Superbad and some non-movie related thoughts...

To write about "Superbad" or not to write about "Superbad"?... That is the question before me tonight. I recently read a review of "Halloween" by Roger Ebert in which he said that the movie wasn't for people who don't like that kind of movie, but nevertheless was great at what it did. Ebert compared John Carpenter to Hitchcock, and by that rationale I would have to compare the people behind "Superbad" to John Hughes, John Landis and Woody Allen, well maybe not Woody Allen, but you get the idea. If you didn't see (and like) "There's Something About Mary", then don't start by watching this movie or you'll probably disown me or something. Oh, and by the way, if you didn't see "There's Something About Mary", then don't watch that just to determine if "Superbad" is for you, perhaps you should watch "The Breakfast Club" first, and if you really love that movie, then watch "There's Something About Mary", and after that you might, and I stress MIGHT be ready for "Superbad" Now if you feel like I've gone to extremes to distance myself from any responsibility of you being offended by this movie, you are correct. I was uncomfortable, and not entertained on many occasians while viewing "Superbad" last night. But, I also laughed so hard, well let's just say I laughed really hard. In the previews I had seen that one of the characters had a fake I.D. that claimed that his name was "McLovin". Now that was kind of funny, but nothing prepared me for how far they would run with that name, and how it stayed consistently funny, and even got funnier as the film progressed. What on the surface seems to be a raunchy teenage comedy, turns out to be at it's heart a raunchy, thoughtful, teenage comedy. Mom, don't go see this movie. Nate, what did you think?

Alright, I'm going to break tradition here a little, but it is out of concern for everyone. I have to talk about Halo, but I don't want to take up more room over at the family blog. Over here on my blog I talk about what I am most interested in; films. I feel that Halo actually is in many ways in the same category as film for me. I mean this, the anticipation of watching a good film, in seeing how it unfolds, in enjoying the details, in analyzing the experience afterwards, all of this is true of the Halo franchise for me as well. I bought Halo and the original XBox the day they came out. That evening as the game loaded up and Master Cheif crash lands on the mysterious ringed planet, my video game life would forever be changed. There are few moments in life that give you that wonder and awe, like when your first child is born, or you see "The Matrix" for the first time. So here I am on this new planet, what do I do next. There's no track, no single course of action. The planet is mine. There is a valley and in the distance gunfire, maybe I should go that way. That first level and that first valley seemed to go on forever (in a good way), and if the aliens got too scary I could run back, no invisible walls, that experience was so much fun. Then came Halo 2, it wasn't the huge leap that Halo had been, but now after I played through the game I started to take my combat experience online, against other battle hardened gamers. Now I'm not playing against computer programs, no, now I play against unique people, ten year olds, thirty year olds, girls, Army guys, inner city kids, everyone. Try to prorgram that into a computer. Now it's not always fun, getting schooled in Rumble Pit by a thirteen year old isn't good for the ego, but there's always a next round... Now comes Halo 3, just over a month away, and I know it's going to be better than all three of the "Star Wars" prequels combined. XBox 360 graphics whith a brand new game engine. New weapons, vehicles and characters. Wide open spaces. 4 player online co-op. Co-op, where players play as a team to go through the Halo story is sweet and fun, but now we get to do it with people around the world and there'll be four of us. Now Nate just got XBox live for his 360, and we got to chat and play a little the other night. I'm looking forward to the conversations we'll get to have and the fun we'll have playing over the next few weeks, but I'm really looking forward to having Rob over, he gets one controller, I get another and down in Louisiana Nate uses another one and we all paly Halo 3 together. Who'll get the most kills? That doesn't really matter, as long as we're killing aliens together.

Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier

I didn't go see any new movies this past week, but I watched an old favorite with my kids. I enjoy watching movies I have great memories of with people I love. Sometimes I watch these films, especially old Disney movies, and find that my memories are quite a bit better than the actual movie. It sucks to grow old and critical. Every once in a while I come across a film that stands the test of time, and "Davy Crockett" is one of them. This is a movie from Pop's childhood, one that was extremely popular in its day, yet it is timeless in spirit. What struck me in viewing it this time is how much it resembles "The Last of the Mohicans". For a eight year old, the references to scalping and the sticking-to-your-principles-theme are just as powerful in the Disney frontier movie as they are to an adult in the Daniel Day Lewis film. I think that since both movies have a similar lush look, the ideas of rugged self-reliance and God, family, country (in that order) it is appropriate to discuss them in the same review. "Davy Crockett" is one of those movies that shaped who I am today, at least it shaped my perspective on life. I think with so many options for entertainment avaliable today, it's good to revisit the great films from our childhood and share it with a new generation. Sure, I'm looking forward to watching "The Last of the Mohicans" with Jude for the first time (in like eight more years), but for now it is good to share some of the innocence of childhood, and share good memories from my own.

The Bourne Ultimatum

I kind of feel like I should be reserved in how I discuss this movie. If I say too much, you might be dissapointed, if I say too little, you might not realize how good this movie is. "The Bourne Identity" came out of nowhere for me. I had liked Matt Damon in his previous roles, so I went to see the movie with little else to guide my decision. The mix of action/espionage/character developement was right on in my opinion. It took two viewings of "The Bourne Supremacy" to really appreciate Paul Greengrass' directing style (let's just say it's best not viewed from the front row of the movie theater). "Supremacy" was a good sequel because it picked up right after the first one left off, and followed the characters along a logical course. When Bourne gets the initial answer to the question; "who am I", now he must figure out how he can live with the answer. "The Bourne Ulimatum" is the next step in Bourne's developement. Is it better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all? He found out in the first installment who he was, but who made him that way? Can brainwashed cold-blooded assassins find their humanity? And what happens when they do? These are everyday questions I ponder, so it's nice to finally have a series of movies that deals so maturely with the subject. Also, at the risk of giving away some good plot stuff, the best part of this movie isn't the awesome car crash, or the brilliant Bourne traps, rather it's the silent moments between Damon and Julia Stiles. That was worth the price of admission.