Watching.......The African Queen

We watched The African Queen last weekend. It was the first time I've ever seen this film, but it's one of Mark's old favorites. He had been disappointed because it wasn't available on Netflix for ages. That struck us both as sort of odd, considering it's such a classic, and has big name stars like Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart, but when we saw the credits we learned that it was restored in 2009, so I guess that's why it was out of circulation for awhile.




Anyway, to be honest, at first, I really didn't like it. In fact, I voted to turn it off, but was vetoed. And I'm glad I was. This film should definitely not be judged by the first 10 -15 minutes. It's like they were really rushing through all this dramatic stuff (Germans marching in, villages being burned, etc.) to get to the part where Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn (or Charlie and Rosie I should say) get on the river in the African Queen. From that moment on, it's an excellent movie. The scenery is gorgeous and Bogart and Hepburn are superb together. It's not a particularly believable movie (especially the ending), but it is a grand, incredible adventure, and guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. I loved it! I'm also overcome with the desire to go whitewater rafting, which I've never done before. Maybe this summer!

Watching.....Priceless

Last night Mark had a solo gig, so Kate and I spent the evening by ourselves. After she went to bed, I snuggled in to watch a movie. I love my husband dearly, madly even, but I must admit, our tastes in movies are often drastically at odds, and my chances of getting him to watch a movie with subtitles, well, they're just not good. I've had this movie on my Netflix queue for awhile now, but was waiting for just such a night to enjoy it. It did not disappoint. Such a charming film! In a lot of ways the storyline reminds me of Breakfast at Tiffany's, except of course, Priceless is set in the present day and it's in French. I made the mistake of watching this film all grunged out in yoga pants and a hoodie, and felt like quite the frumpy American as Audrey Taotou pranced around in all her gorgeous dresses and lovely tousled hair, but I consoled myself by the fact that she is so the epitome of French chic and elegance she would make even Gwyneth Paltrow look frumpy. Just sayin'. Anyway, it's really an awesome movie. You can watch the trailer here.

Bright Star and Weekend Travels

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. I certainly did. Friday night I went to see Bright Star with some girlfriends. It's the film about Romantic poet John Keats. There's no way Mark would have gone to see that one with me. When he asked me who John Keats was, I told him he was sort of an 18th century literary Hank Williams. Well, they both were brilliant wordsmiths who died tragically while still in their 20s, right? Anyway, I had high hopes for the movie, and while I don't mean to bash it, I must say I was a wee bit disappointed. It was, of course, really sad, but that's almost like going to see Titanic and then complaining that it was sad. If you know the story, you know it's not going to end well, so I was prepared for that. But, the movie was sooooo slow. One film critic called it "restrained," which I suppose means "boring for long stretches with the occasional burst of interest." Also, I didn't find any of the main characters very likable, even Mr. Keats himself! But, since my mama taught me that if you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all, I will say that, in terms of sheer cinematography, it was one of the most beautiful films I've seen of late. It was full of such exquisite imagery, I almost wanted to pause certain frames, take a picture, and hang it on the wall.

Saturday, we drove up to Boone (about two hours north of us) to visit Mark's folks. The autumn leaves are at their peak in the High Country, and it was a gorgeous drive. We spent the night with Kate's Grandbob and Mimi and then came home Sunday afternoon, where we spent the rest of the afternoon taking a short hike and then settling in for an Andy Griffith marathon.

Really a lovely weekend. And yours?

The Swell Season

I had almost forgotten how exquisitely beautiful this is. Mesmerizing, captivating, hypnotic.....throw in any fancy adjective of your choice and it still won't do justice to this performance, so just watch it. I'm in awe. And completely heartbroken, because the closest their fall tour comes to Asheville is Washington, D.C. and despite my subtle (and not so subtle) hints that Mark should take me, that's just not quite close enough. So I have to be content with buying their new album (release date is October 27th!) and making my husband watch this movie with me, yet again. One must make do.