13 Days Before X-Mas

Word of the day : intersperse 
                                                : to place something at intervals in or among
                                                : to insert at intervals among other things 

Well, two days until David gets here... Lotta stuff to do around the house between now and then.  Today, we have a parent-teacher conference regarding Gabriel's progress around school.  Then, of course, we're going to go take him to get some frozen yogurt.  Savannah and Beaufort this weekend, too!  Woo-hoo, Christmas! 

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5 Things I Liked About the First Season of BBC's Luther (which I just finished):

1. Idris Elba.  I've always been a fan of the actor, ever since his sinuous, memorable work on the first three seasons of The Wire.  Here, as intense, hard-charging London DCI John Luther, Elba just about sets the screen on fire.  He's magnetic as hell and you can't take your eyes off him.

2. Ruth Foster.  As a killer who murders her parents, Foster is gleeful and chilling... and damn it if you don't like her.  The twisted, kindred-souls, vaguely erotic relationship she forms over the first season with Luther is... interesting, for lack of a better word.

3. The bad guys are really creepy.   From a kidnapper who cuts out a hostage's tongue to a cabbie who collects young women to an occult weirdo, the villains here are diabolical and lethal.

4. Every episode is intense.   I was on edge almost every episode.  Everything seems up for grabs, and there never - for the better - seems to be a proper sense of closure; killers get away and a fog of moral rot looms even as the credits roll.

5.  The final two episodes - wow!


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5 Things I Liked About the film Hope Springs (2012

1. The details.   Vanessa Taylor's script is often pinpoint in the observation of the routines and behavior that define everyday living in a marriage.

2.  Tommy Lee Jones.   The actor's portrait of a man so settled into his routine that he's unaware of his emotional nullity is really something to see; the body language he displays - particularly in the counseling sessions - is worth a look.  

3 and 4.  The casting.   Outside of Jones, there's Meryl Streep.  Oh yeah, she's top-notch too, equal to Jones' as his restless, deeply unsatisfied wife who doesn't know how to get the fire going again; it's not a showy performance, but it's characteristically very well-observed.   

Steve Carell is cast against type as the marriage counselor and if you expect him to be funny or Michael Scott-y, you might be in for a letdown.  He plays it absolutely straight.

5.  The rhythms and payoff.   It's not a great film, but it's breezy, full of uncomfortable truths, and has a good ending.  The characters feel like real people, and though it's more of a drama than a romantic comedy, the film has some tender, touching moments and some humor too.