Well, I've been very lackadaisical about posting my penny adventures as well as my reading endeavors. I've been trying to catch up on my DVD rentals and Law and Order:SVU re-runs (I'm totally addicted!) So, I'll post on the movies I've seen recently. I saw Cold Mountain, Along Came Polly, The Butterfly Effect, and finally (!) Bend it Like Beckam, which is my favorite of them all. Growing up as a soccer player, I truly appreciated this film and it made me want to get back out there and kick the ball around. Also, I loved the Indian background, due to my quick study of India last summer. I have a lot of respect and admiration for their culture. The music was great, the costumes were beautiful and it was both funny and moving. Cold Mountain was good, a little slow in parts but definitely worth a watch for the sake of Renee Zellweger's (sp?) performance. She has come quite a long way from Empire Records and even Jerry Maguire. I didn't like Along Came Polly. I just thought a couple of parts were cute, but I tend not to like Ben Stiller movies because he's either acting like a total moron or he's a victime in situations that I don't find humorous (Meet the Parents, Something About Mary). However, the last two films both feature Philip Seymour Hoffman and I think he is a phenomenal actor. Butterfly Effect was surprisingly good. I don't really appreciate Ashton Kutcher's "humor" but the script was intense, smart and the acting was pretty good. One movie I want to recommend to all, which I saw when it was FINALLY released on DVD, is Don't Tempt Me (AKA Sin Noticias de Dios, Sans Nouvelles de Dieu). The movie stars Penelope Cruz in the best performance she's ever given as an angel from Hell, sent to Earth to vie for the life of a boxer with an angel from Heaven. Hell takes place in a dark, dingy, sweaty train station and cafeteria with horrible fluorescent lighting and everyone speaks English. On Earth, everyone speaks Spanish and Heaven is in black and white, 1930's/40's Paris where everyone speaks French. My favorite actress, French veteran Fanny Ardant plays a manager in Heaven who sends the angel because Heaven is struggling for more souls. There is also a whole thing in there about J.D. Salinger and the best part of the film is how these actors are able to speak multiple languages. Simply amazing. The script is so clever and funny and almost like a good Tarantino film (none of this Kill Bill stuff--sorry to those who like it). Think more like Pulp Fiction. Not to be missed is Cruz's dance to "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting."