I watched a lot of movies this weekend

And I don't know why.

Jackson stayed at PaPa B's house Saturday night, but I'm not sure that made any difference. What was weird was the scope of movies I watched this weekend. First off was Pan's Labyrinth,
a movie about a young girl who is immersed in a world of faeries, sprites, and other woodland creatures, and should definitely not, under any circumstances, be viewed by children. NOT a kid's movie. That being said, it is a wonderful, dark, disturbing movie and I loved it. I like that the whole thing could very well be a construct of the little girl's mind, and just a coping mechanism. Or it could be real. What I didn't get was the title, though. The 'Pan' character is actually called The Faun, and the Spanish title translates to The Labyrinth of The Faun, and there is no character anywhere called Pan. So why Pan? Are Americans just more familiar with Pan? Is Greek mythology more widely read than Shakespeare? Does it just sound better? That last one is my guess, because it does. Trailer here.
Next was The Misfits starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Eli Wallach. An oldie but a goodie. More interesting because of what was going on off screen. Monroe was in the middle of both a mental break down, and a divorce from the movie's writer, Arthur Miller, and was spiraling down her path of drink and pills. She had to attend the premiere on a day-pass from a psychiatric center. She was dead within a year. Clark Gable had a heart attack three days after filming ended, and died 11 days later. It was the last movie for both. John Houston spent most nights drinking and gambling in Reno, where the film was shot. Montgomery Clift was his usual pill popping self. It seems the title could refer to the characters or the cast & crew.

Next up was The Black Hole, a movie I haven't seen since I was a little kid, but I remember loving it back then. If you forget that this was put into production solely because of the success of Star Wars, and the obvious scientific shortcomings, then the movie still holds up. It is slightly fragmented, as the writers were obviously unsure of how to merge the epic, sweeping, slow pacing of standard sci-fi up to that time, ie 2001 and the like, with the obvious appeal of fast paced action ala Star wars. The mix is clunky, but the movie is still interesting on many levels. My most vivid memories from seeing it many times in my youth, are the scenes where Anthony Perkins gets killed, which is way less disturbing than I remembered, and battle in the greenhouse, which was actually cooler that I remember. I still love the double barrel guns they use.

While doing chores and whatnot, we watched (on cable) The Devil's Advocate, one of the more stomachable of Keanu's pre-Matrix roles, and Pretty Woman, (wife's choice, natch.) a movie I realized would never work if made today. Or if they did make it today, it would have to be Julia Robert's first day as a prostitute rather than having been one for some time. You can't have a hooker as a likable character any more. Actually, now that I think about it, it didn't really work then either.

Then I finally watched Transformers. Way better than I thought it was going to be. This is due to a number of things. First, Shia LaBeouf is a much better actor than anybody, especially Michael Bay, realized. Second, Optimus Prime having the same voice was brilliant. Third, the way the bots transformed was just friggin' awesome. Also, the show-stealing cameos made the movie. John Turturro and Bernie Mack were both awesome. And before you say or think it: Plot, Schmot! These are Transformers, fer cryin' out loud. Now where's my Go-Bots movie?

I also watched Dawn of the Dead again. Crap-ola I love that movie. Snyder is a genious in his own little way. He will do great things with Watchmen.

In other news, this guy ---->

and I are going to Denver this week. He is very excited to go on a plane, even though he has done so twice already in his short life. And a cruise ship. He keeps telling anyone who will listen that he's going on an airplane on Wednesday.

I am... anxious to say the least. Jen can't come because she's too pregnant, so it will just be the two of us in the thick of holiday travel season. Wish me luck.

-JP