Victor Garber was also in the original cast of Sweeney Todd, but is tragically not on the DVD. (Although Cris Grodendaal is quite good.)

I liked the cast-as-orchestra of the revival Sweeny, at many points. It rarely distracted me, and often was cool. The minimalist goth aesthetic, I loved.

I own the 1982 DVD, but have yet to find the right time to watch it. Same for Sunday in the Park with George, actually.

I found it very distracting, and at times actively annoying. (Distracting in the case of Anthony and Joanna never being able to actually look at each other, annoying in the case of "and now, for no reason, here is Patty Lupone with a tuba." Sure, it's funny in an absurdist kind of way, but what does it have to do with anything?)

But what I really came in here to post was that I saw The Lake House yesterday, and my record for liking Keanu Reeves' movies far more than they deserve is holding strong. I mean, he's just so freaking cute. (For an explanation of the time-travel mechanism, just rent Frequency, which is basically the exact same movie.)

Have seen X3. Spoilers follow.

I'm glad I saw all three of them in a few days, I think it worked much better as one long story, but I liked X3 the least. Wolverine seemed like a very different character, as has been mentioned at length before, and Cyclops got such a miserable death I didn't even believe it at first. I liked Kitty and Peter and Bobby, and I totally understood Rogue's decision. I didn't see nearly as much of Angel or Beast as I would've liked. I wish they'd cast someone stronger or older looking to play Angel, too; he looked like he was about to break out into pimples. Angel should be magnificent, not just a kid with wings. Though of course with the character as written, he was supposed to be a teenager, so maybe in later years, he'll grow into the wingspan.

What genius cast Kelsey Grammer as Beast? He was fantastic, and I never would've thought, "hmm, Beast? Kelsey Grammer! Yeah!" He brought exactly the right balance of intelligence, humor, and perfectly timed savagery. The thing I liked best about Hank McCoy is his lack of identity crisis. Savage, violent Beast and educated, sophisticated Hank seem to be content to share a soul; there's no "who am I, man or animal?" self-torment. McCoy isn't afraid his animalistic impulses might rage out of control. His angst is over shedding on the furniture, not fear that he'll eat his friends.

And although I doubt the writers meant to draw a parallel, I will: Maybe Hank isn't afraid of the violent capabilities of his powers because he's always lived with them and never suppressed them, unlike Jean, who had hers stuffed so far down her brain stem she didn't even remember they were there. Maybe Hank would've been a better teacher for young Jean than Xavier, who clearly didn't trust her to ever learn to handle her gifts. Maybe Hank could have taught them both that it isn't just about learning how to control your abilities, but becoming a person who wants to and can.

Xavier was a dummy to think she wouldn't kill him, after all those years. Xavier's supposed to be one of the good guys, but he's got more of a god complex than is good for anyone around him.

Some people have wondered why Magneto didn't use Jean in the battle. I think it's partly because he knew he didn't really have control over her, and giving her orders would most likely to get her to rip him apart. So he didn't try, he just brought her along in the hopes that she'd rise to the occasion. She didn't, and I think that was because she was still in shock. There was a huge battle going on inside of her, too, and I wish the writers had shown it. Jean was still there, horrified at what she'd done and fighting the other half of her shattered personality. She was in conflict with Phoenix over which side to be fighting on, and as long as the battle went on inside, she couldn't fight on either. It was when Wolverine said, It's over, that she picked a side: the antagonist side, naturally.

I can't go without mentioning Storm's hair. Egads. Is the skunk look in? I had more trouble with that than the stupid I'm-a-tornado spinning. Every time she was on the screen, I was distracted by wondering if she supposed to have been bleaching it white all this time (No, dammit!) or if she was dying the roots, or WTF. And did anyone else notice that even though Xavier said she'd be leader of the X-Men after Scott, it was Wolverine who gave the pep talks and laid out all the strategy? Hell, you don't have to be telepathic to know that this wimpy simpering version of Storm is no leader. The Great Mind-Moosher Xavier got it wrong, again.

I watched very carefully for the chess scene, and I can say with 100% certainty that Magneto was not touching the chess piece when it moved. I remain baffled at Hollywood's lack of understanding of magnetism, though.

One last thing... "Oh my stars and garters" is a stupid, stupid euphemism. Fortunately Grammer kinda mumbled it, so those who never read it might have gotten away with never hearing it.

Done now. Carry on.

The BF is reviewing the DVD release of Underworld; Evolution and we are watching it right now. It is horrible--very pretty and nicely moody but horrible. It's a better movie to look at than to watch, if you know what I mean.

The opening flashback and the Speedman/Beckinsale love scene were worth the price of admission for me — anything enjoyable afterwards (and there were at least a few fight scenes that were) was gravy.

Saw An Inconvenient Truth today. Depressed now.

I actually learned a good deal about global warming. I mean, I always knew it was bad and I try to be environmentally aware, but science and I are unmixy things so I liked the straightforward explanations here. And the before/after glacier photos are just shocking. Shocking.

I just saw it too. It made me want to insulate my apartment. Except that I don't have a working AC, so that would probably be BAD right now.

I need to find out if that's playing anywhere near me. I'm curious to see just how alarmist they are. Many scientists have got very opposite views on global warming and I want to see if they give both sides a fair shake.

I need to find out if that's playing anywhere near me. I'm curious to see just how alarmist they are. Many scientists have got very opposite views on global warming and I want to see if they give both sides a fair shake.

I would say it's very one-sided, but very convincing.

I just went to Cars to cheer myself up. It worked, but all I could think during the race scenes was--all those emissions!