So, our weekend storm has quieted down for the moment. Friday was a nightmare, with winds up to 69mph and parts of the city flooded and lots of fallen or damaged trees. We were spared all but a couple of tree problems— a small lilac tree with shallow roots that went down (which I'll replant and stake up like the relentless optimist I am) and a 2-foot split-away of a major branch on one of the Modesto ashes. Which needs the tree-man to visit really soon.

We'd planned to take the kids out to spend Xmas gift-card money and go to Enchanted on Friday, but it wasn't until about 3pm that I realized that the storm had settled down enough to make that possible. So the movie part came through. And my husband and I had Wednesday off together, and a Saturday night date, so there was much movie-ing.

Enchanted: Surprisingly enjoyable film (great concept too), and all good but for the pop-music intrusion during the end. Clue to writers: Waltzes do not involve emo-singing, and also are in 3/4 time and not 4/4 time. Duh. Waltzes are a pre-exiting concept— don't hijack them and warp them. Patrick Dempsey was actually likeable in this movie (he's Dr. Smirky to me), and there was a terrific production number in Central Park that sold itself. The old people's dance part was actually my favorite. Also, Susan Sarandon? Whahoo!

I Am Legend: My husband didn't want to see this at first, because he had it classified as a zombie flick and neither of us likes that genre. But! Not really that at all— it's a remake of a couple of different films and new material that really is its own result. The aftermath of good intentions gone bad, Will Smith stars as possibly the only survivor of a plague. He is the only character for the bulk of the movie, and damn if he wasn't up to it and then some. There's a scene between his character and pet dog that is all Smith's face, and it's just wrenching and letter perfect. Who could have forseen this level of talent from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which was a cute little show but not dramatically demanding. Smith's performance here exceeds The Pursuit of Happyness in my book, and that's saying something. Highly recommended.

Catch And Release: Urk. So, let me admit up front, I typically don't find Jennifer Garner pretty. She seems like a nice person and all, but she has a pulpy mouth and really small eyes. Ditto on that last part for her husband. Here, she's playing a fairly uptight person whose fiance died and whom she's now finding out was not the prince she'd thought he was. The problem is, her character isn't very likeable. By the end of the movie, I didn't like her, I really hated her dead fiance, and I hated myself for finding Timothy Olyphant so damned attractive, because his character's a cad. Damn, but that boy is SO my type— really good-looking, longish hair (Hi, Jared!), and a long, lean, lightly-muscled body (Hi, S1 Jared! I miss you!). The parts I liked were the woman's two roommates, the gentlemanly and overlooked Dennis and the fat slacker-dude Sam played by Kevin Smith (the king of Slacker Nation), who was just wonderful in that role. I want her roomate Sam for a friend.

Juno: Well. Very cute movie, great dialogue (the main character is a bit too clever at times, but the actress pulls it off. Loved Michael Cera as the unplanned father of her child, loved J.K. Simmons as her Dad (thank goodness— Oz has really put the warp on this actor for me). Jennifer Garner (!) DID look pretty here, though her character was wound too tight. Really neat script, really excruciating music— folksy with cute lyrics, but the singing and performance quality all sounds like amateur night. Possibly worse. But the movie is well worth seeing.

Finished S5 of Oz last week. I rewound the Beecher/Keller kiss 5-6 times to rewatch, and found myself moaning (!) through it. There was tongue. Tongue. Whoo! And in side-news, a cameo for no particular reason by Ben Vereen in the penultimate episode. Went to imdb.com to confirm it, of course. Man, but I spend a lot of time on that site.