Monday, December 20, 2004
Bagel and cream cheese for breakfast. Lunch at New Loi's. Groceries at Andronico's. Patrick and I saw House of Flying Daggers (2004) at the Daly City Century 20. The reviews for this film were very promising. A.O. Scott of the New York Times called it "a gorgeous entertainment!" and we agree. Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune called it "absolutely spellbinding! a truly impressive epic, full of dazzling period set design, radiant cinematography, powerful performances in the archetypal romantic roles. Fantastic and thrilling!" but Patrick and I would say "Occasionally somewhat spellbinding!" and "Not really an epic, but impressive in its own ways!" and "Has one scene with a few period set pieces and pretty much the rest of the film takes place outdoors!" Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly called it "eye-popping operatic richness!" but we think "eye-popping" is likely overstating her true reactions. What I liked best about the film was the peeling back of the layers of the richer-than-expected story. Patrick seemed to especially like that the ending was unexpected. After the film, we continued the holiday cookies project—there are 2 stages of refrigeration. Dinner: leftover risotto, leftover pasta, bread and butter.