partly

Myr is out at my folks for the night and I was planning on doing some long over do writing.

But...

Wil taped Donnie Darko last night and we watched that during supper. I liked the movie. It was a good movie -- if you can use the word 'good' to describe a movie as fundamentally strange as Donnie Darko. It is, oddly enough, both equal to its weird reputation and less weird than its premise. It's worth watching again, although I don't think I'll understand it any more, even if I watch it a dozen times. The most interesting thing about it, is how genuinely likable the (main) characters are. Even Donnie. It's odd how he -- even at his most disturbed moments -- has a clear view of the world. I will also point out that Patrick Swayze plays one of the creepiest people I have ever seen on film.

I couldn't possibly begin to tell you what the movie was really about -- I'm not sure it was really about anything. But I liked it.

Still, it warped my mind. So much so that I thought that I should watch a slightly less odd flick. So I chose Dark City. Which just goes to show you how weird Donnie Darko really is. In any case, I love Dark City. I love the characters in it. I love how I can hardly see Kiefer Sutherland in the character he plays. I love Rufus Sewell, even if I've never really seen him in anything else. William Hurt and Jennifer Connelly are always good. The best thing about the movie is that it has a sound and definable plot and theme. It's one of those movies I throw in with the intentions of doing something else while it's on in the background, but end up watching it instead.

Then, you know, it's a little after 8 and thinking that I will really turn off TV and write. But there are people on the IM chatting at me and I can't concentrate... so I end up flipping channels. Which isn't too bad. House is on, but I gave up watching that. Then I see that Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is on. Gah. The first time Myr and I watched this, we caught the last hour of the movie and cried through almost all of it. Now, you have to understand that I rarely cry at movies. I never cry when I watch them a second time. I know what's coming and I'm not going to be sucked into that emotional roller coaster.

I cry every time I watch this thing. I watch it anyhow. I am such a sap.

It's good, though. Well worth watching. It isn't sad in the "depressing" sense of the word, but rather the "that's the way life is" sense of the word. The actresses are terrific and very believable. They deal with hard topics head on and without sugar coating the consequences. Family is both part of the problem and part the solution – which says a lot in a movie that is about four teenage girls coming of age. It deals with learning to love and learning to let go. It's good and it's honest and it doesn't fall into today's cynical belief that family, friendship and love can easily be replaced by sex and boyfriends.

A rare thing in the world of movies.

So now, without writing, I'm going to bed. Still... it was a good night.