Recent Happenings

This past weekend went by in a flurry. Friday night, since I was a little tired from going to The Office with Munsen^® (same night, same time, every week- just like clockwork), so I played with Leela & Fry for a bit and then worked on some personal projects before hitting the bed somewhat late. Saturday morning, I was awakened at 9:30 by my friend Les as we planned to take her 2.5-year-old, Jamie, to see "Cars" that afternoon. We decided to catch the digital screening at Merrifield at 4-ish.

When I arrived at the Multiplex, I see Les and Jamie comes running up to me and she asks him what he's been listening to in the car and he replied, "ABBA music." [At K8E's (his aunt) wedding, I taught him to request ABBA to the DJ, so he's been asking for ABBA ever since. I try to raise them right, you know.] Les then proceeded to ask him what song he was listening to and he says, "Dancing Queen song." That was the cutest thing I have ever heard. As we journey to our theater, we notice that there are signs everywhere reading "Happy 8th Birthday, Saydah" (or something) and, sure enough, right in front of the digital theater there's a party going on and entering the theater we're going into. And there are all these 8 year-olds making tons of noise, to which the management berated them to make sure they don't make noise during the show.

The film started and we were transported into this wonderful, beautifully-realised world. The extra benefit to digital projection is the fact that it's basically being projected via a hard-drive, so the picture is the most pristine image one can have and "Cars" delivered. Les was just as impressed with the movie and Jamie even did fairly well for a 2 hour movie. Now, I liked it, but it didn't affect me as much as "The Incredibles" or "Toy Story" did. Taking the basic plot of the Michael J. Fox, movie "Doc Hollywood" and turning it into a story about anthropomorphic cars doesn't make it more original but it still has plenty of heart to go around. Grade: B

Sunday night, I met up with Lucky Charms and A. at the Kennedy Center for the Steppenwolf Theatre production of Don Delillo's new play, "Love-Lies-Bleeding," with John Heard and the original cast. This play about the remifications of euthanasia was B.O.-ring. I think I actually fell asleep for about five minutes in the first 20 minutes! The first third of this play was just many character moments and there was no realy plot to speak of until things start happenning over the last hour. There was no emotional investment in these cardboard characters and no real ethical questions raised over the situation of a man in a persistant vegetative state and his family members who want to euthanise him. I did go into this thinking it would make me think, much like "Dead Man Walking" or "The Normal Heart," but it just left me tired and wanting my $20 back. Poor A. hated it, too. Grade: D