And Fahrenheit 451 is just a terrible movie. Maybe Truffaut couldn't work in English or something, but it's so far and away his worst film that it seems to be from another person altogether. Or galaxy.

Finally saw Autumn in New York. One of those ridiculous getting-sucked-in situations where it's on Omaha's movie station and I'm on the couch recovering from yard work in 114 degree heat index and I'm thinking, no, I'm really not going to watch, but then Ryder appears on the screen and smiles and I'm thinking, she really does have IT, whatever IT is, and can bring charm and life to the most banal and witless dialog. But somewhere in the second act, I realize, no, everyone sucks in this movie, from a Richard Gere narrowing his beady eyes and sucking in his cheeks to Vera Farmiga who seems to be thinking about what's for lunch. The plot is a lifeless rendering of the pretty-girl-dying plot that seems to come around every few years, like El Nino or bark beetle infestations. Ryder has some kind of severe heart condition that somehow doesn't prevent long walks, ice skating, passionate sex or sitting outside in the winter for extended scenes. That's the kind of heart condition I'd like to have.

Watching Fanaa, with Kajol as a beautiful blind girl who falls in love with a tour guide (Aamir Khan) who is a womanizer. Nice romance, rather sappy, nice songs, then you get the twist and the intermission, which I'm taking as a hint to finish tomorrow. Good enough so far,

I have a bit of a problem with Aamir Khan as a romantic lead; he looks a bit like Liberace to me (or maybe Fellini's White Sheik, who also reminds me a bit of Liberace). Kajol, on the other hand, is drop-dead gorgeous, and the girls who play her friends are very pretty too,

This is the film Ghulam mentioned back in 2006 as being boycotted in the state of Gujarat because Aamir Khan was protesting a dam that resulted in thousands of families being forced to relocate before resettlement arrangements had been made. (Look up "Narmada River" in Search for details. Also check Gromit's post a couple before Ghulam's. Both are dated June 11, 2006.)

Gary--You allude to Transporter and then Transformer. They are two very different series and I can't believe you'd get into the Transformer series. Typo, right?

Tried iike hell to get into Harry Potter 6 (The Half-Blood Prince). Just can't get with it. Planning to skip the new HP because I'm just going to have to accept my limitations vis-a-vis the entire Potter enterprise.