Life is Sweet

Movies!

It was a movie marathon weekend. Three of the four were on The Seattle Times Top 10 Movies of the Year

The Lives of Others (German with English subtitles): Before I saw it on the Top 10 list, a friend highly recommended this film. It takes place in 1984 Eastern Germany, before the Berlin wall came down. A local playwright becomes the subject of surveillance. It is an engrossing story that went on and on and on. While I appreciated the ending, the tale itself seemed to last forever. But perhaps I just wanted to get back to my knitting (which I could not do while reading subtitles).

Eastern Promises (English and Russian, with English subtitles): Oh, Naomi Watts. She is so watchable. But Viggo Mortensen stole the show with his Russian accent and sexy, tattoed body. You even get a 5+ minute scene in which his naked bod (penis included!) steals the show. It is an attempted murder scene, though, so not as much fun as it sounds. I was looking forward to this movie, but frankly, it was a bummer. The acting was brilliant, but the story was tragic and slow. But I did get some knitting done!

Ratatouille: Probably my favorite movie of the weekend. Another great film from Pixar. Since it is a Disney film, there is no mother. (What the hell is it with Disney and mothers?) Little Remy, the rat with a gourmet palate and a keen sense of adventure, made me almost love rodents. (If only they COULD cook!) This movie was fun from beginning to end, and really made me want to work in the kitchen.

Waitress: Not on the top 10 movies of the year list, but it was well worth the price of admission. I’m not a fan of pie, but this movie made me drool with all of the yummy pies being poured, sprinkled, mashed and baked. The characters had such a crisp appeal, just shy of realistic. I was delighted, and slightly disappointed, at the the main character’s reaction to her baby’s birth. No spoilers. But I would say this is a slightly sad story with more depth than your average chick flick. I loved it.

Crazy Aunt Purl

Better late than never … Crazy Aunt Purl was in Seattle in October for her big book tour, and I have proof! We were just late enough to miss her reading, but just in time to stand at the back of the line for a book signing. She is sweet as pie, just as you would expect. I very much wanted to give her wine and drink it with her, but alas, she was being rushed off to her next signing in Portland. Perhaps next time!