"Is it true that if you don't use it, you lose it?"
"Is that a serious question?"
Laughing: "no."
Finally went Friday night. Lacey was sick for the first hour, basically, so that hindered her enjoyment of it somewhat. But I feel compelled to give some kind of review of what I thought of it, since Josh Gibbs totally called me out. For future reference, his is a much more interesting website about a lot more interesting matters: thecedarroom.org
Anyway, I loved the movie. I thought that the twist at the end was certainly fair, and Lacey figured it out before I did. It wasn't that difficult. It think that in many ways we're jaded, having seen movie after movie where you're trying to figure out the twist at the end. You just expect it now. But the clues were there, and it really was masterfully done. It was a cage-match act-off (in the movie and between the actual actors) between Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. Yeah, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson were in it, but it really was about the two leads struttin' their stuff. If you had asked me before the movie who I'd put my money on, I woulda said Bale, hands down. But to me, Hugh Jackman stole the show. He was absolutely superb. I'd watch it again just to see him play his character's out of work, drunk, actor double. Great stuff. I'm not going to say a whole lot about the movie as a whole, because that would spoil it. It played out like a 3-act magic trick, and it was really, really good. Christopher Nolan is one of the best writer/directors in the world, and he can certainly craft a film. It looked great, sounded great, and its pacing, acting, really everything was top notch. I'm always amazed how the mere structure of a film can lend so much to how it comes across. I'm gonna stop now, because any more would start to give stuff away. I still thought that The Departed was superior, but not by much. These are far and away the two best movies I've seen all year.
And then the Memorial Day Massacre hit. My parents had come to visit and bring the rest of my stuff down. Plus they really wanted to meet this girl that they had been hearing so much about. From my perspective, the visit went great. Bray was in town, we played a little volleyball, went out on the boat with Walker, Hunter, Joel and Jonathon, and had a ball. Mom made her home-made ice cream and life was peachy. But apparently Mr. Rockett hadn’t seen it that way. There were some “red flags” as he called them, one of which was a definite error in judgement on my part. You see, when I decided to have a day of fun on the boat, it meant that Lacey was stuck by herself with my parents, who she didn’t really know at all. Not that it was a big deal, it was just insensitive of me. And that among other things were disheartening to Mr. R. He had a subsequent meeting with Lacey, and after that, well, let’s just say that I’ve never been so heartbroken after seeing my (now) wife cry like that. I didn’t let it phase me though, I kept pushing on as hard as I could. It was just apparent that things weren’t going to proceed as quickly or easily as Lacey and I had hoped. But that turned out to be the best thing for everybody. We started playing cards once a week with the Rocketts, we took a parent-approved road trip to Indiana for the 4th of July, and by the time the Rockett family reunion took place in August of ’03, I was invited and we were courting. After that, things moved pretty quickly. We were engaged by November, convinced Mr. Rockett that June was the ONLY time to get married, and to make a REALLY long story as short as possible (on the fourth part) were married June 5th, 2004. It was a beautiful wedding, with an awesome reception (thanks to Aunt Mary and Uncle John) in which everybody had a great time (drinking) dancing to the music that I picked out. I’ll spare you the details about the planning of the wedding, the wedding week and the honeymoon. Let’s just say, I miss Mexico! And now, praise be to God! Lacey is expecting! Two and a half years later, and it seems like the blink of an eye. So much has changed since then, but I couldn’t be happier. I’m in love with the most wonderful woman in the world, and I pray that everyone else can be as fortunate as I am. So that’s the story of how Lacey and I met. Told you we met over the internet:)
I totally remember the drive down there. Joel and I had a blast. It had been incredibly cold the night before we left (December 26th, 2002), so we watched the temperature readout in my truck go up degree by degree as we went south. Plus it was Joel and I, so that was cool. By the time we hit Louisiana, and stopped at the welcome center just over the Mississippi border, we were in short sleeves, and I was starting to get butterflies in my stomach. You know the kind, right before something huge and wonderful is about to happen? I called Lacey to let her know we were an hour away, and we set off. That last hour was excruciatingly awesome. When we finally pulled into Lisa, Lacey and Christin’s place (now Robbie and Angela’s house), I was about to burst. I swear it was like yesterday. Lacey had on her black turtleneck and dark jeans. I ran up, gave her a bearhug, and life was never the same. But reality had a little more in store for us. That week had its ups and downs. Joel and I hung out with the guys that first night after the reception. I hadn’t seen those guys in forever! It was a great party. I had just met Matt and Jonathon and it was like we’d been friends for years. Sunday was certainly a big day. Joel and I had dinner at the Rocketts, and I met Lacey’s family for the first time, including the dreaded Mr. Rockett. I had heard some horror stories, believe me. Not bad, just rough on the suitors Anyway, I informed Mr. Rockett that I would like to chat with him on Monday if possible. We met at Books a Million (of course) and I remember it went pretty well. He just said take it slow for now, and I’ll talk to Lacey. But everything looked good. That week, we helped Lacey and Christin move, went out to Enoch’s, hung out, did the usual. Wednesday of that week was a big day. Lacey had a talk with her dad that had put a little doubt in her head. We ended up over at Christin and Emily’s watching When Harry Met Sally. After that, Lacey decided she wanted to talk. I thought, Uh Oh, here it comes, I’ve had this talk before. She said she wanted to slow things down, take some time to think. I was pretty worried at this point, she really freaked me out. But it turned out, her dad had just freaked HER out a little bit. And by Thursday night, my fears proved unfounded and everything was back to normal. Well, normal for us anyway. We had a great New Years and last weekend together, and then it was time for Joel and I to go home. It definitely sucked parting, but it wasn’t the end of the world. Yet. After I got back to Indiana, life continued like normal. Work, school, and talking on the phone. But the second week back, I took a bold step. I knew something was true of me, and I thought the same was true of Lacey. So I wrote her a letter and told her I loved her for the first time. No rush, I knew what I knew and wasn’t in a hurry to hear it back, if she didn’t feel the same yet. It didn’t take long. By the time February rolled around, we knew it was meant to be. We started talking about visits and weddings. We were idealists. Time was not an object. It had only taken 3 months+ to get to this point, and a week together, why not get married next Christmas? I decided to drive down again for Lisa and Courtney’s wedding. We cemented the fact that we were in love on that visit. It was certain. We talked about the possibility of Lacey visiting me for Spring break. When I left Monroe that 2nd time, we knew it was distinctly possible that we would not see each other again for 2 months. That was one of the worst days of my life. Not because I wasn’t in love, but Lacey and I had spent a total of 12 days together, and we were being parted yet again. It was an exciting time, but let me just tell you: long-distance relationships suck. Shortly after I got back this time, things turned from painful to sucky. Mr. Rockett put the kaibosh on spring break, and then decided he didn’t want Lacey and I talking on the phone more than twice a week. It was clear he was not happy with how fast things were going. We were counting the days until my spring break rolled around and I could visit again. My spring break visit was amazing. I remember the night I got there, Lacey had been performing at a concert and she looked absolutely gorgeous. It had been 54 days since we had seen each other, and we hugged for what seemed like 20 minutes. When it was time again to go home, it wasn’t nearly as tough. I would be moving to Monroe in less than a month, in order to be close and persuade Mr. Rockett to let us court/be engaged/marry. I found a job at OCS (a private Christian school) and everything was falling into place…
By this time, I had immersed myself back in my life in Indiana. I was back at DePauw, in a Transition to Teaching program. Fresh from my Masters degree, I was now intent on getting into teaching as soon as possible to start my "real life". I needed a job, so I waited tables (mostly on weekends) at a family/breakfast restaurant called Perkins. I was hanging out with my old friends and Joel a lot. When I got the first email, it took me a few minutes to realize where it had come from. And then I remembered Mrs. White. I was pretty gunshy at that point, realizing that 1)I was being set up, 2)she lived 800 miles away and 3)I had no idea who she was. So I took it slow. I'm pretty sure Lacey was thinking the same thing. I emailed a couple of friends first off (hi Christin!) who told me good things, but still, I kept communication fairly light. A couple emails a week, just about general stuff. Movies, school, background, things like that. Then, the instant messaging. I really didn't know much about it, or use it very often, but a couple friends were on there, and I had to have it for the upcoming fantasy baseball draft, so I figured what the heck? That lead to some more frequent conversations between Ms. Rockett and I. Not a lot, just building little by little. I certainly was liking what I read, but that wasn't enough yet to put myself out there. And then came November. We had been talking about music a good bit, and being a music buff, I decided to burn her a CD or 2 with my favorite songs on it. This is something I had been doing for a while now (you're welcome, Christin, Jill and Laura), so it was still pretty innocent. To me, at least. Little did I know that Lacey had received the 2-CD set and promptly devoured it. Then, she did something unexpected, something that would forever change the course of our lives. She called to thank me. I don't remember a lot about that first conversation, only that it didn't last all that long, and her voice was a little bit lower than I had expected (for a voice major). But it was such a cute voice, with just a hint of a southern accent (quite a turn-on btw). So we decided to talk on the phone again. This is where the story take a bit of a turn. The next conversation turned into about a 5 hour phone marathon. We talked about everything, our lives, school, being reformed, you name it. We just clicked. And this coming from a guy who had been TERRIBLE on the phone before this. So, one phone conversation lead to another, which lead to another, and before long we were talking almost every night, to the point where I would look forward every day to the exact minute I could hear her voice on the other end. That's when I knew things were getting fairly serious. I know, it sounds crazy. We had never even seen each other. But you can really get to know someone over the phone. In some ways it's almost easier, no awkwardness, no sexual tension, no physicality getting in the way. It was pure, wonderful, and we loved it. By the time Christmas was getting close, I had already made the decision to visit Monroe. Remy and Bethany were having a wedding celebration, and I had missed the actual wedding, so it made for a good excuse to get down there. Joel would come with me. It was perfect. Joel and I would visit, Lacey and I would finally meet, I'd be there for those legendary New Years Eve parties I'd been hearing about, and everything would work out perfectly. It didn't go exactly according to plan...
Once again, I have decided to steal something from Shannon's blog. She's such a good writer with a great imagination, it's something I aspire to have, but probably never will. Anyway, I know there are only about 3-4 people who read my blog, but I realized that pehaps a couple of those have never heard the story. And since a big change has now ocurred in our lives, I thought I would take this opportunity to tell the (somewhat bizarre) story of Lacey and I. Be prepared, this will be a long post. So long in fact that I'm going to split it into two parts, cliffhanger included.
When someone asks us, "How did you guys meet?", it's a tough question to answer. The short, quick answer would be "on the internet!" But that sounds fairly shady, and isn't exactly how it went. I guess the beginning of the story would trace back to (party like it's) 1999. That is when I made the big decision to move out to Moscow, Idaho from Sheridan, Indiana, merely on the whim of my Dad who read Credenda and Doug Wilson books. It was a two-fold plan. MY plan was to take a year at NSA, and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. My Dad's plan was for me to find a wife. Totally nuts, I know, but hey, he was paying my tuition. Anyway, I moved out there, and almost immediately had more Christian friends than I ever had in my life. It was wonderful. NSA was ok, but to me it served better as a springboard to friendships. Life consisted mostly of computer games in the Big Haus basement, Sunday steak and volleyball, and late-night hooka smoking. There were girls to enter and exit my interest, but nothing serious. Anyway, one of these friendships I made was a guy named Jon Amos. Anyone reading this knows Jon, and how cool he and his family is. Well, in the summer of 2000 (I think!), Jon was married to a delightful woman named Hollie White. She, of course, lived in Monroe, Louisiana, where several other of my friends at that time (Remy, Bray, Christin, etc.) either lived or had close ties. So I started to get to know Jon and Hollie as a couple. They hung out with our circle of friends quite a bit, despite being newlyweds. That's what's so cool about the Amoses, they are always willing to chill. Fast forward to 2002 when Hollie is about to have their first child, Ethan. I had been hanging out with them a lot more that summer (my last in Idaho) because most of our other friends were home for the summer. That sounds bad I know, but it wasn't like that. Regardless, Hollie's family had come into town for the birth, and I had gotten to know them as well (I still remember her Grandpa's HUGE hands!) through card games like spades, movies, and just hanging out. By the time it was almost time for me to move back to Indiana, it was time for the Whites to go back to Louisiana. I remember this part very well. Ethan Atwood and I were headed to the Fagans for Monday night dinner, and Ethan remembered that he had left his jacket at the Amoses. So we decided to stop by on our way out to Pullman. The Whites were still there, but getting ready to head to the airport. As we were about to leave with Ethan's jacket, Mrs. White asks "do you guys have an email address"? I thought it was quite an odd question, and I kinda glanced at Hollie. She merely started laughing and muttered under her breath "Mom loves to set people up". I thought, hey what have I got to lose? I'm almost 25 years old, still single, and still ready to get married. So Ethan and I both gave her our emails and didn't think another thing about it. That is until about two months later, when I got an email from one Lacey Rockett.
The best show in the history of television starts up again in January with its sixth season...and I am PUMPED! There is an awesome new trailer for it that aired last night during the world series, and you can find it at 24trailer.com or just search youtube (but remember to find the "official" trailer). The new season looks amazing, and even though the fifth season wasn't quite as good (at least according to me), 24 has seemed to come back with an incredible season every other year (2 and 4 were the best, not counting 1). So if you haven't gotten into this show yet, what the heck are you waiting for? Rent the DVDs and prepare to do nothing else until you finish all five seasons!
P.S.
Lacey's bloodwork came back yesterday, and everything looks great. Her progesterone levels (which were low) came back outstanding. Continue to pray for us, she has an appointment next Wednesday which will give us a better idea of the due date, and possibly an ultrasound to find the heartbeat!
I can't stand cheap people. It makes me real mad when someone says something like, "Hey, when are you going to pay me that $100 you owe me?" or "Do you have that $50 you borrowed?" Man, quit being so cheap!
One of the movies I have been waiting for patiently to come out is The Prestige. It is the new flick written and directed by Christopher Nolan. I've loved his previous work like Memento especially (btw his first movie, The Following is pretty much unheard of but brilliant), and this one has a great cast. Well, it finally came out and what did Lacey and I do? Went to see Marie Antoinette. Don't get me wrong, we will be going to see the Prestige, and we really liked Marie Antoinette (although it was nowhere near as good as Lost in Translation) so I'm not bitter. But now I've visited Mr. Gibbs' blog (thecedarroom.org) and seen the discussion on how great the Prestige is, and I can't wait to see it. The point has been brought up over there in the comments that it is a movie with a twist at the end that really "gets" you and is fair to the viewer (which I LOVE!), but what that means is that you can never get back the experience of seeing it for the first time. And so it was suggested that a list could be made of the top movies that you would pay money to be able to watch again for the first time. So I wanted to put my two cents in. Beware, it's going to be a pretty vanilla list, with a lot of crowd favorites (which is my cup of tea so get over it). Anway, here goes:
1.The Sixth Sense - super obvious, but still gives me goosebumps
2.The Usual Suspects - ditto
3.The Game - incredible twist, maybe the best
4.Braveheart - only because it's the only movie that I can remember crying at besides Hoosiers (hey, gimme a break, I was like 18!)
5.The Matrix - totally mind-blowing when it first came out
6.Fight Club - wait, who is Tyler Durden?
7.Primal Fear - another Norton classic
8.A.I. - didn't really appreciate it the "first" first time
9.The Others - was derivative at the time, but a really enjoyable twist
10.Gangs of New York - morbid, I know, but it was Lacey and I's first official "date"
I'm probably missing a few, so help me out with ones that should have made the list. This was all I could think of spur of the moment.
Well, after 18 months of prayer and waiting, Lacey is pregnant with our first Covenant child. Pray that the pregnancy is safe, easy as can be expected, and that in less than 8 months we are blessed with a healthy baby. For other updates/pictures/etc see my wife's blog at xanga.com/mrsmelton. Other than that, our baby has a heartbeat now, and Praise be to God!!
Psalm 8:1
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth, who have set Your glory about the heavens!
Does anyone that went to a public (or private, I suppose) school remember parent-teacher conferences? My students and I are getting fall break Wednesday through Friday of this week, but before I do, I have to be here for NINE HOURS (last night 5-8 and today 1-4 and 5-8 on a half day for the students) for parent teacher conferences. And I just don't remember having those in high school. Maybe it's been too long and I'm getting old, I dunno. I certainly remember having them in like grade school. But it seems a bit ridiculous to have nine hours where we just sit and wait and talk, especially in an age of email, online grades, phone calls, etc. Can't they just get their grades, and talk to me if they need to? Schedule it for crying out loud, don't require me to put in a 13 hour day (5 of which I get no pay for) just to satisfy the needs of the good parents. The parents that really need to be here don't even show! I mean, even if my memory is foggy and we really did have Parent-Teacher conferences when I was in high school, mine would have been pointless. Dad: "Is Josh still getting straight A's?" Teacher: "Yep!" Dad: "Great! See you later!" Isn't this something that should be scheduled on a need/want basis? I'm not a school administrator, and I never will be, this just seems like another in a long line of potshots at people that get underpaid anyway. Correct me if I'm wrong. Please.
Let's continue with the comedy classics:
"You know what? If you don't know how to put on a seatbelt by now, ring your call button, and Tommy will come around and hit you on the head with a tackhammer, because you are a retard."
If you're in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at the enemy, throw one of those small pumpkins. Maybe it'll make everyone think how stupid war is, and while they are thinking, you can throw a real grenade at them.
On this day two years ago, I posted the following. It's a fun blast from the past of what I was thinking in '04:
Something New
I know I'm a bit behind on both, but I thought an update on what's going on in movies and music with me was long past due. The only thing is, there's not much to report. I've been too busy and broke to do much new movie watching or buy those three CD's I want. Namely, Green Day, Cake and REM's new ones. However...
U2's new single, Vertigo, is rockin'! I mean, I knew U2 was great, but they continue to impress, year after year, album after album. I can't wait for the new offering, it should be amazing.
I finally got Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at Blockbuster. With the new Movie Pass thing, it's been tough to find new releases in, but it finally was. And I was very impressed. I loved it. It was funny, sweet, well-made, thought-provoking, interesting...genuinely excellent. My new line is "I love bathing in the sink". Watch the movie for some context on that one. I laugh every time I think about it.
And finally, Lacey and I did manage to scrounge up the cash to see a movie this weekend. We saw Friday Night Lights, and it was excellent. Very realistic, especially if you've grown up in a town like that (which I did). The action was bone-crunchingly well filmed and the performances were surprisingly good. Way to go local legend Tim McGraw! I wouldn't put it on par with the best sports movies ever like Rudy and Hoosiers, but it was certainly up there. Now if I can ever get the time to go see Ladder 49 and Sky Captain, I'll be ecstatic.
A tougher one, but not too difficult:
"Michael, I did nothing. And it was everything I thought it could be."
Depending on what or who you read, you may or may not have seen a lot of crap being thrown around in blogdom these days (especially the last year or so) in reformed Christian circles. Whether it be Doug Wilson, Ligonier and Sproul, whomever, there is a LOT of stuff out there to read. But I just read a great post by my buddy Josh McInnis (an old friend from my Moscow days) who had some really helpful things to say. Check out his latest post, "Everything You Need To Know About The Alluded To Controversies Between Christians" at http://joshuamcinnis.com/blog/
Lacey, Anna and I saw this on Saturday night. I thought it was fantastic, certainly hard-R, but immensely worth the money and time. Best movie of the year. There is a more interesting review and discussion of it on thecedarroom.org (Josh Gibbs' blog - I disagree with much of it, but it's still more interesting). Summary: acting, directing, script, action, all of it top notch. But I wanted to tell an interesting story about our trip to the theater, not the movie itself. I will post the exchange as I remember it. To set it up, it was not that crowded, but several people in the middle of the theater, kind of staggered. It ended up being pretty full once the movie started. And it wasn't stadium seating. Anna was first into the row, then Lacey, then me. We sit down...
Man behind me: "Excuse me..." (he makes a big deal of moving his legs a bit because of the small decrease in leg room)
Me: "Yes?"
Silence for about a minute or so
Man (under his breath but loud enough for me to hear): "Out of all the seats in the entire theater, you had to sit right there."
Me: "These are empty seats!"
Anna: "Do I need to move down 1?"
Me: "I don't want you to not be able to see over the guy in the row in front of us or anything..."
Man (smacking of jerk-ness): "Kinda like me??"
Me: "Look, we can sit anywhere we want to!"
Man (still a jerk): "Exactly"
Me (really pissed now): "Do you have a freaking problem? These are empty freaking seats!"
We move down one
Wife of Man: "I guess I'LL move, since you're being an ASS!"
Me: "Oh yeah, I'M the ass."
I have been to probably a thousand movies in my lifetime, and never had anything like that happen to me. It's a good thing I've grown up a bit over the last five years and that Anna was there, or there might have been a rumble. I'm not that big, but I can get feisty when I'm pissed. Oh, it still makes me mad even writing about it.
I stole this off Shannon's blog. It's cool.
1. SPY NAME: (middle name + current street):
Mark Arbor
2. MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/mother + your favorite candy):
Glenn Lifesaver
3. GAMER TAG: (favorite color + favorite animal):
Green Penguin
4. SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name + birthplace):
Mark Rapids
5. PORN STAR NAME: (first pet + street you grew up on):
Josiah Iroquois
6. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The”, favorite color, car your dad drives):
The Green Aurora
7. ACTION HERO NAME: (name of character in last film you watched, last food you ate):
Billy Pizza
Even though it will bore my 3 readers, I have to rant about sports for a minute. Just to get it off my chest.
The Cards: Almost completed one of the biggest collapses in baseball history. Have been absolutely maddening to watch this year. But it looks like they might win this series. Of course, they have no chance to win the world series, I just hope this isn't the beginning of the end. They have some work to do this off-season.
The Colts: Once again, undefeated. And all that even though pretty much every defensive player on the roster either has been hurt or is hurt. We can't defend the run or pass, I just hope we can get our key guys back in enough time to gel before the playoffs. Peyton is the king of Indianapolis, I swear.
The Pacers: Getting no national recognition, and I'm PUMPED. I think if we can come together as a team, we can surprise a lot of people. Our roster has been overhauled, but the important components are there. Watch out.
The Irish: Notre Dame has really pissed me off at times this year. We started out ok (not great) and then absolutely got our asses handed to us against Michigan. They looked great (and still do by the way), we looked like the worst team in football. Then the same story for 3 quarters at Michigan State. Then the comeback. I am still COMPLETELY unsold on the defense (they pretty much suck) but if we can get better, while knocking off our mediocre schedule until USC, we have a good shot to go in there and beat the Trojans. And then, who knows? BCS or more baby. P.S. In my humble opinion, I would put Ohio State #1, Michigan #2 right now, and give Troy Smith the Heisman. Just a thought.
Whew!
Does anyone out there still watch Saturday Night Live? What about TIVO it? I mean, I know it's like an American institution these days, but I just can't seem to care about it...at all. When I was in college, I never missed an episode. It was like breathing, I just watched it without even thinking about it. And I can think of a few reasons why I don't any more. I can't seem to stay up that late. They lost almost all of my favorite cast members. The writing sucks. But none of those seem that good! First of all, we have DVR, so we could totally record it. Second, there are still some hilarious cats on there. Darrell Hammond. Andy Samberg. Maya Rudolph. Among others. Finally, could the writing have gotten much worse, when they're still coming out with things like the Chronic (what!) Cles of Narnia? I just can't seem to figure out my apathy. It's the same as the movie issue. Maybe I'm going through a midlife media crisis. Or maybe I'm getting old. Who knows. Anyway, I've been watching the top 100 moment in SNL history and laughing my ass off (although it's a pretty pathetic list, numbers-wise), and I thought I'd share my favorite SNL moment of all time with you. Feel free to do the same.
All-time greatest skit? One word: Cowbell.
I scrambled to the top of the precipice where Nick was waiting. "That was fun," I said. "You bet it was," said Nick. "Let's climb higher." "No," I said. "I think we should be heading back now." "We have time," Nick insisted. I said we didn't, and Nick said we did. We argued back and forth like that for about 20 minutes, then finally decided to head back. I didn't say it was an interesting story.
I'm starting to think that I'm burnt out on movies. I just can't get up the effort to go see a movie that I know in my heart is mediocre, let alone rent one. And the money required to see what might be a really good movie, but would be about the same viewed 3 months later on my big screen is really making it hard to justify. Then they come out on DVD and I'm wondering whether it will even be worth the time spent. So we end up lazing around, watching old Seinfelds or the latest season of Scrubs to hit DVD. Something about TV shows is just more appealing these days than the latest piece of crap outta Hollywood. I don't know what my apathy stems from, it's just there. Maybe it's the backlash of spending 4 straight unmarried years watching everything. I don't know. I do know that once we get the gumption to pop in a flick, it generally turns out pretty well. I've seen some good movies lately. It's just that nothing has struck my fancy as really "great" in a while. Anyhoo, here's what we've seen lately.
United 93: An excellent movie. Heart-pounding, sad, brimming with courage. See it.
The Rainmaker: Lacey read the book recently, and although I'd seen it, I promised her we could watch it. It's Francis Ford Coppola (I'd forgotten that!) with an all-star cast, but really not that great. Ok though.
John Q: This movie pissed me off at times, and got me teary-eyed at times. I hate how they make health care the bad guy with stupid crap, but the father-son scenes were excellent. I dunno, it was good and bad. Coulda been better.
I'm planning on seeing The Departed and The Prestige soon, both of which could definitely restore my faith in movies. Nolan and Scorcese are geniuses (a given) and probably my two favorite directors at this moment in time. BTW, Leo is fast becoming one of my favorite actors. Who woulda thunk it?
Update
Lacey correctly mentioned that we also saw Friends With Money recently, with a pretty great cast. It was interesting, odd, and forgettable. That's pretty much it, unfortunately.