Angela Law

animal lover, gardener, knitter, and gourmet cook
 
movies

a prairie home companion

The Blockbuster frenzy has resumed.

We watched this movie last night, which is a fictionalized version of the NPR show of the same name. The movie was ok, if a little goofy. I’ve never listened to the actual show (I’m not an NPR devotee), but Brian, who is an NPR devotee, has and said that’s pretty much how it goes. Brian thinks I’ve been watching too many wholesome movies lately and he blames that on my indifference towards this film. That said, if you enjoy the radio show, you’ll probably like this movie.

movies

ray

It must be the week of biopics. Seeing that I’m still all caught up around the house, I had 2 1/2 hours to burn, so I watched this movie tonight. It was pretty good, but I liked Walk the Line more. However, Jamie Foxx IS Ray Charles. While Joaquin Phoenix did a great job portraying Johnny Cash, there was no getting him confused with the Man in Black.

miscellany

productivity

I like being productive and I was just that this weekend. It helped that I was off today due to Jake having a day off school. Not only did I accomplish all of the housework I hoped to do, but I also made some dog treats, cards, and did a bunch of cooking (including a big old pot of ham and bean soup for today’s supper). Jake and I even did some shopping this afternoon. I never go shopping. And, we topped that off with some ice cream from Bruster’s. Yum.

I actually feel caught up on things at the moment. I’m sure it will be a fleeting moment, but it feels good, nonetheless.

movies

walk the line

All I ask for is a good movie. I watch a fair amount of stuff and more often than not, I’m disappointed with what I see. But, not this time. What a great story this was! I’ve always been a fan of Johnny Cash (he is the Man in Black, after all), but I think I would’ve liked this movie even if that was not the case. Besides the interesting story line, the performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon were outstanding. Who knew they could sing? I’m not familiar with June Carter Cash’s work, but Phoenix did a great job emulating Johnny Cash’s style.

While I don’t really have a favorite genre of films (I probably like thrillers the most, but I’ll watch anything if it’s supposed to be good), biopics are pretty low on my list (maybe it’s because there are less of them than other types of films). But, it just goes to show–if you make a good movie, you make a good movie–it doesn’t matter what it’s about.

Definitely worth watching.

live entertainment

signs that you might be getting old

This evening, the three of us went to catch a set of music from one of Brian’s former co-workers, Jenny Drummey. The show was at the Bottle Works. Jenny has been a Johnstown staple for quite a number of years now. The music was all original and Brian described it as folk-rock. Jenny sang and played guitar (she’s an incredible singer); there was another guitarist who switched between acoustic and electric guitar; and a drummer.

OK. Now for the old part. The ironic thing is that the Bottle Work’s parking lot is adjacent to The Ace’s Lounge, which we used to frequent in our younger days. So, this is how you can tell you are getting old…you go to a show at 7:30pm on a Friday night, with your 6-year-old kid, the show’s an hour and 15 minutes long, and they’re serving cookies and coffee as the food and drink. And you’re home by 9:30 so you can play a game of Yahtzee and a few games of Boggle before you retire for the evening. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying…