Thumbs up . . .

Vann and I went to the movie tonight. We wanted to see the Nixon Frost movie, but it isn't playing anywhere in Birmingham, so we moved on to our second choice, Seven Pounds. We both had seen reviews that were not sure what to say about it, but they didn't seem too enthusiastic. I have now seen it and now I don't know what to say about it. But I thought it was a good movie. Will Smith effectively conveyed complex emotion without blowing something up. If you are into the Men in Black genre, you will be disappointed. The emotion was also conveyed at times without the use of, or actually in contrast to, the words spoken. The first part was frustratingly slow and obtuse; necessary to telling the story well. But if you want your heart ripped out, then it's the movie for you. Personally I have been a bit down lately, so about 2/3 into the movie I had to make Vann take my shoe laces away from me. But I would still recommend it. Just load up on a good anti-depressant before you go. I will not share any of the details, because I don't want to deprive anyone of the discovery. I think that is why the reviewers had a difficult time with it. If they had said too much about it, they would have given it away. As I was standing at the urinal after the movie a young man who was in the same theater was standing next to me. He was quiet and then he said, I supose to me, "Whew, that was some movie. You could have heard a pin drop at the end. But I guess there wasn't much you could say." I didn't think a comforting hug would have been appropriate there at the urinal, so I just agreed with him in hushed understanding tones. Then outside, as we were walking to the car, a young woman was telling someone all about the movie, even the ending. I assume she didn't like that person. Anyway, it was painful, all of which arose of out of true love. So if you are already suffering from that kind of pain, you might as well go while you are already hurting.

Another movie I would recommend is Slumdog Millionaire. While it sounds like an Adam Sandler/Woody Harrelson/Cuba Gooding, Jr. kind of ensemble movie, it is not. It is an Indian movie. Embedded in the unique plot line is a quick education about modern day India, or at least a part of it. Again, I don't want to talk about the plot because it is so cool, the kind of thing any writer would have wanted to concoct, especially the way it was converted to screenplay. It is not a movie for children, or if you just want or need cinema lite. It also has the theme of pain borne of true love. Apparently that is a common movie theme. Guess I never noticed before.

Anyway, I don't normally do movie reviews and almost never recommend movies, especially now that they cost more than a trip to Six Flags. I also don't recommend tennis racquets, guitars, or clothes, but that's a different story. But, these movies are interesting, entertaining and encourage a bit of self-reflection. So maybe it's a bargain. Or maybe it was just what I needed to see.

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