Movies of late

Still been busy with the home repairs/renovations. Nothing ever takes the amount of time you thought it would: always budget more time and more money than you ever think you need. Because you’ll need it. Invariably.

Michael Clayton

Even though I thought the preview for this one looked stupid, I went to see it based on a good review I read in the Urban Tulsa newspaper. Bad on my part. It was dull, odd, haphazardly put together and just dumb. George Clooney looks like a haggard mess so you don’t even get the pleasure of seeing him dressed up and polished. The plot goes in so many different directions that it can be hard to follow. In the end, you may be happy (as I was) that the bad guys get a come-uppance but the story gets so off-base that you may not even care. On the way out of the showing I went to, a hillbilly man proclaimed of the film: “This was just like that fucking Ishtar mess.” Touché, friend, touché. It was like that: a big hype over a letdown. If you believe the crap about “Oscar buzz” around this film, wait ‘til it moves to the dollar theater. Don’t spend nearly $10 on it at a first-run theater.

Saw IV

So the same reviewer who said MC was great said Saw IV was bad. What does he know? I mean, people know by now why they go to see the Saw films: you want blood, guts, gore and not so much plot. Nevertheless, Saw IV actually tries to tie up a few loose ends and explain why Jigsaw does what he does (well, sort of . . .). You get less blood and guts and more flashback sequences between Jigsaw and his wife. I was told to expect a Saw V and Saw VI and I hope that’s true. I would like to see more of the puzzles. Sometimes it’s good to have a non-thinky movie to see. Oh yeah—and be sure to check out the ice blocks at the end.

Dan in Real Life

The reviews I read on this were so-so. I wasn’t all that keen on seeing it, to be truthful, but there weren’t very many choices. Everything else playing my friend and I had either already seen or had ruled out as crap we wouldn’t waste a dime on. (Exhibit A: American Gangster, a 3-hour movie that looks both dull and contrived to me from the previews. I love Russell Crowe but not that much. The movie looks too much like Man on Fire to me and if you read this blog you already know, MOF is the kiss of death in my opinion.) So we took a chance on Dan and it was OK. Not great, not terrible. Kinda bland and quite predictable. If you like Steve Carrell, you may want to take a chance on it, too. As my neighbor labeled it: “happy and harmless.” I will say, however, that I empathized a bit with Dan because I feel like I too have been on the holiday trips from Hell and this is one reason why I do not go out of town on the holidays anymore. Dan’s character gets stuck in a crowded laundry room on a tiny twin bed and is miserable. It reminded me of many sleepless nights at Xmas when my grandparents would pile people in like sardines. It was never fun and it was never restful.

There was a rotund boy sitting in front of me in the showing we went to and I’m not really sure why he came to a film like Dan by himself. I dunno if maybe his older siblings were watching Saw IV and he couldn’t come so they dumped him there or if he has a young budding man-crush on Carrell. Anyway, he sounded like he had SARS. He coughed through 80% of the film and shifted uncomfortably in the seat. I was glad to already be medicated.



Which leads to my next story of being sick with strep throat at the beginning of last week. Since it’s November now, it’s not really shocking that everyone is sick with sinus / cold related illnesses. But it still sucks. The ailments are the worst part of fall to me. The weather turns cold and it becomes more tolerable to do things outside but then everyone is ill. Blah. Yesterday it was damn near 80 degrees, which made no sense. I mowed the lawn for what I hope will be the last time this season and I was sweating profusely by the end. I went out to lunch after I cleaned up and in the restaurant, they were ALREADY playing Christmas music. WTF. It is not even Thanksgiving yet. I am not ready for “Silver Bells.” Give me two or three more weeks, please.