A couple things where i'm not feeling the hype

• The film Atonement. I found it a little passionless and dull. But nicely shot. The 10 minute shot of sad and defeated British soldiers was impressive, nicely orchestrated but blah ('oh, there's the wrecked galleon again'). The epilogue at the end...well that sure wrapped up all structural twists rather obviously. I'm trying not to do any spoilers here, though my sense is that the film is a spoiler of a much much better book. And I'll just be getting madder about it because it's going to win stuff. (In related movie news, when I left after seeing No Country for Old Men, I was pretty weirded out. And wow, that movie has stuck with me for weeks. I need to see it again. It's got a time release on it.)
  
• Mike Huckabee - Does all a Republican have to do to be popular these days is be nice and refreshingly able to speak candidly? (That's enough for Bill Maher, apparently.) So a few plus points for that. Many more negative points for not believing in Evolution. And for hating on the gays. Oh and for wanting to quarantine AIDS patients. Oh and saying that the reason he wanted to quarantine AIDS patients was for a Scientific reason when I suspect it likely had to do more with fear/dislike of Gay people. Oh and saying this about possibly meeting Ryan White's mother:

  “I would be very willing to meet with them,” the former Arkansas governor said today while campaigning in Iowa. “I would tell them we’ve come a long way in research, in treatment.”
  

  Um, Mr Huckabee, I don't think you got shit to tell Ryan White's mother. You go there, sit your ass down, and listen.