Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

(FanArt.TV)

Two words: Ewan McGregor... Emily Blunt... Wait, that's four words.

Look at them, so happy at the premiere somewhere.  (LAtmes.com)

Yes, I'm name-dropping two of the best non-American actors—not to mention, very beautiful people—today. And they've earned their iconic moments and characters.

Nowhere Boy

The guy on the left is supposed to be Paul.

YOU: That title sounds like "Nowhere Man", you know, the Beatles song.

ME: Yeah.

YOU: So is it about the Beatles?

ME: Close. It's about John Lennon.

YOU: Is this like a Beatles prequel?

ME: You could say that.

YOU: Cool! Are Paul, George and Ringo in it?

ME: Just Paul and George. The story doesn't reach their Hamburg days. Every Beatlemaniac knows they started hanging out with Ringo in Hamburg.

YOU: Well I didn't know they started hanging out with Ringo in Hamburg.

ME: That's because you're not a Beatlemaniac.

YOU: Is Yoko Ono in it?

ME: I'm not even answering that question.

YOU: Are there any hot girls in it?

ME: Well, there's Lennon's mum (see, you have to pronounce it as "mum" because they're British), and there's Aunt Mimi, played by Kristin Scott Thomas. Although the last time she looked hot was in the first Mission: Impossible.

YOU: Does Daniel Radcliffe play John Lennon?

ME: No. Johhny Boy is played by Aaron Johnson, who played Kick-Ass in Kick-Ass.

YOU: Come on, does he not look like John Lennon?
ME: Must be the glasses.

YOU: Does John Lennon get to kick ass in this movie?

ME: No, but I'll kick your ass if you don't stop with the stupid questions.


*some info from IMDb
pic from The Brag and Daniel Radcliffe Pictures


Nowhere Boy. Canada/UK. 2010.


Rating: Six out of ten.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Romantic comedies fail to leave me unentertained. Even if the movie sucked big-time, I still feel like I at least got my money's worth for two-something hours of entertainment. So I do have a particular bias for rom-coms.

Okay, let me just blurt it out. I love romantic comedies. And I think Isla Fisher is really cute.

Despite the title, the story does not center on Isla Fisher's shopping addiction, nor on her support group Shopaholics Anonymous. It's basically a love story, more than anything else, between Ms. Fisher's character and her boss, played by Hugh Dancy. The shopaholic angle is merely a device to give the characters something to propel themselves forward with.

Isla Fisher is extremely delightful in her performance, able to pull off her sweet yet slightly dishonest character. And the lovely Kristin Scott Thomas likewise gives a splendid performance, as the heavily-accented French owner of a magazine. Veterans John Goodman and Joan Cusack play Ms. Fisher's parents, and for those who remember these two actors in their prime, you'd be surprised at how much both of them aged. You could almost feel their wrinkles while looking up at them on the screen. Anyway, everybody grows old, and one day all of us will look like that, so just be thankful we are still blessed with the recklessness of youth. One actress to look out for would be newcomer Krysten Ritter, the young, sexy, and funny lady who plays Isla Fisher's best friend. A few more movies and she'd be as busy as Ms. Fisher herself.

Some outstanding scenes in the movie include the talking store mannequins. Of course they're computer-generated. But what's great is that they were done by ILM's wizard-in-residence, Mr. John Knoll himself, who is more famous for his special effects work in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. But those scenes took only a few minutes---not enough to convert this from a rom-com to a special effects flick. So for now, we enjoy window shopping, clothing sales, and staring at Isla Fisher's cute face.


Confessions of a Shopaholic. 2009. USA.

Rating: Six out of ten.