Kristen Loves Design

Images courtesy of Amazon.

I think I’ve mentioned Ewan McGregor before. I love him. Who doesn’t, right?! But here’s the thing, it isn’t because of his movies. Sure, I’ve seen Shallow Grave (in a cool indie theater in Boston in 1994), Trainspotting, Little Voice (in a cool indie theater in CA in 1998), Cassandra’s Dream, and many others. The reason I love him so much is because of a show he did with Charley Boorman called Long Way Round. It’s a documentary they shot for the BBC in 2004 that documented their 19,000 mile journey on motorcycles from London to New York. Actually my Carl introduced me to the series (they also shot Long Way Down in 2007 when they traveled also on motorcycles through 18 countries). We got the DVDs from the library and watched them several times. Even if you aren’t into motorcycles (or motorbikes), I promise when you are done you will love Ewan and Charley. Sure, they are famous (Charley’s dad is John Boorman, although Charley is famous in his own right too) and it is Ewan McGregor afterall, but this documentary shows us who they really are. And they are guys traveling a ridiculously long way on 2 wheels by themselves, missing their families, and going through all kinds of trials and tribulations. But throughout all the many hours in both shows, they are both happy for the challenge. And that’s nice to see, regardless if they are movie stars or not.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

In any case, we finally saw Beginners. And I loved it. I should note, though. Almost every review I read made such a big deal about the “talking” dog. Yes, there is a talking dog. For a few lines, in a few scenes. Seriously, the dog didn’t steal the show anymore than the dog in As Good As It Gets. But oh this movie, directed by Mike Mills (who is married to this lady), is just so good. Kind of hard to watch, I think. And I certainly wouldn’t call it an uplifting movie. But for me it had one really great theme. Even though most of us have no idea what we are really doing in life (I mean, it’s not like we all follow a script or something) it’s never to late to become who you are. Which of course is also a famous quote by the English novelist George Eliot, “It’s never too late to be who you might have been.” Well said.