Here and There Blog

I started to write a reflection of 2007 but my mind wasn't in the spirit. Instead, I think it's best to leave 2007 with this photo which sums up the year. Thanks Uncle Robert for sending this over!

The timing of the release of Charlie Wilson’s War could not have been better for the movie. Political events are such that for the first time in many years, people in the audience could pretend to understand the movie. The movie tells the story of Charlie Wilson and the role that he played in the Russian/Afghan war of the 80’s. Most people are there for Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and not a lesson in history. This was the first time in a theater I have heard so much talking as friends had to provide mini-history lessons to each other. This sadly is because Pakistan figures prominently in the movie and a single reference is made to Benazir Bhutto’s father which confused the audience. But, it made people happy that they even knew the name as when Rudy Giuliani’s name was mentioned a few times. The movie is guaranteed to do well because the audience felt they got it. There are two stories going on in Charlie Wilson’s War . The lead story is that about the man, what he did, and how he d...

A movie about a baby Nessie looks fun enough and should be cute, right? Not so if you’re in the theater for The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. I think this is billed as a family film but it’s more of a dark tale of WWII, sadness, and a million reasons why wild animals never make good pets. The premise is easy enough, a small boy finds an object that is really an egg and a creature is hatched who later becomes the Nessie of today’s legend. Capering cuteness is what the movie has for maybe two minutes and the remaining 2 hours (give or take) are about a boy who’s waiting for his father to return from the war. The movie is set in Scotland and filmed in New Zealand but pretty views are rare and we are exposed to the bleakness of life in 1942 Scotland. The story is told by an old man in a pub to a young tourist couple and we have the obligatory flashbacks to this setting off and on. The military officers while British and there to protect are while not quite mean, well they’re mean. Th...

I've been home for a one full week and made the best of it! 3 movies, 2 pubs, seeing lots of friends and familiy, and I even took time off work! This week went by the fastest of any week in the past year! It looks like I have a brief travel reprieve for the new year as the Mexico City trip is probably going to be delayed so I'll have a bonus weekend at home! And this was a school free week which made it that much better!

Having never seen the play, I can only look at Sweeney Todd on its own merit. After watching the movie, I have the underlying feeling that this production is best set on stage rather than film. Expectations are always high for a Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration and perhaps I went into the theater with this attitude and I found the movie slow paced and lackluster at times. Sweeney is a dark comedy murder, meat pies, and music all come together in laughter or at least a small smile. With Alan Rickman as the bad guy, there should have been some saving grace to Sweeney but it mostly falls flat. When the cockroaches are funnier than the characters, well, that should never happen. What I liked: There were moments where I sort of laughed, Scabbers had the best role, the look of Fleet Street was visually great, and I mostly liked the story. Not liked: Slow paced, unresolved storylines for minor characters, the feeling that something was missing.

Dec. 24 - A Karl Strauss Christmas Eve. This turned out to be the haven for families after a long day at Legoland.

I Am Legend with Will Smith, a dog, and a virus that mutates people into zombie-types is overall a pretty fun movie. Good, but not great since you have to overlook the fact that some of the key plot sequences are set-up by smart people doing a dumb out of character move. Once past that, the movie moves at a fast pace, tells the story of a cancer-curing drug turning deadly, and all hope and humanity lost. Perfect stuff for a holiday weekend! Will Smith is almost always perfect in this type of role. In Legend , he's a research doctor who is determined to find a cure. Isolated for three years he's losing his grip on reality and clings to his dog, the only remaining companion in his life. The zombies are not the walking dead but created by the mutation of a vaccine and the virus mutates to travel by air or by blood (if bitten). 90% of the population is gone but 10% have natural immunity. One can only suppose they are all on another continent. The suspense factor is high, the gore ...