This week is to fill you in on the three scary movies I watched this past week. Don't worry, next week I'll get back to books and television.
The Reaping
I can't remember how I came across this 2007 film but I'm glad I did. Starring Hilary Swank as Katherine, an ex-minister who has lost her faith and now debunks miracles, the film is about good versus evil. Katherine is brought to Haven, LA where plagues are appearing. She must decide whether or not the plagues have a "real" explanation or have been brought about by God (or maybe even the Devil). I like a good God-versus-Satan movie and this one does not disappoint. The ending left me satisfied yet slightly creeped-out.
Bug
Yes Matt, you can tell that this was a play first in three acts. But besides that, it is a good flick. I was expecting something more along the lines of Arachnaphobia because I thought there might be more bugs. In actuality, there are none. OR ARE THERE????? Seriously, I'm not giving anything away. Although this film was not quite what I expected, I enjoyed it. The fall into paranoia is excellent. This may be Ashley Judd's best performance and she does it all without makeup. Michael Shannon is especially intriguing as Peter Evans. Like The Reaping, this film was very much worth the ending. Wow!
And the scariest film I saw all week...
W
If you like and respect the current administration, you probably shouldn't go see this film. Luckily, I have no such qualms. Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, and Thandie Newton all rock out as W, Poppy, and Condi, respectively. Believe it or not, Oliver Stone actually presents a SOMEWHAT sympathetic view of W. Sadly, we are sympathetic because he's a moron who is controlled by forces way smarter and eviler than he is. The true sympathetic character here is Poppy, who constantly has to bail out his disappointing son. Neither Condi nor Vice come off quite so well. The only person who is truely a "good" guy is good old Colin Powell. Rock on, Colin! I left the theater glad I voted for John Kerry and sad the majority of Americans would rather have a "good-old-boy" in the office than someone who knows something about politics and world affairs.
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And how interesting that you chose to review Bug on the day many people choose to replace the batteries on their smoke detectors!
I hadn't even thought about that. Very interesting...
I'm interested in seeing "W." I have heard too that it's not a hatchet-job, which has probably dulled the criticism from the right. On "Real Time" a few weeks ago, Oliver Stone said he was interested in making as faithful a bio as possible, that he wasn't interested in doing a liberal hit piece. (As deserved as it might be ;-) I think many authors and historians in the future will examine the Bush story and try to figure out exactly how someone with so little interest in being president wound up in the job.
And as far as Richard Dreyfuss as Cheney, all you have to do is watch "The American President." He plays a dead ringer for Cheney in that movie--way back in the mid-90s!
I was extremely impressed by Colin Powell on Meet the Press a few weeks ago. He laid out his Obama endorsement very eloquently and rationally, with very little negative shots at McCain. Because of that, I thought it would be very hard to say that he only endorsed Obama for racial reasons. (Oh, but you proved me wrong, Rush and Fox Noise!)
Heather, have you voted yet? Did you stand in a long line? I worry that lines will be SO long here in PA that some people won't get to do it at all. If people are waiting 6-8 hours during early voting weeks in other states, how can PA possible handle it all on one day? I guess we'll see.
Tomorrow is going to be something. I haven't felt this way since before game 7 of the 94 Stanley Cup Finals.... I know a lot of states are urging voters to go to the polls early and avoid going after 4 PM if possible. Personally, I am going to be standing outside the church bingo hall when they unlock the doors at 7.
Happy voting everyone, and if you still have to change your smoke detector batteries be careful...those things got Strontium 316 in em'!
During one of the calls I got from the Obama folks, the worker told me that they are advising people to go to the polls between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Just FYI.
Great call. There is an article on the front page of the Post Gazette web site saying that the governor is saying the same thing. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08308/925012-100.stm
No repeats of what happened in Cleveland in 04!
I'll be voting early in the morning too! What I have tried to tell my students is: Go vote! I don't care who your choice for president is, but you should at least take advantage of the privilege you have been given. Sadly enough, I don't think I convinced any of them. Then when they complain, I'll remind them that they should have registered and voted. Evil...aren't I?
Not evil, necessary!
I haven't voted yet. I'll be going this afternoon, probably right at 4pm. However, living in pretty rural area I doubt I'll have an extremely long wait. I usually go first thing in the morning but I had to get to work for a meeting (which I am about to leave for).
I can't wait to see the returns. I'm heading to a party this evening to watch the results. Should be tons of fun. This is the most exciting race I can remember. Someday we'll be telling the next generation about it. Plus, I'll be glad that I won't be getting any more calls. I had two last night while trying to watch T:SCC.
Heather, for your sake, I hope you don't have to wait in line. Rural area or not, it can be pretty hectic at the polls. I was at my polling station just after 7:00 AM and had to wait in line. I was both pleased and annoyed.... After all, I have places to go! See you at the party! (And so I will accept that my actions are both evil and necessary...thanks!)
There were already 1000 people in line at one of the big Penn State precincts as of 8:30.
From what I've been hearing this morning, there were lines everywhere early on. Maybe things will die down later this afternoon.
I voted at 9 a.m. Took the iPod and a book. There was NO line! I literally went right in, signed in, and went into the booth. I was really, really disappointed! I WANTED to wait in line!
However, my mom called just before 8 a.m. and said that when she went to vote (upper Bucks), there was already a line that wrapped around the building. She couldn't wait because she was on her way to a school-district-mandated class (during the day off), but she was going to come back and get in line when the class was over at lunch. My dad is going with my 94-year-old grandfather this morning and taking a lawn chair for him!
There were super long lines shown on the local news in Philly. One line, at 8th and Vine, wrapped completely around the block, also before 8 a.m. There was also a precinct in Wynnewood, just outside the city, where people had started lining up at 6 a.m.
LOL--so what's the deal with Lansdale? :-)
Oh, Krista - Bob Casey was on Hardball last night and said that the surprise result out of PA could be how well Obama does in central PA. Chris asked him if he meant just Penn State, but he seemed to think it would be the entire general central PA area. He said he had seen some excellent polling that surprised him.
I voted at 7 AM and am proud to say that I was the 12th person to vote at my polling station. There was a short line at 7, but by the time I left the line was reaching the door. It was such a release to press that button and get it over with. My only fear is that the lines will scare voters away, or like with what happened in Cleveland in '04 the lines got out of hand and as many as a few thousand votes (and Kerry's 6% lead) drifted away. I wonder if there is any organized effort to provide comfort for people who have to stand in line late into the night. I have a case of bottled water and some Clif bars at home. If I hear of anything in Pittsburgh I may have to run out to help. Though if I was really dedicated I would bring mason jars.
I also found this article about voting in PA if anyone is interested or scared.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/politics/Delaware_County_Democrats_claim_intimidation_at_some_polls.html
Opps it got cut off, but you can find it on Philly.com Basically, people in Deleware County are intimidating democrats by setting up fake registration tables outside of polling places.
Central PA may surprise - 4 counties here have flipped since Jan from majority Repub registration to majority Dem registration - all due to the historic primary and Obama's massive voter registration efforts.
Bob Casey was on some show last night saying that people might be pleasantly suprised by how blue the middle of the state is. I used to live in Cambria County, and I made friends with many hard core Democrats, its just that they felt intimidated or at the very least the Republicans were louder and better organized. Now, hopefully, things have flipped.
Oh duh, I read it on Moxiecats post earlier in this thread.....man alive...no one is showing up for their appointments at the writing center today...I am just surfing the net looking for information that will decrease my anxiety about the results tonight...which is of course making me more anxious!!!!!!!!
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