Summer Movies

Ooh, I just love summer for the laziness that comes embedded in the forever days. While some of you are sweating and working away -- whether under the blast of overworked A/C units or in the blaze of Texas sun -- a few of us find a certain moment each day when 'Summer Time' shows up. It's more a state of mind than an actual tick on the clock. It could show up first thing in the morning, when I'm trotting my dog around the block before the sun becomes ferocious. It could be late evening, when I'm swatting away mosquitoes and cussing the latest device I've purchased that guarantees 'nary a skitter for a mile' (apparently the ad companies idea of a mile and mine are a mite different). It could be mid-day when I'm headed to the water park to bake my feet on so much concrete and boil in the pretense of sun-block. But at least once a week or so, I find 'Summer Time' rolled into a movie.

The massive Hollywood producers swear their studios save the best films for when kids are loose from school and driving 'Miss Daisys' or alias their moms around the bend. Perhaps summer films are really better. Perhaps, we, Miss Daisys, are plain-and-simple more desperate to shoo the rugrats out of the house for awhile. And perhaps, sliding into the coolness of A/C that someone else is supplying and paying for, sucking in the tantalizing scent of buttered popcorn, and experiencing the thrill of low lights, loud sounds, and larger than life heroes and heroines makes summer movies so attractive. Whatever the combination, I'll admit to being drawn into the advertising scheme of those Hollywood producers.

This past week, my youngest daughter and I went to see IRONMAN. Robert Downy Jr. still has great eyes and does a decent job in this film and Gwyneth Paltrow has always been one of my favorites. The plot is predictable, but works fine. Actually, it does have a bit of that anti-war sentiment if one considers where part of the film takes place, but I liked the 'whole' higher-learning, we-can-become-more-than- what-we've-always-been angle. And the film wasn't preachy, if that's a concern. Robert Downy has a great character arc in this movie. Overall, it's just one of those fun summer films and the exact anti-dote for a hot Texas afternoon.

As it's Sunday afternoon, and the heat is still baking the ground, we're headed out to lite up the grill. Nothing fancy, nothing automated about our grill -- still done with a serious dose of lighter fluid and a box of kitchen matches at our house. Don't stand to close now, you hear.

But do come by the porch again soon. I'll be sipping something cool and chasing mosquitoes. They just love fresh meat.
~Until later,
Sandra

Disturbia

It is in fact a disturbing movie, definitely not for the under 13 crowd, maybe even not for the over 13 crowd if serial killers bother you.

Disturbia brings the serial killer right into the suburban neighborhood, which is where most are said to lurk, and makes the film very creepy.

Growing up, we had a next-door neighbor who was notorious for her partially open blinds, night and day. She was a lonely little (or not so little) woman who’d never had kids and didn’t get the constant noise and fracas the neighborhood group made. We thought she was creepy—spying on us—but maybe she was on to something.

In Disturbia, spying turns out for the best. If not for Shia LaBeouf’s (Kale in Disturbia) boredom due to house arrest and his consequential spying spree on all the neighbors, a serial killer, played by a very convincing David Morse, would have continued his vicious killing cycle.

A couple of things really worked for me in this film: without giving away too much something tragic happens to Kale’s (Shia LaBeouf) dad, and the young man is changed into an uncommunicative, sullen teenager. Okay, this describes most teenagers, but this kid has an excuse. In one scene, Kale’s Spanish teacher, who is clearly put-out with his student’s lack of scholastic achievement, attempts to ‘guilt’ him into reacting, to participating in class by bringing up Kale’s dad—Kale does react, by punching the teacher in the nose. Okay, for all you teachers, I don’t condone the violence, but Kale stayed true to character, reacting from the gut. I thought this scene was well done and not overacted.

Another scene: when Kale’s mom has been taken prisoner—sorry, needed to let you know that—by the crazy serial killer neighbor, Kale goes after her. He doesn’t hesitate, even though his fear is palpable on the screen. While in the neighbor’s house, Kale makes a number of macabre discoveries, any of which would send most normal folks into the street and waiting for the cops to arrive. Not Kale, he stays after his mom, calling out to her, opening creepy secret doors, and traversing through gruesome rooms even though he knows the serial killer is probably in the house. Again, he stayed true to character, putting his mom’s safety before his own.

Disturbia is a dark, suspenseful film—definitely not date movie type stuff—but it works on a number of levels.

Seen any great (or not so great) films lately?

Classic Movies

This week celebrates John Wayne's 100th anniversary, and one of the networks is running 100 hours of marathon John Wayne. Does it date me to admit I remember watching his movies for real and not as re-runs?

Tonight they played the classic Red River. True heroism in every sense of the word . . . oddly enough the real hero of the movie wasn't John Wayne, alias Dunston, but the young boy he'd adopted by the name of Matthew Garth. Great hero name--down to earth with real meaning behind it.

A mature Matthew Garth, hardened by the Civil War, returns to Texas and Dunston, his surrogate father, only to find the ranch he loves and help birth in desperate straights. Why? Carpet-baggers and money-grubbers abound in the state of Texas after the war. The only solution is to drive Dunston's herd of 9,000 + cattle further North to a railroad. During the cattle drive, things go bad, as of course, they must for any western to be a classically good western. Unfortunately, Dunston (Wayne) loses his prospective in this die-or-lose-the-ranch campaign. Who's strong enough to stop Dunston when he crosses the humanity line? Reluctant hero Matthew Garth steps in and stills Dunston's atrocity. I'd say any character who could face down John Wayne is hero material for me. It was a great study of heroism for future characters.

The romance (always my favorite) was a bit corny, but true-to-heart and therefore, perfectly redeemable.

Red River was well worth my invested time. How much TV can we say that about these days?