Comme une pierre

I have forfeited the carbon-footprint moral high ground; specifically, I have driven off the moral high ground cliff in my rental Chevy Silverado.

I was waiting at the door when Enterprise opened at 9 this morning, but they simply didn't have any cars. (Yes, I did think of that episode of Seinfeld, as a matter of fact.) The only vehicle they could put me in--and to do that someone had to drive me to another lot, way the hell out in Woodbridge--was this big, hulking, assholemobile of a pickup truck. I was close to saying, "No, just drive me home," but let's face it: I needed to go to Costco, I needed to go to Trader Joe's, I needed to go to Wine & Liquor Warehouse, and I needed to go to Edge of the Woods to stock up on Quorn fake-chicken patties. Plus, I wanted to go to a couple of movies, one on the edge of town and one 15 miles away. So yes, I am an asshole, but just for the weekend.

The Rape of Europa

Cine

And another thing that pisses us off about the Nazis, especially Hitler (it's always Hitler, isn't it?) and Göring: they stole one shitload of art from all over Europe, and it has been a real bitch getting everything found, say nothing about repatriated.

Now that we're used to Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock, it's hard to evaluate documentaries that effectively if colorlessly tell their stories, but this one taught be stuff I didn't know, reminded me of things I did, introduced me to some memorable characters (like the [Christian] Austrian who tries to track down descendants of Jews whose appropriated Torahs, menorahs, and other religious artifacts couldn't be returned to their owners for depressingly obvious reasons), and occasionally moved me (like when the same Austrian arrives on Staten Island with a pair of Torah crowns, having first described the reaction of the inheritors when he jingled the bells of the ornaments over the phone).

One cavil about the commentary, read by Joan Allen: it's a grotesque understatement to refer to "decimated" Jewish communities of the Shoah.

Roman de Gare

Mad

Very promising Hitchcockian start, a satisfying resolution of the first round of ambiguities, but a third act that lacks the surprise twist or double- or triple-twist we had seemingly been promised. And the conclusion is just plain unbelievable.

Trailers

• The Duchess--I loves me some Keira, but this looks like something we've seen too many times before.
• Brideshead Revisited--I never visited the first time, but the same comment applies to this.