Procrastination II

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Movies:

Amazing Grace (2006). I didn't have very high expectations for this film (I don't know why), but I liked it pretty well. It's a good, family-friendly treatment of a serious subject. My kids liked it, too.

State of Play (2009). I'm betting this will be one of the last newspaper films, and it's a good one. Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren are wonderful actors, and everybody else does a great job, too. I liked it a lot.

The Soloist (2009). I just claimed State of Play would be one of the last newspaper films, but The Soloist is another, sort of. It's excellent, not trite or sappy, based on a true story. I recommend it.

Expiration Date (2006). I think our local library must have purchased a bunch of little-known independent films in some kind of package deal, and this was one of them. (Our library is really small, and it's always immediately apparent when they've gotten new DVDs.) I thought it was surprisingly good. Maybe slightly cheesy sometimes, but pleasant and worth watching.

Bedtime Stories (2008). My expectations for this were fairly low, but it's actually pretty good. Of course, it gets increasingly unbelievable and corny towards the end, but there are lots of funny moments. One my favorite parts features environmentalist children's books, with titles like Organic Squirrel Gets a Bike Helmet and Rainbow Alligator Saves the Wetlands.

Cranford (2007). Another delightful BBC adaptation of an Elizabeth Gaskell novel. Or rather three novels, in this case. I've read Cranford, and now I have to get my hands on the other two on which this mini-series is based. Did I mention it's delightful? It is.

North and South (2004). I loved the novel and, although the mini-series is a bit different, I loved this BBC version, too. I thought it portrayed the class differences and disputes very well. It's a little more serious than Cranford but still wonderful.

Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009). Sometimes dull and boring, sometimes excruciatingly dull and boring. I just stuck this on the end here for some balance, because I really didn't like it.

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