Last day of my vacation, and I did not want to spend it doing housework, which I have done plenty of the last two days.

So we cooked a big, hearty breakfast and then Dan and I went up to Ypsilanti to visit his brother and his sweet wife and darling little girl. We then did a bit of shopping and went to see a movie, War of the Worlds. We came home, and Dan played soccer with Bill in the backyard for awhile.

When they get back in, I will make some dinner. I bought a cool small kitchen appliance today, a quesadilla maker, and I will use it to make some yummy food.  I did bake a delicious cherry cake with vanilla frosting last night, and buttermilk biscuits this morning. I love it when I have time for baking.

here is my movie review -- contains spoilers!!!

 

spoilers!

 

spoilers!

 

you have been warned!!!!

 

War of the Worlds (2005 release) -- spoilers

I went to see War of the Worlds today. I thought it to be a pretty good updating of the classic Wells story (from what I remember of the book which I did read some years ago, the narrator quotes it pretty much verbatim at the beginning and end of the movie).

The special effects (usually pretty important in a science fiction movie) were pretty good. The tripods were genuinely creepy and threatening. I'm not sure if the scale of them will translate well to the little screen, so I am glad I did make the effort to see this one at a movie theater.

The little girl was pretty good for a child actress/actor. I thought she stole the movie from Tom Cruise, in fact. Though I am no fan of Tom Cruise, so take anything I say about him with a grain of salt.

My primary complaint is that there were continuity glitches in the plot that were distracting to me. For instance -- if all electronics are disabled, how are people able to use their cameras and camcorders to film the tripods? And why can't anyone else figure out how to get cars/vehicles running other than Tom Cruise and the US military? Why are the cars from areas where the power still works nonfunctional? How come the ferry boat engine still works when all the cars aren't working?

However, those are minor quibbles, and I did enjoy the movie. It was good to see a modern updating of an old classic.

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