So Many Movies

We've hit that time of year, when there are more movies to go see than there's time for. Or money. Or calories to consume in popcorn and oil because yearly physicals with cholesterol and weight checks are coming.

Cub Sweetheart might say his love language is movies, so much so that sometimes, on his birthday we go to a double feature. See one, while consuming the entire large popcorn, walk out, hit the potty, refill the popcorn and go watch another.

So we've been to see a lot of movies lately. All of them have pretty much been his choice, but I really wanted to see one of them, and I've got my eye on a few more coming out soon.

First we went and saw Everest. Take a jacket because, no matter the temperature in the theater, you'll feel cold. Based on a real story, I can't say it was cheery; it was actually rather sad, since the subject of the movie was the 1996 Mount Everest climbing disaster. Still, the underlying message of the human spirit triumphing against overwhelming odds was a nice feeling to walk out of the theater with. I don't have an adventurous bone in my body, so it's hard for me to identify with people who want to climb the tallest mountain in the world, simply because it's the tallest and it's there. Maybe it's my native Texas blood but if it dips below about 60 I'm grabbing a sweater. I'd much rather sit inside the ski resort and drink cocoa and knit than slide down the snow-covered mountains. So I had a bit of a time relating to the movie, but I loved a few of the main characters.

Then we went to see The Martian (a mutual pick). CS had just finished the book, which he loved, BTW, and was anxious to see it. I love most movies by Matt Damon and this one was no exception. I also love when a writer publishes his / her first book and it goes to movie like this one did. The author is absolutely brilliant, with a brain that in no way resembles my un-mechanical one, and Damon did a great job of bringing the book to life. I also thought Mars was beautiful in a remote, don't want to be there kind of way. Again, the human hero element came into play and there were a lot of moments in the movie to love. The language was a bit rough, but likely if I'd gotten stuck on Mars for that long my language wouldn't have been pristine either. Or more likely, I would have just gone outside and taken off my helmet and gotten it over with. There was some male nudity in this one, can't remember why, but it was backside only, and I'm highly doubting it was actually Matt's backside we were seeing. Not really offensive, just naked. Highly recommend this movie, and CS says read the book too.

Then we went to see The Walk, about the guy who walked a tight wire from the top of one twin tower to the other one. And went back the other way then the other way then the other way, after lying down in the middle, where he described it as quiet and calm and peaceful. The story was told in first person, which made it very interesting, and a lot less stressful because I immediately knew the guy survived. That helped a lot when he starting going across. (Side note - I actually saw a circus performer fall to his death, doing a high wire act, while 7 months pregnant, back in 1975, so I'm a little touchy about that kind of thing.) 

I absolutely loved Charlotte LeBon in The One Hundred Foot Journey and enjoyed her in this too. There was no offensive language in this one, that I can remember. There was some male nudity, from the backside, when Phillippe Petit takes his clothes off to expose his skin to feeling a wire he's looking for. Nothing real offensive - just a skinny, naked guy running around looking a bit crazy. It was thought-provoking to see a movie where the twin towers were still standing, knowing 24 years later, in 2001 they would both come down in a terrorist act against the United States. CS and I talked about this Walk event, that took place in 1974, and neither of us really remembers it. We wondered why that was, then thought about how different our world is now. If that happened today it would be on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter within seconds, literally. Back in 1974 you got your news either at 6 and 9 pm, or the next morning when the paper was thrown on your lawn. Pretty amazing how much about our world has changed since then, not only how terrorism plays a part, but also how quickly we become informed about anything going on around us - for good or bad. In the movie, while Phillippe is walking across, there are people driving up and down the streets of NYC, completely oblivious to what is going on above them. If that happened today, they would all be stopping traffic, getting out of their cars and looking up, because they'd all be texting and checking Facebook and Twitter on their phones, even though we know nobody texts while driving, right?

I'm looking forward to seeing In The Heart of the Sea, and I think I missed one I was waiting for - I'll See You in My Dreams, with Sam Elliott and Blythe Danner, both 71. It looked adorable and sweet and fun, and that's more my kind of movie. We may be needing to hit up the video store to find that one. There's a James Bond coming out soon, and CS will likely go see that with our son, and then he'll be quite happy to rematch it with me as a rental. James Bond movies have a long shelf life. They're good months or years after they come out. The movie choices should stay rich for the next 9 - 10 weeks of this year, and likely we'll go see at least a handful. Let me know if there's anything out there that you've seen, that's worth catching a Saturday matinée. I'll let you know what I think about the next few matinees we take in.

Happy weekend everyone.