did someone say movies?

mr. musoma was one of my favorite professors, and not because he sent us to the movies for extra credit. he's from africa, incredibly inspiring, awesome for so many reasons. i painted his office for an assignment before i ever took one of his classes. i remember more about his leadership/professional development class than probably any other class i took in class.

anyways, he assigned all sorts of random extra credit assignments because his tests were hard and he liked to "challenge our thinking." for instance, one day he told us that if we went to the womans basketball game that night and wrote a 50 word essay about what we observed, you'd get extra credit. (we discussed how the women had a better record than the women, yet we are programmed to pay attention to MEN's sports.) and, if we went to see the movie "last king of scotland" and wrote a 1 page response, you'd get extra credit.

so off to the movies i went. it was the first time i went to the movies alone - none of the friends i called to recruit could make it to a very late week night movie about violence in uganda. go figure.

there were several moments when i had my knees pulled to my chest with my fingers in my ears and hands over my eyes. translation: this movie is graphic. shootings, torture, that sort of thing. but it is soooo good. forest whittaker won best actor at the oscars for his role as the president of uganda. james mcavoy will woo you with his charming accent and good looks as the president's personal doctor. and, you're brave enough to watch until the end, you will walk away in awe of democracy.

it baffles me how one person, born within certain borders, is ensured such a better life because of the government that runs his country. how does one country become susceptible to coups and civil wars and genocide so frequently? were george washington and john adams really so brilliant? i don't have the answers. all i know is we need to appreciate the wonders of america a little more.

did i mention james mcavoy's bare bottom flashes across the screen a few times? just a warning in case you want to cover your eyes. or whatever.

oh, and yes, this is a german version of the movie poster. but the movie is in english.

movie #2 i'm going to recommend:

he's just not that into you. gennifer goodwin shines! love her!

for a "chick flick" it's funny, cute, better than average. i would even say that its not that much of a "chick flick." (my brother really liked it, but he also watches oprah on a regular basis. well, maybe i made that second part up...just want to see if you're reading, G...)

anyways, if you're going to the movies soon, i recommend "he's just not that into you." and not just for the really cool apartment interiors.

when the book that inspired this movie was earning so much hype a few years back, i thought it was stupid. how desperate are the single women of today's society that we need a book to tell us: hey, get over it! can't we figure it out for ourselves?

but the movie is refreshing, while telling you to hey, get over it. face it, yo... if he didn't ask for your number, if he's not calling you, if he's cheating on you, whatever: stop making excuses because he is just not that into you.

anyways, its funny. and bradley cooper has a wonderful smile. so, though i'm not ebert or roper and no one really cares, i'm going to waste some cyber space and say: i recommend it.