Not Too Brooding

When the email came around calling for a gathering with the girls, it was titled, "Something Hollywood?" Haha. Sorry, we don't do chick flicks. In our circle, that would simply mean to suggest depressing or action movies made by Hollywood that aren't too shite. Hmmmmm.

Looking at everyone's schedules, it's plausible that many haven't caught movies at the cinema for ages. We've taken to watching them off Apple TV and whatever other devices available for downloads of (legal) movies.

So the picks for the evening were 'The Lincoln Lawyer' and 'Small Town Murder Songs'. (Read the New York Times' review here, and here.) Very similar themes of crime and redemption run through in these movies. Oh how enjoyable they are. Not exactly brainless, but less of a discussion incited. Instead, we grinned and talked about lighter topics thrown up by the plot and characters.

Like how cute Matthew McConaughey can be. Oh we remember 'Amistad'. That was a good movie. 'The Lincoln Lawyer' is not as heavy, and twice as fun. We were almost sorry that it was over before we knew it. The twists in the plot were not exactly predictable and that totally saved this Hollywood flick and made it more substantial than the lead actor's run of the mill crap like the recent 'Surfer Dude' and 'Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'.

Ed Gass-Donnelly is the director of 'This Beautiful City', which I didn't quite like. Its jagged storyline wasn't exactly well thought out. 'Small Town Murder Songs' is much better in terms of pacing, plot development and thrills. I really like the actors chosen. Anguish, fear, forgiveness and all manner of expression are portrayed convincingly.

This time, the hostess decided to cook instead of calling for a potluck. She claimed that with her husband out of town, she didn't have to baby him and therefore could afford the time to cook at leisure. No washing up was necessary as everything went into the dishwasher. Heh. Dinner was delicious.

Spicy sweet potato salad :: kosheri :: deviled eggs with roasted red pepper hummus :: freshly done pita bread :: pasta primavera :: old-fashioned fruit crumble :: bottles of easy Californian pinot noir went down fast