Small screen, big screen
Our loyal readers know by now that Grumpus and I take our television seriously. Thanks to big sis Trickie, we discovered the brilliant Foyle’s War, a detective series set in the WWII English countryside. I love my laconic, cerebral British detectives as much as the next girl, and I have to say that DCS Christoper Foyle has taken over the space in my heart previously occupied by Commander Adam Dalgliesh.
Foyle is laid-back yet intense, gentle but with ice running through his veins, deeply moral (can there be any other kind of fictional detective) and well, badass in a terse, non-violent British kind of way. We also love Honeysuckle Weeks, the name as much as the actress, who plays the mouthy Samantha Stewart and of course Sgt. Paul “the handsome one” Milner. Each episode of Foyle is a short movie, an hour and a half long, and is as much about the war itself as the crime under investigation. The only downside is that each season only has 4 episodes and we’ve already seen all three seasons that have come to DVD; we’re currently on our second round. Oh, and have I already said that Michael Kitchen is a hottie?
Today, Mickey and I also saw the latest Pixar offering, Cars. We were the only unaccompanied adults in the theater, but Mickey had enough gleeful anticipation - and body mass - as a row of 5-year olds. The fun really started when the lights went down and a movie announcement was made “Save your ticket stubs for $50 off admission to Hong Kong Disneyland”. A rush of hushed, reverential “oooOOooh, Disneyland!” squeals followed.
My snack of choice was a medium-sized tub of mixed sweet and salty popcorn, a superb concoction that I have my friend Mary to thank for. I have to admit that I was more excited about my popcorn than about the movie - partly because I loved The Incredibles, from teaser trailer onwards, and the trailer for this one was just so bleh; partly because the Pixar films before this one were universally excellent, showing up that other animated movie production house for the pretenders that they are, and this one looked to be less than perfectly delightful.
But anyway. I needn’t have worried overmuch. The movie was enjoyable, lighthearted and funny, and even had a few “awwww” moments. Of course Mickey and I had some “If everybody’s a car, why are there [trains/ farms/ tractors]?” and “How the hell are cars supposed to kiss?” moments, but overall we managed to suspend our disbelief. Overall, it was a solid “pretty good”. And besides, John Ratzenberger was brilliant, as always.