Sunday, August 09, 2009

09 August Happiness Challenge -- Day 9

Sunday. Movie Magic. I love movies. (You probably guessed that, since I chose Judy in "Get Happy" mode to illustrate the Happiness Challenge this year.) Today the joy they dependably give me is bookended between the one I saw at the theater and the one I'm watching on TV now.

Julie and Julia is terrific fun. I've never really liked Meryl Streep in the movies before, but I defy anyone to not like her here. She's adorable as Julia Child. So is Amy Adams. The story is romantic and engaging and delightful in an old-fashioned, Hollywood-happy-ending kinda way. I highly recommend it.

Pulp Fiction is a wacky exercise in ... I still don't know what the hell it is. I have probably seen it a dozen times in the past 15 years, enjoyed it every time, but I still can't categorize it. Just as Julie and Julia is comfortably formulaic, Pulp Fiction is like nothing I have seen before or since. I recommend it if you enjoy the way comedy can boomerang into tragedy and back again, and if your sense of humor is profane.

What they have in common is that they both transported me to another place for 90 minutes or so. I love that kinda magic.