Not on my "to see" list

I will NOT be going to see this movie. Just thinking about it is giving me the heebie-jeebies.

A film about casualty notification officers. I'm not sure how they can work that into a real, true plot... but I really don't care to find out. I'm sure it's a lovely film. Truly, poignant and "humanist" and just lovely, but I will not be seeing it. I doubt I could even watch it after Ranger Man separates from the Army. Geeze.

I'm curious about how this plays out- but not curious enough to see it for myself. Will people embrace it? Reject it? Interestingly, the article doesn't mention a US release date...

Bella Noche.

I am a Disney cartoon movies dork. I just finished watching "Lady and the Tramp" for the umpteenth time, and I still cried with Trusty was hurt.

It occurred to me that part of the reason I love it is that I (probably now more than ever) crave the nuclear family idea, be it dog or human- not to mention that fact that I want babies! urgh.

Ranger Man and I were talking about Christmas presents i.e, the Christmas presents I can start making for his family, and he sends me a list of babies! So I don't get my own, but I get to knit things for other people that do get to have babies?! He does not get it.

Fool's Gold

There is a reason that I usually listen to Ranger Man... He is usually right. At first it was a little unnerving that he had a tendency to know me better than I did, but now I just take it at face value and listen to what he says and follow his advice. He hasn't steered me wrong yet. (And btw, this works the other way around too- it's not one-sided)

So last night, PLU friend and I went to the movies. We had set out to see that Katherine Heigel (sp?) movie about the weddings or whatever... thats what I wasn't so stoked about. However, one perpetually tardy bus system later and we ended up seeing the movie "Fool's Gold" with Matthew McConaghy (I am so bad with spelling names, I am so sorry!) and Kate Hudson (finally, one I can spell!). It was actually really good. I had a great time. The two best parts about the movie:
1. There was a lot of Scuba Diving in it. Ranger Man is a diver and he has been trying to get me to do if for well, as long as we've known each other. I'm not much of a water person, so I've been resisting... but this movie totally made it look appealing as a couple's bonding type of experience (well, minus the treasure hunting, of course...) and I told him last night that I am completely on board with the idea of me learning to do it with him. Cool.
2. For a girl that lives on an Island without my man... this movie was just enough to a. temporarily satiate my need for muscle-y men while b. still not being quite enough to fully quench it... I am a big shoulder muscle kind of girl and there were lot of big shoulder muscle, but there were no Ranger Man-ish 6 pack abs... darn it all, I need to get off this Island!

Oh wait, and the best part of all??
There were two main female characters in the movie: a blonde and a brunette. And the smart one was the blonde girl! yay!

It was a good night- that is why I listen to Ranger Man...

Opening Friday

... and I will not be going to see it. But, the NYT has reviewed the Kite Runner.

I do not have the 'gumption' to watch the movie, I am still trying to get over the nightmares it gave me.

I do like how this reviewer adds in the politics about the author, but am wondering where the boys are? And how they are anticipating the release?

I am interested in the movie, I'm curious as to how they did it.... but I don't think I'm brave enough to find out for myself.

The Kite Runner continues...

And the saga continues... Fox presents the perspective of Khaled Hosseini, the author of the book.
The drama isn't thickening, it's just cementing itself as fascinating (obviously I'm quite interested in this- possibly to the point of obsession)- but this is a brand new phenomenon. I mean, when in the past would this have occurred, first of all- and second of all, when would anybody have cared? I think it's incredibly interesting.
Finally, I have to say that just about all the reports I've read about this have been incredibly non-biased. No one seems to be blaming the boys' families, or the studio... and this fact in and of itself is quite amazing.

The Kite Runner- Part 2

Here is an update (via NYT) on the situation with the filming of The Kite Runner. Well, I suppose not the filming, but the poor kid that got drafted to play Hassan. He's not such a poor kid any more I guess. I just think this whole situation is fascinating, and I wish that I knew more about it. What did the contracts say? Is it true that the families didn't receive a script? In short- it seems that both sides have a lot to gain by deception, either in the beginning as the family says, or now as the family wants out of A-Stan... It's just fascinating.

On the other hand, reading the book was traumatic enough for me, I'm not sure if I could ever see a movie about it...

?? I smell something fishy...

If you haven't read The Kite Runner, this is your official spoiler alert... Don't read if you want to be surprised be the book!

Okay, I smell something fishy in this article. Someone is being less than honest. Either this Afghan family is looking for a free ride out of Afghanistan along with their $10,000 paycheck, or there is someone that is seriously sick at the studio- There would be absolutely no way to take the rape scene out of the plot, it is the pivotal point in the story! Everything revolves around what happens after that point, so how in the world would they be able to take it out? I am not going to point fingers one way or the other, because I have no idea what the contract said, or whether the claim of not being allowed access to the story line beforehand is accurate- but still...

Armageddon

It occurs to me today that I miss the days of Armageddon and Independence Day, shoot, I even miss Men in Black. I miss these days because the worst possible scenario no longer comes from outer space. There is no longer some vague, distant, science fiction threat that is the worst thing imaginable. We have seen destruction, and for the time being, it is enough for us. The incredible threat of bombings and wars are all too real, and the idea of an asteroid destroying the planet is taking a distant second place to terror, homeland and beyond.

The mindset of a society is easily determined by the films they produce and watch. There was a sort of innocence in a society who was intrigued by films about outer space and aliens, which has been eroded and replaced with films about terrorism, warfare and strife. There is a conservative movement in film. I don't mean conservative in a political sense, rather in the returning to the basics sense, a sort of fundamentalism that is manifesting itself in film. Films are based on what we know as reality, what we can relate to, and a cataclysmic asteroid is no longer in this category.

There are some things that remain the same. The heroes, they are the same. I can watch Bruce Willis in Armageddon and see the sense of responsibility and honor and duty that are protrayed in the soldiers depicted in today's war films. Watching the bravery of the men and women who were sent to destroy an asteroid, or fight off aliens, remind the audience of the brave men and women who are today fighting al-Qaeda and insurgents. Today, there are amazing heroes to look to every day, we don't need to dream up wild scenarios for them to prove themselves, they do it every day, and they do it for much longer than an average movie.

I liked the days of Armageddon-ish films. I liked the days when I could sit in a movie theater, be taken to the end of days, and then be brought back. Because today, I don't have to sit in the movie theater to do that. I know that there are serious security threats and that there are real heroes out there who are facing very real trials. I thank God for them, and will do anything I can to help them.