Sweet Nothing

What a marvelous day. I did absolutely NOTHING.

Today began late last night when, instead of going to bed early so I'd be rested for work, I stayed up and watched a movie until 2 AM. I may not be the target demographic for Mean Girls, but surprisingly I enjoyed it nonetheless. Great cast, solid performances, and a frighteningly accurate anthropological study of the high school social caste system that made me glad I'm no longer in high school. It also contained one of the most shocking “I did NOT just see that!” moments since Meet Joe Black. Which is probably a massive spoiler if you've only seen one of these movies...right, moving on then...

It was raining this morning but I didn't care. I got up and threw some waffles in the toaster oven and threw Serendipity into my computer. My ex would have loved this movie and had we still been together in 2001, we almost certainly would have seen it together. She was a John Cusack fan to the extreme of frequently saying how much I resembled the actor. Since I look more like a slightly overweight Rob Schneider/”Squiggy” type person, I should point out that she wore contact lenses and was very infatuated with me for some reason before coming to her senses and moving as far away as she could and then dumping me. That sounds bitter but the tone is meant to be ironic/humorous; it's just hard to convey tone in writing sometimes. Anyway, Serendipity was light and fun, and who wouldn't fall in love with Kate Beckinsale. Just don't analyze some of the decisions characters make too closely and the plot works. And definitely don't question anything as deep as faithfulness vs. true love. I would have enjoyed it more with a companion, but I had fun watching it all the same.

Finally around 1PM I got dressed and went to the post office to mail back my movies. The “nodding off” feeling wasn't so bad and didn't hit me until I thought about it. When I rolled down the window for the drivethru at Taco Bell, the fresh air revived me. And since I don't plan on driving for the next three days, I saw no problem with breaking my strict diet and having a treat for lunch. I didn't get any fatigue from the tacos nor did my face swell, but I did have a slight headache. For a change of pace in the afternoon I watched decidedly different movies from the previous ones, Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Freddy vs. Jason. I had seen the latter in the theater but had borrowed it from a friend to check out the alternate ending. When I didn't recognize anything in the beginning, I realized the other reason I wanted to borrow it; I had walked in late when it was in theaters and missed a good ten minutes of it.

As for the RE sequel, I thought it was AWESOME. Roger Ebert may consider it the 8th worst film of the year, but I'd bet he hasn't played the games. I saw scenes taken straight from cutscenes in the game, and some visually stunning action sequences and makeup. Plot elements and dialogue that made for great game moments were finally incorporated into the film. The first movie suffered from trying to tell its own story, and having a looser connection to the games. This one is a love letter to the fans, and it shows. Maybe critics should limit themselves to certain genres they enjoy. Certainly that was the feeling I had listening to some of the dumb comments on the Matrix commentary so far. There is something to be said for universal appeal certainly. The best comic book movies are the ones that everyone gets and enjoys, not just the people who've read the comics for years and had preconceived notions of what they'd like to see. Certainly my liking Mean Girls is evidence that, done right, a movie can appeal to a wider audience than intended. Yet there's nothing wrong with a cult favorite either, and a film dedicating itself to pleasing one niche of the population. There's something empowering about being part of a small group that “gets it”, and being able to rise above everyone else's negative opinions. That being said, I'm definitely going to see the inevitable RE3. And maybe next week, I'll compile a top and bottom 10 list of my own....