Movie Monday 2/13

Hello?  Anyone still out there?  Sorry for being so absent the past couple of weeks.  I was pretty badly crashed - probably the worst I've been in years - and my 17-year old son has been even worse.  By the end of last week, I was REALLY scared that my Lyme had come back (i.e. never left).  I was a bit better this weekend and much better today, so I am hoping things are OK for me now, though I'm not jumping to any conclusions until I've had a few good days in a row. 

Jamie is still in terrible shape.  We are adjusting his Lyme meds, and he started Immunovir today.  Meanwhile, in the midst of a terrible crash, I had to go to his school last week for a very stressful meeting to try to get him more accommodations (my husband was out of town all week). It is unfathomable to me why they can't just provide the services he needs when we ask and why everything has to turn into such a big negotiation. It's been such a rough month for him, and all these school problems only make it worse.

So, by the time the weekend arrived, we were all ready for a little cinematic escape:

• Friday night, Jamie, Ken, and I watched Avatar. WOW. All of the accolades it received were well-deserved. Our kids saw it in the theater in 3D when it first came out, but Ken and I have been dying to see it for ourselves. Yes, the special effects are amazing, but it is so much more than a cool sci fi flick. Everything about it was amazing - the concept, the plot, the acting, all of it. It is set in the future, at a time when humans have ruined earth and have discovered another planet, Pandora, with lots of much-needed natural resources. The catch is that this planet is already occupied by sentient humanoid beings, the blue Na'vi, not to mention a wealth of flora and fauna. Humans develop a way to interact with the Na'vi, by using specially selected humans whose DNA is used to create Na'vi avatars who are controlled by their corresponding humans. It is all so cool. The main conflict in the movie is between the scientists, who want to study the Na'vi and develop relationships so they can negotiate for the resources they need and a huge corporation using the military, who favor just taking what they want. Some of the human avatars become very close to the Na'vi, adding another layer of complexity. It is all so good, so well done, so engaging and unique, and with so much depth. I want to be a Na'vi! Definitely worth watching.
• Saturday, after we canceled a dinner party we'd planned, Jamie, Ken, and I (yes, Craig had plans again!) rented a Redbox DVD, Drive. We had trouble categorizing this one - it's a drama with lots of action though without the suspense of a thriller and with more emotional depth than the typical action flick. Ryan Gosling stars as a stunt driver in LA who makes extra money on the side as a driver-for-hire for various criminals who need a quick escape. The main character (we never did hear his name) is the silent type, so we don't learn much about him, except that he seems to be falling in love with his neighbor and adores her young son. Of course, there are some car chase scenes but not as many as I expected. It is a dark, somewhat depressing movie, though it is well done and interesting.
• Last night, Ken and I started a movie I requested from the library in tune with the season, Valentine's Day.  Before the opening credits finished rolling, we both realized we've seen it before!  Sure enough, I checked previous Movie Mondays and saw that we watched it just about a year ago (see review). But we enjoyed it the first time and neither of us remembers exactly how it ended, so we are watching it again (we haven't finished it yet - can't stay up late on a Sunday!).  An unexpected benefit of brain fog :)

Have you seen any good movies lately?