Thursday, July 21, 2005

Plodding Along



The depths of summer have come, we're swimming lots in the community pool, popsicles and fruits are primary snacks, the temperature has soared at last, summer school is over. D and I caught a movie on the weekend thanks to D's sister Mx and her husband Uncle Bb, both assisted by their little dog, Molly, who's been leash-sensitized by my daughter M (leash in hand, she likes to chase Molly because there's nothing quite like experimenting with a dog on a leash...how much they're like little toys!). On this lovely night out away from the children, we ate at a fine BBQ restaurant and then saw "The Wedding Crashers". Very funny movie...very adult, Vince Vaughn made for a hilarious fall guy and Owen Wilson was smooth with his serious presentation of lies.

Yesterday we caught Charlie and Chocolate Factory and were quite entertained. The film was a wee bit too slow or quiet at moments for 4-yr old M (she said on numerous occasions that she wanted to go home), but J and I loved it and A and D enjoyed it quite a bit. Johnny Depp did an excellent job at at showing the contempt Willy Wonka had for the concept of family. I was glad to see Charlie never make a mistake and at the end, won over Willy Wonka to the importance of family, to love's sweetness. I much preferred the ending here to the one in Gene Wilder's movie...I say that ducking and covering to avoid the wrath of original-movie supporters. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved Wilder's Willy Wonka...still do. Wilder's Wonka believed his whimsical, isolationist philosophy of life was the correct philosophy and through the end, that philosophy was never challenged. He was arrogant and was rewarded by Charlie in one step. Depp's on the other hand was told by Charlie that his philosophy was wrong. Depp's Wonka had to change to win Charlie over. Visually, you cannot compare the two because time has allowed the creators of the remake to spoof up the Chocolate Factory. Computers have allowed the Oompa Loompas to look even more alike, thereby building up their absurdity.

In the end, I walked out of the theater satisfied (and full of candy because while we're trying to be candy-free all summer, I thought it unjustly cruel to take the children to a movie theater to watch a movie about candy and not allow them to actually eat any).

An update on our summer trip...we've abandoned our long road trip. Sadly, regrettably. D and I decided that while spending the money is not a problem, in truth, due to A's emotional difficulties, 10 days on the road might be too much for him to endure. So we'll be doing short trips. In a couple of weeks, we'll be experimenting with a motor home - "camping". My brother and sister and their respective families will be there, too, all of us camping out at Newport Dunes. We've never done it before, so it should be interesting. If we like it, we'll plan something bigger next year...something further away such as Sequoia National Park or the Grand Canyon.

My kids does so much better when they're with their cousins. I can't explain it, but the stress level decreases for us tenfold. We're also considering a weekend in Catalina Island with the kids...just us. That should go well, lots to do, only a short stint.

I'm sorry I haven't been commenting much at other places. My office has been taken over by my son, J. Between drumming and his new-found love of the internet (he and his friends discovered MySpace and he has a blog), I hardly get much of a go at this old computer of mine!

All right, that's all for now...off to have lunch with a friend of mine who's a professor at the community college where I teach. Oy...school for me starts August 15. My summer is fast coming to a close and I cannot tell you how sad that makes me.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see 'Charlie'. I loved the original, and to hear Tim Burton tell it, this new one is not a remake of the first movie, but a "retelling of the classic book". I only wish I could talk my husband into going with me. He's convinced it's a "kids' movie" with no redeeming adult qualities. How wrong he is. But try telling him that... :-)

Patrick O'Neil said...

Excellent movie C.A.T.C.F., and yes, the family thang was a nice “message” touch in a summer of untouched messages. Though what the Fantastic Fours’ message could possibly be is beyond me. My only problem with Chuck’s Chocolate Institution is this pesky eating disorder of mine and rivers of mocha mix spells a-n-o-r-e-x-i-a in “A” major and that slobbering fat kid with a chocolate mess a la facial and… I’ve gotta stop now, I’m shuddering again! But I do hope that umpa lumpa character scored some large residuals!

May your summer stay with you all year!

Anonymous said...

We saw "Charlie" at the Drive-In on Saturday night. I was very happy with it. I'm one to believe in "making it new" when re-making something old, so I was very happy with the changes. I think they were in line with the book anyway.

I was cruel in not allowing candy to my kin throughout this movie. We're all trying to cut back, though, and I determined that it was too easy (and too soon) to make any excuses. I'm such a meanie.

Adriana Bliss said...

You are a meanie, Jim! I suppose for us, we've been off the candy train since mid-June, so I figured one break would be okay.

Jennifer, you're right about it being a retelling of the book. It's so different from the movie that it does deserve a special place on its own.


Fromage, thank you for a new view on the mocha river! You have a point there. The think about the German boy I noticed was his beautiful, computerized skin when we first see him. Wow! If eating would only give a person that sort of flawless look, I think overeating would make a comeback!

Tamar, thank you for adding a great image - I'm right with you, that's exactly how summer feels right now.

Anonymous said...

Hi Best wishes。bjseek by数据恢复loves xicao xicao lovesby bjseek数据恢复专业从事数据恢复领域的产品开发与技术服务自主研发RAID数据恢复服务器数据恢复分析程序来提供高、中、低压锅炉钢管、合金无缝管无缝钢管钢管化肥专用钢管,流体无缝管、结构无缝管、石油裂化无缝钢管、地质钢管、液压支柱钢管通常说的加密狗的破解大致可以分为三种方法,一种是通过硬件克隆或者复制一种是通过SoftICE等Debug工具调试跟踪解密一种是通过编写拦截程序修改软件和加密锁之间的通讯。娱乐幸福女人娱乐相册导航google排名google排名google排名台州网络公司台州网站建设 google左侧排名google左侧排名google排名论文发表资讯刊物信息,协助客户制定论文发表方案.
google排名google排名网站优化搜索引擎优化网站优化搜索引擎优化百度优化SEO同声传译同声翻译更衣柜文件柜流水线流水线