Word To The Ys

Courtney here.  I just have to tell you about this movie we watched the other night.  I Am Legend arrived from Netflix via our mailbox several weeks ago.  Okay, probably sometime in early July when things were too insane for both of us to sit down and watch a movie together.  Let me say this for the record: Joe chose this movie.  I had heard of it, but knew next to nothing about it before the other night.  Just that it was post-apocalyptic or whatever and had the almost always odious Will Smith starring.  But I love my husband, so we waited all this time and finally sat down to watch it.  Now all I can say is: Joe, why did you make me watch this movie?!?

Joe here.  First off, I didn’t MAKE you watch this movie.  In fact, I offered to send it back since we’d had it so long without watching it.  There’s something in myself that I find myself having to fight off on occasions like this.  The movie had been in our house for weeks.  The shiny newness of it had worn off, and I wasn’t as enthused about watching it.  Why?  I think I’ve been brainwashed by a consumer culture to only want the freshest, most cutting edge “thing”, be it a movie, CD, or video game.  I can choose to avoid the seduction of the shiny, and I did.  But I digress.

I too knew little about this movie, other than what Courtney stated above, and that geeks (a term I use with subdued affection) everywhere were complaining about how the computer generated “creatures” were too fake looking.  With that in mind, and having never read the book, I wasn’t sure what this was all about and thought we’d give it a spin and form our own opinions.  After all Will Smith has been trying so hard to be a serious actor for years now…  So Courtney, what were your overall impressions of the film?  (Or at least the parts you watched)

So, as Joe alludes, I did not in fact watch the entire movie.  That’s because we started watching it and about 20 minutes into the thing I started to become profoundly uncomfortable.  And by 45 minutes runtime I turned to Joe, asked him to pause the film, and told him I was quitting.  For the first time in Movie Project history. 

The basic premise, so you won’t be blindsided like I was, is this: a doctor (played by the unparalleled Emma Thompson) interviews on a morning show program that a controlled version of the smallpox virus has been found to completely cure cancer in clinical studies.  So she has cured cancer.  Then the words: THREE YEARS LATER appears at the bottom of the screen depicting a desolate scene.  Will Smith is the only man living in New York City, and everything is a wreck.  Plants are growing in the streets and animals are roaming free, but no other people are visible.  Just Will Smith and his dog, hunting deer and seeming concerned about getting home before dark.  In flashback scenes you see that Will Smith is some incredible virologist, and he was working on a vaccine to fix what the “cancer cure” had begotten…which is crazy mutation and an outbreak.  Will Smith has to evacuate his wife and daughter out of NYC before it is sealed off from the world, but he won’t leave because, in his words, “This is Ground Zero”; meaning, this is where he must continue his work for a cure because it started here.

I know it’s nuts, but in the first 2 minutes I was disenchanted because, seriously?  How could Emma Thompson ever be responsible for the destruction of mankind?!?

It’s true, Emma Thompson has got to be my favorite actress these days, and as such could not be responsible for the destruction of mankind.  But that’s beside the point, Will Smith’s character has clearly been surviving just fine, but is struggling to deal with his isolation which, after over 3 years, is starting to get to him.  With his trusty canine companion at his side he maintains the facade of normal life by creating false social situations to keep his mind from the truth of his horrific reality.  In his dreams he is haunted by flashbacks of his last moments among his family.  If anything, these were the parts that really got to me.  The responsibility for the safety of his family and his obligation of duty really made me reflect on my own life.  But to take a step back, I have to imagine the first 15 minutes of the “present day” seemed to me to be pretty clearly geared toward guys.  I mean, I’m not a hunter but there is something very primal about driving a Shelby GT500 through the ravaged streets of New York at top speed with one hand and firing a high-powered rifle out the window to “hunt” with the other.

And here I thought you weren’t a typical dude.  Okay, you aren’t, and I know that because you actually had to Google to find out what the make and model of that car was.  But that sounded like you were.

Anyway, I don’t know how much I want to say?  Would saying more give too much away?

Probably, and we’d snark back and forth for hours, so let’s spare the nice people and skip to the opinion part, shall we?  Overall, I found the movie pretty simple and predictable, but still engaging on an emotional level.  It was more than just adrenaline too, Will Smith did manage to capture some sympathy for the character and the beginning and middle of the movie, but as others critics (nerds) have suggested, I found the ending too easy and would have liked to seen something deeper.  I think I should probably just read the book.  Court?

I’m sorry, but that dude is always gonna be The Fresh Prince to me.  “Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upsidedown…”  Oh, the movie?  Well, I only watched half of it because it was awful.  It was horribly gut-wrenching and I didn’t think it needed to be.  I cannot recommend it.  Do you like dogs?  People?  Life?  Emma Thompson?  Don’t watch this movie!

Posted in Papa Post, The Movie Project | 8 Comments »

Hello all you WttY’s readers,

As Mama XY (aka Courtney) is out on vacation, I thought I’d take a moment for a guest post from the eldest of the Ys (Joe), so you can get your fix.

Funnily enough, I JUST missed a chance to chat with my wife.  I mean JUST missed.  Like by seconds.  I felt a sudden sense of sadness that I couldn’t get ahold of her and couldn’t talk about what we’ve been up to.  It’s a strange sensation because we are so often in contact.  It’s one of those things you don’t realize is such a huge part of your life until it’s missing.

I went into this week with the expectation that I’d get a better idea of what Courtney goes through on a regular basis and while I think I’ve gotten an idea of that, I think I’ve come to something deeper.  I can see many pros and cons to this sort of work (and for anyone who thinks this isn’t “work”, I suggest you try it for a week.)  I have developed an even greater respect for single parents.  There are parts that I can see would get old REALLY quick (i.e. laundry, dishes, cleaning) and the parts that make the rest of it worth it (i.e. playing the board game “Sorry” with Ollie, Max quizzing me on state capitols that he knows better than I do, Seth playing “fetch” and “peek-a-boo” with a pair of his brother Ollie’s underwear.*)

But this time has also had me reflecting on what I’m doing with my life, something Courtney could tell you I’ve been doing for a while now.  Not just the old cliche question, but something more.  This is where that “something deeper” I mentioned above comes in.  I’m still not sure that I can put it into words accurately, but I can feel the things that are not as important to me fading into my past.  It’s helping me to focus on the parts of my world that stand out as the most important.  Maybe I’m just getting older, or maybe it’s the fact that this week has brought front-and-center the way my boys are growing up around me.  I’ve been focused on myself an awful lot lately and I think I’ve been missing some big picture stuff as a result.

So what does all this mean?

First, I think it means that I will be more patient and reflective with my boys.  I was talking to Max past his bedtime last night about how being a parent isn’t something that you’re born knowing how to do exactly, and sometimes parents get frustrated or tired or make mistakes.  He expressed his relief that this week will soon be over and things will be “back to normal”.  At first I felt really bad because I’d gotten “grumpy” a couple times this week so far; barking at the boys when they weren’t listening.  Max went on to explain that things would be “back to normal” because Papa would have Mama to talk to when he gets frustrated, and Mama and Papa could work together to take care of Max and his brothers.  Max hit it right on the head, while either Courtney or I CAN take care of the these crazy monkeys alone, we truely work best as a team.  I couldn’t have a better teammate in the whole world.

Next, I feel this reflection time in my life is coming to a close.  I’ve had enough introspection and I’m ready to move on to some changes I want to make.  It’s time to schedule up my projects and ideas, and get moving.  While my family is my first priority, I need to move forward with my personal goals.  I can’t “think about it” forever.

Finally, and most importantly I think this week means I need to play more, with my friends, with my boys, and especially with my wife.  Time is passing by and there’s more to be lived and loved and enjoyed.

Take care folks,

Papa

*Yes, the underwear were clean, give me a LITTLE credit.

Posted in Joe, Max, Ollie, Papa Post, Seth | 5 Comments »