Dinner Review: Campania

So msmemory and I were driving home a few days ago, and happened to notice this little Italian restaurant across the street from the KFC. So when we played our usual Friday evening game of staring at each other and saying, "I dunno -- where do you want to go?", and she remarked that she was in the mood for Italian, I suggested we try it out.
( Summary: Pricey but good )

Dinner Review: Campania

So msmemory and I were driving home a few days ago, and happened to notice this little Italian restaurant across the street from the KFC. So when we played our usual Friday evening game of staring at each other and saying, "I dunno -- where do you want to go?", and she remarked that she was in the mood for Italian, I suggested we try it out.
( Summary: Pricey but good )

TV Review: Dead Like Me

Just a quick note on this one. We just checked out the new Showtime series, Dead Like Me, and it's fun. High concept: our hero (and narrator) is an 18 year old girl named Georgia (whose turns of phrase often bear an uncanny resemblance to tpau's, somehow), who gets killed a few minutes into the story. She quickly discovers that she's been recruited as a Grim Reaper, one of the escorts of the dead. It reminds me a fair amount of Piers Anthony's On a Pale Horse, but it's frankly much cleverer.

The writing is both witty and extremely quirky. The cinematography is even more quirky, but only when it's actually trying to make a point, and knows to get out of the way for the ordinary scenes. The acting is a bit over-the-top, but it somehow suits -- the characters are all a little wild, which fits the strange scenario well. Mandy Patinkin is the big name in the cast, and does a fine job as the annoyingly gruff head Reaper, showing Georgia the ropes.

The story has some serious things to say, but the style is anything but serious -- it's generally very light-hearted in tone. I find myself looking forward to the second episode, which is more than I can say for most series. And yes, we're taping it, and can presumably be bribed to loan out the tapes as we complete them. (But this may be a recommended DVD buy if they can sustain the quality...)

TV Review: Dead Like Me

Just a quick note on this one. We just checked out the new Showtime series, Dead Like Me, and it's fun. High concept: our hero (and narrator) is an 18 year old girl named Georgia (whose turns of phrase often bear an uncanny resemblance to tpau's, somehow), who gets killed a few minutes into the story. She quickly discovers that she's been recruited as a Grim Reaper, one of the escorts of the dead. It reminds me a fair amount of Piers Anthony's On a Pale Horse, but it's frankly much cleverer.

The writing is both witty and extremely quirky. The cinematography is even more quirky, but only when it's actually trying to make a point, and knows to get out of the way for the ordinary scenes. The acting is a bit over-the-top, but it somehow suits -- the characters are all a little wild, which fits the strange scenario well. Mandy Patinkin is the big name in the cast, and does a fine job as the annoyingly gruff head Reaper, showing Georgia the ropes.

The story has some serious things to say, but the style is anything but serious -- it's generally very light-hearted in tone. I find myself looking forward to the second episode, which is more than I can say for most series. And yes, we're taping it, and can presumably be bribed to loan out the tapes as we complete them. (But this may be a recommended DVD buy if they can sustain the quality...)