More than just Movies

I finished up another preemie cap for the Knitters for Obama effort - this one was shipped off to Kentucky.



I also saw something a little more mainstream than the Film Festival stuff I've been reviewing lately:



I have to say, though, I loved it! I'm a sci fi/comic book fan, so I love it when a super hero film is done right and I definitely would say this was done right. If you're one of the few who haven't seen it yet, Iron Man is the alter ego of Tony Stark, a millionaire playboy who owns a weapons manufacturing company. He's a genius and when he's injured while showing off his newest weapon in Afghanistan, he gets himself out of captivity by building himself a suit of armor out of pieces of his weapons - oh yeah, a FLYING suit of armor. When he was initially captured, he took a lot of shrapnel in the chest. He has an electronic magnet implanted in his chest to keep the sharpnel from flowing through his veins into his heart, killing him. Robert Downey, Jr. plays Tony Stark/Iron Man and it's brilliant casting. Downey's own checkered history and redemption give a certain honesty to his portrayal of Stark. The film has fantastic special effects and keeps you totally engaged in the story. There is also a layer to the story about war and profiteering that will keep serious moviegoers interested too. But this is seriously a fantastic popcorn movie and the perfect way to kick off the summer movie season.

Besides movie-going, I've also been enjoying some music. I saw this fantastic duo:



What a wonderful show. They each have really gorgeous voices, but joined together it's just magical. They played a number of songs from "Once", some songs from their album and a couple of new songs. The crowd was really enthusiastic. They definitely have a devoted following. Glen Hansard introduced almost all of the songs and in true Irish fashion, couldn't resist a bit of storytelling. Sometimes the song intros were longer than the songs themselves. :-) Overall it made for a really wonderful evening and I hope this pair is together for a long time to come.

I also got to see this hilarious duo:



Another completely enjoyable evening. My friends and I had rockstar seats for this one and it was so much fun to see Flight of the Conchords up close and personal. If you haven't seen their show on HBO, their a New Zealand duo who play folky/pop songs with witty and hilarious lyrics. The tv show weaves their songs into each episode where they play characters very similar to themselves - kind of like Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Seeing the songs performed without the context of the show wasn't any less enjoyable. Bret and Jemaine are both goofy, funny and completely adorable. If you haven't seen this show and enjoy smart humor, check it out.