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Lincoln lawyer Mickey Haller and LAPD Detective Harry Bosch team up in this new novel by Michael Connelly.

Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next.

Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.

The Brass Verdict will be released in hardcover on October 14, 2008 in the USA and Canada, and on October 16, 2008 in the UK and Ireland, and in November 2008 in Australia and New Zealand.

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What he had taught me was to be reckless, taught me that if I let myself go, did not slow myself down by thinking so much beforehand I could achieve many things I would never have dreamt possible.

While in the Middle East providing a new-product demonstration to the US Armed Forces, super-genius playboy weaponsmaker Tony Stark is ambushed and kidnapped. To buy his freedom from his captors he must construct the new weapon he was showcasing. He decides, instead, to build a suit made of iron to help him escape, a suit powered by an electromagnet that was installed in his chest to prevent shrapnel from entering his heart. Further design modifications and refinements lead Stark to a truly amazing concept which makes him a bonafide superhero.

The movie follows its hero (pun intended) on a series of personality changes. He goes from chick magnet to humble captive and from cocky fly boy to man on a mission. I am sure you can figure out which traits were more entertaining.

I was impressed at first with how much hype was created for this movie. Those involved took a pretty well-known but certainly less-popular comic book character and made it one of the most highly anticipated films in at least recent history. My hat is off to them all for going beyond that and delivering such a fun and energizing movie. They also followed the story well and included at least two teasers as to what we might see sometime into the future (*cough* War Machine and The Avengers *cough*).

The story gets in the way a few times, and it is cheesy comic book story, but I hope you can get past that. With the volume of comic books being adapted to film, most people should be pretty used to that by now. What that story does is form the environment in which the special effects can really shine.

Tony Stark is a stronger personality (and thus a better lead) than either Peter Parker or Bruce Wayne, and Iron Man and the pace of his movie are also significantly more explosive. Since you're now questioning me, I will say that Iron Man was better than any of the Spider-Man movies. And I liked Iron Man for different reasons than Batman, so that is a hard comparison to make, but I think Batman Begins is still the better movie. And we'll see how Mr. Stark does against The Dark Knight later this summer.

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Stan Lee: You know, I think you ought to get him some help. He seems to be really hung up on super heroes' sex organs.

I misplace things far too often these days, my glasses more than anything. My car keys. I enter stores and forget what I've come for, leave the theater with no recollection of what I've just seen. If time for me really is a series of bookmarks, then I feel as if someone has shaken the book and those yellowed slips of paper, torn matchbook covers and flattened coffee stirrers have fallen to the floor, and the dog-eared flaps have been pressed smooth.

Fiery Cajun Shrimp

2 cups (4 sticks) melted butter
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons ground pepper
2 tablespoons hot sauce (recommended: Texas Pete)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
5 pounds unpeeled medium shrimp
2 lemons, thinly sliced
French bread, for dipping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Stir together the butter, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, pepper, hot sauce, garlic, and salt. Pour half this mixture into a large heatproof dish. Layer half the shrimp and half the lemon slices in the dish; then form a second layer with the remaining shrimp and lemon slices, and pour remaining sauce into the dish. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink, stirring twice. Pour off the sauce into individual serving dishes. Serve the shrimp with plenty of French bread for dipping in the spicy butter sauce.

Yield: 8 servings

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The flyer advertising the event promised over 100 wines from around the world for this two-hour event. The actual offering in close, though under 100 wines, but it was more than enough. We were greeted with a Champagne toast and set free on the food and wine. The food was good, but not great. They had fruit, some cheeses (which came in handy later in the night) and three different pasta dishes.

The wine was placed on nine tables. I would have loved to see them organized by region or light-to-heavy around the room, but that would have been too difficult. They were, instead, arranged by nine different wine distributors who sell to Red Wagon, and each brought basically whatever they wanted. Each wine at the event was wine that Red Wagon sells. For the night of the event only, each bottle was offered at a discount.

When we checked in before it started, we were given a complete list of the wines available at each table. We had time to go over the list and note which ones we didn't want to miss, but we had enough time to really try every wine they had.

The distributors' participation extended beyond supplying their wine. Each remained stationed at its table and was available to pour and discuss the wines. They were all personable, helpful and very knowledgeable.

The ticket price was $50, which is expensive. But it was a great value when you consider that there were so many wines available to taste, food was included, each person received a Riedel wine glass to keep, and a portion of each ticket was donated to charity.

The crowd seemed to be enthusiasts, professionals, casual drinkers and first timers. Dress code was advertised as casual, but business casual was more appropriate.

I look forward to the next event.

Magic Hat #9

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The Blue Duck Tavern welcomes you with wholesome American fare prepared through simple, time-honored cooking methods such as roasting, braising, preserving and smoking. The new contemporary neighborhood tavern, designed by Tony Chi, evokes the warmth and convivial setting of a residential kitchen and gathering place.

Fresh produce and ingredients, arriving daily from regional purveyors and artisans, are an integral part of the seasonal menus featured at the Blue Duck Tavern.

Executive Chef Brian McBride and new Chef de Cuisine Michael Santoro prepare many dishes in the wood-burning oven, a focal point of the inviting open kitchen and the heart of this restaurant.

If the restaurant owners actually cared about this review, they couldn't be happier with the night I was there. It was an absolutely beautiful spring evening which allowed us to have dinner seated outside at Blue Duck.

Blue Duck features one of the more interesting menus that I've seen. You have appreciate the freshness that comes with the seasonal ingredients they feature, but I'm a little gunshy about a few items offered (e.g. "hot pigs trotter"). And I definitely was thankful for the plate of freshly sliced prosciutto that was given to us shortly after our basket of bread.

I'm not normally one to indulge in the seafood selections when I have other options, but I figured when I'm that close to Maryland I would do myself a disservice by not getting the Jumbo Lump Crabcakes. The crab cake entree was two substantially-sized crab cakes with plenty of crab meat in each. They were very good, but I must admit that they were nothing compared to the Wood Fired Diver Maine Scallops, which were easily the best scallops I've ever eaten. Consider that I've already stated I don't eat much seafood, but I love scallops.

For sides we went potato times two. The Roasted Fingerlings with bacon and onion were maybe a little under seasoned, but nothing that couldn't be addressed table-side. Or maybe they were very good but overshadowed by the Hand Cut BDT Triple Fries which were delicious, though I did wonder what might be a fun dipping sauce for them.

When you walk into Blue Duck, you are conveniently herded past the station where their popular apple pies are prepared. They recommend one to share, and it is plenty big enough for two people. "Would you like vanilla ice cream with that?" Of course I would. A small, nearly-personal pie with a delicious caramelized brown sugar top served with three big scoops of vanilla ice cream.

I guess I should mention the bottle of 2005 Montes "Alpha" Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile that we had. It, as well as everything served, knocked my socks off.

Shadow is a man with a past. But now he wants nothing more than to live a quiet life with his wife and stay out of trouble. Until he learns that she's been killed in a terrible accident.

Flying home for the funeral, as a violent storm rocks the plane, a strange man in the seat next to him intoduces himself. The man calls himself Mr. Wednesday, and he knows more about Shadow than is possible.

He warns Shadow that a far bigger storm is coming. And from that moment on, nothing will ever be the same...

A man who goes by the name Shadow gets released from prison and before he even makes it home his entire world is turned upside down. He is engaged in conversation by another man who knows an uncomfortable amount about him and tells Shadow he needs his help. After their conversation the story seemingly followed Alice down the proverbial rabbit hole.

The book follows Shadow to hell and back, almost literally. He encounters many Gods from probably every region of the world and from every era. The research was definitely thorough, though almost too much so. There may have been a few too many references to Gods that have been long-forgotten. But that is often a complaint of sci-fi/fantasy books, in how they can be too detailed and descriptive.

I cannot rave enough about how much I love this plot. The Gods of old, which were brought to the US by whomever, however devout, are facing a great paradigm shift. The old Gods are being edged out in the US by new Gods who represent more commercialized, Capitalistic and technological ideals. Shadow chose sides with the old Gods, but he has no idea if he made the right choice. But he knows all he can do now is see the coming storm through to the end.

This book took forever to read, was very bizarre in many parts, and the ending was almost anti-climactic. And I still really enjoyed it. Call me crazy I guess.

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What are you going to do when it doesn't matter what you say?

2006 Chateau Bianca Pinot Noir

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Introducing the Dwights

Tim (Khan Chittendon) is your average teenager who comes from a very un-average home. His mom, Jean (Brenda Blethyn), is a struggling stand-up comedian trying to burst into the big time with help of her other son, Mark (Richard Wilson), who helps her run through her routines. When Tim starts dating a cute girl (Emma Booth), Jean does her best to bust up the relationship so that the quirky little homelife she's built doesn't fall apart.

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Joe Oramas: It's the librarian fantasy, man. Glasses off, hair down, books flying. Finbar McBride: She doesn't wear glasses. Olivia Harris: Well, buy her some, it's worth it.

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, this stunning debut collection unerringly charts the emotional journeys of characters seeking love beyond the barriers of nations and generations. "A writer of uncommon sensitivity and restraint...Ms. Lahiri expertly captures the out-of-context lives of immigrants, expatriates, and first-generation Americans" (Wall Street Journal). In stories that travel from India to America and back again, Lahiri speaks with universal eloquence to everyone who has ever felt like a foreigner. Honored as "Debut of the Year" by The New Yorker and winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, Interpreter of Maladies introduces a young writer of astonishing maturity and insight who "breathes unpredictable life into the page" (New York Times).

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A vision in pink and lace came down the steps from the gym floor and sat down beside me. Melba June Monroe, an eleventh grader, looked me over. She was a pretty girl. I had always liked her. "Hi, Sonny," she cooed. "Boy is my date boring. I don't even know where he is. Why is a tough little rocket boy going stag to the formal? Do you wanta dance?" I wanted to dance, and I wanted to take her home in Roy Lee's backseat afterward. Did both, as it turned out. Rocket-boy fame.

Summer, 1954.

U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels has come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Along with his partner, Chuck Aule, he sets out to find an escaped patient, a murderess named Rachel Solando, as a hurricane bears down upon them.

But nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems.

And neither is Teddy Daniels.

Is he there to find a missing patient? Or has he been sent to look into rumors of Ashecliffe's radical approach to psychiatry? An approach that may include drug experimentation, hideous surgical trials, and lethal countermoves in the shadow war against Soviet brainwashing...

Or is there another, more personal reason why he has come there?

As the investigation deepens, the questions only mount:

How has a barefoot woman escaped the island from a locked room?
Who is leaving clues in the form of cryptic codes?
Why is there no record of a patient committed there just one year before?
What really goes on in Ward C?
Why is an empty lighthouse surrounded by an electrified fence and armed guards?

The closer Teddy and Chuck get to the truth, the more elusive it becomes, and the more they begin to believe that they may never leave Shutter Island.

Because someone is trying to drive them insane...

Shutter Island's only inhabitants are the patients in a mental institution and the instution's employees, and Federal Marshal Teddy Daniels was sent to the island to investigate the highly unlikely disappearance of a patient. While on the island Teddy cannot tell if the puzzles he encounters are clues to solving the case or if they are all an elaborate setup to keep him from ever leaving.

For a long time I read nothing but mystery/suspense novels because it was only within their pages that...well it was only these books that could challenge me. Some authors in the genre are so good that the books become almost interactive. As the main character tries to sift through the case, I am a puppet on a string. There is nothing better than a good thriller that makes you sit up in bed and talk to yourself while you read. This was that type of book.

Dennis Lehane's Mystic River was a pretty good book, but I would not really compare the two. Shutter Island was much more intense and in my humble opinion, a much better book.

The book is short and a lightning fast read and my recommendation to you is to read it in as few sittings as possible. Lehane weaves a web of intricate and minute details and fewer sittings will hopefully allow you to enjoy seeing how each detail is important. If you have to, or even prefer to, read the book more slowly, the overall thrill of the book should not be lost on you at all. I really liked this book and I hope someone out there has some suggestions of books like it for me to read.

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Because it's the midwest, no one really glitters because no one has to, it's more a dull shine, like frequently used silverware. We were all presentable enough, but almost no one was making any kind of statement. Out here in Michigan, the real style is too difficult to maintain; the styles are all convenient and secondhand. We're all hand-me-down personalities. But that's liberating: it frees you up for other matters of greater importance, the great themes, the sordid passions.

Distraught over breaking up with his girlfriend, Zia (Patrick Fugit) decides to end it all. Unfortunately, he discovers that there is no real ending, only a run-down afterlife that is strikingly similar to his old one, just a bit worse. Discovering that his ex-girlfriend has also "offed" herself, he sets out on a road trip, with his Russian rocker friend, to find her. Their journey takes them through an absurd purgatory where they discover that being dead doesn't mean you have to stop livin'!

After what one would assume to be a pretty difficult breakup with his girlfriend, Zia commits suicide. Next thing he knows he is in a world -- not unlike the one he left behind -- where everyone he meets has committed suicide. When Zia runs into someone he knew pre-suicide, he learns that his ex-girlfriend chose the same fate and was thus somewhere in this strange world. This news gives his after-life new meaning and he sets out to find her.

A story of a lonely heart setting out to find its compliment, either in a specific other person or someone unexpected who appears along the way, is nothing revolutionary. Wristcutters, as it followed that template, was in many ways like most romantic comedies you have already seen. That doesn't make this movie any better or worse by comparison, because many people still seek out as many "RomComs" as they can. What this movie did well was expand the limits within which that template may be used.

There is nothing "ordinary" about a story where a young man, who has killed himself, is stuck in a purgatory for people who claimed their own lives searching for his ex-girlfriend, who despite being the reason he killed himself, also killed herself. Will he find her? Will he meet a different girl (or guy?) who killed herself and fall in love with her? Is Wristcutters good enough for you to watch it and find out? Yes, it is.

I liked this movie, but I do think it got by mostly on the quirkiness of its setting and premise. I will admit that I'm a little too conservative to enjoy how they made suicide so matter-of-fact, but I still enjoyed the movie. I think this is more geared for teens and twentysomethings and most other people will be disappointed. Wristcutters is another "good for what it was" movie.

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Dan Burns: Instead of telling our young people to plan ahead, we should tell them to plan to be surprised.

Beowulf

From the Main Menu select "Special Features" and then move the cursor to the top option - "A hero's journey: the making of Beowulf." Move the cursor to the left and a piece of the design which divides the screen will glow white. Press enter/select to watch "A Coffee Break with John Malkovich."

Jenna: Dear Baby, I hope someday somebody wants to hold you for 20 minutes straight and that's all they do. They don't pull away. They don't look at your face. They don't try to kiss you. All they do is wrap you up in their arms without an ounce of selfishness in it.

They share the same birth month, so the orphanage calls them December Boys. But these teens -- Maps, Spit, Spark and Misty -- have much more in common. With no hopes of ever joining a family, they form their own familial bonds. Then the unexpected news comes that a young couple may adopt one of them, and the long-time pals suddenly share something else: a rivalry to be the chosen one.

December Boys, a poignant memoir of friendship and family, marks Daniel Radcliffe's first major film role outside the Harry Potter series. He plays Maps, a big brother to the group as it stumbles and wavers its way toward manhood. Join the boys for their remarkable journey of the heart called growing up.

An older couple decides that it would be nice to have some youthful energy around and offers four young, orphan boys the opportunity to spend the summer with them on the beach. As the boys get a taste for what life would be like with the family they have always wanted, they begin to understand how much they mean to each other.

December Boys was not the most sophisticated movie. It was actually very simple in most aspects, but that was all it needed to be. It was just a touching story about four boys who, when they had no one else, always had each other. But I will warn you that it might take one giant tug at your heartstrings at the end.

I hope you have one or more people in your life for which you are thankful. If you have that, this movie should remind you somewhat of how fortunate you are. I thought it was comforting in how the movie reinforced the importance of family while encouraging you to look beyond constraints of legal relation when you consider who your family is.

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Finbar McBride: It's funny how people see me and treat me, since I'm really just a simple, boring person.

By request:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

2. Swingers

3. High Fidelity

4. Say Anything

5. Buddy

John: ...I think with most women, what you've got to understand is the most important thing for them is to be right. All the time. About everything.

Washington is probably my favorite region right now. I've tried a few different wineries, including the two that are almost synonymous with Washington wine. One of them, Chateau Ste. Michelle, gives us Orphelin - a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvedre, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Souzao and Touriga.

The blending of nine (9) different grapes makes for a complex wine, but almost an intimidating one as well if you are the new guy on the wine block like I am. I expected the wine to dance across my pallette and thoroughly confuse me, but I was pleasantly surprised at how smooth this wine is. I would drink this as a great everyday wine, though I'm not sure if it is one that would spark much conversation amongst dinner guests.

This bottle cost $20 at my local wine shop. I'm not sure I would buy it again for more than $15. And I feel bad saying that since I liked the wine so much, but I have had a lot of good wines at $10-12 recently so it is hard to justify the extra money for this one.

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Steve Carrell (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, TV's The Office), Hollywood's leading funnyman, stars in the hilarious comedy that's bursting with charm -- a movie you'll watch again and again. Advice columnist Dan Burns (Carrell) is an expert on relationships, but somehow struggles to succeed as a brother, a son and a single parent to three precocious daughters. Things get even more complicated when Dan finds out that the woman he falls in love with is actually his brother's new girlfriend. Dan is joined by a brilliant all-star supporting case, including Juliette Binoche, Dane Cooke, John Mahoney and Dianne West, for a heartfelt, fun-filled comedy that's "laugh-out-loud funny" - Steve Oldfield, Fox.

Dan Burns writes a widely-celebrated newspaper column about relationships, but since his wife died he has trouble relating to his three daughters. While away for a family reunion, Dan meets an amazing woman and later finds out that she is his brother's new girlfriend and they have to spend the next few days together. There is more awkwardness than hilarity that ensues, but I still liked Dan in Real Life.

I normally consider Steve Carrell to be over-the-top and too one-dimensional as a performer, but I was impressed this time around. He was genuine in his awkwardness, and more calm than many of his other roles. It was nice to see him tone it down a little.

There was only one scene that really had me belt out a laugh (my thanks to Mr. Carrell for inciting the laugh entirely on his own). The rest of the movie was less of a comedy for me and more a simple and subtle film about the importance of our interpersonal relationships, with a primary focus on family. Dan in Real Life isn't a timeless classic, but it is worth seeing once, if never again.

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Jude: She's probably out fighting for the cause. JoJo: Looks like you've been fighting for it too, huh? Jude: I don't have one. That's the problem.

Dan in Real Life

If you choose "Bonus Features" from the main menu and have "Outtakes" underlined when move the cursor down you will see a new option appear that reads "One More?" The hidden feature is a brief montage of Steve Carrell asking for additional takes from a few scenes. It is certainly not the most exciting hidden feature, but it was interesting to see how they let him improvise some of his non-speaking scenes.

And even though you didn't ask, there is a great featurette on making the music with Sondre Lerche.

Ed Miller: I was with a girl once. Wasn't a squaw, but she was purty. She had yellow hair, like uh... oh, like something. Dick Liddil: Like hair bobbed from a ray of sunlight? Ed Miller: Yeah, yeah. Like that. Boy, you talk good. Dick Liddil: You can hide things in vocabulary.

2004 Red Blend Orphelin

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Data mining is the industry of the 21st century. Commercial companies collect information about us from thousands of sources—credit cards, loyalty programs, hidden radio tags in products, medical histories, employment and banking records, government filings, and many more—then analyze and sell the data to anyone willing to pay the going rate. Some people approve, citing economic benefits; others worry about the erosion of privacy.

But no one has been prepared for a new twist: A psychotic killer with access to the country's biggest data miner—Strategic Systems Datacorp—is using detailed information to work his way into the lives of victims, rape, rob and kill them and then blame unsuspecting innocents for the crimes. The killer's voluminous knowledge of the victims and his ability to plant damning evidence mean that even the most vocal protests of innocence go ignored by the police and juries.

The perp has, in short, found a perfect means to literally get away with murder—until one of his fall guys turns out to be Lincoln Rhyme's cousin, Arthur, who is facing certain conviction for first-degree murder. Though the two Rhymes haven't had any contact for years, Lincoln agrees to look into the case. In the process he unravels a spider web of crime that the killer, known only as Unknown Subject 522, has woven.

Rhyme, Amelia Sachs and the cast of the previous Rhyme books find themselves up against their most insidious villain, a man obsessed with collecting—from junk on the street to intimate details about our lives to the ultimate trophy: human lives themselves, which he sees as mere streams of data. This is a man proficient with razors and guns, but whose most dangerous weapon is information, which he wields with ruthless precision against those he targets on whim . . . and against those who try to stop him.

"How," Rhyme says, "can you defend yourself against the man who knows everything?"

As the invisible 522 attacks his pursuers through identity theft and outright torture and murder, the stymied police have to turn to the likely source of the data the killer uses—the eerie and monolithic Strategic Systems Datacorp, headed by the legendary data mining pioneer, Andrew Sterling, whose "mission" is the creation of a global empire based not on politics or money but on information.

"Knowledge is power," Sterling continually reminds.

And for Lincoln Rhyme, the case has an added dimension: Arthur's reemergence draws him back to his childhood and teen years and forces the criminalist to grapple with a tragedy from his past he has avoided for decades.

The Broken Window is classic Deaver fare: Taking place over three frantic days, the novel features dozens of twists and turns, fascinating, highly researched details—about identity theft, data mining and threats to privacy, as well as forensic science—and, of course, offers the typical multiple surprise endings the author is known for crafting.

The Broken Window will be released in hardcover in the USA and Canada on June 3, 2008, and in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand on July 24, 2008.

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"That's the duty of the old," said the Librarian, "to be anxious on behalf of the young. And the duty of the young is to scorn the anxiety of the old." They sat for a while longer, and then parted, for it was late, and they were old and anxious.

A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy -- against all odds -- to find their own way back to each other.

The movie was very much like Billy Joel's Movin Out in how it set characters in the appropriate time period and made them face situations represented in the music, but instead of Billy Joel, Across the Universe uses songs only by The Beatles. And I was amazed to find out how many of the songs I would have sworn were not by The Beatles.

In Across the Universe we see much of the 1960s American culture through the lives of a few young adults. When Jude comes to the US from England (Liverpool!) he makes some friends who will challenge the way he sees the world - as the world changes around him.

All of the songs were sung by the cast, whether it was Jim Sturgess (Jude), Evan Rachel Wood (Lucy), or anyone else. The singing was great, the song choices were great, and the scenes into which they were incorporated were great. I'm not sure if I should praise the writers or the director or both for the scenes picked and the cast member(s) chosen to sing. There was at least one time when the singing was done by someone who was seemingly just an extra in the film and it was very powerful for me.

I've not been able to understand the storm by which Evan Rachel Wood has taken the film industry. But she was good in this role, but more in her non-talking scenes. Her emotions are great, but I find that most of the time she comes off as too young. Separately, I thought she did a great job singing.

The movie starts well and ends well after a short break in the middle. I thought the story took a dump for a while when working in the psychodelic 60s, but that part did feature a brilliant cameo by Bono. The story was VERY artsy. Sometimes it was a little over-the-top, others it was beautifully artistic. I really enjoyed Across the Universe and the more I think about it, the more I realized how much I liked it.

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Joe Oramas: Hey listen, if you guys do something later, can I join you? Finbar McBride: We're not gonna do something. Joe Oramas: No, I know, but if you do, can I join you? Finbar McBride: We're not gonna do something later. Joe Oramas: Okay, but, if you do? Finbar McBride: Okay. Joe Oramas: Cool.