Well, I was going to break down the rest of our viewing into a couple of different posts, but frankly, I'm tired (and sick) and unsure of how much time I've got before Champ makes his way into the world (and a pretty big list of things to do before then, crossing my fingers).
Was Halloween really just last night? (Clearly I started this post a while ago.) We had saved "Something Wicked This Way Comes" to watch on Halloween, after having rented it last year and not gotten to it, but by the time we got Buddy inside from trick-or-treating and to bed, we were too pooped to pop. Just as well, since he then remained up for another 45 minutes. Singing. Loudly. Which is what I told him to do if he couldn't fall asleep, as it beats having him holler for us, but it definitely impacts our ability to concentrate on any kind of "serious" viewing. We watched past episodes of "Community" instead, and planned to put "SWTWC" first on our viewing list for next year, to make sure we actually watch it.
Other movies seen this year...
Prince of Darkness
(1987 - directed by John Carpenter)
Oh, scary, scary. It seems there's a lot of contention around this movie, just among John Carpenter fans --- folks who don't find it scary find it silly, and folks who do find it scary find it really scary. Whatever pushes your particular fear buttons, I suppose. I don't even have any real belief in an embodied Satan, but this one got under my skin. And I love the goofy-looking special effects, they are so pre-CGI and so funny looking and yet still manage to be deeply disturbing. Truly, John Carpenter is a master.
From Hell
(2001 - directed by Albert and Allen Hughes, starring Johnny Depp, from the Alan Moore comic)
Ahhh... I liked this, even when it got stupid at the end and kind of petered out. I liked seeing Johnny Depp in this, I liked seeing him with Robbie Coltrane, I liked the visuals and the editing. (I didn't like Heather Graham.) I liked the depiction of Victorian London (I didn't like the overly complex conspiracy stuff). But overall, not the most satisfying movie --- mostly made me want to see the new Sherlock Holmes one coming out next month, or to reread Gail Carriger's steampunk series.
Prom Night
(1980 - starring Jamie Lee Curtis)
1. Jamie Lee Curtis has a magnetism that shines through whatever dreck may surround her. 2. The last scenes are actually pretty cool. 3. Lots of McGuffins. 4. But basically a stupid movie.
Would I watch it again? Probably, especially if enough beer were involved.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(1974 - directed by Tobe Hooper)
I started having my doubts about this movie when, a hour or so before watching it, I found out there was a character named "Leatherface" who wears a mask of human skin. That is, that this character is featured enough to have both a name and a description.
My one consistent thought while watching was, "Why, with all the real atrocities happening in the world, am I watching this?"
It turned out the The Dude was also not enjoying himself, so we fast-forwarded (slowly) through the rest of movie, thereby avoiding the sound and the visceral sense of outrage, while still getting to find out what happened. Which had been our main goal in seeing it in the first place. But my question has also led to a decision for future Scary Movie Months: to add a category called "Real Life Horror." Not true crime, but movies (fiction) that deal with truly horrifying realities. Movies like "Hotel Rwanda". "Blood Diamonds". "Traffic." "The Whistleblower". All the movies that are about things I'm willing to read about and want to know more about, but that I can't usually make myself watch. If not during Scary Movie Month, then when?
The Day the Earth Stood Still
(1951 - directed by Robert Wise)
This ended up being our last movie for Scary Movie Month 2011, and I think I kind of knew it at the time, because as tired as I was, I made a super special effort to stay up and finish it. It helped that it's a short movie, and that it was interesting: an alien spaceship shows up to deliver the message that Earth needs to not extend its aggression against other planets (though if we feel like killing ourselves off that's perfectly fine, of course), otherwise, be prepared to face extermination ourselves. Message brought to us from a "peace-loving" federation of planets. Huh. There are some inconsistencies in the final arguments of the alien visitor, though, as he himself says, their particular mode of peace-making is imperfect. But obviously it got us thinking, about war, about peace-making, about whether any kind of superior robot (their police force) could actually be trusted to in the end decide for humans (see Isaac Asimov's "Robot" series and their laws of robotics). Some of the "futuristic" effects used in this movie, from 60 years ago, don't seem all that strange now, and the increasing abilities of robots make some of these questions more pertinent than one would think (or would like to think). So, a good movie to go out on.
So that's it for this year! We've so enjoyed the practice of watching movies we wouldn't have otherwise (because too scary or too intense or too difficult) that we're going to start a monthly "Classic Movie Night" --- one night each month to watch a "classic" (along the lines of "I can't believe you haven't seen this!"). I'm looking forward to putting together our list.
Any scary movies you've especially liked this year? Any classics you'd recommend?
Monday, November 7, 2011
Monday, October 31, 2011
Scary Movie Month 2011 - Part 3
Our third week of movie watching had no truly scary movies, but interesting, enjoyable, and fun movies with moments of hand-wringing, "eeks!", and marvelous shocks.
The Blob
(1958 - starring Steve McQueen)
I had never actually seen a Steve McQueen movie before this one, and I have to admit that this one didn't argue for watching more. Very odd to see actors clearly in their twenties playing teenagers. (I know this happens all the time, including some of my favorites, it was just especially jarring in this one.) Yet again, we talked all the way through --- the main topic of conversation this time (other than the usual predictions of how the terror was going to spread and how it could be stopped) was to note how this movie fits into the canon of late 50's movies that start to celebrate teenagers over adults. Now, of course, it seems most of our media does, but youth culture really got its start in the mid- and late-50's, and it is interesting (to film and music buffs like ourselves) to see some of the early examples of the shift.
Alice in Wonderland
(2010 - directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter)
My work friend with whom I talk about movies/comics/books asked why we included this when it is in no way a horror movie. Before watching I figured, well, pretty much anything that Tim Burton does is spooky in some way, and this is Scary Movie Month, after all, not Horror Movie Month. After viewing, I can say this definitely belonged, there are some really scary bits in it. Also some really interesting bits (it got us thinking about the roles available to women in Victorian England, for example), lots of beautiful ones, and of course it's always a treat to watch Helena Bonham Carter, I'm always fascinated by her performances and her ability to be so different in each. I found Johnny Depp's character to be really moving as well though I wouldn't say it was necessarily a big stretch for him (I thought his performance in "From Hell" (coming up soon) was better).
Arachnophobia
(1990 - starring Jeff Daniels and Harley Jane Koszak)
I don't have any problems with spiders, so this one didn't bother me as much as it did The Dude. First two thirds were kinda so-so and then the pace picked up and it got good and action-filled and fun. Another memorable cameo by John Goodman as well - he's always fun to watch.
The Blob
(1958 - starring Steve McQueen)
I had never actually seen a Steve McQueen movie before this one, and I have to admit that this one didn't argue for watching more. Very odd to see actors clearly in their twenties playing teenagers. (I know this happens all the time, including some of my favorites, it was just especially jarring in this one.) Yet again, we talked all the way through --- the main topic of conversation this time (other than the usual predictions of how the terror was going to spread and how it could be stopped) was to note how this movie fits into the canon of late 50's movies that start to celebrate teenagers over adults. Now, of course, it seems most of our media does, but youth culture really got its start in the mid- and late-50's, and it is interesting (to film and music buffs like ourselves) to see some of the early examples of the shift.
Alice in Wonderland
(2010 - directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter)
My work friend with whom I talk about movies/comics/books asked why we included this when it is in no way a horror movie. Before watching I figured, well, pretty much anything that Tim Burton does is spooky in some way, and this is Scary Movie Month, after all, not Horror Movie Month. After viewing, I can say this definitely belonged, there are some really scary bits in it. Also some really interesting bits (it got us thinking about the roles available to women in Victorian England, for example), lots of beautiful ones, and of course it's always a treat to watch Helena Bonham Carter, I'm always fascinated by her performances and her ability to be so different in each. I found Johnny Depp's character to be really moving as well though I wouldn't say it was necessarily a big stretch for him (I thought his performance in "From Hell" (coming up soon) was better).
Arachnophobia
(1990 - starring Jeff Daniels and Harley Jane Koszak)
I don't have any problems with spiders, so this one didn't bother me as much as it did The Dude. First two thirds were kinda so-so and then the pace picked up and it got good and action-filled and fun. Another memorable cameo by John Goodman as well - he's always fun to watch.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Scary Movie Month 2011 - Part 2
The next week's movies were not as satisfying but still had some good moments.
Once Bitten
(1985 - starring Lauren Hutton and Jim Carrey)
The movie started, and right away we knew it was going to be awful, stupid and aggravatingly 80's, with caricatures instead of characters. Five minutes later we turned it off. Not worth anyone's time.
28 Weeks Later
(2007 - starring Jeremy Renner (sigh) and Rose Byrne)
Oh, so much better. Interesting, thrilling, scary, heartbreaking --- everything what you want in a scary movie. I did watch significant chunks of it with my head turned and my hands up before the screen so I couldn't see the most disgusting bits. A friend of mine at work laughs that I love scary movies but hate gore. On thinking about this, though, I've decided that I don't mind gore so much as I dislike seeing pain, either in the moment it's inflicted or as people are suffering from it. A bloody, disemboweled dead body lying in gore or a quick bloody death --- no problem. But ongoing suffering --- can't watch it. None of these so-called "torture porn" movies for me.
Friday the 13th
(the original 1980 version)
Boring, ho-hum, thought I would fall asleep, only good for the opportunity to mock ("Who's going to die next?" "Oh, she just said/did something sexual, guess it's her turn.") because really, as a nearly middle-aged mom I have no patience for watching teenagers behaving badly --- and then, boom, totally got frightened silly. The Dude says it was worth sitting through it just for that, he kept plying me with sugar so that I would stay awake long enough for the big scare. It worked.
Once Bitten
(1985 - starring Lauren Hutton and Jim Carrey)
The movie started, and right away we knew it was going to be awful, stupid and aggravatingly 80's, with caricatures instead of characters. Five minutes later we turned it off. Not worth anyone's time.
28 Weeks Later
(2007 - starring Jeremy Renner (sigh) and Rose Byrne)
Oh, so much better. Interesting, thrilling, scary, heartbreaking --- everything what you want in a scary movie. I did watch significant chunks of it with my head turned and my hands up before the screen so I couldn't see the most disgusting bits. A friend of mine at work laughs that I love scary movies but hate gore. On thinking about this, though, I've decided that I don't mind gore so much as I dislike seeing pain, either in the moment it's inflicted or as people are suffering from it. A bloody, disemboweled dead body lying in gore or a quick bloody death --- no problem. But ongoing suffering --- can't watch it. None of these so-called "torture porn" movies for me.
Friday the 13th
(the original 1980 version)
Boring, ho-hum, thought I would fall asleep, only good for the opportunity to mock ("Who's going to die next?" "Oh, she just said/did something sexual, guess it's her turn.") because really, as a nearly middle-aged mom I have no patience for watching teenagers behaving badly --- and then, boom, totally got frightened silly. The Dude says it was worth sitting through it just for that, he kept plying me with sugar so that I would stay awake long enough for the big scare. It worked.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Scary Movie Month 2011 - Part 1
Well, while I haven't managed to stay on top of writing about Scary Movie Month, we've definitely been managing to stay on top of our viewing! (More impressively, I've managed to stay on top of baking for it, as we like our snacks for SMM, and I've been avoiding buying chocolate this year.)
Here's the first week's worth of movies.
The Frighteners
(1996 - directed by Peter Jackson, starring Michael J. Fox)
Enjoyed this while watching, but then five days later couldn't remember that I'd seen it. That either doesn't say good things about the movie, or should just be chalked up to late pregnancy. I'm inclined now to say the latter, as I've been talking about it with people about it since, and have found more and more that I enjoyed about it, though my main complaint remains the same (the romance is accelerated to an insane degree to forward the plot). Also an interesting movie to view given where it fits into the Peter Jackson catalog (between Heavenly Creatures and Lord of the Rings) - it's certainly more Hollywood and big budget than Heavenly Creatures but I never would have predicted his ability to do LOTR based on this movie.
Rear Window
(1954 - directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly)
Not really scary, but filled out our Hitchcock viewing. Most of our discussion afterwards (and during - this was the year we talked through every single movie we saw...) centered around changing experiences of neighborhoods and neighbors, and changing expectations of marriage. This really isn't one to critique - it is a classic, after all.
The Mist
(2007 - from a Stephen King novella, with a disturbing performance by Marcia Gay Harden)
Oh, scary, scary, and so sad. I get sad just thinking about it. I don't think we did much talking during this one, except maybe to make predictions about who was going to die next. I do remember a couple of breaks for extra snacks/bathroom - probably to break the tension of all that scary sadness.
I hope to get caught up by the end of the week! Only eight more to go before this last weekend's worth.
Here's the first week's worth of movies.
The Frighteners
(1996 - directed by Peter Jackson, starring Michael J. Fox)
Enjoyed this while watching, but then five days later couldn't remember that I'd seen it. That either doesn't say good things about the movie, or should just be chalked up to late pregnancy. I'm inclined now to say the latter, as I've been talking about it with people about it since, and have found more and more that I enjoyed about it, though my main complaint remains the same (the romance is accelerated to an insane degree to forward the plot). Also an interesting movie to view given where it fits into the Peter Jackson catalog (between Heavenly Creatures and Lord of the Rings) - it's certainly more Hollywood and big budget than Heavenly Creatures but I never would have predicted his ability to do LOTR based on this movie.
Rear Window
(1954 - directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly)
Not really scary, but filled out our Hitchcock viewing. Most of our discussion afterwards (and during - this was the year we talked through every single movie we saw...) centered around changing experiences of neighborhoods and neighbors, and changing expectations of marriage. This really isn't one to critique - it is a classic, after all.
The Mist
(2007 - from a Stephen King novella, with a disturbing performance by Marcia Gay Harden)
Oh, scary, scary, and so sad. I get sad just thinking about it. I don't think we did much talking during this one, except maybe to make predictions about who was going to die next. I do remember a couple of breaks for extra snacks/bathroom - probably to break the tension of all that scary sadness.
I hope to get caught up by the end of the week! Only eight more to go before this last weekend's worth.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
May Have Spoke Too Soon
So I went running today. Didn't mean to, wasn't planning on it, and really what I'm doing can hardly be called "running." More like "moving forward at a gait that is not exactly walking since at some point both feet are actually off the ground (barely)"...
I planned to go for a walk after dropping Buddy off, not long, since I had to be in at work early, but it's been so long since I had regular exercise that I was going a little stir-crazy. Put my headphones on, starting walking briskly. After about a half mile I thought, well, maybe I might try running for a block, epsecially since I was cutting things tight timewise as it was. Ran for a block. Walked a block. Ran for another block. Walked a block. Then thought I might try running two blocks and ended up going for three.. and from there I mostly ran the rest of the way back home, with some short walk breaks here and there. And would have loved to do more if I'd had the time...
During that last mile when I was mostly running, the George Michael "Freedom 90" song came up on my playlist and it just felt so dead-on. Because the thing is, even though I'm not especially fast (even when not pregnant), and even though I have to be careful about not running too many miles in a week (since this older body doesn't recover like it used to), nothing gives me the feeling that running does. When I run I feel free and strong and nothing, absolutely nothing, is the same at all. So yes, there are times when I run when it's probably not the wisest or best thing to be doing for myself at that time (like when sick, or have other things I should be doing), and I just don't care. I want to run.
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone else I've got to be...
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me...
Take back your picture in a frame
Don't think that I'll be back again...
May not be what you want from me
Just the way it's got to be...
I planned to go for a walk after dropping Buddy off, not long, since I had to be in at work early, but it's been so long since I had regular exercise that I was going a little stir-crazy. Put my headphones on, starting walking briskly. After about a half mile I thought, well, maybe I might try running for a block, epsecially since I was cutting things tight timewise as it was. Ran for a block. Walked a block. Ran for another block. Walked a block. Then thought I might try running two blocks and ended up going for three.. and from there I mostly ran the rest of the way back home, with some short walk breaks here and there. And would have loved to do more if I'd had the time...
During that last mile when I was mostly running, the George Michael "Freedom 90" song came up on my playlist and it just felt so dead-on. Because the thing is, even though I'm not especially fast (even when not pregnant), and even though I have to be careful about not running too many miles in a week (since this older body doesn't recover like it used to), nothing gives me the feeling that running does. When I run I feel free and strong and nothing, absolutely nothing, is the same at all. So yes, there are times when I run when it's probably not the wisest or best thing to be doing for myself at that time (like when sick, or have other things I should be doing), and I just don't care. I want to run.
There's something deep inside of me
There's someone else I've got to be...
All we have to see
Is that I don't belong to you
And you don't belong to me...
Take back your picture in a frame
Don't think that I'll be back again...
May not be what you want from me
Just the way it's got to be...
Monday, August 29, 2011
And the Running Is Done (For Now)
It's just too much effort at the moment. Unfortunately walking for longer periods of time hurts my back in a way that running didn't, and for some reason I've felt no urge to go swimming recently. (Probably just the effort of getting and out of a swimsuit. I may look into getting a maternity tankini, one that is actually meant for swimming, as opposed to the one I have from Target from my last pregnancy, which can't have been designed for actual physical activity. Which is why I've been trying to get myself into regular swimsuits, albeit in larger and larger sizes.)
Between work and family this month (and every year at this time, I am so glad August is almost done with) I haven't even been trying to fit in much exercise, but even regular activity is becoming more effortful. So, time to let go of the dream of running throughout my pregnancy, and instead find ways to make walking and swimming more palatable, if not as satisfying. In six months I'll be able to start up again, and hard as it is to believe, those six months will actually move by pretty quickly.
Sniff.
Between work and family this month (and every year at this time, I am so glad August is almost done with) I haven't even been trying to fit in much exercise, but even regular activity is becoming more effortful. So, time to let go of the dream of running throughout my pregnancy, and instead find ways to make walking and swimming more palatable, if not as satisfying. In six months I'll be able to start up again, and hard as it is to believe, those six months will actually move by pretty quickly.
Sniff.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Elvis is Alive 5K 2011
Last Thursday I ran the Elvis is Alive 5K with my friend R. It was so much fun, and a great way to end my racing season (I'm still running, only no more events for the year). The Dude was right, even with this being a non-competitive, untimed event, I still pushed myself --- first, to run the whole thing without stopping, and then, in the last mile, to pick up the pace and keep it there. And of course, at the very end, to go all out. It is a good thing I let him talk me out of the half marathon I'd wanted to do this month.
R was the perfect running partner for this event. I always enjoy running with her, we run very comfortably together (talking the entire time). But in our previous races, I've been pacing her, just because of where we have been in our training at that particular moment. Making sure to keep an even pace, pushing the pace as I felt she could, checking in constantly to make sure she was still handling it, giving encouragement. And not concerning myself with my time or pace. I get great pleasure and satisfaction out of pacing people in races, so for me it's just a different race experience, not a diminished one.
This time she paced me, doing all those same things. And it absolutely made the race for me. I would have finished without her there, I'm sure, but not with the same pleasure of pushing myself and then the satisfaction of knowing I had. I mean, running is kind of uncomfortable these days, even when it's going well. That whole needing to pee the entire time thing, for one. And I know I was more comfortable pushing myself knowing that she would be with me the entire time and looking out for me, making sure I wasn't overdoing it. I know The Dude had been relieved to know she would be with me for this event, since he knew he couldn't talk me out of it (having already talked me out of the aforementioned half).
And then the party afterwards! I should have mentioned that there were folks dressed up as Elvis everywhere, a treat just on its own. They had an Elvis impersonator providing the music, our recovery fare was beer, watermelon, frozen chocolate-dipped bananas and peanut butter banana sandwiches (plus the usual water, pretzels, and Gatorade), and the whole thing took place on a grassy, tree-lined hill, with the moon and sailboats on one side of us, and the city stretching up on the other. I love living in Chicago!
And now I can set racing aside for myself for the year, and completely set my race focus on supporting The Dude as he gets ready for the Chicago Marathon. Plus maybe a little scheming over my race calendar for next year.
R was the perfect running partner for this event. I always enjoy running with her, we run very comfortably together (talking the entire time). But in our previous races, I've been pacing her, just because of where we have been in our training at that particular moment. Making sure to keep an even pace, pushing the pace as I felt she could, checking in constantly to make sure she was still handling it, giving encouragement. And not concerning myself with my time or pace. I get great pleasure and satisfaction out of pacing people in races, so for me it's just a different race experience, not a diminished one.
This time she paced me, doing all those same things. And it absolutely made the race for me. I would have finished without her there, I'm sure, but not with the same pleasure of pushing myself and then the satisfaction of knowing I had. I mean, running is kind of uncomfortable these days, even when it's going well. That whole needing to pee the entire time thing, for one. And I know I was more comfortable pushing myself knowing that she would be with me the entire time and looking out for me, making sure I wasn't overdoing it. I know The Dude had been relieved to know she would be with me for this event, since he knew he couldn't talk me out of it (having already talked me out of the aforementioned half).
And then the party afterwards! I should have mentioned that there were folks dressed up as Elvis everywhere, a treat just on its own. They had an Elvis impersonator providing the music, our recovery fare was beer, watermelon, frozen chocolate-dipped bananas and peanut butter banana sandwiches (plus the usual water, pretzels, and Gatorade), and the whole thing took place on a grassy, tree-lined hill, with the moon and sailboats on one side of us, and the city stretching up on the other. I love living in Chicago!
And now I can set racing aside for myself for the year, and completely set my race focus on supporting The Dude as he gets ready for the Chicago Marathon. Plus maybe a little scheming over my race calendar for next year.
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