From the Inside Out

It was a night out with the girls this evening. One of our friends was celebrating his birthday with a “guys only” night that included some MMA fight watching, so the gals got together for dinner and a movie.

We started out at Houlihan’s, an upscale American restaurant in Dallas. The food was great; the decor was modern. Conversation was lively and entertaining. It’s been a long time since I had a girls night out, and I have to say that I had fun spending time with some old and new friends.

Afterwards, we headed to the theater to catch Mama Mia!, the new movie based on the popular Broadway musical. It’s definitely a chick flick, and it’s safe to say that it’s not going to be winning any awards this year, but I enjoyed it. Most of the critics bashed the movie, but normal viewers rated it as 72% fresh on Rottentomatoes.com.

Yes, it’s campy. Yes, it’s a little over-the-top. But that was part of the fun. I especially liked the song and dance scenes that played during the credits. Don’t leave until it’s over…it’s worth it.

The long awaited sequel to Batman Begins opened this weekend with sold-out showings across the country. According to Media By Numbers, a tracking firm, the Dark Knight set a box office record for a midnight debut, bringing in $18.5 million Friday from its midnight screening in 3,040 theaters. And that number doesn’t even take into account the 3 am and 6 am showings. With such a strong Friday start, the studio is projecting that the movie will take in over 100 million this weekend in the US and Canada alone. That would more than double the average for the previous five openings of a Batman movie.

While the stats are impressive, you may be wondering if the movie lives up to the hype. Well, I guess it depends on how much of the hype you believe. I walked into the theater expecting it to be a good batman movie, and it delivered. This is a strong follow-up to Batman Begins – definitely as good, maybe better. Heath Ledger steals the show as the Joker. It’s a shame his life was cut short and he won’t be around to reprise his role as this dark villain.

Speaking of dark…make no mistake, this is film is more intense, violent and bleak than any of the previous Batman movies. It’s not your typical kid-friendly superhero movie. Rottentomatoes.com describes it as dark, complex and unforgettable. The Denver Post states, “Watching The Dark Knight is like gazing into a mirror on a waning moon night: chilling and mesmerizing.” I think those are fitting summaries.

There are a few humorous lines mixed into the middle of the despair and darkness. One of my favorites was when the Joker told Batman “you complete me.” That cracked me up.

I would give this movie a solid 5-star (or A) rating. If you’re looking for a good movie to watch this weekend and you are a fan of the franchise, check it out. It stands up well against the hype.

From my vantage point, tomorrow is looking really good.  I’m on vacation and headed to Breckenridge — yehaw! 

Today was a bit crazy, though, as I tried to wrap up the seemingly hundreds of work projects for which I’m currently responsible.  I was supposed to meet up with my sister tonight to grab a quick bite to eat and watch a movie.  Well, I made it to the movie, but I missed the dinner part.  Dang job.  

Luckily, she didn’t totally hate me for showing up late and volunteered to grab an extra sandwich so I’d have some food when I arrived.  Of course, she also knows that I’m pretty grouchy when I don’t eat, so maybe she was just making sure I’d be in a decent mood for the movie. 

Regardless, thanks for the sandwich and for not being too upset about my late arrival, sis.  I love ya!

So, we finally settled in for the movie, Vantage Point.  It started out well, but about 20 minutes into the movie it began to rewind.  “Huh, that’s odd,” I thought, but I went with it.  The movie started again at 11:59:58, but this time from another person’s POV (point of view for those who don’t know the lingo).  Okay, so now I know why they called the movie Vantage Point. 

I began to get worried as I realized how many main characters were in the movie.  “Uh oh,” I said, “Are we going to watch the same thing again and again from each person’s perspective?  It’s the 2008 version of Ground Hog Day.”  Well, about 15 more minutes into the movie, it happened again — rewind and start over from 11:59:58.  I think my sister counted about 6-7 replays, but we sort of lost count, so I’m not really sure how many there really were. 

Now, with all of that said, I would still have to say that we enjoyed the movie in spite of the “rewinds”.  While that part was a bit annoying, new information was revealed each time, enabling you to fit the pieces together and understand what had truly taken place.  And once the “rewinding” was over, the action was intense, and the story flowed nicely.  I also thought the characters were well developed.  It’s not the best movie of the year, but it’s probably worth seeing.  I’d give it a solid “B”.

And time with my sister….priceless.