Morcheeba tend to change their style and their vocalist frequently, so this album was an expected surprise, if you get what I mean. Most of the tracks make me think of Bond theme songs, but in a good way.

I do love me some modern disco… And bossa nova, and funk, and whatever else this clown throws in there.

Johnny Depp is a friggin’ genius. I think I had to accept the movie as a new creature, dimly related to Dahl’s book and the 60’s movie, and allow it to do what it had to do. At any rate, Depp’s performance completely drew me away from most critical thought. I just enjoyed the game.

Very well acted with only a handful of stinky lines. Most of all, this movie is visually perfect. Let’s not speak of the gross romanticism of Barrie’s life.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was NOT a book about spoiled suburbanite teens duking it out for prom queen. This was much more the story of Ash’s renaissance, which was much more compelling than anything having to do with proms. Likes: the family details – Ash belongs to a lower socio-economic class, but her family doesn’t automatically become a DSS case (which I think happens kinda often in YA books); the point of view is narrow, and the reader is allowed to see this and watch mistakes as Ash makes them; there are sex, drugs, rock n’ roll without much judgement attached. It’s just a part of Ash’s life, the reality of teenagerhood, the status quo. Very well painted in that respect. The book was often crowded with what I think were supposed to be atmospheric details. Dialogues were riddled with stage direction and description that often interrupted the pace of the book. For the most part, Anderson created a wonderfully crowded stage with lots of characters to-ing and fro-ing realistically.

I was annoyed on similar grounds, Arahsae dearest, with the modern words spewing forth from Victorian mouths. This book has all kinds of problems that arise in the books my mother makes me read, the kind we call “bodice rippers.” My mother reads them because they are funny and “educational.” She learns things about the time period – what people wore, what the social parameters were – and likes that it feels like SHE is the main character, with her modern sensibilities mushed about and voiced by a strong(ish) female character.

Having said all that critical stuff, once I realized where this book fit, genre-wise, I sat back and enjoyed it. The language was nice here and there, and the obvious plot didn’t bug me too much. The book had everything required of a Harlequin historical/fantastical romance: bad accents, “exotic” settings and characters, comic relief from the peasantry, and graceless inclusion of researched facts.

I have to agree, the most convincing, and therefore interesting, parts were those exploring the girls’ relationships with one another.

The narrator seems realistically preoccupied with bodily function, which at some times made me want to put down the book and never pick it up again. The plot, though predictable, was entertaining in a Boccaccio kinda way. It’s a good story.

Mild as far as Bollywood goes, lively as far as Jane Austen goes. This is a fun interpretation that also allows for some of the deeper social questions brought up in Austen’s novel: how are women colonized? How can they love, please their families, please society, without sacrificing themselves? And yeah, fun soundtrack! Well done.

I only got my hands on Disc 3, which is a bloomin’ shame. I have to say, even knowing how much better the episodes get in later seasons, I really enjoyed this. Glad they got over “squiggle vision.” And I want Jon Benjamin for my husband. Forevor.

I love how the loneliness of this movie never completely goes away, even with its hopeful notes. It felt frighteningly truthful to me.