Ends of the cinematic spectrum
I had the opportunity to see not one, but two movies at the movie theater this weekend.
The second one was a near thing. I had been dying to see it, and the wife and I were trying to see if we could get a babysitter. We were unable to, so it was decided that I would go alone on Sunday during Mary's nap. But OOPS, I had forgotten that my dad was coming by for brunch. Actually I had not forgotten. But when I "reminded" my wife that this was occurring, she just gave me a blank look. And since she had already volunteered to take over bed time duties tonight, I decided to go this evening. I had promised emmiegray a post about rationalization, but you may be surprised to learn that this is not actually that post.
So let's talk about the first movie. Borat! It was awful. And by that I mean I laughed my ass off, and felt horrible about it later. Thank God Sacha Baron Cohen got into movies, otherwise he would be a ward of the state. Someone pointed out to me that his real gift is to get people to reveal things about themselves they would normally keep hidden. That is very true, but it always ends up being their lesser natures. He does not inspire random acts of kindness. Wait for the video, and don't watch it around the kids.
Then there is The Fountain. Which I have just returned from seeing. I thought i was going alone, but my friend Alan saved me at the last instant. Alan and I always seem to see meandering metaphysical films together. I saw many trailers before this film, but one stood out. It was for The Good German. I am not sure if the movie will be any good, but i liked the trailer because it did not give away the entire freaking plot! It hinted at mystery, but remained mysterious. I guess you can get away with that when you have George Clooney in an army uniform in your movie. Also, having Sean Bean replace Rutger Hauer in the remake of The Hitcher is a master stroke. At least from the trailer.
On to The Fountain. I have to say I liked it, I left feeling inspired and life affirmed. But it was a near thing. There were giggles from all around me in the theater at the end. I mean Darren Aronofsky had me, and he almost let me get away. I think he did lose a lot of people. I was into it, man. When Izzi gave Tommy the pen set so he could finish her story, I almost cried. Then he had Hugh Jackman flying toward a dying star in the lotus position, and the spell was broken. In the end I loved it, but see it as a missed opportunity. As Alan and I were walking to our cars afterward, we decided that at this point in our lives we were more than willing to just let movies happen to us, otherwise we would not have enjoyed it. We felt the same way about Wings of Desire, which we also saw together. But, we are not gay. At least not that you know.
The second one was a near thing. I had been dying to see it, and the wife and I were trying to see if we could get a babysitter. We were unable to, so it was decided that I would go alone on Sunday during Mary's nap. But OOPS, I had forgotten that my dad was coming by for brunch. Actually I had not forgotten. But when I "reminded" my wife that this was occurring, she just gave me a blank look. And since she had already volunteered to take over bed time duties tonight, I decided to go this evening. I had promised emmiegray a post about rationalization, but you may be surprised to learn that this is not actually that post.
So let's talk about the first movie. Borat! It was awful. And by that I mean I laughed my ass off, and felt horrible about it later. Thank God Sacha Baron Cohen got into movies, otherwise he would be a ward of the state. Someone pointed out to me that his real gift is to get people to reveal things about themselves they would normally keep hidden. That is very true, but it always ends up being their lesser natures. He does not inspire random acts of kindness. Wait for the video, and don't watch it around the kids.
Then there is The Fountain. Which I have just returned from seeing. I thought i was going alone, but my friend Alan saved me at the last instant. Alan and I always seem to see meandering metaphysical films together. I saw many trailers before this film, but one stood out. It was for The Good German. I am not sure if the movie will be any good, but i liked the trailer because it did not give away the entire freaking plot! It hinted at mystery, but remained mysterious. I guess you can get away with that when you have George Clooney in an army uniform in your movie. Also, having Sean Bean replace Rutger Hauer in the remake of The Hitcher is a master stroke. At least from the trailer.
On to The Fountain. I have to say I liked it, I left feeling inspired and life affirmed. But it was a near thing. There were giggles from all around me in the theater at the end. I mean Darren Aronofsky had me, and he almost let me get away. I think he did lose a lot of people. I was into it, man. When Izzi gave Tommy the pen set so he could finish her story, I almost cried. Then he had Hugh Jackman flying toward a dying star in the lotus position, and the spell was broken. In the end I loved it, but see it as a missed opportunity. As Alan and I were walking to our cars afterward, we decided that at this point in our lives we were more than willing to just let movies happen to us, otherwise we would not have enjoyed it. We felt the same way about Wings of Desire, which we also saw together. But, we are not gay. At least not that you know.