The problem I am encountering with Rufus, our newly adopted cat, is that he is often more entertaining to watch in action than certain movies or TV shows. All I have to do is dangle the turtle/bird on a string (actually more turtle-like now since most of his feathers have been ripped out) around the scratching post, and I am treated to wild and crazy kitty antics. I had a lot of fun watching him leap into what he thought was an empty bathtub earlier this week. His reaction when he realized the tub still had an inch or so of water in it was priceless.
While there are still plenty of movies playing in theaters that I want to see, such as The Life Aquatic and now The Big Red One, it is difficult to muster much enthusiasm for mediocre offerings on film when I can stay home and watch the cat discover the joys of shoelaces. Looking at some of the new releases in theaters, I can’t help but realize that it might be more entertaining to hang out with Rufus.
New movies in Austin this week:
Are We There Yet?—We saw a preview of this in theaters last week. In fact, because we were in a Regal cinema, we saw interviews and all kinds of promotional crap about this movie. It sounds perfectly awful. Ice Cube plays a guy who loves his child-free life, but decides to help out his single-mom girlfriend by transporting her kids cross-country. Of course the kids are bratty and pull all kinds of tricks to make him look dumb. There are vomit jokes. There are animal attack jokes. I am sure there are fart jokes or maybe, as an added bonus, pee jokes.
I would rather clean the cat’s litter box than be subjected to this movie.
The Assassination of Richard Nixon—Sean Penn has another meaty and serious role as Travis Bickle — whoops, I mean Samuel Bicke — a loser who decides slowly but surely to attempt the title activity. As I have said before, I will wait to see Sean Penn when he’s in a funny movie again. If ever. I know the odds are against me, but I’ll survive.
I would rather taunt Rufus with his turtle/bird on a stick than see this movie. Maybe we should have named the cat Spicoli. Naaah.
The Big Red One—I am looking forward to seeing this movie. The newly restored version of Samuel Fuller’s 1980 movie about World War II has been restored and is garnering rave reviews. Some people are calling it the most relevant movie of 2004.
The cat is going to have to entertain himself while I see this movie. Sorry, Rufus.
Vera Drake—I don’t normally like Mike Leigh films. I don’t like depressing films. Nonetheless, I have heard so many good things about the lead actress’s performance that I would like to see this movie. Also, I am always intrigued by the way movies handle abortion.
I would give up some under-the-chin cat scratching to see this movie. But not a lot.
The Work and the Glory—Based on the first in a series of novels based on Mormon church history. This one’s about a family of farmers in the 1820s. Doesn’t sound quite like my cup of tea.
I would rather try to get the cat to curl up in my lap, instead of curling up at my feet and sticking his claws in my socks, than see this movie.
Notable events/revivals in Austin:
Big Trouble in Little China—Playing at Beerland on Wed. 1/26 at 7 pm. Free. Sounds like a fun night out if you’re one of the cult-like fans of this John Carpenter film.
The Conformist and Last Tango in Paris—Playing at the Paramount Wed.-Thurs. 1/26-27. I haven’t seen The Conformist in years, and it is probably the first movie I ever saw with any kind of gay characters. The tango scene particularly sticks in my head. So I would like to see it again if I can, and maybe stick around for Last Tango in Paris, which I also haven’t seen since college.
Spike & Mike’s Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation 2005—Playing at Alamo Downtown almost nightly through Feb. 14. I know this event brings Alamo lots of money and lots of people adore the festival’s rude’n’crude attitude, but I am a little sad that Alamo Downtown pre-empts most of its wonderfully eclectic programming for a few weeks to show this collection of animated shorts.
The Young Black Stallion—Playing at the IMAX Theatre at the Texas History Center all week. This prequel to The Black Stallion is a made-for-IMAX film from Disney. Sounds like it has some gorgeous photography, although I suspect the storyline is strictly for kids. (I’ve never been a big fan of horse movies, as you might have guessed.)
At home, we are pretty low on movies. I still need to see Gunga Din, although I don’t know if my boyfriend will want to see it with me. We may need to make an emergency run to Encore this weekend to rent something, although I’d rather see a movie or two in theaters instead. I also want to finish listening to the commentary track on Baaadasssss!, a movie I enjoyed very much.
Oooh, and I just found out we’re seeing The Life Aquatic tonight. Yay! Sorry, Rufus.