(improvise variations on Annie Lennox as you wish)
I find myself contemplating how many hours of leave I'm about to use vs. how many of those days off will be hectic. It's pretty much a one-to-one ratio. Seems a shame, somehow. Maybe I'll take some time in January to recover.
Still to see this holiday season: The Return of the King; Bad Santa; Master and Commander. Saw The Cooler last night. Perhaps not truly great, but entertaining, and a fresh concept for a casino flick. There were few really cringe-y violent moments. And it was most refreshing to see regular bodies in the sack (Wm. H. Macy and Maria Bello) having unspectacular sex that represents just itself. I mean, the sex in the film is great, even though it's not great sex. And I loved the look of Macy's motel and motel room and wardrobe. They were having fun with color and light in this one.
The Alec Baldwin casino owner is a parody of the cinematic stereotype---it looks for a while as if we're going to be asked to appreciate his old-style Vegas purism, but in the end, albeit in a scene that presses credibility, he is told off in human terms, and that's kinda fun. There's another turn subsequently that so surpasses credibility as to wink at the self-conscious tongue-in-cheek nature both of it and of those earlier moments. And, of course, throughout is the running winky required suspension of disbelief at the protagonist's luck, or lack thereof.
And I confess I have a fondness for Vegas movies.
I also enjoyed going by myself---it had been a while. I like seeing movies alone now and then. Walking out alone, without returning to social discourse, the movie can wash over me as I head down the street or into the alley or around a corner or into a parking garage, and the mere walking and seeing and hearing feels surreal and somehow full of movieworldness.
