Somusing

I enjoyed this movie, though watching the deleted scenes (with a rambling and pompous explanation by Ron Howard through which one may not fast-forward; why do we need an explanation of deleted scenes?) kind of ruined some of the enjoyment. Ron Howard's treatment of "true" stories is always suspect. You have to do follow-up research if you want to know what was real and what was made up (see A Beautiful Mind , which probably shouldn't bear the same title as the book, which is an actual biography). But I like Russell Crowe a lot, and I liked the positive family stuff. It's nice to see what appears to be a healthy marriage in a movie. And I'm so glad he didn't promise his wife he wouldn't die in the big fight. I hate it when characters promise things they have no control over. "I'll never leave you. I promise." Well, what if you get hit by a truck? Or slip in the shower and crack your head open? Anyway, enjoyed the movie.

Watched The Island with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johannsen a couple of nights ago, and my husband and I are still talking about it off and on. I know it's an "action" movie, but I thought the story was pretty good. I like futuristic stuff, like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four and Soylent Green , and this fit in nicely. Michael Bay, the director, also directed Pearl Harbor , which I thought was horrible. But this was pretty good. I especially appreciated the birth scene of one of the clones. The doctor was so rough and unfeeling, just like most doctors are with newborns.