Too old for nights out?

this was the question on my mind over the weekend as i went out 2 nights in a row with girlfriends to catch a couple of movies at the Wisconsin Film Festival. i had a GREAT time, don't get me wrong. but it felt a little surreal...i mean, it's been almost 6 yrs since i went out on a Friday night after sunset! for one thing, i'd forgotten most people come out after it gets dark. i kept looking around, thinking, wow, look at all these people out at night! are we really in a recession? our usual thing is to eat dinner at 5:30pm and from then on, it's all about getting ready for bed!

but it was great to have some good adult conversation and to watch 2 really good movies. one was a documentary about these women who train to become burlesque dancers: A Wink and a Smile. really provocative in subject matter, but quite funny too. then i watched a korean movie called Secret Sunshine. this was really intense emotionally, esp watching it as a mother. the child in the movie gets kidnapped and that's like any parents' worst fears. it also provoked a lot of questions about Christianity because the main character in the movie converts to Christianity when she is at the end of her rope. i won't spoil it for those of you who are interested in watching it by divulging too much info.

"Waitress"

so i finally got to watch the movie "Waitress" and really enjoyed it. i'd heard of it when it first came out, mainly because of the death of Adrienne Shelly, the director, and was sort of intrigued. i loved the world Adrienne Shelly created in the movie. i loved the beautiful pies that were created. i loved how she portrayed motherhood. perhaps because i don't get to watch too many movies created by women, i thoroughly enjoyed this one. i hope i'm not giving anything away to those of you who haven't watched it by saying that i loved how the main character in the movie discovers a strength in herself when she becomes a mother. anyways, it was a feel-good movie and it definitely made me crave some cherry pie (which i hope to make soon when we harvest our cherries from our trees).

Anthony Minghella

i was saddened to hear of the death of Anthony Minghella (who directed great movies such as The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain). he made such beautiful, epic movies. i had always dreamed that if i were to ever write my novel, Mr. Minghella would make it into one of his great movies...well, there goes my dream.