Fame

This morning I learned (ego-surfing) that a high-school student in North Dakota made it to the state forensics finals performing "I stopped writing poetry . . ."; a student in Florida did the same a couple of years ago and either won or came very close. And that you can order Mythomania at web pages headed "Travel Guides - Florida" and "Acne Treatment Options."

It's hard to say what makes The Host such a great movie--for me, much more of a classic than many cult favorites, especially in horror. Mostly, it's utterly brilliant graphic composition and a great eye for details of character, and character interaction; whoever said it was "a cross between Jaws and Little Miss Sunshine" had it exactly right, except that it's better than either at what each tries so hard to do. It works extremely well as parable without saying something specific about anything like US imperialism, environmental disaster, or the lunacy of bureaucracy.
Actually, add some Italian neo-realism to that: a cross between Jaws, Little Miss Sunshine, and Bicycle Thieves. And some E.T. and Jurassic Park, which now makes me think it's a lot more rooted in Spielberg's parental-responsibility themes than I saw while watching it. Best crowds fleeing monster scenes ever, I think.