Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Australia

We watched Australia a couple of nights ago and loved it. At 2 hours and 45 minutes, it was a lengthy one, but a great epic story. And it reminded us how much we want to visit Australia. Since watching it we have discovered that flights to Australia from Calgary cost about $1250 and the exchange rate is about 1:1. And that there are some great hiking trips similar to what we did in England....Hmmm....

Winter in a small town

Last night Brent and I went to see a movie for the first time in a looooong time. But I saw the trailer for this and couldn't resist. As I expected, it wasn't really deep with grand cinematography, but it was sweet and there were lots of parts that felt like small-town Alberta in the winter. In short, I really liked it. So, for a fluffy make-you-smile chick-flick, filmed partly in Manitoba, and complete with ice-fishing, labour conflicts, small-town restaurants and bars and winter-driving, I recommend "New In Town." Now playing in a theatre near you.

Once

I chanced upon this movie a while ago, and knew immediately that it was the kind of movie that I would like, and also definitely a movie J&M would also enjoy. Not only was I right, but they had already seen the movie AND bought the soundtrack. Because the music is stunning. This song is called Falling Slowly, and it won an Oscar.

No cheese for us mouses

Today's post is for my sister-in-law, who reminded me of the Muppets, and for Tom Allen, the CBC Radio 2 morning announcer, who was talking about Dickens' Christmas Carol this morning. Muppets' Christmas Carol is simply a classic.

BBC and Jane Austen

BBC: One of our favourite things about our trip to England (and there were many!) was BBC television. It was so very different than American broadcasting and different still than CBC. Their news coverage is relayed in a far more friendly manner; the weather is divided up into reports on hourly changes; the everyday evening programming is more than just Law and Order and CSI (try gardening shows and cooking shows and history shows!). Back home here, we are rarely disappointed by BBC movies, and luckily for us, the Calgary Public Library has lots of selection! Jane Austen: I have loved Jane Austen's writing since I was a little girl (perhaps empire waisted dresses should come back in style?!). And the many film adaptations of her novels rarely disappoint. Except Northanger Abbey--the film adaptation of it is horrible. Incidentally, we never made it to Jane Austen's house while we were in England, which is really too bad. A good friend of mine did go, however, and she brought me back a book! Last night we borrowed the 2008 BBC production of Sense and Sensibility. The Emma Thompson-directed and Thompson and Kate Winslet-starring S&S is very lovely, but this new version, as a made-for-tv movie drawn out over three episodes, tells the story in much greater detail (at times embellishing beyond what the book includes). And it's lovely; I highly recommend it.

A Movie to see: Lars and the Real Girl

Calling all Narnia Fans

Have you seen the new Narnia movie, Prince Caspian? We went and saw it yesterday. I thought it was a very well done movie as far as animation, action, special effects and acting were concerned. I had tears running down my face at the end. But. I knew the basic storyline from the book, prior to going in to the theatre. Yet I was surprised how much had been altered that I was not aware of. There was a fair amount. So, what did you think of the movie? Or, for that matter, the book? Both Philip Pullman (who is vehemently anti-C.S. Lewis and anti-Christianity) and J.K. Rowling have criticized the Narnia series for being racist and anti-feminist. I would absolutely disagree, but I am partial to C.S. Lewis, particularly after reading some biography and seeing Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of him in the movie Shadowlands. I have to add that in the first few seconds of the film, when the girls run across the street, that's Trafalgar Square in the background...and we've BEEN there!