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It's true, dear reader. In less than a week, fewer than five days, I have seen three flicks. Two were at plexies and one on a great big thousand-inch pan-around-sound entertainment monstrosity. Okay, okay, I don't think it was really a thousand inches.

This all started on Wednesday when I went to the movies and saw ATONEMENT. It happens to fall into the very narrow niche of celluloid entertainment that I will agree to watch. I will not view anything called Diehard or Terminator or Alien or Batman. I don't like cartoons or anything animated. I don't like children's movies. I am the only American who has never seen ET and never will. I don't like horror movies or slashers or anything violent.

I do like beautiful English manor houses with gorgeous wallpaper. And ATONEMENT has all of that.



It also has Keira Knightley in a to-die for green silk dress, which she wears while getting pinned to the library wall in a VERY GOOD WAY. I read that the director had problems with the budget on this film, even though he obviously saved a bundle on Keira's meal vouchers. Yikes, girl. Try the tuna melt.

So I'm watching and enjoying the, um, pinning scene and the guy, the young man, oh geez do I have to look up his name--says "I love you." A rather elderly lady in the row in front of me said in a loud voice, "Well, I should hope so." It was one of those Great Audience Moments.

Uh well, the movie? It was pretty good. Not bad. I am not a Vanessa Redgrave fan. She ADORES looking old. She is INTO it. LOOK AT THE LINES ON MY FACE!!! HERE THEY ARE!!! AND I HAVE MOUSTACHE HAIRS!!! LOOK AT THOSE CLOSELY WHILE I ACT AND HAVE INTEGRITY AND HONESTY!!! I don't know. It doesn't work for me.

So then on Friday I saw Juno, this flick about a 16-year-old girl who gets knocked up by her boyfriend and decides to have the baby. Sounds like it's been done before, doesn't it? I guess it has. In this one the girl finds a yuppie couple dying to adopt. Here's a picture of them and Justin Bateman is very sexy. My girlfriend said Duh, everybody knows that. Jennifer Garner does a good job, very longing and such. I saw this movie in one of those trendy places where you go and order a burger and fries to eat at a table while the movie plays. It was full of young kids and more tee heeing than I wanted. But the dialogue was great and I was just waiting to see what the girl would say next. So that's my verdict: predictable plot, predictable ending, but hilarious dialogue. Hey. I've seen worse. But I would like to kill the group of underage drunks who sat next to me.

Last, I saw ONCE. It's Irish and very hard to understand. Most of the time I was going "Huh?" and "What did he say?" It too has a predictable plot. Aspiring singer makes a demo tape and falls in love with piano-playing Czechoslovakian girl Terrific tunes and I may have to buy the





soundtrack. I love the way the Europeans all wear scarves. Sometimes they skip the coat or jacket but they always have a great scarf wound around the neck. My mother used to put Vicks on a cloth and put it around my neck and I always think of that when I look at the Europeans. Call it chic or call it Vicks.

I want to meet one of those cute Irish guys with a scarf. I sing alto.

I think all three of these are Oscar contenders. If I had to vote for one?

Well, hmmmmm.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Juno, I think. For it's life-affirming message and strong family theme. The dad is great.
And an unexpected expectant girl.
In the end, I guess wallpaper only takes us so far, though I hate admitting it.
A bientot
love,
becky

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