B E B E R E

It was a quiet weekend. The weather wasn't stellar, so we again stayed in, watched movies and did a little puttering about. I am working on a nice blanket, big stitched, of Lion Brand 'Homespun.' Was going to make it striped, but have decided to keep it all in the same, wonderful, oceany blue.

This week's offerings were: "Key Largo," "Big Deal on Madonna Street," "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie." All were very engaging, but I think that my favorite in terms of humor was the last one. Loved the social commentary, the taste of surrealism, the Spanish sense of grotesque. I'd love to see more of Buñuel's work.

Last week, we watched "Whale Rider." A nice enough film, I guess - might have been better on a big screen, but Hal put it well when he said that it was like hamburger after a straight diet of prime rib. "Whale Rider" seemed to me like a multi-culti, much less subtle version of "The Secret of Roan Inish." In keeping with the truism of less being more, I'd have to say that it would have been a good idea not to have put all the extras on the DVD. Not to have shown us cut scenes that would have helped the narrative more. Not to have shown us that the natives' war canoe was made of plastic foam. Not to have shown us how vacant the director/script writer was or how stereotypically hollywood new agey the soundtrack composer was. I might have been happier with everything if I'd not have gotten the glimpse of the 'sausage being made.'