Movie Reviews

This afternoon was not good.  My daughter, the inappropriately named Grace, kept grabbing toys from her “best baby” who is two.  He’d shriek each time and I’d reprimand her and try to talk her into sharing nicely and would offer substitute toys to the boy.  Then, it would happen again.  Finally, fed up, I said, “That’s it!  If you take another toy from him, I will pick you up, take you to your room and put you in your bed!” 

Then she’d whine again.  “I want that toy!” and I’d say, “What am I going to do if you don’t stop whining?”  And she’d stop long enough to say, “Put me in my room.”  Then she’d pick up where she left off until my scalp actually detached from my head in a bloody, unfortunate display of annoyance.

No, actually, I scooped her up, she writhed in defiance and screamed and I marched her upstairs and dumped her in her room.  She screamed and cried for quite awhile.  The two year old looked at me and said, “G-acey cry?  I have toy.”  Over and over again. 

Eventually, she appeared, tearful and asked to be rocked. 

As you can imagine, that was about the time I decided to go to a movie tonight.  I won’t mention the details, but some of you are familiar with the irrational time of month when you understand why some people snap and throw their televisions through their plate glass windows.  Or not.  Anyway, I knew I needed to get out of this house, STAT!

I saw “The Blood Diamond,” which stars Leonard DeCaprio, Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou.  All three actors were remarkable . . . the film was very violent, as it was set in 1999 during the Civil War in Sierra Leone.  At its heart, it was a movie about a race and a chase.  You can check out reviews for more details, but I liked it.  Be warned that the violence is very intense and the subject matter disturbing (child soldiers, etc.).

Last weekend, I saw Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto.  This was also an extremely violent movie (a creatively violent movie, even) and also about a chase, but it was also a visually memorable and stunning movie shot on location in South America.  Think what you might about the private life of Mel Gibson, but he is a brilliant director.  I couldn’t help but be amazed at the scope of his movie.  Again, be warned that this movie is not for the faint of heart.  Oh, and it’s all in subtitles.  

Did I mention that I saw “Babel” a few weeks ago?  I’m not sure it’s still in the theaters, but I did enjoy it.  Three seemingly separate stories unfold, taking place on three different continents and you don’t really know how they are intertwined until the end.  Mostly, though, I enjoyed seeing Brad Pitt look every year of of his age.  I could have done without the extraneous nudity which seemed very exploitative to me, but I overall, I liked the movie. 

This is the time of year when I try to see movies that I think might be nominated for Academy Awards.  I like to see all the nominated films and actors before the awards show . . . it’s sort of a hobby for me, I guess.  I don’t always succeed, but I like the challenge of guessing who will win.  (Last year, I was absolutely correct, too, picking “Crash” over the common expectation that “Brokeback Mountain” would win.)

Anyway, that’s where I was tonight.  I hurried home in time to watch Barbara Walter’s special while putting in thirty minutes on the exercise bike. 

Only three more days of school before Christmas break.  I don’t think I’ve been this excited about Christmas break since I was fourteen.  Or since last year at this time.