Zach and Miri Make a Porno

Ben: I watched Zack & Miri last night and loved it from start to finish. Totally hilarious.

I loved Brandon "Superman" Routh's brief part as Justin Long's gay lover. Haha. And I loved Seth Rogen's enjoyment of their spousal fight.

Speaking of farts... The scene where the cameraman gets "frosted like a fucking cake" had me laughing so hard I almost died.

Maggie:
The more I think about this movie, the more I love it. One of the small touches that I liked was that Miri had kind of shitty blond hair with dark roots. They didn't give her fabulous looking hair which makes sense because she probably couldn't afford it. I love her roots.

Weren't they adorable? Despite how pretty she is, what a train wreck. That dress she wore to the reunion? Yeesh. And yes, Brandon Routh was hilarious. I couldn't remember where I knew him from, but I said to Mike, "That voice he's doing is nowhere close to his real voice, right?" Mike said, "Not in the slightest. This is awesome."

I almost cried when they have sex because I thought it was touching that they had the awesome great-sex music but to the guys filming, it looks boring. I liked that scene a lot, though their salsa-ing around while they took each other's clothes off was painful to watch.

I could have done without seeing Jason Mewes full-frontal.

Ben:
I didn't quite get why they were so poor. I guess you just have to take it for granted. Did Miri even have a job?

Miri was totally beautiful in her flabbergasted way. In the scene where she's sitting on the couch during the lights-back-on party, talking to the porn star, there's a huge contrast between the porn star's Barbie-esque idealized hotness and Miri's girl-next-door beauty.

I loved him rinsing her hair with the toilet water. They were extremely cute together. (It's nice to know Seth Rogen can do chemistry -- I found there was absolutely none in Knocked Up.) You're right, their sex scene was great. I loved how the whole look of the picture changed when it moved in to the close-up of them. It goes from looking all porny-lit and amateur to this warm, glowing close-up that reflects what they're feeling.

Hilarious when Zack got the hand-warmer packet stuck under his balls. Why did he put it down his pants in the first place?? He was pretty adorable in that hat, though.

Jason Mewes was funny, although he sure is funny looking, isn't he? His body looks like it's made out of plastic and has a weird shape. His hair is strange and his face looks a little like a dinosaur. I wonder if he showers in formaldahyde. He doesn't look human to me.

The dialogue was great. It was fun just listening to the characters talk.

Maggie:
I think the problem with Jason Mewes's appearance can all be attributed to heroin. People who were junkies just seem to look wrong even after they've recovered.

I'd blame the lack of chemistry in Knocked Up (which I didn't see) on Katherine Heidgel. I've never seen her in anything but 27 Dresses (with the delicious James Marsden) but I didn't feel chemistry in that flick either. And it certainly wasn't Mr. Blinding Smile's fault.

I thought she worked at a store in the mall but you never see her at work. In the beginning, doesn't she wake him up because she's going to be late to work, but then drives him to work and we don't see her go anywhere?

The hand-warmer thing made me laugh because I've been walking around with those things in my boots all winter.

Ponzi!

Number of times during one afternoon listening to NPR that I heard the phrase "Ponzi scheme" after realizing they were saying "Ponzi scheme" a lot:

9

15 Things on Google Earth

This fascinating slide show by a former colleague of mine shows 15 of the amazing things you can see via Google Earth.

The elephants and hippos are my favorite, of course, but that giant Italian wool bunny looks awfully cool too. Ahhh, people... they're so weird.

And who wants to see the island where Tom Hanks spent, what was it, 7 years?

Novelists on Novelizing

Beginning is daunting; being in the middle makes you feel like Sisyphus; ending sometimes comes with the disappointment that this finite collection of words is all that remains of your infinitely rich idea. Along the way, there are the pitfalls of self-disgust, boredom, disorientation and a lingering sense of inadequacy, occasionally alternating with episodes of hysterical self-congratulation as you fleetingly believe you've nailed that particular sentence and are surely destined to join the ranks of the immortals, only to be confronted the next morning with an appalling farrago of cliches that no sane human could read without vomiting. But when you're in the zone, spinning words like plates, there's a deep sense of satisfaction and, yes, enjoyment.

--Hari Kunzru.

More writers here.

Obama Smash!

Per Saturday Night Live last night, when Barack Obama gets mad he turns into:



I laughed till I ripped my purple pants.

Star Trek Trailer

I said this movie shouldn't be made. But if the new trailer, which looks effin incredible, is any indication of the movie, I'm going to be eating a heaping helping of crow. And happily!