I can't remember the last movie I saw in the theatre. I know it's been a while, but no matter. In the past three days I've seen two, one highly anticipated, one not so much.

Pirates blah blah: Dead Man's blah blah. Good sword fights, Jack Sparrow, pirates, so what's the problem? Well, much like the second movie in the Matrix series the ending isn't satisfying, and we've got another year to wait to see the actual end.

The Devil wears blah blah blah. Which was better: the book or the movie? Does it matter? Actually, overall it makes a better movie but the book's ending was a little more fun. Oh, and the movie was a little long. And there were a few things in the book I wish they'd put in the movie, most notably the liberal borrowing from the sample closet. My key lime truffles did make the movie a little better. Key lime truffles make life better every freakin time.

Some previews:

* Talladega Nights: PLEASE don't let the funniest parts be in the preview.
* Running With Scissors: YAY except Evan Rachel Wood? Not who I pictured in the least.
* A Zach Braff vehicle I don't recall the name of but could easily be Garden State 2. Is he the new face of slacker angst?

Let me rant for a second. One of the conflicts in the Devil Wears Prada is that Andi's boyfriend starts losing respect for her, sort of pressuring her to quit her job. Now let's think this through. She does have a rough, thankless job. He thinks she's giving up her dignity or something abstract like that. But isn't getting what you really want about paying your dues? Not so much selling out, but doing thankless jobs to get ahead? I know ultimately the point is she's allegedly slowly becoming another person under Miranda's employ and therefore becoming as heartless as Miranda but I don't see it. She's simply proving herself more capable than her co-worker. YOU PAY DUES. That's how you get ahead. She isn't asked to murder, she isn't really asked to backstab. but whatever. It's a movie based on a book that is based on true life but is, at the end of the day, a novel.

Major spoilers to follow.

Partially a reply to comment below, and partially to elaborate more: Yep, she did bang the guy in Paris. The job drove a wedge between her and her boyfriend leading to her seduction by blonders. But who's to say they were compatible in the first place? The boyfriend comes off as kind of needy, but then i'm a cold bitch who is currently single. He's placed in the position that millions of women have found themselves in: support an ambitious male partner. Not to say he isn't ambitious in his own right. Love sometimes means supporting your partner's pursuit of a dream. My opinion from the movie (it's been a while since I read the book) is that while Andi is in the world she never really becomes part OF the world. She does come awfully close. when Andi breaks the news to Emily that she has been chosen to go to Paris instead they try to tell us that this proves Andi is losing her self and is no better than Miranda. Hardly. Andi has proven herself more capable than Emily, and I think a lot of that's due to Andi's continued perspective that this too shall pass. She continually reminds herself that this is only for a year. Much, much different from undermining your competition by using influence and connections while discounting loyalty and experience.

But then, I had my own experience ages ago of discovering that the dues weren't worth the payoff and gave up a field I'd spent my college career preparing for.