Saturday, January 24, 2009

Movies


Just watched the movie "Traitor". I have no idea how long this movie has been out because we gave up watching movies in theatres long ago. So we see them when they come to Blockbuster or pay-per-view. Which is just fine with me. Here is why:


  • A) I would NEVER take a kid with me to see a movie unless it were a KID movie (and why would I pay $9.00 to see a kid movie?)

  • B) I HATE movie food and half of watching a movie is getting to eat good food, snacks, drinks WHILE you watch it.

  • C) I hate movie theatre chairs, even the ones that recline and bounce. I want to lay down, put my feet up, have my feet rubbed, pull a blanket over my eyes if I need to.

  • Also D) I want to be able to pause the movie while I pee. Duh.

  • And finally E) I do not want to sit next to Slim Jim and his cutie girl friend who make out during the movie, or talk through it, or eat their popcorn really loudly. I want my nice warm, quiet, kids-sleeping house.

And so, by the time we get to see movies, we have usually heard about them. Enough to know if we really WANT to spend the two hours to see them. After all, our time is precious. I do not want to waste two hours on some dumb movie when I could be taking a bath, sleeping, reading one of the 3 books I am currently half way through, or sleeping-sleeping-sleeping.

So, we now know what to look for. If Kristen likes it, it's iffy. If David likes it, we know it's a little weird (no offense guys). If mom likes it, it's a deal-killer. We now know the friends to trust, when it comes to reviews, and the ones whose opinions stink. They know not to tell us much about the show. I like to know as little about a film as possible, before I see it, so I have no expectations. I think Gavin is the opposite. He could watch movie trailers for a living, happily. I hate the trailers. They tend to give away too much.

Also, there are certain movies that I just DON'T WATCH...no way Jose. I don't watch slasher/ demon/ horror movies. HATE them. I don't think that I have seen a scary movie in ten years. And I still have night mares about the last ones I saw. My mind is like fly paper. Stuff sticks and it just doesn't come off. So, I want to be careful about what I put in it.

That said, I do watch R's. I really don't care what the rating is. I used to. But I don't anymore. Because A) the rating system is idiotic, and B) life is not rated. If I only yelled at Gavin using words like "Golly" and "Heck" and Israel and Hezbollah only used water guns, and the illness that infected Dalton when he was a tot was fake, as was the blood and guts that I got to see when I changed his ear bandages, and the kids that died in Africa every day from starvation and preventable diseases sprang back to life like they do in the video games THEN I would only rent PG videos. But we do not live in a PG world. People die, bad things happen, as do good things; like sex. If my sex were PG, it would be a very sad world indeed. Oh, and the babies that I gave birth to. I am sure that scene, all combined 20 hours of it, would have been pretty Rated R, but jeez, that ended well didn't it? So, I don't watch filth. I watch life. I watch stories that speak to me in some way, make me think, feel, hope, cry.

So, maybe I will share my views about movies I watch.

As for the one we watched tonight: "Traitor" with Don Cheatle, I liked it. It was maddening to me, in a way, because it rings true. Not about terrorism (a word I hate because it lumps about 1,000 causes and groups under one umbrella that only inspires people to do even crazier things) but about the lack of good communication within large groups, and the unfortunate consequences.

Don't want to be a spoiler in case you haven't seen it. But I think that it is worth watching.

(Oh, and I got to have beef curry with french baguette at Indochine tonight, with Gav and my sis. I am paying for it now. My stomach seems to have little acrobats in it. But it was delicious. Oh, and bananas foster...yum.)

4 comments:

Danielle Hatch said...

Ashley, it was great catching up with you over the break. I just watched this movie as well and really enjoyed it, great acting but *spoiler alert* I really think that the last scene was rewritten to make the movie more marketable and for me it should have ended on the boat with him lying on the ground. Alrighty enough random movie criticism for me :)

Ashley said...

Danielle, you are right, that definitely would have been more realistic.

dan shaw said...

Ashley: I noticed I was not mentioned in the movies I recommend. Truth is I only go when the family goes so I am not good at my recommendations. That said you need to see Slum Dog Millionaire. Well worth it. Love you guys keep the Blogs comming.

Ashley said...

Ha! Yeah Dan, don't tell mom what I said about her taste in movies. But, you have recommended some good ones! We are hoping to see Slum Dog Millionaire this weekend!