Movie Diary: Argo, Cloud Atlas, and Flight

This entry would have packed more punch had I not procrastinated writing it for over a week. Alas, the information is the same.

Two weeks ago, SM and I went to three movies in 6 days, after a theater drought lasting a month or two. There are lots of movies out that I actually want to see, which doesn't always happen, so I'm glad to be able to take in at least a few of them.

Friday: Argo We've started somewhat of a tradition or habit with our friend JRF that involves us hanging out for a time at a bar — catching up, watching a game, what have you — and then getting the hankering to see a movie. The past two times we've done it, it was almost like we were daring each other, calling each other's bluff to stop everything and go see it now. The last movie was Looper; a solid and thrilling effort all around that we rushed to at 11:30pm on a Saturday night. I'd give it a B+. This time, we were watching the Bulls game along with JRF and our friend VP and decided on the 10:30 showing of Argo.

Argo was good. I loved the commitment to the time period throughout: even the opening production company credits were from the 1970s. The acting was great by all of those involved. I was especially happy to see Clea DuVall, an actress I've rarely seen outside of Carnivale and that one Buffy episode where she's invisible because no one noticed her. I've also been a Chris Messina fan since Six Feet Under, and, while I think The Mindy Project is too meh for me to actually stick to watching it, I'm glad he's popping up in more places. (Yeah, yeah, the bigger-name actors great too, and I was happy to see John Goodman, Bryan Cranston, etc, etc...) People complain about Ben Affleck, but I thought gave a solid performance, in front of and behind the camera. SM and I had a conversation about his range, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, and I do really want to see the other projects he's helmed, but I think we've calculated that it takes us 3 years to get completely through our Netflix queue, from bottom to top. Good movie - B+.

Saturday: Cloud Atlas Our friends J&C had asked us to form some sort of book club to read Cloud Atlas before the movie's release at the end of October. SM missed out, but the three of us were all read up by the time we reunited after Hurricane Sandy and celebrated both our power being back on and their recent engagement by going to a movie and dinner.

I have this problem where, if one of these things is not like the other and someone is experiencing something under different circumstances from me, I'm taken out of my experience and spend most of my time fretting about how that someone is handling it. I worry about a parent in a theater full of teens, or a co-worker among my friends, etc. In this case, I spent the entire movie trying to get outside of myself and see the movie how SM must have been seeing it, without the context of the book. As a result, I concluded that it was much too confusing to take in without the background of the novel. Afterward, SM said that he could follow along fine, and he really liked the movie, but that was after I'd given up hope that he'd been enjoying himself. All that said, I really liked what the Wachowskis did to the story. I am always thinking about media being the best whatever it is they are that they can be (the best novel, the best movie, regardless of them being based on the same story), so I appreciated the choices and cuts they made to the stories. I actually thought the film did a much neater job than the book ever did of tying up loose ends and putting fine points on each story as well as on how they all connect. It was this aspect of the movie that SM said came across as heavy-handed, but I guess since I knew what I was missing, I was rather satisfied. I'd like to watch the movie again without all of the pressure of thinking and feeling for my company, but for now, I'd give the movie a B.

Thursday: Flight GC and AW emailed us and VP about going to see Flight, and we saw no reason to say no. The power of the Denzel picture has certainly diminished in my eyes, but not to a point where I'll refuse to see his work. I'm really glad we decided to go, and not just for the bonus of seeing John Goodman in two pictures in 6 days.

First of all, the story was more unique than I'd acknowledged before. True, it's just a good old fashioned redemption story, but the nature of the obstacles the protagonist encounters — beyond alcoholism — aren't your normal movie fodder. Granted, I haven't seen many addiction stories that are purely about addiction, so maybe I'm just ignorant of the genre. The aspect of them film I liked best was that it was first and foremost about a man and his demon. Friendship, love, occupation, etc. are all parts of the film, as they are parts of our lives, but they don't triumph over the man's problems. He is given so many chances, and you see so many points at which you expect him to bottom out, at which another movie would give in for him and sober him up. But then you realize that it's gotten bad for us and bad for his friends on his behalf, but it hasn't gotten bad enough for him. And he's the only one who can really decide that enough is enough. The denouement is perhaps a little too overwrought, but I did like the very end. One last aspect I would be remiss to mention is that he reminded me a lot of my dad. Not that my dad has a problem with addiction or anything, but the relationship Denzel has with his son is reminiscent of what I saw between my dad and my siblings. It actually made me uncomfortable throughout the movie, and seeing middle-aged Denzel in general might cause discomfort for similar reasons. I think that's one reason the very end spoke to me more-so than it did to SM. A-.

Why I Joined Twitter: Part 2

What a time to join a micro-blogging network! I'd composed a few Tweets before Hurricane Sandy, but what a great tool for breaking news! As soon as the danger of the storm became real, I was able to email concerned family and friends with the URL to my Twitter account and give them a play by play of how we were experiencing the storm. Facebook seems to hold this gravitas of Announcement to me, a declaration that "I am doing this, and I stand for these things as a person", whereas Twitter seems a bit more forgiving and only declarative of current circumstances. While Facebook has moved to viewing posts through a more historic lens, emphasizing life events and the changes one goes through in their lives (see: timeline), each Tweet supersedes the last.

Of course I'm over-thinking this just a bit, but I was really pleased with how easy it was and how it was the perfect communication tool for getting information out to my family. Instead of wasting texts and battery power briefing every family member keeping tabs on me in the Midwest, I was able to point them to a single source from me as well as other, more professional sources from those I follow, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Nate Silver, Ezra Klein, WNYC, etc. for both local and national views on the developments.

In short, I think I'm hooked. I have yet to see whether my actual Tweeting will be of any import, but at the very least I love sharing articles and opinions of those I'm following without having it feel like I have something to prove to all of my high school classmates and far-flung relatives. Facebook certainly does have a place in my social network existence, but I'm really enjoying this new discovery. For now.

P.S. SM and I are still without power or running water (day 4...we expect everything to be on tomorrow), but our friends have been kind enough to give us access to their apartment for showers and Internet. Everyone has been really great through this whole thing, and I'm grateful to have so many great friends and family in my life. Also, I called and emailed my dad, so there's that.

Another Year, Another Imminent Thanksgiving

This weekend I went to two different birthday parties where two of my friends were turning 27. You know what's weird? I remember my mom's 27th birthday party. I was 5.

My parents got married at 21 and 20 years old. They're not terrible people by any means (well...), but there are some things that don't need repeating, so in some respects I want to take their model and set it on its head. When I turned 21, I said to my friends, alright, all I have to do is not get married. Should be pretty simple. It was. Check. My mom had me when she was 22. Out of the question. On my 22nd birthday, I told my friends, alright, all I have to do is not get preggers. A little bit riskier, a tad harder than last year's goal, but certainly doable. I passed with flying colors. With those two hurdles cleared, each subsequent birthday diverges more and more from the model. In a month I turn 25. I was 3 years old, reading, and almost off to preschool by this point in my mom's life. At 25, my mom had 2 kids and was on her way to the third, so as long as I don't have twins or triplets in the next year, I'll be golden.

But seriously, though, I'm getting to an age where I not only existed but actually remember existing when my parents were at the very same point. So many things are becoming clearer, so many of their choices demystified, so much of our financial woes justified. As much as I joke about not wanting to follow in my parents' footsteps, I have to give them mad kudos for raising me and my siblings, maintaining a home for us, sending us to private schools, etc. I certainly couldn't have done it. Imagining me sending a kid off to school every morning in the next year of my life seems beyond belief.

When I was younger, I always wanted to be the young mom who had a lot of energy for her kids and was still very much in touch with her younger years, like my mom was for me. As I grew older I realized how ridiculous that was, how different my circumstances had to be, and how insane it was for my parents to have found each other ready and willing to go forward with such a life, fully believing that they would succeed. (Together they lovingly dreamed of having 10 kids! WTF. Imagining having a similar conversation with SM is laughable on many levels.) And succeed they did (for the most part). They raised 6 great, smart, mostly obedient kids with very little money, many hard times, but always high expectations. They both had guts and determination and instinct that I will be lucky to ever possess. As Thanksgiving approaches, I am so grateful that they did so well for all of us. And I'm grateful I don't have kids.