New Moon

I went to see this movie (albeit reluctantly), since Thanksgiving is the natural time for vampires and werewolves. Unfortunately, my worst fears were realized: this movie is not worth watching. Overwrought teenaged angst, no plot: what more could you expect from a bad movie?

Matt Damon

I saw Matt Damon outside the Mandarin Oriental hotel near Columbus Circle. I was too lazy to get a photo on my cell phone, though.

Reilly, Ace of Spies

We watched this 4-CD series, which was a fascinating (semi-fictional) story of Sidney Reilly, the first international superspy. Well done, although it was weird to see Russians and Germans speak English with an English accent. Sam Neill played the ruthless Reilly with aplomb.

Random Passage

This mini-series is a beautiful adaption of a novel of the same name about the settling of Newfoundland. I don't think I can do it justice, other than to say that it is well worth watching. The main character, Mary Andrews, is fantastic; and it was good to see Colm Meaney in a non-Star Trek role as one of the other important characters.

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

A fascinating cast of characters inhabits this entertaining book about the world of rare book dealers and thieves. Well, one thief in particular. The author, Allison Hoover Bartlett, finds an interesting way to tell the story of John Gilkey, an obsessive book thief, but the insertion of her own commentary and self-reflection into the narrative ultimately are boring, as there is no real resolution to her own involvement in the story.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

This radiant film about an elderly woman's accidental discovery of friendship with a genial young man is well worth watching. There isn't much more to say: it's a beautiful story about aging.

Complications

This fantastic book (a National Book Award finalist) by Atul Gawande about a surgeon's experiences in his residency is well worth reading. Hopefully you are able to cope with the descriptions of the cutting of human flesh: I found it painful to read at times (which is why I didn't become a physician). But it is refreshing to read Gawande's explanation about how he (and doctors in general) thinks about his profession. This book is more about surgery than his more recent book, Better.

How to Steal a Million

This Audrey Hepburn/Peter O'Toole romantic comedy is light-hearted and warm. Audrey Hepburn is stunningly beautiful, as in all of her movies. The documentary on the DVD about her life was also done well; I hadn't realized that she had spent so much energy in trying to help Africa.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Wow, two of my favorite actors: Robert Downey, Jr., and Val Kilmer. The movie is hilarious! Definitely worth watching, if you don't mind a little gratuitous violence. The self-referential plot is quite clever.

Mrs. Henderson Presents

An entertaining film that is based on a true story: a widow buys a music hall. She finds a manager who comes up with the idea of having naked women stand still, as if in a museum. Sounds trite, but it's a nice story with some fine actors (Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins). Definitely worth watching.

When Do We Eat?

This movie set around a sedar is pretty hilarious. The plot is crazy beyond belief, and full of zany one-liners and funny plot points. Deserves to have a cult following!

Finding Amanda

This cute movie was enjoyable and touching. Matthew Broderick displayed his usual lack of range and portrayed a clueless schlub; Brittany Snow was great as his prostitute niece. And Maura Tierney, who is always great fun to watch, played Broderick's long-suffering wife.

Poor People

I started this incredibly well-written book, but couldn't finish it, as it was too depressing. The author, William Vollmann, sure can write: but he writes about a topic that is guaranteed to make you sad: impoverished people across the world.

Quinceañera

This movie is a beautiful coming-of-age story. The story opens and closes around a sweet-sixteen party (named Quinceañera), and in the middle explores the relationships in a religious Hispanic family riven by internal conflicts. Very enjoyable film.

Barcelona

This movie was a fun story about Barcelona in the early 1980's. Virulent anti-Americanism and stupid Americans make for plenty of humor; and the dialogue was snappy and well-written. Thumbs up!

The Long Goodbye

We watched this long movie over a couple of nights. Excellent movie, in the way all Altman movies are excellent: they tell great stories with interesting characters. Elliot Gould in his youth was fantastic as Philip Marlowe.

Brideshead Revisited

We decided to watch the "classic" British television serial (10 episodes) based on the novel. After just a few episodes, it was clear that the movie that we watched sucked, big time. The series is beautifully done, and is far more about the influence of religion (in particular, Catholicism) on the characters' lives. Definitely worth watching!

Microsoft Money replacement

Hey, now this is incredibly useful...a way to keep using MS Money after Microsoft is done supporting it...

This post has gotten a lot of hits, so let me clarify. The link takes you to a python script that you can adapt to download quotes into MS Money. You have to understand a little bit of programming (and Python, in particular) to be able to use it, unfortunately. If you have that knowledge, this is a great way to work around the end of MS Money.

Trader Joe's

Wow, a Trader Joe's within a few blocks of our apartment: that would be outrageously wonderful!

Amsterdam

Since I enjoyed the movie Atonement (based on a novel by Ian McEwan), I thought I should read Amsterdam, which won the Booker Prize in 1998. The novel is beautifully written, but dark and verging on depressing in the way it portrays humanity. I hope Mr. McEwan has a more optimistic outlook on life than his novels depict! Nevertheless, I really enjoyed reading this novel.