Outside of the gym on Saturday and making good use of the empty nest just before that, I did nothing constructive this weekend. No yard work, no writing, no nothin'. Oh, except eating WAY too much garbage. But, it has reinforced my desire to track down 225 and make it mine own.
Saw a few movies:
It's Complicated: Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep
Nothing fancy, but enjoyable. If you have been married a long time, you can understand a fair amount of the idea of being divorced from the person you have been with for so long. B+
DayBreakers: Willem Dafoe, Ethan Hawke
Great premise: a vampire plage has turned the world into vampires and blood is running out. Can't figure out why cattle and pig blood could not be farmed, I mean we eat billions of pounds of meat every year. But anyway, seemed like it was going to be a smarter movie, making you wonder about the nature of haves vs. havenots, of big business and the need for control. Wound up devolving into a bloody (no pun intended) mess. Nice try, but just not done very well. C-
Edge of Darkness: Mel Gibson
I love a good revenge piece, but they never seem to work much anymore. Taken, Law Abiding Citizen... they started out great and unraveled. Edge of Darkness suffers from a murder whose motive is a bit far-fetched, a bad guy who is underdeveloped and Boston. Boston gets too much play, but works best when you feel you are actually in the area. Outside of the accents, this movie lacks the pulse of the region. EOD just gets too far-fetched and entwined too work well. Ray Winstone is strong, but his character lacks a definable function in the whole. But, a great ending. B-
Avatar: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weever, CGI
I had no desire to see this movie. After watchinng it there is nothing original about the story, the subplots, anything: we have seen it all before... except for the visuals. Truly stunning. The motion capture of the bodies is PERFECT, they even get facial expressions close to life. A fun movie with a gaping hole: Why the hell woulf the Na'vi decide to let a warrior avatar know EVERYTHING about them when they had trouble with the regualr ones. Stephen Land rules, by the way. Cobble together Braveheart, Dances with Wolves, Aliens and Return of the Jedi and I give you Avatar. Still, more fun than I anticipated. Oh, and I may be in love with Michelle Rodriguez... too bad she crazy. B
Requiem for a Dream: Ellen Burnstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connolly
Have not seen the movie in years, but it is still blunt force trauma to the soul. A devestatingly bleak movie. Truly solid performances by everyone, but that Ellen Burstyn did not win best acctress, that she lost to Julia Roberts, is a crime that will never be forgiven. Just a remarkable piece of acting in a movie whose only failure is in the overuse of gimmicky shots. Other than that, its just perfect. But, it is not for everyone. Actually, it is not for many, but it is unbelievable. A
