a plethora, you say?

The Mother Tongue, by Bill Bryson. Though mostly about the English language, there's a good bit of information about language in general leading up to the main topic. Bryson has a lot of fun with curious trivia and interesting anecdotes, especially when he lets himself get in some acerbic commentary about things that are just silly. At the same time, though, there are some stretches where he just lists too much data that isn't very curious, and it begins to read like genealogy lists in the Bible. More good than not, though.

I Am Legend, with Will Smith, Abby (the German Shepherd), and Alice Braga. A generally good movie, but overall, a definite downer. After learning the plot of the original narrative, I was actually pretty disappointed by the more cookie-cutter way the film went down. I think if it had gone that darker rout, it might have ironically been less of a downer, in a way, because there was a twisted sense of hope in that original. Less cookie-cutter, more perspective shifting. The monsters in this were just a bit too implausible to be really scary, but the cinematography and acting made up for that somewhat. But the ultimate sin of a dog dying, however heroically, was committed, which generally tips a movie into way-too-sad, I'd say.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman. Also kind of a downer, but in a way that's more bittersweet (and expected, in the tragic sense). I find myself very much liking musicals, actually, and this is an especially good example, and that beyond it already starring a few of my favorite actors. Hell, I was even impressed by Sascha Baron Cohen in his short role, well played!

Razor, with the BSG cast plus Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen. Like a reviewer I noted put it, basically, a long BSG episode. But a good one! The flashback action got a bit silly at one point, but we allowed that maybe that was a throwback to the old school. Or a writer overindulging in their imagination, which, as a Farscape fan, I'll also allow. The temporary main character, Shaw, was interesting, and helped lend the formerly monstrous Admiral Cain a slightly less monstrous mien. All in all, interesting stuff, and it works well as a standalone.

Mr Brooks, with Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, and Dane Cook, oddly. And who apparently replaced Zach Braff? Huh. I get the feeling this was a novel, in how there was a lot of stuff I wanted more backstory on, and more information, and more detail...for example, I wanted to see a lot more of Mr Brooks' relationship and interaction with his wife. Or the development of his daughter. Or of Mr Smith's overall life, and what would lead him to be open to attempting to indulge in such behavior. I want more character development, darn it! My interest was piqued, but not satisfied at all.

-touching military slideshow