Yeah..
The wedding is like five days away. I'm in VA prepping and there is a lot to do. That's why I'd rather write about the movies that I've watched lately.

1. "Persepolis": As good as you'd expect! It synthesized both I and II of the books and the art was wonderful. I probably learned more about recent Iranian history than I had ever known before. Maybe that says more about my own ignorance, though. See it!

2. "My Kid Could Paint That": Also really good! For those who don't know, the story follows the adorable 4-year old moppet who rocked the art world with her paintings that people compared to the likes of Jackson Pollack. The doc originally started out as a look at the world of contemporary art and examining how people qualify art as valuable. But, then it turned into a really interesting whodunnit, since many began to question whether the kid was solely behind those paintings. Incredibly intriguing and I know that I was convinced that she didn't create many of the paintings attributed to her, although the filmmaker never really came down on any side. Oh, and her paintings were selling for tens of thousands.

3. "Manda Bala:" I just watched this documentary about crime and corruption in Brazil. All I know is that after watching it, I was convinced to cancel any imminent trips to Sao Paolo. Kidnappings for ransom occur once a day there, according to the film, and now the rich are *helicoptering* to and from their locations and buying bulletproof cars in order to escape the kidnappers.

4. "SubUrbia": This was on IFC the other day so I sat and watched the entire thing. I didn't like it at all, and I can dig some Richard Linklater, usually. Maybe it's because every single one of the characters was irritating. Maybe it was because it was full of ennui. Maybe because, as I discovered afterward, it was apparently originally a stage play put to screen (I actually commented to Todd while we watched it that it felt like the lines were being delivered as if it were a play), and I didn't expect that.

5. "Lars and the Real Girl": I will admit that I teared up at one point in this movie about a man's relationship with his Real Girl doll. Still, though, I felt like it dragged. I do love me some Ryan Gosling--even when he's kind of puffy and wears an 80s moustache.