Enough of my whining.
At least for now.
I had a Saturday movie day with my mom.
Two or three times a year, I'll rent four DVD's for the two of us to watch.
Why four? Simple. The store has a rent three, get the fourth free deal.
Unfortunately, there are no Blockbuster or Rogers Video stores anywhere near here, so we make do with the little video store we have. They don't have the more obscure films, the 'art-house' types, or the vast majority of documentaries, but they have a better selection than the convenience stores do. It also means they don't rent TV shows either. I envy people who can rent entire seasons of a show to watch.
Anyways, got four movies, along with a bag of Zesty Cheese Doritos, one of my favourites.
It's difficult to get four movies that we might both enjoy.
If I rent movies for myself, I'll go for the stupidest comedies around. Crap with titles that start with "National Lampoon's...", or that star actors you had forgot existed. I like to laugh, and dumbass comedies make me laugh. My DVD collection contains a lot of things like all three American Pie movies (haven't bought the spin-off Band Camp, though I did rent it) and the first three Scary Movies (saw the fourth in theatres but haven't bought it yet - I will though).
The problem is that my mom can't stand movies like that. Anything with gross-out humour, or farce, or anything that makes me laugh, she doesn't like. She likes comedies, just not stupid ones.
And I generally don't watch dramas. I'm usually not in the mood for something serious, or thoughtful, or quiet.
So I have to find comedies that aren't too stupid.
The first movie we watched is one that I had rented on my own when it came out a couple months ago. I had heard some good reviews, but still wasn't sure if it was suitable for Saturday movie day.
It's The Ringer. Yes, the one where Johnny Knoxville plays a guy who pretends to be mentally challenged in order to fix the Special Olympics. An outrageous and offensive concept, brought to you by the Farrelly brothers, who have carved a niche out of comedies centred around disabilities of one sort or another. I enjoy their films, and find that while they push the boundaries of good taste at times, their films are essentially good-hearted. Many of the supporting cast are themselves mentally challenged, and the film was actually endorsed by the Special Olympics. It's a lot of fun, and will make you think twice the next time you're tempted to call someone retarded as an insult.
The second was The Family Stone. An all-star cast as various members of a large family coming home for Christmas. One son brings his girlfriend, and the whole family hates her. Reminded me of my own family at times. It's a 'serious' comedy, or dramedy for the first half, then the writers went insane. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the main characters change their entire personas, moments of all-out farce ensue, and we get a remarkably far-fetched sappy, yet vaguely creepy, ending. I'm not saying that it was a bad movie. It had a lot of good performances, a fair number of laughs, and was pretty enjoyable. Just don't be surprised by the complete 180 turn the story and tone take.
Next was another holiday-set movie, Last Holiday. Starring Queen Latifah, the movie was released at the beginning of the year and lasted a week or two in theatres. It's far from being great, but it deserved more attention than it got. The high concept plot is that she's told she has just three weeks to live, so she cashes in her life savings to do the things she always dreamed of doing. Of course, she and everyone around her learn the valuable lesson that we should pursue our dreams and not put them off. Or something like that. Lots of small laughs, and good-natured fun.
Finally, we end the day with Fun with Dick and Jane. The remake starring Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni. Another high concept story - guy loses his job in a corporate scandel a la Enron, he and his family go broke, turn to life of crime to keep up their accustomed lifestyle. It pratically writes itself. Too bad that after adapting an existing movie (it's a remake afterall) to modernize the situation, they forgot to write the rest a real story. Carrey thankfully restrains himself from too many of his trademarked spastic attacks, and Leoni brings a lot of energy to the screen. Alec Baldwin has a supporting role as the evil CEO, though it's obvious he's modeled the character on George W Bush. Sadly, with only a few exceptions, they're given little worth saying or doing. Not absolute crap, but wait till it's on tv to watch it.
Boy, I'm long-winded even talking about what I rented.
-----------
On another note, a couple more sets worth mentioning:
Sphinx has a new set. She looks adorable in it. Go check it out!
Minkx also has a new set. Nice theme to help you cool off in the summer heat.
Lucy has a very unique set. It's a parody of Snakes on a Plane, and it made me laugh out loud. It's so much fun. You MUST check it out!
Of course, if you still haven't seen it, Jersey has a new set as I mentioned last time.
At least for now.
I had a Saturday movie day with my mom.
Two or three times a year, I'll rent four DVD's for the two of us to watch.
Why four? Simple. The store has a rent three, get the fourth free deal.
Unfortunately, there are no Blockbuster or Rogers Video stores anywhere near here, so we make do with the little video store we have. They don't have the more obscure films, the 'art-house' types, or the vast majority of documentaries, but they have a better selection than the convenience stores do. It also means they don't rent TV shows either. I envy people who can rent entire seasons of a show to watch.
Anyways, got four movies, along with a bag of Zesty Cheese Doritos, one of my favourites.
It's difficult to get four movies that we might both enjoy.
If I rent movies for myself, I'll go for the stupidest comedies around. Crap with titles that start with "National Lampoon's...", or that star actors you had forgot existed. I like to laugh, and dumbass comedies make me laugh. My DVD collection contains a lot of things like all three American Pie movies (haven't bought the spin-off Band Camp, though I did rent it) and the first three Scary Movies (saw the fourth in theatres but haven't bought it yet - I will though).
The problem is that my mom can't stand movies like that. Anything with gross-out humour, or farce, or anything that makes me laugh, she doesn't like. She likes comedies, just not stupid ones.
And I generally don't watch dramas. I'm usually not in the mood for something serious, or thoughtful, or quiet.
So I have to find comedies that aren't too stupid.
The first movie we watched is one that I had rented on my own when it came out a couple months ago. I had heard some good reviews, but still wasn't sure if it was suitable for Saturday movie day.
It's The Ringer. Yes, the one where Johnny Knoxville plays a guy who pretends to be mentally challenged in order to fix the Special Olympics. An outrageous and offensive concept, brought to you by the Farrelly brothers, who have carved a niche out of comedies centred around disabilities of one sort or another. I enjoy their films, and find that while they push the boundaries of good taste at times, their films are essentially good-hearted. Many of the supporting cast are themselves mentally challenged, and the film was actually endorsed by the Special Olympics. It's a lot of fun, and will make you think twice the next time you're tempted to call someone retarded as an insult.
The second was The Family Stone. An all-star cast as various members of a large family coming home for Christmas. One son brings his girlfriend, and the whole family hates her. Reminded me of my own family at times. It's a 'serious' comedy, or dramedy for the first half, then the writers went insane. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, the main characters change their entire personas, moments of all-out farce ensue, and we get a remarkably far-fetched sappy, yet vaguely creepy, ending. I'm not saying that it was a bad movie. It had a lot of good performances, a fair number of laughs, and was pretty enjoyable. Just don't be surprised by the complete 180 turn the story and tone take.
Next was another holiday-set movie, Last Holiday. Starring Queen Latifah, the movie was released at the beginning of the year and lasted a week or two in theatres. It's far from being great, but it deserved more attention than it got. The high concept plot is that she's told she has just three weeks to live, so she cashes in her life savings to do the things she always dreamed of doing. Of course, she and everyone around her learn the valuable lesson that we should pursue our dreams and not put them off. Or something like that. Lots of small laughs, and good-natured fun.
Finally, we end the day with Fun with Dick and Jane. The remake starring Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni. Another high concept story - guy loses his job in a corporate scandel a la Enron, he and his family go broke, turn to life of crime to keep up their accustomed lifestyle. It pratically writes itself. Too bad that after adapting an existing movie (it's a remake afterall) to modernize the situation, they forgot to write the rest a real story. Carrey thankfully restrains himself from too many of his trademarked spastic attacks, and Leoni brings a lot of energy to the screen. Alec Baldwin has a supporting role as the evil CEO, though it's obvious he's modeled the character on George W Bush. Sadly, with only a few exceptions, they're given little worth saying or doing. Not absolute crap, but wait till it's on tv to watch it.
Boy, I'm long-winded even talking about what I rented.
-----------
On another note, a couple more sets worth mentioning:
Sphinx has a new set. She looks adorable in it. Go check it out!
Minkx also has a new set. Nice theme to help you cool off in the summer heat.
Lucy has a very unique set. It's a parody of Snakes on a Plane, and it made me laugh out loud. It's so much fun. You MUST check it out!
Of course, if you still haven't seen it, Jersey has a new set as I mentioned last time.
VIEW 25 of 62 COMMENTS
I actually registered for classes today - uggh! So fucking expensive - if it weren't for student loans and continuing to work - I couldn't afford it. But - you are so intelligent - I can imagine you miss studying. Though it is so different going back as an adult...Professors want to go a bit deeper with adult students, but its not always possible sitting in a class of teen and twenty-somethings..Hey - I am cranky geezer - I can say that! Plus, as far as I'm concerned, everyone at school is 12!