Saw Geisha. It's too long, but not as bad as I'd expected. It's overwrought campy melodrama posing as art, but I wouldn't regret watching it on DVD.

Ziyi Zhang is beautiful, but not remotely convincing as one trained in "the art of conversation" -- her character spends most of the film staring blankly into space, and then looking startled whenever anything happens. I can't tell if she had more lines and they were cut, or if having her be mostly silent was the plan all along. (And anyone who's seen House of Flying Daggers knows she *can* act, she's just not doing it here.)

Gong Li is just terrific, and staggeringly beautiful as always. She's got this kind of gothic slut geisha thing going, and it doesn't matter how historically believable she is or isn't, she's the most beautiful woman on the planet having loads of fun playing a slutty bitch with fantastic clothes. So it works. She should keep working on her English so she can get cast as Death.

Betsy, I know you had nitpicks about the makeup -- it's not much of a spoiler to say that they're in whiteface for the first half of the film, but after the war there's supposedly not enough money for Real Geisha Makeup or kimonos anymore, which is the reason given for the naturalistic look.

She's got this kind of gothic slut geisha thing going, and it doesn't matter how historically believable she is or isn't, she's the most beautiful woman on the planet having loads of fun playing a slutty bitch with fantastic clothes.

I think I just saw a vapor trail in Seattle as Jilli shot to the nearest theater.

I finally saw Goblet of Fire today.

Oh, Harry. You are slowly becoming a walking bag of trauma. Daniel Radcliffe broke my heart when Harry was clinging to Cedric's lifeless body and sobbing.

I disturb myself with the fact that, even as noseless Voldemort, I thought Ralph Fiennes was hot.

I also disturb myself with how much I want to do dirty wrong things to Harry.

Truthfully, I can see where all the Harry/Hermione 'shippers are coming from. While I, personally, think they have a fabulous platonic BFF friendship a la Veronica and Wallace, I can also see where it might seem a little 'shippy.

I know it's got to be hard to adapt such a huge book into a movie, and the important plot points were covered, and covered decently, but I still keenly felt the lack of the rest of the material.

Jess, that's a reasonable excuse, but nightingale dung can't be all that scarce even in a postwar economy...

There's a Sean Bean movie playing on IFC right now in which he isn't the bad guy.

Although, he is a soldier.

I was just watching that, too, Sumi! Bravo Two Zero. Sean looked great in the camis, and even looked good under torture. Since I missed the first 45 minutes, I didn't catch his character's last name until he was asked for it by his captors, and then I realized that we had the book the movie was based on at the bookstore (the history section was one of mine to stock and organize, so I remember those books more than others).

Just got back from Geisha. I enjoyed it more than i expected based on the reviews - maybe that's why. I didn't have very high hopes. It was absolutely stunningly beautiful.

The first part was better than the second part, I thought. It got a little long in the tooth by the end.

Ziyi Zhang looks really good with blue eyes, though.

I think I just saw a vapor trail in Seattle as Jilli shot to the nearest theater.

We still haven't seen Kong yet, so there's no way I can talk Pete into costume-drama silliness. But oh yes, I plan on seeing it.

I couldn't finish Bravo Two Zero. The torture scenes reminded me that I had less unpleasant things to look at...anywhere else.

Jess, that's a reasonable excuse, but

Hey I never said it was a good handwave...

It got a little long in the tooth by the end.

Yeah, the momentum kind of died after Gong Li left. And the final scene was just creepy -- it was played as a Big Romantic Scene, but all I heard was "Ever since I saw you as a ten year-old, I thought you would grow up to be really hot, and that I could buy you."