Salon Des Geeks

Last weekend I felt like watching a few movies, so I went to go see Wallace and Gromit, Elizabethtown, Domino, and A History of Violence. I have the following report:

If you have not seen the Wallace and Gromit movie yet, then go. Yes, go now. It is fabulous. It wonderfully conflates the great horror films of the 20’s, rabbit control, and cheese. It far exceeded my expectations, and I might just have to go again to catch all the jokes I missed because of the laughter in my ears, and the tears in my eyes. it is just that good.

The next two films can be missed, but are both charming in their own way. Elizabethtown is overflowing with charisma. My take on the film is that it is Cameron Crowe’s homage to Audrey Hepburn, with Kirsten Dunst filling the role that Audrey would have. Lots of nice visual cues, the standard classic rock soundtrack. shrug. Now the encouraging thing about Domino, other than being a watchable quasi-action film is Mickey Rourke. Clearly the after effects of his performance in Sin City is going to be that Mickey Rourke will cast in every craggy tough guy role for the next five years. Not quite as good as the casting of Nick Nolte in The Good Thief, but close.

Finally, The History of Violence. Elizabeth, I don’t think that you will like it. Fabulous direction, steady pacing, but sort of disappointing when compared to the standard of Cronenberg’s other films (My favorite would be Crash).

I have added a bunch of links to the site. For reasons that I don’t understand, it refuses to show them according to category (I had them sorted into “News,” “Literature,” “People We Think Are Cool,” “About Salons,” and “Lawyer Stuff”). We are working on this. Meanwhile, enjoy, and send me suggestions for more to add!

Hello, all.

Ah, Fall! Birds get the instinct to migrate, squirrels get the instinct to collect acorns, and I get the instinct to have dinner parties! Looking at the calendar, the weekend of November 19th is tantalizingly free. I’m writing to see how many would be able to make it for a dinner party/Salon Des Grands Geeks weekend in Washington during that time. If that weekend is unsuitable, I’m open to suggestions for December.

As always, significant others, friends, acquaintances, random strangers you just met, pets, children, and hangers-on are warmly invited to come with you. Accommodations at Chateau Joan are available, as two housemates have recently moved out, leaving guest bedrooms galore. I myself will be moving in January, so this will probably be the last Salon at Joan’s house (snif, snif).

Let me know your thoughts. I miss you all and send warmest hugs.