Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

A little more than 24 hours ago I left Cinemark after watching Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.
The movie was awesome.
I’ll never watch it again.
I cried, I felt sick, I thought about leaving the theater. But I couldn’t.
The movie brought 9/11 back. It also brought back how ridiculously guilty I felt for my intense grief. So many people I knew had connections to people who died that day. My only connection was the news, which I couldn’t turn away from.
The movie is fiction, and yet, all I could think was so many people lived this little boy’s horror and grief. So many people lived his mother’s heartbreak and anger.
The movie disturbed me, broke my heart, made me wonder where all that hate comes from.
I can’t recommend the movie, but I can say it’s well written and acted. Maybe it’s good that we’re reminded of the awful truth of that day. Maybe it’s good to be uncomfortable and to wish for a happy ending when the reality is happy endings aren’t possible sometimes.
Maybe.

What is it about Buffy?

1. She’s tough, and she’s unapologetic about that toughness.
2. She’s a girl, and she’s unapologetic about that, too.
3. She says the best stuff. Kudos to the writers for that one.
4. She’s saving the world. Good vs. Evil, and if the wrong team wins, humanity ceases to exist.
5. Angel and Spike. No explanation needed.
6. It’s impossible for it to be true, but I forget that the whole time I’m watching.
7. She has best friends, and they are awesome.
8. Vampires. Even though I’m kind of tired of vampires everywhere else, I still love them on Buffy. And Dark Shadows, but that’s a different post.
9. Romance.
10. Buffy wants to be a normal girl, but she understands that’s impossible. She embraces her slayer self even as she wars with it.

This is the tip of the iceberg. There are the ties to the goddess, mythology, strong character stories, dialogue, lack of cheerleading ability, crazy fellow slayers, dopplegangers, fake Buffy’s, secret sisters. It’s everything that is good about teen targeted TV, and I love it.
Glad I got to spend two hours with two of my favorite episodes last night: Becoming Part 1 and 2. So good!!!!

I Should’a Known Better

I’ve heard so much about how amazing and awesome Bridesmaids is.
So I went today with DD to see it. I enjoyed spending time with DD, so that was a five of five stars.

The movie:
If a group of guys got together and made a movie about what they thought women were, you’d have Bridesmaids.
Zero real emotion.
The characters weren’t really women. They were caricatures of women developed by men who have no idea about women. Like Monty Python in drag.
And don’t even get me started on the “fat girl” syndrome.
Awhile back I read a blog that said movies are targeted to teenage boys because that’s where the money’s made. Bridesmaids is no exception. I’m sure the men in the room liked the movie just fine. Which makes sense. The director and producers of the movie were all men. The writer was a woman, but I don’t suppose women can write movies I’d enjoy because they’d never have a chance of getting them made.

There are a couple cute scenes. And they let the actresses look like real people instead of botoxed human chameleons. Maybe that’s what Director Paul Feig meant by “I’m a pretty feminized geek.”

I’m sad humor has devolved to a mixture of South Park, Mad Magazine, Playboy and Dr. Sue Johanson. I miss the days of laughter without the uncomfortable after taste of being somewhere I didn’t belong. I’ve learned my lesson. If it’s Judd Apatow, I’ll skip it. AND before I go to see a movie with DD, I’ll check it out online first. I went into this one cold other than a couple cute trailers on TV. Big mistake.