2.18.2012

The Annotated Entertainment Weekly

We still get Entertainment Weekly because I hate their Web site. HATE it. It's ugly and badly organized. Would it kill them to consider tabs across the top so I don't have to slog through a bunch of reality television crap I don't give a shit about? Jesus. Seriously, I HATE EW.COM.

Okay, so rant over, here's the thing: I do enjoy EW's iPad interface. It's very nicely done. BUT . . . I can't annotate it.

See, our copy of Entertainment Weekly comes on Fridays, and it's a house rule that I get to read it first. Then it goes on the bathroom shelf for reading material. And sometimes I like to leave little notes for people to find . . .


It's sort of an Easter egg hunt.

Now when the EW people make it possible for me to add comments to the iPad version? We're golden.

2.03.2012

Movie Review: The Decoy Bride

Starring: Kelly Macdonald, David Tennant, Alice Eve
Directed By: Sheree Folkson
Written By: Sally Phillips, Neil Jaworski
Isle of Man Film, 2012
NR; 89 minutes
4 stars (out of 5)

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A toe-curlingly cute, if rote, rom-com about hack writer James (Tennant) engaged to superstarlet Lara (Eve). In an attempt to mask their nuptials from the paparazzi, they select the remote Scottish island featured in James's only novel as the setting for their wedding. As an aside, I found this a rather silly plot device because it seems to me the tabloids would surely check that out as a possibility? But maybe those types of journalists aren't that smart.

Meanwhile, Katie has come back to the island of her girlhood and moved into the local bed-and-breakfast run by her mother. Soon she finds herself roped into standing in as the titular decoy bride when the press becomes alerted to James's and Lara's presence. And as expected, Katie falls for James, James falls for Katie, hilarity ensues.

To be fair, though, Decoy Bride is a sweet-natured movie that is exactly the right length—it doesn't tire the viewer with ongoing farce. There is just the right balance of pathos and humor, and while any number of secondary characters could have been more fleshed out, the fact that the film sticks with the story and doesn't much meander makes it immanently watchable.

Decoy Bride currently shows a release date of 9 March, though my guess is it will be limited in the US; last I looked there wasn't even a distributor for a US outing. Too bad, but some cable companies do have it On Demand. Would be perfect for Valentine's Day. If you're looking for something light and not too lengthy, this fits the bill.