watching this movie for the second time, i've found myself hating it. matt damon's performance was okay, but it's the performance of the other cia operatives back at the office that seemed painfully cliché. chris cooper as conklin i found especially two-dimensional. his dialogue are atrocious, and his character always seems to be angry and yelling at somebody or ordering somebody around. i can't believe a guy like that is in charge of an clandestine cia operation.

julia stiles? ugh, her presence in the movie is still distracting even it was my second time around. in the end, i was hoping jason bourne would just shoot her.

oh, and those copies of the police files that have marie (franka potente) with different hairstyles and colors? was it bring your daughter to work day or something, because they look like they were done with the barbie makeover kit software.

men in black ii is your standard issue hollywood junk food movie, filled with lots of special effects, throw in a few a-list actors, add some cool scenes (most of which already revealed in the trailer), and sit back and rake in the box office money. for those who demand substance in their movie experience, for those who want a story that really captivates your attention and fuels the imagination, look elsewhere my friend! this may not be a movie for you. but if you're totally secure with the hollywood movie machine system, if you were waiting for mib2 to come out, then you'll probably like it. once again, my litmus test for a good movie is that it entertains me, and i was entertained, so this movie passed.

i wish they could've kept linda fiorentino. i wonder if the decision for her character to not come back in this sequel was made by her or by the studio executives. she was my favorite chracter in the original men in black, i could care less about tommy lee jones or will smith. she was a smart female character, compared to serleena (lara flynn boyle) and rita (rosario dawson), who are essentially eye candies in this sequel. not to say i mind, but a part of me feels sad that linda fiorentino's character from the original movie couldn't be developed further.

i didn't find that little talking pug dog cute at all. i felt it was as much an affront to my intelligence as jar jar binks was in star wars. likewise with the worm guys. maybe they could've saved some cgi money and hired a better writer to work on the script. i personally think the whole reason why they had the worm guys in the movie was to work in that scene where rosario dawson is play twisters with them. and the talking dog? so they can have scenes where the dog is singing to the car radio.

completely off topic, but i love lara flynn boyle, i've been in love with her since twin peaks, and my favorite lfb movie is threesome. is that out on dvd yet?

dan noticed the gratuitous product placements (that scene where serleena is eating a whopper with a big burger king sign behind her), but i didn't think there were too many, not as much as minority report, which i now think is more a long continuous commercial than an actual movie.

truro, massachusetts! getting some shout out in the movie! that's where we find tommy lee jones' character, erased of his memories, working at the town's post office.

see it or skip it? why don't you go see it then? these movies are as much of the american summer experience as is fireworks on the 4th of july and sporadic heat waves. it doesn't really add anything new to the cinematic world, yet at the same time you won't feel bad after watching it.

met dan at fenway 13 to see men in black ii, followed possibly by a free screening of lilo & stitch (by free screening i mean, sneaking in). on my bus ride into harvard square, i bumped into that taiwanese girl again. we chatted, apparently she's here only for the summer to study english (she's a 4th year college student), heading into the city to her school to use the internet. we exchanged personal info at the station and i grabbed the subway into the city. there was a baseball game and i took the trains filled with red sox fans all the way to kenmore square. i arrived late to the theatre, dan was already waiting, doing his portuguese homework. a ticket ($7) and some food (hot dog, medium popcorn, small coke, $10) later we were inside waiting for the movie to start. some good trailers, the two towers, daredevil, and star trek: nemesis. daredevil is the movie i can't wait to see, valentine's day 2003, i could care less about ben affleck (although i think he's a better action star than his friend matt damon, albeit a clumsy one at that), but jennifer garner as elektra, that is perfect casting. after mib2, dan and i moseyed our way to the other side of the theatre, trying to find the screening room to catch lilo & stitch. i had tepid feelings about the movie, but since i wouldn't be paying, it was the perfect kind of movie to be watching for free. unfortunately we couldn't find the room, so we opted to rewatch the bourne identity, already 20 minutes in progress. after the movies, 3:30pm, dan and i split up to go back to our respective homes.

for dinner i went to tasca (1612 commonwealth avenue), a tapas restaurant in brighton, to meet eliza jones, paula, and her man jonathan. i got there early, parked in a residential parking space, and waited for the rest of the party to arrive. eliza showed up first, got her car valet parked, then paula and jonathan walked down the street (they live nearby). this was my first tapas experience, and i was interested to see what it was because i've heard it's sort of like chinese dim sum. we ordered 7-8 dishes, all very flavorful and unique and interesting, but to be honest, i just wish the servings were a little bit bigger for the price we paid! paula had a glass of sangria, and so did eliza. they tried in vain to get me to try some, explaining how it was a lot like fruit juice. i found tapas, spanish in origin, to be similar to a lot of other european cuisine that i've had in the past. i can't quite place my finger on it, the presentation of the dishes is certainly important, but it's missing a certain flare that i find in some other ethnic food, like asian food. not enough hot and spicy maybe. i'm biased of course, but i'm always curious to try the cuisine of other countries because i think what people eat says something about them. tapas is certainly delicious, but like i said, wish i could have just a little bit more! i left the restaurant still feeling hungry, but maybe that's what tapas is, appetizers, that's why they also have entrees in the menu.