I know! I know! I haven’t been posting regularly. What can I say – work has been busy and life and all that stuff. DMV and I have very different ideas of what is a quiet time. We were talking to somebody and he said, ‘Yeah, it’s been a pretty quiet week.’ Um, what? Here was the past seven days:
* Last Saturday: ‘Casual make your own pizza night’ with our gourmet group.
* Last Sunday: We went to see Syriana --- OK, relatively quiet day.
* Monday: Work, of course, then to DMV’s CEO’s house for a blind wine tasting contest.
* Tuesday: Dinner with DMV’s (and my) friends.
* Wednesday: He has dinner; I have a quiet night.
* Thursday: My company holiday party at Tysons Corner mall and then shopping.
* Friday: Dinner at Citi Zen for our friend’s b’day.
* Saturday: ‘Christmas’ with DMV’s family
But tonight… we’re going to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on the big Imax screen at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum. Yes, I’ve seen Harry Potter already. But it’s Imax!
So yes, I have seen a bunch of movies over my ‘quiet’ period.
Can I just start by saying that yes, King Kong is out this weekend and I know everybody has their panties in a bunch about it, but I’m just not all that thrilled to see it. In fact, I’m not excited at all. I don’t really like three-hour-plus movies… and I’ve never been a real big fan of King Kong movies. As a animal freak, I always felt sorry for Kong. He’s living a happy life and has it all ripped away from him – to be kept in horrible conditions, I’m sure – so some money grubber can cash in. Kong gets angry about the situation and everybody ends up blaming him!? And, of course, Kong pays his life for it all. So, no, I’m not that excited about seeing it.
I was, however, very excited about seeing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is my favorite of the Harry Potter books by a long shot. There are two scenes in the book that are just wonderful: The opening, which is a strong, powerful image, and then the climatic scene near the end, which is absolutely riveting. So of course, I was thrilled at the prospect of seeing that magic brought to the big screen. In fact, I even reread the book in preparation for the movie.
That was my mistake! The book is big – it marked the first Potter book that also doubled as weight lifting. So there was inevitably going to be stuff that had to be cut or condensed and I was just too close to it. My mind’s eye also created such rich images, I should have expected that it would be difficult for the director to meet my expectations.
That being said, the movie is quite good and probably the best in the series so far… and that final scene is good, but it just wasn’t as powerful as I think it could have been. Unfortunately I’m at a loss to suggest exactly what that missing piece was, but it somehow just didn’t make me sit on the edge of my seat. It was exciting, but it wasn’t thrilling.
So… I’d give HP4 a B+ and strongly recommend that you not reread the book before going to the movie.
I’ll also report back on how it is on Imax.
Syriana
Last weekend we went to see Syriana. I hadn’t really heard much about this movie, so I went in with pretty much a clean slate. DMV wanted to see it – I’m not sure why. I’m guessing it was because of the positive reviews.
I knew it was a George Clooney movie, but I’m just not a huge Clooney fan. Other then that, I didn’t know what to expect.
I didn’t know that it was from writer/director Stephen Gaghan, who won the Academy Award for his screenplay of 'Traffic.'
'Syriana' is something of a political thriller. For its backdrop, the movie uses the global oil industry and its relationship to the United States, the Middle East, and the intelligence communities. And, as somebody who is fascinated by those subjects, I found this movie just riveting. That being said, there are a lot of characters in this movie – and if you saw Traffic, that will not surprise you. And it jumps around between Washington to the men working the oil fields in the Persian Gulf to the leaders of those countries to the leaders of oil companies. One of the big complaints I have heard is that people found that confusing and that they had a hard time putting all the pieces together – and I understand that complaint. It can be. I guess I didn’t focus on the details and instead just sat back and watched the interplay between these various slices of life.
The movie definitely has a political point to make – one that I happen to agree with, of course. (Clooney gave an interesting interview to The Advocate when Good Night and Good Luck came out where he talks about politics and the movies. It is an interesting read.) The movie does a good job of dramatizing how the U.S. addiction to oil actually drives so many important decisions that have led to the United States being so despised in that region. But this is no Michael Moore screed. It is an interesting story. Much the way Traffic looked at drug issues, this looks at the Middle East.
Even if you don’t agree with that point of view, the movie does an effective job making its case so I think it would be a healthy start for a rich discussion and debate. I give the movie kudos for that if nothing else.
CJD grade: A-
Finally, and briefly, Pride and Prejudice. It’s Jane Austin, so you know how it is going to end. Go and enjoy the romance.
CJD grade: B
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