“Where the Wild Things Are”: a step back to childhood

Daniel has asked (well begged) for me to do a guest post on this blog for quite sometime. I haven’t blogged since 2006 when I had a xanga account, well can you really even call that blogging? Hmmm

Anyway, on Friday night thanks to the awesomeness that is Netflix, Daniel and I finally got around to watching “Where the Wild Things Are.” This was probably my favorite book as a child, so I was excited to see how the book would play out on the big screen. And it certainly did not disappoint! First off the characters on screen were identical to the look of those in the book! But it wasn’t the look of the film that left me in TEARS…not just misty-eyed semi-crying…but actual tears…identical to those I had after watching Marley and Me (if you have not seen this movie and are an animal lover, see it now…but make sure to have a tissue handy!). The movie brought me back to the days of being a kid. Sure the story is sad as the child is going through some painful stuff, but it shows that place in a kid’s life… on the brink of remaining an imaginative child and on the verge of well, growing up. There is a scene before the boy goes to meet the wild things where he narrates a story to his mother and she types it for him on the computer. This started my tears early because I used to do the same thing with my mom. I was always a writer, even before I could actually read and make words, and she would help me make my stories come to life on paper.

When the boy meets the wild things in his imagination… just little instances were reminiscent of my imaginative childhood…the happy, carefree times, but also the sad moments. Some critics have complained the movie ends “abruptly” but I don’t think so…. It is just like our childhood… gone in a fleeting moment and before you know it we are adults stressing over work and family issues. The boy realizes at the end when he goes back home that he needs to grow up and start to change some things about himself. While he certainly is still a kid at the film’s end, you are left with a feeling that it won’t be much longer before he actually does “grow up.” The end scene when he is leaving after waving to his “friends” really tore me up because you know it is the beginning of the end to his childhood. And we can never go back to being kids. It was very emotional for me. I loved being a kid, when each day was carefree. When I would play outside, run around barefoot all day, catch raindrops on my tongue and then catch lightening bugs at dusk (I always set them free!) These memories are precious to me, and I know things will never be like that again. I am very happy with things now, but sometimes I guess… I just miss those childhood days.

Would I recommend kids seeing this? That is a toughie, I would definitely read the book to them…but perhaps wait a couple of years for them to truly get and appreciate the movie. So the movie as a whole, I recommend… especially if you want to relive your childhood… for maybe just two hours.

The Frog

Slow night. Slow week. Slow, well you get the point. Thought I'd write something. How about a tale from the homestead.

So we have this large stuffed animal frog at our house. It's too large to do any good. I did not have a hand in its purchase; I'll leave it at that. Anyways, it is bigger than our dog Winston. Granted he only weighs about 20 pounds, but still; it's a large frog. It has a very creepy grin too. Never trust people or stuffed animals that smile too much, ever. This smile drives Winston crazy. I can't figure out if he loves the frog or hates the frog. Recently he was left alone with the frog for a few seconds. In those painful seconds, that damned frog seduced my very neutered dog. Before we could stop him, Winston forcefully mounted the frog and began to pound away. All we could see were his relentless thrusts and the frog's vile smile. We quickly pulled Winston off the frog, but the damage had been done. My wife now screams anytime he gets next to a pillow or any other object she deems hump-able. What's the point I'm getting at? Maybe you shouldn't trust stuffed frogs just because they have a nice smile, because they just end up fucking your dog...

Best Picture

So I got around to watching The Hurt Locker last weekend via Netflix. If you haven't seen it I'm about to spoil it so skip the next paragraph:

***It's about the Iran war circa 2004. They main characters are basically the military version of a bomb squad. When someone finds a bomb or mine, they get called in to disarm it. Everyday! Not my kind of job.***

It is a very good movie and worthy of the Oscars I'm sure. I had one problem. I know it's Hollywood and they needed the drama, but I don't think I guy would get very far in the military acting the way he did. He was continuously breaking rules and orders to satisfy his adrenaline addiction; yes I do agree you can be addicted to adrenaline. I just don't think the military would allow that kind of activity. Anyone with more knowledge on the subject please enlighten me with your thoughts. As I said, the movies as entertainment is very good. I only saw two of the movies up for best picture this year (The Hurt Locker and District 9) so I guess I'm not too qualifyed to make an opinion; but I will anyways. I thought they were both excellent movies, but District 9 was better, in my opinion. As on edge as The Hurt Locker could put you, both my wife and I had it figured out. We knew who would die and who would live long before the end. District 9, while my wife had it nail very early, I did not figure out until much later. Also, District 9 just had a different feel to it. It stands apart from the normal Hollywood movie. I think the South African director and cast are part of this.

As for Avatar, I didn't see it and now that it's out of theaters, I probably won't. People have told me if you can't see it in 3D then it's not worth it. Well if 3D is the only thing that makes it "worth it", then I have no interest.

iPad

I have so much to say about this item. Apple really makes great products, but the name? iPad? Really?

Foo Fighters and G.I. Woe

Yeah I haven't posted in a while...

Anyways, Foo Fighters released a new song on their Greatest Hits CD. Maybe a whole new album soon? Yes, please!

On another note, I finally broke down and watch the G. I. Joe movie. I actually didn't imagine it as bad as it turned out being. Maybe never liking the franchise to begin with doesn't help, but this movie was just so bad. Poorly edited, VERY poorly acted, and please, I won't waste time on the story. A friend who liked the movie asked me if I like movies with one ninja in them. I said yes. He then asked me if I liked movies with two ninjas in them. Again I answered yes. But my friend, one million ninjas could not have made this movie better. Well, maybe a million...