Reviews and More

I’ve just finished four more episodes of the first season of The O.C., and I have to say that I’m liking this show more and more. I think it helps that I’m watching the series so quickly; it gives me less time to dwell on the things I don’t like or to nitpick the inconsistencies, which greatly increases my enjoyment. At any rate, here are some quick thoughts from episodes 1×16, 1×17, 1×18, and 1×19, called “The Links,” “The Rivals,” and “The Heartbreak,” respectively.

- The best scene for me out of all these episodes — no question — was in “The Heartbreak” when Seth and Summer finally get together. Anna has broken up with Seth because she realizes that he’s still into Summer, but when Seth goes over to tell Summer that he’s available, she’s not all that receptive. She didn’t want to be his second choice. That’s when Seth goes into the “undeniable” speech and says, “It’s always been you, Summer. It’s just always been you. I tried to fight it and I tried to deny it. And I can’t… I can’t do it. You’re undeniable.” That was just awesome!

- More guns and drama in Ryan and Marissa’s relationship. Wow, will these two ever be together for more than a couple of weeks? Their situation is like something out of a bad soap opera. I hate it when things like this get dragged out forever. Plus, it’s not even like I’m interested in them as a couple. Just show more of Seth and Summer, please!

- Still don’t care what’s happening with the adults. Jimmy and Hailey? Yawn. Jimmy and Sandy opening a restaurant? Yawn. The only semi-interesting plot is the whole Julie/Luke thing — and the only reason for that is I can’t believe the show actually went there! At least they made a point to say that Luke is 18, so it’s not as though we’ve got statutory rape here. But still… wow.

- What happened to Ryan’s job? They haven’t mentioned that in a long time. I guess he gave it up when he started school. So what’s he doing for money? Are the Cohen’s giving him an allowance?

- There’s some great music on this show! I’ve downloaded several songs just because I heard them here first.

- I’m so glad the Oliver arc is over with. That whole thing was tedious, and that guy was extremely annoying, as well as totally transparent. How could Marissa not have seen right through him??

Well, like I said, I’m still loving the Newport Beach happenings. Can’t wait to go watch some more!

My husband and I usually take a vacation in either July or August, depending on our work schedules. We tend to go somewhere warm and just hang out on the beach or do some sightseeing, but my husband has recently been talking about going to a place where we’d be able to do traditional summer activities and snowboard as well. He’s never even been on a snowboarding vacation in the winter, let alone the summer, so this is something he’s always wanted to try. Of course, the fact that my husband just got some brand new Volcom snowboarding gear that he hasn’t had a chance to use yet also figures into this decision!

I think our best bet would be to pack up our boards, boots, and the rest of our gear and head to Whistler in British Columbia. I’ve got a good friend living in BC who says she knows a bunch of fantastic places to ski and snowboard over there. She’s a big outdoors person herself, so I completely trust her judgment in this respect. Plus, my friend has even offered to let us stay with her, which would do a lot towards keeping our expenses down. I’ve crunched some numbers and I think we can swing a trip to Canada this year — provided we can both take the time off from work.

Now that I’ve been talking about snowboarding in summer, I’m getting pretty excited about this kind of trip myself! I think it would be sweet to head up the mountain in the afternoon for some boarding, and then go swimming or golfing later on in the same day… I can’t wait!

I read all of Jane Austen’s books when I was in high school, and though I can’t remember all the details, I do know that they all deal with the subject of young women trying to secure good marriages. From what I do recall, the plots and characters are pretty much interchangeable from one book to the next, with only the specific nature of the lovers’ quarrels, misunderstandings, and reunions being different.

Nevertheless, I still found Austen’s novels rather enjoyable and wanted to give the movie versions a try. I didn’t realize until now that I had completely missed the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility, directed by Ang Lee. Emma Thompson, one of the film’s stars, also adapted the screenplay, and she won an Oscar for her efforts. I’m happy to say that I finally got around to seeing this movie a couple weeks ago; here’s what I thought of it.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): The central characters in Sense and Sensibility are Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, two young women who live with their widowed mother and who are (of course) trying to find husbands. Of course, they’re poor and live in the countryside, so there aren’t many eligible bachelors to choose from.

Elinor (played by Thompson) is the elder of the two women, and she’s much more sensible and down to earth than Marianne (Kate Winslet). While Elinor views love and marriage in a practical way, Marianne is very much the romantic. She wants to quote Shakespearean sonnets with her lover, be rescued in the rain, and generally get all fluttery when her beloved is in the same room.

Thus it is that Marianne falls for Willoughby (Greg Wise), a young man from a neighboring estate who comes upon her after she has twisted her ankle, and carries her home to safety. After that, Marianne and Willoughby spend a great deal of time together — this despite the fact that a Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman) has made it clear that he’s interested in marrying her.

Although Col. Brandon is wealthy and well respected, Marianne doesn’t feel anything towards him. He’s much older, and she views him as too boring and plain. Willoughby, on the other hand, is charming, attractive, and every bit as romantic as Marianne. He’s also penniless, so he ends up marrying someone for money even though there was an unspoken understanding that he would ask Marianne to marry him. This of course leaves her devastated and barely able to function.

Meanwhile, Elinor is dealing with troubles of her own. Before the Dashwood sisters moved to a small cottage with their mother, Elinor had gotten to know a Mr. Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant). Edward and Elinor seemed to have so much in common that this appeared to be a good match. However, Edward’s sister was absolutely appalled to think that Edward could even consider doing such a thing; her brother deserved so much better than that.

At any rate, Edward leaves without a mention of marriage, and Elinor is left to wonder what went wrong. She later discovers that Edward has secretly been engaged for four years, and he meant to honor that commitment.

Well, this being based on a Jane Austen novel, things inevitably work out in the end, with Marianne marrying Col. Brandon and Elinor getting Edward. It was a double wedding, and they all presumably lived happily ever after.

My Reaction: I thought the basic plot here was totally corny. I don’t like it when things work out so neatly, especially when there’s logical reason that they should. What a happy coincidence that Lucy should fall for Edward’s brother (an ugly, dopey fellow) after being engaged to Edward (handsome, smart) for four years, thus freeing up Edward to get together with Elinor. How nice of Col. Brandon to still want to marry Marianne despite having to live with the knowledge that he was always her second choice.

Still, it’s hard to dislike this film because there are so many great actors here. Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet were both excellent, and I also thought Alan Rickman and Hugh Grant did very well with their roles. Moreover, there are some good supporting performances, so this would be a film to see for the acting rather than the story.

Overall, I thought Sense and Sensibility was good enough to recommend to others. I give it 7.0 stars out of 10, and think it’s worth seeing — for the outstanding cast if nothing else.