Horton Hears a Who and Boston Market

After spending the day at a waterpark for Courtney's birthday, the whole family went to see HORTON HEARS A WHO. It turned out to be a great show. Well directed and acted, it also had a fairly inspiring message. The whole family enjoyed it. We had fun identifying people that we all knew that personified characters in the movie. We unanimously agreed that Horton is Walker's friend Joe.

It was Courtney's birthday so she could have gone anywhere but she chose BOSTON MARKET. I had never eaten at there before that day. The chicken was very juicy and tasty and the kids loved their macaroni and cheese. A nice benefit of eating there is that the whole family ate for a fraction of what it would cost at a full service restaurant.

10,000 BC and Wendy's

I took the big kids to see 10,000 BC and left Audrey and Belle at home. We enjoyed the movie well enough, but it was not what we had expected. I thought it would be an action flick, and there is action in it. But it was also very much a love story that was a little overly sentimental for me. Courtney found the movie to be surprisingly suited to her tastes. Walker and Joe and I thought it was tolerable. Several scenes were a little too incredible (hushing an angry mob of thousands within two seconds, for example). But it is worth seeing on DVD.

Afterwards we went to a Thai restaurant, then a Chinese Buffet, and finally WENDY'S. It was 10:15pm and the first eateries had closed already. Even Wendy's dining area was closed so we drove-through and ate at home where the company and conversation was unsurpassed. How was Wendy's? When I got home I realized that they did not give me my over-priced drink. Bummer.

Vantage Point and Ole' Ole'

We knew VANATGE POINT was an action flick, and so we weren't expecting much from it otherwise. Part of the way through the movie, however, we found ourselves being pleased by how cleverly the story was being told. It was like riding an amusement park ride over and over again except that it was still not predictable on the fourth ride. This movie kept me in my seat when I normally might have visited the snack bar.

The cast was attractive, the acting was convincing, the action was intense, the camera work was interestingly unusual, the plot line was creative enough -- but at some point late in the show the whole thing "jumped-the-shark."

Without revealing too much about the storyline I will say that at about the halfway mark in the show I thought the subtly stated message of the movie was going to be "things are not always as they appear." But by the end, I felt like I was being force-fed the message that "John Wayne is not dead." One man with a gun, a car, and enough righteous anger can overcome the laws of physics and physiology as applied to car crashes, foot pursuit, gunfights, and even time. One man is all that is needed to conquer evil (no matter how sophisticated and well-prepared are the bad guys). And if good, honest, well-meaning Americans were to assist in anyway possible, go the extra mile, and help until it might hurt, they will find that everything works out well in the end and they will be unscathed and happy.

After eating too much popcorn at the movie, we both had salads at OLE' OLE' and found that to be the perfect amount. I highly recommend their Cobb Salad for the excellent taste and more than adequate volume. Audrey had a Ceasar Salad that was nothing more than a bowl of lettuce - sufficient for her that night, but nothing special.

DVDs Briefly

Even Money: three plot-lines intersect as people find themselves involved in gambling problems. Small twist at the end is mildly interesting. Cast is far better than the movie. No real sympathy for any of the characters. Maybe it was a good book, not such a great movie. Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito, Ray Liota, Tim Roth. Don't bother to rent it.

Rescue Dawn: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn: navy pilot shot down, pow, jungle survival, eventual rescue. Not bad, not great. Not much personality. Maybe rent it.

The Invisible: highly improbable story of high school classes at odds, supernatural elements are interesting, transformation of lead antagonist from thug to sexy beauty feels unbelievable, no real sympathy for the characters involved. Don't bother to rent it.

Next: another stupid movie concept, Nicolas Cage as hero of the most improbable plot line imaginable. Has some mildly interesting action sequences, but the basic premise is so shabby so as to make this movie pretty silly. Maybe rent it if you need a movie playing in the background.

Hairspray: Singing, dancing, chunky girls, John Travolta in drag, 60s hair-styles, Christopher Walken dancing. Everyone else loves this movie. My daughter watched it over and over. I couldn't sit through the whole thing. Rent it for other people to watch -- you will probably love it, too. I didn't.

Deck the Halls: Christmas movie with Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito. The ideas in this movie are funnier than the movie itself. The humor seemed forced and the plot highly contrived. Rent it to watch at Christmas time if you need to fill your empty house with the sound of something but you don't wanna be tied to the screen watching it.

Civic Duty: The star is fun to watch, the plot is creatively simple, kinda represents the paranoid mindset of that might have existed in the minds of some people in the time immediately post-911 WTC attacks. The movie is well done, with a minimal plot that is heavy on character exploration. The star is a study of a man under stress, much like Bruce Dern would have portrayed in the past. Rent this DVD. Get the popcorn and diet coke ready ahead of time.