missed the water symbolism, though. At least, it didn't jump out at me enough to yell, "SYMBOL!"

Yep. "Gyllenhaal." It's funny, I'm on the advisory board of an arts organization which her father is on the board of directors for, although I've met neither of them. But every time I see that movie, I can't help but think that we're one degree of separation apart.

I was totally willing to buy that they developed such a close relationship over such a short period of time

See, I had such a strong sense of time passing that, when they cut to Maude's birthday, I assumed a year had gone by since they met, she was turning 81, and they were already married. Threw me for a loop when it turned out she was 80.

I could probably have let the accent pass if the movie had spent more time developing Maude as a Holocaust survivor. It felt almost arbitrary as it was played -- like the screenwriters decided they wanted that element there, but didn't know what to do with it -- and the lack of an accent was one part of that.

It's a tremendously sweet movie, and I did like large parts of it. It just made the nitpick center in my brain very busy.

Did anyone else see their first trailer for Ring 2 over the weekend? Looks nicely creepy.

I wonder if the producers will agree with my train of logic, that it was sharing the ghost's experiences and retrieving her body from the well that spared Rachael the curse, rather than copying the tape and showing someone else? That would explain why she was still experiencing weird events and showing physical signs of the curse after showing Martin Henderson's character the tape. It would also mean that her creepy bug-eyed kid would still have an appointment with Samara no matter how many copies he dubbed .

Matt

I came away from the movie believing that it was making the copy that saved her from the curse. Which is why, when she made the copy to save her son she had him push the buttons etc. And at the very end he says something like "What happens to people we show this to." Esp. since he didn't die at the end.

We watched Secretary last night. I'd been avoiding it, being a little too strung-out for psychological stuff, but my husband swore on a stack of DVDs that it was a comedy. For proof, he pointed to a couple reviews on the DVD cover that say "This is one funny movie!"

It's not a comedy.

I can see how people might consider it a comedy. I don't, but then I only really consider "comedy" to be something designed to get big yuks, like Starsky & Hutch; Dude, Where's My Car?; Austin Powers; Deuce Bigalow, etc.

I realize that my *personal* definition of "comedy" is more towards the broad, slapstick end of the definition. But I don't think Secretary is a "comedy" any more than Lost in Translation and Garden State are (and I've heard them both described as comedies).

However, definition is all in how you view the movie, and like I said above, I can see how people might consider any of the 3 non-comedy movies (Secretary, Lost in Translation, Garden State) a "comedy."

Certainly, they all have comedic moments. But those movies -- to me -- are really just thumbnail sketches, of a sort, or, if you like, cross-sections of life. And life definitely has comedic moments, but that doesn't make life -- to me -- a comedy. That's WAY too simplistic.

My best comparison, I guess, is that Secretary is just as much of a "comedy" as BTVS is -- or, more to the point, isn't.

Guy Gavriel Kay's novel, The Lions of Al-Rassan, is in development.

"Zwick Feeds the Lions

Warner Bros. has attached Ed Zwick to direct period epic "The Lions of Al-Rassan," an adaptation of a Guy Gavriel Kay novel about the collision of religions in Spain during the Middle Ages that melds fact and fantasy.

WB acquired the book. Bull's Eye Entertainment's Cathy Schulman will produce with Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Bedford Falls' Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz and Rick Solomon. Bull's Eye partner Bob Yari is also involved in a producing role.

Vera Blasi ("Woman on Top") will write the script.

The book is a historical fantasy set at the beginning of the Christian re-conquest of Moorish Spain. A triangle forms between two warrior princes and a female doctor in the fictional locale of Al-Rassan.

There are allusions to the Crusades-era religious clashes between Jewish, Catholic and Muslim factions. But the author veils the faiths and introduces magical elements into the historical framework.

After sticking to a historical track on "The Last Samurai," Zwick found Kay's literary device irresistible. "He has done something remarkable in imagining a very compelling world, which has some basis in history, and yet departs in a way that adds a kind of magical realism," Zwick said. "That is a blend I've never seen before and feels like a different way to approach an epic story."

Zwick said he will likely get back behind the camera on a project this year, while "The Lions of Al-Rassan" is being written.

Blasi, who also scripted "Tortilla Soup," has written historical biopics of Pontius Pilate and Galileo that haven't been made. WB exec Courtenay Valenti will steer the project, and Donald Zuckerman and Eduardo Rossof will be co-producers."

I really enjoyed that book.

Watched some trailers on the Apple site.

XXX: State of the Union - They're replacing Vin Diesel with...Ice Cube? Well, Are We There Yet? was number one this weekend. And Samuel L. Jackson doesn't even get trailer billing, while Scott Speedman and Xzibit do?

Bride and Prejudice looks good. They're playing raas and everything!

Sin City looks pretty cool, and damn, that's a lot of stars. And Alexis Bledel taking what looks to be a pretty dark role, at least in comparison to everything else she's played.

The Jacket also looks vaguely interesting, since I'm into that sort of thing. And Keira Knightley also seems to be playing a slightly darker, edgier role.