Dim Sum & The Other Boleyn Girl

This past Friday, for the Finer Things Club, a group of twelve of us went to Oriental Garden for Dim Sum. It was a crowded table but fun times. Waitresses came by with trays and carts of various dumplings and other tasty items, and we picked whatever looked good.

Celia and I enjoyed trying to pick up slippery items with slick plastic chop sticks. It was good practice.

Phoebe, Dustin, and Mark shared items on their side of the table and practiced the art of pouring tea for each other. It's customary in Chinese culture to pour tea for others. When someone pours tea for you, you should tap your first two fingers on the table to say "when" and as a way to say "thank you."

Rebecca brought her son, Deston. He was totally adorable playing with chopsticks.


Dustin posed with one of his favorite TV characters outside of a Bubble tea place we went to after lunch.

After Bubble tea, a few of us girls went to see The Other Boleyn Girl. I read the book recently and really enjoyed it. As I watched the movie, I felt disconnected, as if the movie I was seeing did not correspond to the book I read. Sure, they both told the story of Mary and Anne Boleyn and their relationships with King Henry VIII, but the stories felt different. The tone and focus of each was so different, that I had a hard time appreciating the film. The performances by Eric Bana, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman were good. I just don't think Peter Morgan wrote a very good screenplay. Granted, it is difficult taking over 700 pages of material and cutting it down for a 2 hour film, but I think the important part of writing a good screenplay is staying true to the characters and theme of the original book. I just don't think The Other Boleyn Girl did that. But, if you haven't read the book, you'll probably enjoy the movie much more.