Movies I watched the second week in May. (This was another light week, though I'm still on pace for one movie a day on the month thanks to the heavy start.)

116. Wait Until Dark (1967)
I'd heard about how "scary" people thought this movie was before, but it is more of a Hitchcockian suspense-thriller than anything horrific. Hepburn is surprisingly believable as a blind woman, a presentation I find few actors handle capably. I'd probably watch this film again.

117. The Avengers (2012)
Um, yes. Good. I'd definitely watch this film again. I already posted my thoughts about this movie here.

118. Harry and Tonto (1974)
Should have been called "The Old Man and the Fe-line." I watched this on the recommendation of Grimmy, a contributor at Boosterrific.com. It reminds me very much of the sort of films I watched in art school. That is to say, it shares its unique vision with you, but doesn't care if you like it or not. Frankly, I think it looked like a long, crime-free episode of Kojak. Art Carney was good, but he's no Telly Savalas.

119. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Director Frank Capra's movie-making formula is clearly apparent in this film: unusual event causes down-to-earth fellow to go on a whirlwind tour of exaggerated "everyday" events that illuminate the human condition and drive the lead to despair before his faith in humanity is reaffirmed by the dogged determination of the love interest. Personally, I've decided that long-winded second acts are Capra's weakness. Then again, I don't need to be reminded in each film that people suck.

"I'm Joe Montana, and I spent 16 years playing football...
...and Shape-Ups™ have improved my strength and posture."

-- Joe Montana, (paid endorser)

Say it ain't so, Joe. You must have been the only one helped by the shoe, then. Earlier this week, Skechers agreed to pay $50 million in settlement of a class-action lawsuit alleging that the only thing Skechers was shaping up with it's Shape-Ups™ shoes was its wallet.

Shape-Ups™'s other celebrity endorser was Kim Kardashian, and we know what her integrity is worth. Does Joe Montana need cash so badly that he's willing to attach his name to just anything these days? What's next, Joe Montana's propane-powered toothbrushes (the Joe Mouth-tana®: "Brush Your Way to Victory!")? Joe Montana's chemical toilets (the Joe John®: "When You Gotta Go All the Way!")? Joe Montana's homemade deer bait (the Doe Montana®: "Doing It for the Fawns!")?

At least Jimmy Johnson has cornered the market on celebrity football endorsements of herbal erection supplements. No one needs to be exposed to the slogan, "As Big As Montana!"

Ten minutes after placing an order for some Chinese take-out over the phone, I went into pick it up. Seeing me arrive, the young lady behind the counter asked, "are you hear to pick up the sesame chicken that your wife called in?" Meekly, I said, "yes."

I get this a lot. People who hear my voice on the phone without knowing my name tend to assume I'm a girl. Sometimes, even after I tell a telemarketer that my name is James, they still say "yes, ma'am"s.

I don't know why this happens; I personally don't think my voice is that highly pitched. Maybe my testicles haven't dropped yet. Until they do, I'll stick to blogging where everyone just assumes I'm gay.

Movies to start May:

108. Water for Elephants (2011)
This movie pulled a psyche-out on me. It starts out like a gender-switched Titanic with a circus replacing the boat. However, when you reach the point where Jack is supposed to drown, an elephant intervenes. The circus still sinks and lots of rubes die, but everything ends "happily ever after." My head is still spinning.

109. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Sidney Poitier can do no wrong. Was he ever in a movie that wasn't about racism?

110. It Happened in Hollywood (1937)
Believe it or not, I'd never seen a Richard Dix movie before. I know! This movie is another A Star is Born variant, focusing on the falling star of cowboy Dix without ever becoming morose. Good-natured fun at the expense of Hollywood cliches.

111. Ordinary People (1980)
Huh. I remember reading Mad magazine's parody of this film back in the day, but there's no humor on this screen. I've seen the themes herein better explored in the years since, but I can't fault the performances of this stellar cast.

112. The Change-Up (2011)
Jason Bateman strikes again! Stop me if you've heard this one: two men with opposite personalities and lives switch bodies and learn to be better people. Yeah, that's this.

113. Song of the Thin Man (1947)
I will see the rest of these Thin Man movies. So enjoyable, I'm angry that I haven't seen them all already.

114. Cars 2 (2011)
The homage to classic spy movies (and Bill Murry's The Man Who Knew Too Little) felt spot on. Everything else seemed a bit ham-fisted. Are you just in it for the cash now, Pixar?

115. It's Pat (1994)
As you might expect, this Saturday Night Live skit-turned-movie is the same joke over and over and over. And over. Eventually I found that the joke had beaten me into submission, and I laughed and laughed. Head trauma does that, but Dave Foley in drag helped a lot.

Historic Newnan, Georgia. When you hear that, the first thing to spring to mind is... horses?

The Newnan-Coweta Historical Society is sponsoring this public art event, which they are calling "A Horsey Affair." According to the exhibit's chairman, "Newnan is the first city in Georgia to offer this extraordinary public art exhibit using statues of horses as the artist's canvas." Presumably, other cities in Georgia will be following suit and nailing animals to their city streets.

This is not a new trend, even in Georgia. Inspired by the Cow Parade public art movement begun in the late 1990s, Athens installed painted bulldogs all over their city back in 2003 as part of the "We Let the Dogs Out" exhibition. Of course, Bulldogs are synonymous with Athens, so that makes sense. While there are a number of horse farms in Coweta County, I think this city should have used animals more in keeping with the city's public image. I'd suggest statues of suburban commuters.

These horses will be grazing on Newnan city sidewalks through mid-July. If this sort of thing interests you, see a slideshow of all the horses on the Georgia Municipal Association website here. Personally, I think it looks like Newnan is being occupied by My Little Pony. That certainly makes this an historic event in my book.