Eat/Drink/Be Merry!

These Are the Good Times!

J.J.'s just crazy about Carcassonne!
Carcassonne is a board game created by German teacher and game designer Klaus-Jurgen Wrede. Based on the medieval French town of Carcassonne, the cardboard tile-based game lets two to five players act as knights, thieves, monks, and farmers as they locate cities, roads, and monastaries within open fields. Appropriate for ages 8 and up, a typical game lasts 30-45 minutes. 

Of course, J.J.'s favorite summer game is Spades, a card game she learned in college and has played as often as possible ever since. Few things are as fun as a family Spades game--but if you lead with a king and aren't holding the ace, prepare to be flogged!

Big Screen/Little Screen

Bunkie says, "Skip Sex & The City 2. As much as I enjoyed the first flick in this series, the script demons definitely plagued the writers of the sequel--to the extent that the dialogue is embarrassing, the plot completely implausible, and the clothing changes so outrageous it's way too narcissistic in today's economy. Save your $$." Instead, she recommends The Prince of Persia! "Who cares that it's based on a video game? Jake Gyllenhaal is a hottie, even in a really bad wig, and even though his dialogue is sometimes laughable. The man speaks volumes with his eyes, and the action is engaging and non-stop. My 13-yr.-old son even liked this movie, so it was a win-win for both of us!  Ben Kingsley wears way too much eyeliner as the stereotypical baddie (oh, how the mighty have fallen) but it's a great "Arabian Nights" type of tale with enough fast-paced chasing and swordplay to entertain all ages. Think 'Indiana Jones Meets Lawrence of Arabia,' without the boring parts! Plus it's not 3-D, which I refuse to spend $$ on!"

J.J. says, "If subtitles don't bother you, check out The Bicycle Thief, a 1949 Italian gem that earned an Oscar nomination for screenwriting and multiple other awards. The pace is slow, and the ending isn't happy, but the acting--by rank amateurs--is powerful. Another slow-paced, but provocative film is 1968's "The Swimmer," starring Burt Lancaster. A bizarre tale based on John Cheever's short story by the same name, the movie's entire action takes place on a summer Sunday afternoon as Burt "swims" his way home from one suburban neighbor's pool to the next. This one's worth watching just to admire Mr. Lancaster's very fine physique; he spends virtually the entire film clad in nothing but swim trunks, and the view is quite fine. Many a younger man (Burt was 52 at the time) should dream of being that fit! In one sequence, he actually runs hurdles with a teenage girl.