We ventured out to see the midnight showing of The Dark Knight last week, and I haven’t written about it until now because I’ve been so busy, but I figured I better make some time for it before I forget, so here it goes…

It all began when we found out our little local theater would be showing it at midnight, and since we’re usually up with the new baby at that time, we figured why not be in a movie feeding the baby instead of at home?  So we got together a group who wanted to see it, and that’s when we found out the movie was 2 hours and 40 minutes!  Oops, the baby is never up THAT long but too late to back out now!  Besides, after all the hype involved, I was actually looking forward to it.

Since almost a week has passed and I’m on little sleep, some of my memory of the details have faded, so this will be a very vague reveiw.  I’d have to say the movie was exactly what I was expecting.  I was hoping it would be a little better, especially after all the media hype, but it was exactly what I thought it would be – and that’s not anywhere NEAR the 9.6 people gave it on imdb.com.  Since I’m not a huge fan of superhero / comic book movies (yet I keep going to see them; not sure what’s up with that), I really wasn’t expecting this to be one of my favorite movies ever.   Heath Ledger did have a VERY good performance as the Joker, but was it Oscar-worthy?  I personally don’t think so.  I do think he will win it though, but let’s just wait and see if he is nominated and who he is up against.  And it’s not like I ever agree with who wins those things anyway; for me it’s just a good excuse to throw a fun party 🙂

But back to the movie…  there was a lot of violence.  I can’t believe what they’re allowed to call PG-13 these days.  Although I suppose it wasn’t really anything short of what you’d see on tv, and there was actually little to no blood and gore, so maybe that explains it.  The children I saw in the theater were all asleep by the time the movie was over anyway.  And yes, I did think the movie went on too long – it wasn’t a short 2 hours and 40 minutes, and it didn’t really fly by.  As my husband pointed out, way too much dialogue for a superhero movie; friends agreed and added that the Batman movies are like that.  I’ve only seen the Tim Burton Batman from 1989, which I’m told is just a different take on the whole thing and doesn’t really fit into the timeline anywhere, and I’ve also seen Batman Forever, which I really enjoy.  So that brings me to my 2nd favorite villian next to the Joker – Harvey “Two-Face” Dent.  I just love what Tommy Lee Jones did with the character in Batman Forever, and I was pleased when I realized that Harvey Dent was going to turn into Two-Face in The Dark Knight, but overall I was disappointed because Aaron Eckhart’s  Two-Face was pretty lame compared to Jones’.  The makeup was pretty good, although I actually enjoy the more comic book look that they gave Tommy Lee Jones versus the scary look they gave Eckhart for the newest film.

Christian Bale’s Batman was alright, though I couldn’t stand his gravelly Batman voice – it reminded me of the Friends episode where Joey is selling cologne at a department store…  If you’re a fan of the show and you know what episode I’m talking about, find it and listen to his cologne adversary say “Hombre?” – sounds just like Christian Bale’s Batman and every time he spoke in the movie I was tempted to giggle as I thought of that hillarious Friends episode.  Maggie Gyllenhaal was pretty good too; although in scenes with both her and Heath Ledger’s Joker, it was weird for me to think that he played her brother’s gay lover in Brokeback Mountain, but that’s Hollywood for you, it’s cyclical.

And since we’re on the subject of Heath Ledger’s Joker, it was very impressive.  Not the kind of movie or role I’d pick for being Oscar-worthy, but that’s my personal opinion and like I said, we’ll just see happens as Oscar time draws near.  He was pretty scary, and I’d have to say Hollywood can mourn him as a good actor because when I was in the hospital less than a week ago, I watched 10 Things I Hate About You (the hospital’s limited cable selections + baby up at night = what else do I watch but this bad movie?).  Ledger was in that movie, and he couldn’t even shed his Australian accent back then!  Seeing where he was in that movie versus the Joker did give me appreciation for his work (as the Joker, not in 10 Things…).

And another reason I was excited to see this movie was that I had heard that 80% of it was shot in my former hometown (well, sort of, I grew up in the suburbs), Chicago.  It was neat to see all the familiar landmarks, although they did try to anonymize the city so it could be recognized as Gotham City instead of Chicago.  I was especially looking forward to the special effects involved in the Gotham City Hospital scene since I read an article about it ahead of time, but I have to say I was a little disappointed in how it actually looked on screen.  I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn’t seen this movie yet, but I will say that the vacant Brach’s Candy Factory on Chicago’s west side doubled for the Gotham City Hospital.  And seeing the Joker in a nurse’s dress was pretty funny in itself…

Overall, I had a lot of fun seeing this movie.  I think much of it had to do with the midnight showing and attending with a large group of friends.  The movie was exactly what I expected, although I can say I was hoping for better…  but again, I’m not a fan of comic books, and I’ve never read one in my life.

While attempting to come up with a brilliant post, I searched the “Latest Headlines” tab on my browser and came up with a link to a strange Guinness Record that a large group of people were trying to set (since it has never been done before). With the assistance of one good samaritan, the group was able to set the record. Also, check out the name of the hero who saved the day (Spelling may be off, but…). I have only one thing to say to this: Some people will do ANYTHING.

Last night I went to a show, live stage production that is. The show has already been mentioned in one of the other Tangent blogs, but I have a little different take on the whole thing. I happen to like “The Music Man”. I liked the movie version, and I’ve liked most of the stage productions I’ve seen. There have only been a couple, but that is because they tried doing too much with too little. You need to have a large cast for this, including children. While you don’t need a whole town, you do need enough on stage to let the audience believe there is a whole town.

It is a light hearted musical to be sure, most late 1950’s to early 1960’s American musicals were light hearted. It was the mood of the country.

I’m not sure why I enjoy this show so much. Could it be I remember my father singing 76 Trombones when I was younger? Could it be that I enjoyed teasing my sister about her only career choice (Marian the Librarian)? Did I have a subliminal desire to be in a boys’ band?– Nah.. I really don’t know. Maybe it is because they didn’t play this on the TV as often as they did “The Sound of Music”? It could also be that since I am a big Beatles fan, having hear “Till there was you” in “The Music Man” just made the show more interesting.

Anyway to this day, I enjoy a well performed version of “The Music Man”, and Saturday’s performance was one of the best I’ve seen live. Believable actors, good chemistry, nice set design made this show flow. I’ll point you to the other blog for a more in depth review, I don’t need to waste my words, when something is already written. The only thing I disagree on is I like the show, he doesn’t. I would like to add that I really enjoyed the young actress who played Marian. It could be some hometown bias here, but I really enjoy watching her on stage.

Yep, more on coffee. Well sort of. This is really a birthday post. Yesterday, it ended around two hours ago, would have been my wife’s 45th birthday, if she had lived that long. It was the 5th I’ve celebrated without her. The first, I put a personal ad in the paper, I invited friends and family to show up at ‘our’ little coffee shop. Very few did. The second year, I don’t remember what I did, our little shop closed its doors before I could celebrate that day. The 3rd year, I went to a coffee shop and sat with some friends who were their, they knew nothing of the day. The fourth year, I went to a winery with some friends. This year, I went to another coffee shop. I ordered one cup of coffee and a blueberry scone. I even had something different as my refill. They had Chocolate-Raspberry for the Decaf flavor. I’m not a big decaf fan, but I had that anyway. It was her favorite coffee flavor. It was a good morning.

Before I begin, I must tell you that I am probably one of the few people who agonize even considering watching yet another production of The Music Man. I saw a high school production of it years ago, I saw it on Broadway during its most recent revival and I have seen the Robert Preston movie so many times that it just makes me want to pull my hair out (someone had the nerve to get it the DVD for me for Christmas years ago). However, I attended a local production of it and I must say that (while still not the world’s biggest proponent of the show) I really enjoyed the production.

All of the fluff and goodness were still present but the performances and entire production was very well done. I had a vested interest because some of my hometown residents were in it and some of the other people involved have been on stage with me before. The lady who played Maude Dunlop was the drama director of my high school’s production of Annie when I played Rooster. The actress portraying Alma Hix is someone I admire greatly and is a joy to know and work with.

I have to say that the gentleman in the role of Marcellus was perhaps the most talented performer on the stage. He was in our theatre’s production of School House Rock last September. He stole every scene he was in with his captivating presence and is a genuine triple threat (able to act, sing, and dance and make it look flawless).

Another scene-stealer was the young boy who stepped into the role of Winthrop. Everything about him just made you want to run up and give him a great big hug. His lisp, his shyness, everything about him was adorable. One of those fluff parts but enjoyable nonetheless.

I would have to say that the real star was the entire ensemble cast in the big production numbers. The routine for “76 Trombones” harkened back to my days in the marching band with precision drills, pinwheels, and straight lines. And yes, there actually was not seventy-six in the pit or on stage as someone sitting next to me pointed out 😀 . After the segment, the applause was so great that you would have thought that it was the show’s finale.

So, everything about the production was very well done. I am still not a fan of the show itself, but maybe in another 10 years I will be able to endure another trip to River City. I would rather watch Mr. Preston as Centauri another great con-man from The Last Starfighter.

If you haven’t seen it yet, do yourself a favor and get on down to jibjab.com to see the video they have for this year, then go ahead and put yerself into it!  I was going to but in the end decided not to.  I was also going to post a Youtube video but their recompression doesn’t do it justice- just go to jibjab.com and get campaignin’!  Still reading?  Well let me just say that I thought this was every bit as good as their original four years ago.  I was disappointed in their second one that seemed to have a leaning toward the Democratic side, but they seem to be back in the original non-partisan comedy routine.  Now would you do yourself a favor and just see it already? 😀

My boyfriend has asked me to marry him and it was in a way that totally surprised me. He took me to George Bible Park and handed me a lightsaber. We started to fight and after killing him many times, my friend Monica and her boyfriend, Jesse, came at us from both sides of the bridge we were on. I went after Monica and killed her, along with Jesse. As I was killing Jesse, Tony asked me to marry him! I cannot believe that it has happened, but I’m not going to say it was a bad thing. I couldn’t be any happier at the moment.

Since my blogging friends are big movie buffs, I thought I would mention a couple of movies that I have watched recently.  While they likely saw them in the theater when released, I of course watched them on DVD which provide nice extras in the form of deleted scenes and such.  Recently I checked out from the library called The Transporter.  This movie was about a professional driver named Frank Martin (played by Jason Statham, someone I had never heard about before this movie), and I don’t mean racing.  This driver works for whoever needs him, no questions asked.  He is organized to a fault and has a strict code, or set of rules he follows.  When I say organized to a fault I mean he has spare suits neatly folded and wrapped in the trunk of his car for those occasions where someone tries to off him and messes up his clothes.  Of course, he is well versed in the martial arts and can hold his own against over half a dozen opponents at once though with his normal GQ demeanor you would never guess until the first roundhouse.

At the start of this movie you find him making a transaction on the phone and then he is off on business, precisely on time.  He stops in front of a bank, the alarms go off, and the clients run out the bank to his car.  Only there’s a slight problem- the clients have suddenly changed the negotiated terms and that just won’t do.  No leaving until things are settled, Frank’s way of course.  Never mind the sirens getting closer and closer as he refuses to leave until the terms are met.  Once they are about to be busted, they settle things, Frank starts his car, and they are off on a chase that involves a lot of destruction and closeups of him changing gears.  When the dust finally settles, the pursuit has been shaken and his obligation met and paid for (the precise amount- see the movie for what I mean) he heads home, calmly changes the license plates on his car with one of several backups and walks in, eventually joined by an inspector who noticed Frank’s car happened to match the description of the getaway vehicle.  If only the plates matched…

Anyway, soon he is off on his next assignment.  On it, he happens to break one of his own rules and the movie takes off from there.  Lots of action in this movie as you can imagine.  I recommend it to action buffs.

I didn’t realize there was a sequel to this movie until just last week when I saw Transporter 2 at the library (can you tell where I get the majority of movies I watch? 😀 ) just waiting for me to snatch it up.  I just watched it the other day and it was every bit as action-packed and entertaining as the first.  This time, however, the transportation job he has is a bit more legit.  Once he takes care of some would-be car-jackers at the beginning, he straightens up his clothing, complains about being off schedule, and heads off.  Of course he is precisely on time when he arrives, meaning he must have made up for the time on his way.  Eventually, he learns the hard way eventually that his clients are the target of someone who is not too happy with the work one of them is doing in cleaning up crime.  Long story short, Frank becomes the victim of something more than his own misdeeds and is falsely accused of being involved, a big chase scene occurs, and Frank is left to his own to take care of the real criminals and clear his name.  The inspector (played by François Berléand who has a very long resumé at IMDB) is back, this time on vacation at Frank’s place, getting caught up in the middle.  In both movies he is an invaluable resource for Frank helping him get things taken care of.

In any event, again I highly recommend these movies for those interested in action flicks.  Transporter 3 is due out in November of this year and I will probably be seeing it in the theater instead of waiting for the DVD.  For those who know me, that’s a recommendation in itself.  😛

In the last few days, my recovery from tthe emergency c-section has not been going well.  I awoke from a nap Thursday night feeling awful, but luckily my medication kicked in, and I was able to enjoy the midnight showing of The Dark Knight – more on that later.  Friday we met Grandma in South Bend Indiana which is halfway between Chicago where she lives and Ohio where we live to transfer my kids for a week’s vacation with Grandma.  I felt awful all day, and I started shivering in the restaurant.  I knew there was something really wrong when I went outside into the 90° oven and actually enjoyed it – uh oh.

When I got back to Ohio, I had an appointment with my doctor for her to take out my staples (yes, they had to actually use staples to put me back together, yuck) and that actually went well.  Hardly hurt at all, just a little pinch, and it didn’t take long.  I brought up my symptoms to my doctor and she said everything was normal, and I believed her because when I had my other babies, I would heal up right away, so I figured these were all just side effects from the cesarean.  But I took another nap when I got home and when I woke up, I felt like I was dying – that’s really the only way to describe it.  We took my temperature and it was 102.7°, so of course I had chills, the sweats, headache, and pain.  A quick look on the internet gave us the diagnosis:  mastitis – a common infection often suffered by breast-feeding mothers.  We called the doctor and they wouldn’t prescribe any antibiotics over the phone, so we headed to the hospital for the 2nd time in a week…

The admissions people panicked when they saw us coming in with the baby, but we quickly explained it wasn’t him, thank goodness.  Anyway, after a quick look, the ER doctor confirmed our internet diagnosis and sent us home with a prescription.  But since all the pharmacies were closed in our town, they gave me some medicine right then and there.  “Name and birthdate”, they always ask at the hospital before they give you your meds, and I was like, FLASHBACK!  I thought I was done with this for awhile!  But for spending a Friday night in the ER, it wasn’t so bad; we were actually in and out in an hour.  If this had happened in suburban Chicago where I used to live, it would have taken 3-4 hours to wait our turn in the ER, and they would have wheeled a few body bags past us while we were waiting.  So today, I feel much better comparatively, and since the girls are with grandma, I slept until 11:30, so I’m sure that also helped.  The antibiotics seem to be working already, and it was nice to wake up and not feel like I was dying, something that hasn’t happened for a few days.  I also feel better that now I think my recovery from everything is headed in the right direction, whereas when I felt crappy and didn’t know why, it was discouraging because I was thinking, will I ever feel better?

My husband is peeved at my OB-GYN for not checking me more thoroughly during my visit with her yesterday.  I agree; Idid mention my symptoms and she was too dismissive, but being a man (especially one who won’t listen to doctor’s orders – if the doctor tells him to do something or recommends some sort of exam or test and he doesn’t want to do it, he just won’t) I don’t think he understands how important to me it is to have a woman OB-GYN, and she is the only one in town.  Besides, I do like her, she is gentle and she has been through 3 c-sections herself, so she knew exactly what to tell me about what to expect.  If we do have any more children, there will be some debate about which doctor we will use.  Well, anyway…  off to Walmart to get my third prescription this week!

I was going to make a quick post on the new Batman movie, but that can wait. Watching the movie made me think of other things.

Earlier post is in Bold print, newer thoughts are in the regular type.

Things like if doing good makes things go bad, are you still doing good, are you in the right?

Heroes in movies are always trying to do good and the right thing. It doesn’t always work out for them. We see that in everyday life too. We try to do what is right, or good, and sometimes the way things work out, a different path should have been chosen. We can tend to dwell on this, constantly asking “What if?”. Dwelling the “should ofs” and “could ofs” will inhibit our chances of make the correct choices on later issues. We can’t always be assured that doing the right thing, means things will turn out good for us. Sometimes being right is worth the effort, no matter what the outcome.

What would it take to go from good to bad, or bad to good? Is it that big of a difference?

This is something I have some experience with. I know exactly how far I can be pushed. It isn’t so much of going from good to bad, but it is going from easy going to violent or fairly relaxed to a nervous wreck. Major events in ones life can do a number on how you behave. You think beforehand that you know how you will react, but once in the situation, you did something you never would have believed possible. For me those experiences revolve around protecting the weak and innocent, and protecting and loving my family and friends. Since I have been in these situations more than once, I know I would put my own health/welfare on the line if anyone I care about is in trouble. This is something deeply ingrained in who I am. I also know that if pushed too far, I could fall apart. I’ve been close to that too.

At what point do you have too much power?
My feelings is that you can have too much power, when power is your goal. I’ve always found that the people who handle power the best, are the ones that really don’t want it in the first place.

What sort of circumstance would break your will? What would drive you forward? What would stop you dead in your tracks?

I had a daughter in a very serious car accident. I did things I never thought I could do. At the time it was the most difficult life experience I ever had. Just the possibility of losing a child brought me to the brink of stopping my dead in my tracks, but I pushed through and drove forward. Not much more than a year after that, my wife was told she had cancer. 1 1/2 months later it would take her life. This loss was almost to great for me. Even with my children needing me, I almost fell apart. They pulled me back from the abyss. This was something that broke my will. If my girls had not been there, or I had people pushing me in a different direction, the person I am today would not be around. Frightening thought is that I don’t know who or even if I would be today. There are things that happen, that will change the person you are today. Sometimes for the good, sometimes not. I never take abrupt changes in behavior for granted any more.