AT THE MOVIES (House of Pain) ———– by Steve Nadis
I used to get to the movies all the time–at least once a week on average–but that’s dropped off a lot, partly a result of having kids and other bad habits I’ve acquired. But Call Me Snake has been to the movies twice in the past three weeks, which is–in recent memory–a record. Last night we visited “The Squid and the Whale,” a story of a family in the midst of a divorce. I give it my highest rating, 3 thumbs up, for its telling details and unblinking look at the pain inflicted on two adolescent boys as a result of the breakup of a marriage and even more as a result of the bad marriage that preceded the breakup and bad parenting all around. The sad academic played by Jeff Daniels, an insufferable, self-absorbed writer whose career has seen better days, was a comfort to me, ironically, because it showed me that even on my worst days as a father I had not hit rock bottom. (That, of course, is setting the bar pretty low.) My only criticism of the movie–and it’s minimal given the fact that all three of my thumbs are up–is that the Daniels character (arrogance masking insecurity) is so one-dimensional. But that may not have been a problem in the writing but rather a defect of the man himself (modeled, I believe, on the writer/director’s own father), who was oblivious to the pain he dispensed so freely to those around him, particularly his sons.
Look for this to appear on my 10 Best List, a less distinguished honor this year than in previous years, because I may not have seen 10 movies all year. Until then, the balcony is closed. If you fell asleep during our show, now would be a good time to wake up.
Posted by
at
14:35:02
What a coincidence - I saw that movie last night too. Great car chases and action sequences.
That’’s weird though it sounds like we saw different movies. Or was I dreaming? By the way, you weren”t the guy with that huge Cat-in-the-Hat-style getup sitting in front of me, were you? If so, it’’s no wonder I missed the car chases and fight sequences.
I left a comment earlier, and I guess it was eaten. I”ve seen three movies that I can remember — "Walk the Line" (FABULOUS), "Jarhead" (dull probably similar to all the waiting, heat and weirdness of the whole Iraq thing, and "Willy Wonka" — the weirdness of the similarity between Johnny Depp’’s character in this movie and Michael Jackson in real life.
Thanks Windfall, we may have to make you a guest host sometime, taking over for the dear departed Gene Siskel. I agree with you that Walk the Line had two outstanding performances; I have not seen the other two and–on the strength of your remarks–probably will not.
zardoz says:
i just saw "sin city"
and "spun", at last i found out who
brittany murphy is.
Bruce willis gave it his best.
great directing….
always loved comic books
growing up.
ok
so i am about six to eight months behind
so what, and i dont go to orgies after.!
xm, maybe some dinner,
and good coversation.
————zardoz
You may be 6 to 8 months behind, and maybe you don”t go to orgies, but you”re still ahead of me: I have yet to see my first B. Murphy movie though I have seen a number of stills on an unnamed website (or should I say blogsite [or should I just say blog?]).
I couldn”t believe I had only seen three movies so I looked it up - http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/index2005.html
All movies released in 2005. Whew! I saw Coach Carter (pretty good), Robots (pretty good) and Because of Winn Dixie (GREAT!) So, I saw only six still.
Not to be harsh but that’’s a rather paltry list. You must have other priorities. I saw Winn Dixie with my 6-year-old not too long ago & was very impressed
I agree; it’’s a paltry list. I live near a nice movie theater too with stadium seating. I don”t get it. And I really like movies too.
Don”t get down on yourself, Windfall. Maybe you just had an off year. Like I say, there’’s no time like the future. Maybe you can redeem yourself in 2006.
Small guy,nice blog,great job,hope i will see your work soon.