Guus Bosman

Sunday morning we slept in, of course, and we took it easy all day. In the late afternoon we went to AMC theater next door, to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

This movie, based on books by C.S. Lewis, resembled Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland, with a little bit of the Lord of the Rings as well. It was a good movie, pleasant to watch and with a good, if slightly predictable story-line.

The special effects were excellent and they were blended very well into the story: no effects for the effects, but genuinely adding value to the story. The computer generated characters such as the Witch' general or the beavers on Aznar's side, were real characters, with real personalities. The beavers by the way are amazingly funny characters -- constantly bickering and arguing, and their facial expressions are very vivid.

After the movie we went to Summers where we saw the Redskins, the Washington football team, win an important final game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles, This means that they will meet the Tampa Buccaneers next Saturday in the playoffs.

Sunday afternoon we finally saw Wild Safari 3D in the Imax theater in the Natural History Museum.

Wild Safari 3D is a semi-documentary about a tour through South Africa to spot the "Big Five", the five most spectacular animals in Africa. Over the course of the movie we see a herd of elephants refreshing at a pool, lions eating a prey, rhino's running away from the camera, and we get a close look at buffalos and two leopards.

The visuals of the movie are superb. Of course, the 3D aspect is very nice, but the combination of that with advanced satelite technology really makes for a breath-taking trip from outer space to the parks of South Africa. It's a bit like Google Earth, but with a much better picture resolution and in 3D and on a huge Imax screen. A technical titbit: each frame of the movie is 49 MB, and the total movie would be 5.6 TB if recorder digitally.

It was great movie to watch. The 3D glasses make you tired after a bit, so it was good that the movie wasn't very long, but it was very spectacular and worth seeing.

Yesterday night we saw 'Be Cool', a funny action movie about the music industry. We watched after having enjoyed a delicious and extensive Thanksgiving dinner that made us all rather sleepy.

Be Cool was similar in style to Kill Bill, although with more emphasis on funny dialogues and slapstick comedy. Part of the Tarantino resemblance was caused by the actors of course: John Travolta and Uma Thurman both played main roles.

One of the most funny characters is Sin LaSalla (played by Cedric The Entertainer), a suburbian rapper-producer. Everytime he goes visiting someone he brings a large troupe of bodyguards and bad boys, and his big, bad mercedes is always accompanied by four big, bad hummers.

Be Cool is a sequel to a movie called 'Get Shorty' -- we should see that one too.

Saturday we went to see a new movie in the AMC theater near us, Good night, and good luck.

The subject of the film is a newsshow of CBS crew in the 1950's, that takes on Senator McCarthy and the way he is investigating people accused of Communist sympathies. The movie was made in black and white, mixed with real TV footage from senator McCarthy's speeches and hearings. This made for a nostalgic movie, so next to the interesting story line it was a pleasure to see journalism at work in the area that TV was a new invention.

Be sure to visit the movie's website, it is a very elegant website with nice previews of the movie. It also has some samples from the soundtrack by Dianne Reeves.

The movie was directed by George Clooney, which he did well, but he was also playing in the movie and somehow the role didn't really fit him. David Strathairn on the other hand, gave a brilliant performance as Edward R. Murrow. Him being casted for this role was a master move, and he looks so much like the real Murrow.

A while back we saw the movie Hotel Rwanda at home.

It was a very gripping film, about the horrible period in Rwanda in 1994. It's based on a true story about a hotel manager who uses his influence and skills to safe the lives of many people around him.

The story was double as gripping because of the superb action by Don Cheadle, who is very convincing as a hotel manager whose life dramatically changed as the horrific events unrolled in Rwanda.

Yesterday we rented The Interpreter on DVD, and we had an enjoyable evening watching it.

It's a good movie -- pleasantly tense, not too predictable and with a good story.

Most of the story is situated around the United Nations building in New York, where Nicole Kidman is an interpreter who overhears a secret conversation. It turns out that she also has quite a history herself.

The language spoke in the movie is Ku, of which I had never heard before. One of the extra's on the DVD was an interview with the director, Sydney Pollack, who mentioned it was a fake language.

Yesterday I went to see War of the Worlds, a movie based on the classic science fiction novel by H.G. Wells.

A spectacular movie! Superb special effects, very dramatic without becoming funny an with an intense suspense.

The original story was written in 1898 but the script writers adjusted the story to make it less dated; the story was situated in New York and Boston, and the aliens didn't come from Mars but from an even more remote place. The acting was very good: the two kids in the movie were really annoying, just like you'd kids except to be in the situation they were in, and Tom Cruise was very convincing in his role as divorced father.

The suspense in the movie remained strong, all the way to the end. It's been a long time since I read the book so I didn't remember the end of the story anymore and that made it even better.

I saw the movie in the AMC theater in Court House, near our house, and it was a strange idea to go to the movies alone but it was a great movie.

Last Saturday we saw the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

One of its reviewers said the movie is "like popcorn", and that description captures it very well. No haute causine but delicious nevertheless, and sometimes you just want a snack (preferably with butter -- American style).

Mr & Mrs Smith was an amusing movie to watch. Predictably, certainly, but still amusing. In the movie two professional killers have been keeping up appearances all their life, only to discover that they were married with 'the other side'. The actors, Pitt and Jolie, created sparkling fireworks.

If you like James Bond movies, or Indiana Jones, this one recommended.

Yesterday we saw Sideways, a movie that won a few Oscars. It was one of those movies that we had wanted to see for a long time, but we never found time for it.

It was an excellent choice. It's a beautiful story about two guys going on a vacation trip for a week. Their relationship, and their personal problems and character traits made for a very pleasant movie.

In the course of the movie they are drinking a lot of different wines, and their trip is to 'wine-land' in California.

I still like Merlot, though.

Last Sunday we watched the Phantom of the Opera.

Years ago I saw the musical with my parents and Ettie, which was very impressive and I have great memories of that show.

The movie was very good. I liked the fact that there was so much music in it -- it would have been a shame if they let the best part of the show, the music, out.

It's a beautiful story, with a tragic element in it. The movie had a lot humor also, especially the non-stop drinking in the theater was displayed nicely. Those jokes reminder me of Terry Pratchet's book that was inspired by the opera.