I saw "The Musketeer" today, and it was awful. I even left before it ended, which I've never done before. It wasn't really bad in a funny way, except in a couple of scenes. (For example, if you see this movie, cheesiness to watch for: the Awful Scar on the little girl's neck, and the Terrible Disfigurement of the villain's eye area.)

"The Three Musketeers" is one of my favorite stories. I love the book, and just about every movie version. I wondered why this one's title was in the singular, but I thought it looked swashbuckling enough to warrant the $4.00 matinee admission.

I won't go into much detail about why it was so bad. I'll just say that, although the story was accredited to Dumas, the plot had almost nothing to do with the original story.

The last few books I've picked up since May have been put down again without being finished, because I lost interest in the stories or because I couldn't take any more lameness. Mike and I have rented a few movies which we have rewound without watching until the end. In all, this summer's diversions in the film and book departments have been mundane and disappointing.

Except for the times I re-read old favorites such as "HHGTTG" and "The Screwtape Letters."

Please, someone recommend a good movie or book, so that the rest of the year won't be as drab as my summer!

--Jez"I implore thee, monsieur!"zika