On the afternoon of December 31st, while the boys watched Bedtime Stories with their cousin and grandpa, Lisa and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire (2008,R) (ScreenIt! Review).  From the ScreenIt! Review:

As a young man prepares to answer the last question on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" he must answer allegations of him cheating by proving that his life experiences, including growing up in the slums as an orphan, have provided him with the knowledge necessary to answer the questions.

I watched Born into Brothels last year, so I had a feel for what life is often like for kids in India's slums.  I enjoyed the film.  Several of the plot twists weren't hard to see coming (though Lisa turned out to be wrong about the prediction she made), and the love story was a bit over-wrought.  Despite all the tragedy, it was enjoyable to watch the Indian kids' lives, and I couldn't help thinking about my kids while doing it.  I'm kind of puzzled that it received an R rating...it seemed more like PG-13 to me.

I give it 4 out of 5.

Tonight I watched Charlie Wilson’s War (2007,R) (ScreenIt! Review).  From ScreenIt!:

A party-going congressman, a bitter and sardonic CIA case officer, and a wealthy Texas socialite set out to help Afghan rebels fight off invading Russian forces, all in the hope of stemming the spread of communism in 1980.

It was enjoyable enough and the subject of Afghanistan definitely had more resonance after reading Khaled Hosseini’s books…but not too much else.  I give it 3 out of 5.

A few months back I watched the film Baghdad High on HBO.  From Wikipedia:

It documents the lives of four Iraqi schoolboys over the course of one year in the form of a video diary. The documentary was filmed by the boys themselves, who were given video cameras for the project.

One of the more remarkable aspects of the film to me was how familiar it seemed…how similar in essence Iraqi school boys are to American school boys…how two Iraqis can look at the same event (for example, the execution of Saddam Hussein’s execution) and have completely different perspectives.

Mohammad: Do you think Saddam was really killed?

His grandmother: Yes he was killed.

Mohammad: Do you think his trial was fair?

His grandmother: Yes, but he didn’t need a trial anyhow.

Mohammad: Why?

His grandmother: He inflicted so much suffering on the Iraqi people.  If we hadn’t executed him we would have been the weakest people on earth.

Mohammad: Do you think the situation will improve?

His grandmother: I don’t care if it makes life better or not.  The main thing is we did the right thing.  Every dictator deserves the same fate.

and then another one of the boys:

The situation is very bad.  We got pretty upset after Saddam’s execution.  This is not the right time.  A country’s leader to be executed this way?  The people in power are not better than he was.  Dad was especially sad for Iraq.  It means that Iraq is finished.  God help us!

I give it 4 out of 5.

If we can’t have any new material from Jeff Mangum, then I guess Elvis Perkins will have to do…

Seriously, I really like this song...but it is SUCH a blatant NMH rip-off, especially the ending!

Lately I’ve been watching the Gavin & Stacey series on BBC America.  From IMDB:

Gavin and Stacey have been continuing their romance on-line and by telephone for the last six months. Now they want to be together but will their friends and family let them?

Over lunch today I watched episode 7 of the second series (or season, as we yanks would say).  I’m sure I was feeling the build up and culmination of watching the first two series over the last few months (and not just the quality of this episode)…plus it is well-documented that I love me some British TV…but I thought it was fantastic.  Smithy, in particular, is a wonderful character.

Supposedly NBC is going to make an American version (link), but they said the same about Saxondale and I never saw it realized.  Better to watch the original anyway.  Adjust your Netflix cues accordingly (though it looks like you’ll have to wait for season 2).

Tonight we watched The Bourne Ultimatum (2007,PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review).  From ScreenIt!:

A former covert operative tries to find the source of his troubled past and get revenge for the death of his girlfriend, all while dealing with government agents and assassins who want to kill him.

I’ve never been a big fan of the Bourne series, but this one (like the others) was full of superspy action and enjoyable enough.  I give it 3 out of 5.

Several weeks back I watched A Good Year (2006, PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review).  Starring Russell Crowe and Albert Finney, from ScreenIt:

A ruthless London bond trader finds his life upended when he inherits his uncle's French vineyard and then falls for a local restaurateur.

It was fairly bland but enjoyable enough.  I give it 3 out of 5.

Listen here:

A week ago I went to see Shellac play at the Crofoot in Pontiac, MI.  I actually had a couple of tickets (that my mother-in-law picked up for me) but couldn't find anyone to go with me (Prentice was on his honeymoon and no one from Nashville could make the trip).  Phreddy Wischusen, general manager of the Crofoot, told her that by getting the tickets for me she proved wrong all the late night talk show hosts with their jokes about mothers-in-law.  The Crofoot is a fairly new and nice venue.  I was standing right in front of the stage.  Last time I did that was with Matt at Slint in Chicago.  Chris Brokaw opened the show.  The dudes talking loudly behind me during Brokaw's set were annoying.  The Shellac set was loose and enjoyable.  Here are some photos.  More here.

The weekend before last we watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001,PG) (ScreenIt! Review) for movie night after we finished listening to the book on tape.  From ScreenIt!:

An 11-year-old boy has various adventures as he spends a year at a boarding school for sorcerers after learning that he's a wizard.

It was enjoyable enough but nothing spectacular in my opinion.  The kids loved it, though parts were a bit intense for Finn.  He was more skittish going to bed than usual that night.

I give it 3 out of 5.