I haven’t been able to keep up with anything. Every year, I tell myself that when winter comes, I’ll have the time to do all sorts of projects, since I won’t be spending hours outside goofing around. I always forget that winter is also cold and flu season and if any virus gets ahold of me, I won’t have the energy to do anything extra.
I caught a cold a few days after Christmas and I’ve been practically useless since then. Oh, I’ve managed to whip up the requisite energy to work but that’s about it. I’ve been going to painting class but I haven’t done one thing to turn the old bedroom into a studio yet. I haven’t ripped up one inch of carpet or moved a single stick of furniture.
I tossed the last of the Christmas cookies nearly three weeks ago but haven’t baked a single tray. I barely have the energy to eat, much less cook.
Plus, the days are like, three hours long. Once it gets dark out, I'm done.
So I've been watching movies. Lots of movies. This is a vast improvement over a couple of weeks ago, when I was so wiped out that I’d sit down to watch some TV, only to wake up, completely confused and wondering why Sheldon and Amy were in Penny’s bed…nothing makes any sense!!
Zack and I watched The Lord of the Rings (extended edition) over the course of a week earlier in the month. We had to do it when Jay was off at games because watching it on any but our biggest screen is nuts. The Tommie’s schedule has been heavy with away games this month, so that part was easy. As usual, we enjoyed every minute of the over 12 hours we spent in Middle Earth. We did go on at length about our disappointment that P. Jackson decided not to include the Scouring of the Shire yet included all those stupid jumping on the bed reunion scenes after the fall of Barad Dur. Even after all these years, it rankles.
I’ve seen The Greatest Showman several times. People keep calling me and asking if I want to go. Of course I do! It’s the most fun I’ve had watching a movie since Mama Mia! Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron sing and dance much better than Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth. I’ve enjoyed it more each time I’ve seen it and I loved it the first time! And it’s playing at a theater right down the road that has $5.00 Tuesdays. I haven’t been to a sing-a-long showing yet but it’s just a matter of time.
Last Tuesday, Zack, Josie and I went and saw Jumanji; Welcome to the Jungle. We all enjoyed it and agreed that it was much better than the original. It’s not a remake, it’s an honest to goodness sequel. It starts in ’96, a year after the first movie ends. Some teenager hears the drums and finds the box buried in the sand at the beach. He takes it home, looks at it and says “who plays board games?” and tosses it on a shelf, uninterested. Later (days, weeks, who knows?) he hears the drums again. This time, when he looks in the box, he notices a game cartridge. Now he’s interested. Cue opening credits. Now it’s modern day, four high school kids in detention find an old game system with the cartridge still installed. They choose their avatars and zoop are sucked into the game. That’s where it gets really good. The skinny nerd becomes The Rock, the hot chick becomes Jack Black, the football star becomes Kevin Hart and the brainy girl becomes Lara Croft. Hilarity ensues. I recommend it even if you didn't like the first one.
I also saw American Assassin. Everyone in my family is a fan of Vince Flynn’s books. I’ve got most of them in hardcover. We knew they’d make excellent movies but it would never happen because Flynn’s philosophy is inherently right wing. Rumors had floated around for years that a movie was going to be made and every detail that came out got us all excited again. A movie was finally made but I don’t even know if it was released theatrically, I saw it on my Netflix page and put it in my cue.
I liked it!
It was a good movie, lots of action, good characters and the kid playing Mitch Rapp was good. He’s not exactly what I had in my head for Rapp but he won me over. Michael Keaton played Stan Hurley and some actress I don’t know was Irene Kennedy.
I’m pretty sure the only thing the movie had in common with the book were the names and job descriptions of those characters. Mitch came across as much more of a loose cannon in this movie than he ever does in the books.
I didn’t think Irene was well cast. She was too young and too emotional. Irene Kennedy is a stone cold bad ass. Even in her early 40s, Irene would be in complete control of every situation and always, always in complete control of herself. No emotions would ruffle her diamond exterior. I’ve known a few women like that in my time, so I had a pretty good idea of Irene. Think about it: this is the woman who runs the CIA. What would she be like? Even if she ever got within spitting distance of losing it, she’s never let it show. Also, her high maintenance hair style bugged the Haiti out of me. That just didn’t fit her character, at all.
It’s been long enough since I read the book not to remember anything about the plot so I don’t know or care if the movie used any of it. The point is that it was how Mitch Rapp comes to be the best black ops guys the CIA ever had. I liked the movie but as I said, Mitch came across as much more of a psycho than he is on the page. The plot was fun, it moved fast, there were some good lines and the special effects were impressive.
Jay thoroughly enjoyed it too and he doesn’t usually like movies at all. He only watched this one because he was so sick this week he spent three days in his recliner. He even missed a game this week. He’s only missed three games in his 37 year career and one of those times was due to his Dad’s funeral. He’s feeling much better today. The prescription his doctor gave him helped tremendously. Today, they played their arch rival, St. John’s. Jay didn’t get up early enough to go on the team bus but drove himself. I wasn’t sure that was such a good idea but I didn’t stop him. I could have. Even feeling as much better as he does, I’m pretty sure if I’d knocked him down and sat on him, he wouldn’t have been able to fight back. If it had been anyone but St. John’s, I’d have done it but I knew that he’d never forgive me for keeping him away from this particular game.
The Tommies lost but Jay’s really glad he was there and so am I.
A few nights ago, I watched Something’s Gotta Give. It’s been so long since I’d seen it that I had forgotten most of it. It’s 15 years old! It’s nice to remember that once upon a time, Hollywood knew how to make a rom-com that was actually romantic and funny. The things they pass off as rom-coms these days should be branded as sex offenses.
Tonight, I watched something called Happy Death Day. Zack put it in my queue and said I’d like it. He was right. Judging by the title, I’d assumed it was just another stupid slasher movie. It’s not. It’s about a self-centered sorority girl who has a groundhog day on her birthday, which ends with her murder.
Yes, ‘groundhog day’ is now a genre. Harold Ramis was a genius.
Living her birthday over and over, she has to figure out who’s murdering her and why, learn to be a better person, come to terms with her mother’s death, mend fences with her Dad and fall in love with a nice guy. Parts of it are quite funny. As usual, I found myself yelling at the screen “don’t run away; hit him again!” Women in movies are always hitting the killer, then running away. Every woman I know, if she had managed to knock an attacker down, would continue to pound his head into jelly before running away. The first hit is the hardest; the rest come pretty easy.
Or so I imagine.
I should probably go see The Greatest Showman again.