The list of movies that I want to see is as follows:

+ Volver
+ The Departed
+ Dreamgirls [shut up]
+ Little Children
+ Babel
+ Half Nelson
+ The Good Shepherd
+ The Queen
+ Letters From Iwo Jima
+ Casino Royale

Any thoughts or opinions are welcome! I am off all week and might allow for a nice movie break.

Some quick reviews of recent theatrical releases:

+ Stranger Than Fiction: Charlie Kaufman it is not. Good effort though. Not awful. Grade: B

+ For Your Consideration: Hugely disappointing. Should have stuck with mockumentary formula. It was all over the place and I didn’t buy it or care. Grade: C-

+ The Pursuit of Happyness: Very good, well-paced, great performances. Grade: A

+ Borat: Look at the dumb Americans! I studied at Cambridge! Funny the first time, probably not the second. Grade: B-

Also today I saw a crow that was as big as a chicken. It was jet black from the tip of its bill to the ends of its claws. Stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, eating some garbage, hassling the puny pigeons, and just daring me to walk by. When I approached, it took a few steps to the side and kept one beady eye trained on me, but never lifted a wing to take off. Pretty sure this is the same bird I saw on the same block a few months back, sitting in a tree saying “cawwww. cawwww. caaaw.” He’s the king of our neighborhood. Sometimes in the early morning I hear his voice outside, deeper and throatier than the other crows.