One could argue that everything Alan Ball is known for publicly is smarter than it thinks is. American Beauty is certainly one of the more overrated movies of the last dozen years or so.

Plus, with A Little Princess, Great Expectations, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Children of Men, is there anyone better at literary adaptations than Cuaron?

What was his fascination with the color green in that and Great Expectations, though? I mean, both films are marvelous looking, but it's still a bit curious.

Lucy, I'd say the Alfonso Cuaron adaptation of A Little Princess captures the spirit of the original. It's obviously not true to the letter of the book, but otherwise, a truly, truly fantastic movie. Makes me cry every time at the end, too.

how good/awful is the book?
I had no idea that the book existed until the previews for the movie appeared. Then I was surprised to find out it's a relatively extensive series, despite how clearly derivative the whole enterprise is. I just assumed the book was shit. Anyone read it? What do you think?

I tried reading The Face in the Abyss last year and couldn't get past the style. Just too wordy and clunky. I think I gave up thirty or forty pages. I also have Dwellers in the Mirage sitting on my shelf and I'll give it a shot eventually, but I just don't think A. Merritt and me are cut out for each other. Sad thing…

But then wouldn't that depend on your point-of-view? I mean, if I'm deeply religious, then wouldn't not-god imply the statement: "Nothingness I love this show"?

lord I love this show
That is all.

I couldn't recommend 5:55 highly enough. And it's not really that Air-heavy if that scares you too much. Gainsbourg keeps it much more straightforward in some ways.

gainsbourg, gainsbourg, gainsbourg
I friggin' LOVED Charlotte Gainsbourg's last cd, 5:55, so the title track of the new one scared me when I heard it a few months back since it's so wildly different. But the other stuff I've heard off it so far has been really good and even made me reevaluate "IRM." Enough so that I…

I know. I should have said something about the interview itself, but I read Then We Came to the End when it came out and was relatively apathetic about it. And The Unnamed doesn't sound like something I'll probably read, either (or not anytime soon), so what the hell. I'll pick apart who he looks like.

Dammit, you say Rob Lowe, and now he looks like a cross between Rob Lowe and James Franco.

One of the reasons I gave up after the first couple of seasons was precisely b/c all the characters seemed self-centered and whiny. And the show's tone was so consistently yet emptily portentous. It always seemed to me like Ball felt he was making ART and wanted to make sure we knew it, too.

is it just me . . .
. . . or does Ferris look like the love child of Jonathan Franzen and Michael Chabon? It's weirding me out a little.

sfu
Hooray. There are other semi-sane people out there who think Six Feet Under (not to mention Alan Ball in general) is highly overrated.

I love Erik the Viking. It's uneven and doesn't fully follow through on its ideas, but I love the hell out of it. Never thought of it in terms of religious belief per se, though the king sitting with his people on top of his sinking kingdom while denying it's happening is a potent political metaphor.

Could we have a debate over belief in Tarkovsky's Former AD vs. non-belief in him? I'd really love for him to show up at the AV Club's offices like ZMF did so there would finally be substantive proof whether this guy's for real.

Thanks, Ellen. I've heard a lot of people love the first half of Bee Season while the second half (when the mystical stuff takes over) does little for them, or it's vice versa. I was digging the novel and then that second half turned it into a deadening and disappointing slog. Glad to hear this one mostly avoids…

Actually, Sophie's World IS sitting on my shelf waiting for me. Not a question at all. Good grief.

sophie's world
That's been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years waiting for me? I know, in a very general sense, it's supposed to be good, but I don't actually know anyone who's read it. Does it live up to its reputation?