The big screen

This miserable below zero weather has a plus side. Would somebody tell me what it is?

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Dad/Larry/Paco/Grandpappy and I have watched two rental movies in two nights, and will watch a third this evening. This is a record for us. I know people who rent several movies to watch in a weekend, but I can't sit still that long. I can't sit still for ONE movie, if the truth be told, so I do other things like send e-mail, type labels to stick on the back of photos so I don't forget when they were taken, and then put said labels on the photos. Folding laundry is a good way to pass time while watching a movie, as is organizing the contents of my purse or writing checks to pay bills (when I start paying bills online, I'll do that, too.). I think I've just figured out why going to movies in theaters isn't on my list of favorite things.

Last night we watched the 2008 version of The Taking of Pelham 123 with Denzel Washington (good guy) and John Travolta (really, really, really, really bad guy). It's a remake of a 1974 movie by the same name, starring Walter Matthau. I think I saw it in the '80s, but I might be making that up. I recommend this movie if you like suspense, a story line with twists and turns, and cold-blooded shooting. I have a hard time with blatant violence, and this movie has enough of it to last a while. Same with the use of the F word. Aren't we past that yet?

The night before we watched Is Anyone There? starring Michael Caine as (guess what?) a cranky old guy who is at death's door. He's done a lot of that lately, and he's very good at it in this movie. We think the story is about a young boy who is trying to understand death by audiotaping the events that follow the deaths of elderly people who live in the home for the aged that his parents operate. He's trying (unsuccessfully) to capture paranormal phenomena-- the voices of the dead and such. As you might guess, he befriends Clarence (Caine's character) and the two of them do stuff together. If that sounds vague it's because...

(a) the soundtrack was uneven and we couldn't get most of what was said, or
(b) British folk from that particular part of England don't want anyone to understand what they say, so they mumble, or
(c) we're deaf, or
(d) all of the above.

Tonight it's time for Angels and Demons, not because of the good reviews its gotten-- like this spectacular one from the Rotten Tomatoes website: " Angels and Demons is a fast-paced thrill ride, and an improvement on the last Dan Brown adaptation, but the storyline too often wavers between implausible and ridiculous, and does not translate effectively to the big screen." Instead, we're watching it because Tom Hanks is a nice guy and I would choose a movie based on his presence in it almost every time. Come to think of it, I feel that way about Michael Caine and Denzel Washington, too.

As for "the big screen", we naively anticipated that a flat screen TV, which is wider than it is tall, would take care of the annoying partial screen effect of most DVD movies these days. Not. But at least I can fidget and do other things besides just watch the screen, and that trumps the skinny movie problem.