I went to see 'Jarhead' and 'Shopgirl' today.

'Jarhead' was not bad, and I certainly can't say enough good things about the cinematography and Mendes' directing. It was a different sort of film, and I think I'd like to read the book.

'Shopgirl' on the other hand was just awful to me. The background music from the opening credits onwards made me want to puke. Ugh. And as good as the cinematography was in 'Jarhead', it was just as bad in 'Shopgirl'. Extreme close-ups, the same shots of Claire Danes' character's apartment over and over (reminded me of the shots of the Brady Bunch house they'd always show in scene openings!!), and terrible camera angles. And what I thought were pretentious voiceovers by Steve Martin's character. Yuk. What a disappointment.

And I saw a preview for another war movie coming out, 'Annapolis', which looked like 'An Officer and a Gentleman' being remade. It's like there's a war going on in the States with various television shows and movies these days. Oh, now that I think of it...