AWAY WE GO  (2009)  ***  Buoyed by the news that they are expecting their first baby, Burt (John Krasinski) and Verona (Maya Rudolph) embark on a journey to locate the perfect place on the planet to raise their child. But their quest inevitably yields many unexpected surprises. Sam Mendes directs this quirky comedy while Allison Janney, Catherine O'Hara, Josh Hamilton, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jeff Daniels co-star.

My Review: John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph are so wonderful and believable as an aging slacker couple facing the prospect of growing up for real that it makes it easy to try and overlook the flaws in this simple and enjoyable film from Sam Mendes ("American Beauty", "Revolutionary Road", the underrated "Road To Perdition"...) 

The biggest problems lie in the repetitive episodic structure and especially in the shrill caricatures that make up a large chunk of the supporting cast (chief offenders being those characters played by normally reliable actors like Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels and Allison Janney).  None of these episodes last too long, though, and Rudolph and Krasinski are so pleasant to spend time with that it ultimately doesn't matter much.  (Rudolph in particular is a revelation in her first dramatic role)  Their love and respect for each other, even through tough times, is never in doubt, so that when they reach their (possible) ultimate destination we feel their catharsis almost as much as they do.

Over the weekend Chris and I watched my "Mister Lonely" DVD, largely because of Michael Jackson's untimely passing.  He had never seen it and it was just my second time, so I was happy when it was just as brilliant and fascinating the second time as it was the first.  It's some kinda masterpiece in my opinion, a truly original film with so many layers of meaning and conflicting emotions that it boggles my mind.  And Chris liked it a lot, which was cool because he doesn't always have the patience for arty movies like this.

I also watched my DVD of the early-70's horror gem "Let's Scare Jessica To Death" and really enjoyed it again.  It's a weird, trippy film that is too vague and deliberately paced to catch on in the mainstream, but any horror buff with some patience and an interest in atmospheric, slow-burn ghost stories like "The Haunting" (the original), "The Innocents" and "Session 9" will find much to admire.  And check out that Japanese poster art!  Awesome and oddly appropriate (meaning that whoever made it seems to have actually seen the movie or is at least slightly acquainted with its core ideas)

And from thisiswhyyourefat.com...

Flapjack Fiasco

Layers from bottom to top: pancake; cookie dough; pancake; peanut butter and jelly; pancake; chocolate and bananas; pancake; caramel, oreo, marshmallow, sprinkles, M&M’s; pancake; caramel buttercream frosting granished with Trix cereal.

Good lord, I'm having a simultaneous orgasm and heart attack just looking at it!