Crazy, Stupid, Love isn't So

As usual, we watched a couple of movies on New Year's Eve at home while eating and drinking things that are not recommended for weight loss or long term health. This year, one of our two movies was Crazy, Stupid, Love. It's a comedy of midlife crisis, with a touch of My Fair Lady and some surprise twists.

Steve Carell plays Cal, who is a nice guy but totally uncool. His wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), wants a divorce, so suddenly he's out on his own, trying to pick up girls in a bar. He's hapless, but luckily, he gets some help from Jacob (played by Ryan Gosling), who seems to really have the knack. He fixes up Cal, but there's a lot more to the story--for Cal and for him.

Cal's 13-year-old son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), has a crush on his 17-year-old babysitter (Analeigh Tipton), just part of the crazy, stupid part of love. It's so touching though, because I remember that feeling, not only for a high school girl who looked after 12-year-old me but my life in high school that included a few of these unrequited love situations. And Ms. Tipton, who is actually 22 years old, and is quite fetching, too.

I was pretty uncool myself, but when I was divorced many years ago I might have liked to have a Jacob to show me around. I did OK. We learn more about Jacob in the movie--the other side of guys who seem to have it all together.

It's not my intention to spill the beans on this or any movie, but this one will work for anyone who can identify with poor Cal--or anyone else in the movie. A great time--and a fine choice for starting out the new year.

Captain America Kicks Booty - in 3D

Last night, my wife and I shared the 7:40 p.m. show with about a dozen other folks to see Captain America - the latest movie based on a Marvel Comics character. And, like the other Marvel movies, it did a great job of presenting the hero as complex, troubled, and, well, heroic.

Taking place nearly entirely during World War II, the story shows how skinny, sickly Steve Rogers wants only to serve and, thanks to amazing technology, ends up a superman. He fights an evil enemy who, ironically, owes his super powers to the same genius who created the Captain's. It's just one of the twists that keep you watching, despite what feels like a long run.

Of course, in the theaters today there are not only trailers for upcoming movies (I like these) but numerous promotions of TV shows (not a favorite, but makes some of them seem worth watching) and just plain ads too. It's like giant-screen TV. A trailer for the new, redone Spider-Man teases but then shows the date it will debut--July 3, 2012. That's a long lead time.

In any case, without giving away any of the plot, Steve Rogers survives the trials and personal tragedies that every Marvel character endures, but shows that he is truly heroic, and makes the sacrifices he must to save the day. His evil counterpart, the Red Skull, is the opposite. Remember, this is based on comic books. However, you can't help cheering the good guys and hissing the bad guys--but this shows once again that despite all the muscle, it's what's inside that counts.

Many comic moments relieve the intense action, including scenes with Tony Stark's (Iron Man) grandfather, who owns the high tech gadget market in 1940's America. Naturally, the devices explode and dials get turned up too high and fry their wiring. We laugh, but it gets the job done.

This was the 3D version, and I feel that this is both an amazing and an unnecessary technology. However, I also believe that it will become standard for all movies before too long.

We get to see Captain America next May as part of the Avengers. Can't wait.

Comic-Con Is Coming!

Once again, Comic-Con has arrived and will take over downtown San Diego starting this Wednesday night through the weekend. Unlike the last two years, however, I won't be there. I don't have a ticket--they are very hard to get this year.

My wife is going, though. She heads out early tomorrow morning, taking my son and his friend along. The two young men don't have tickets either, but will spend the time hanging out in San Diego, a favorite vacation spot. There's a lot that happens outside the Convention Center, too--much of it free--so they are expecting to have a great time.

Comic-Con, the world's largest comic/movie/graphic novel convention, has gotten so enormous that even the sprawling San Diego Convention Center is becoming a tight fit. They plan to move it to Anaheim in a few years, which will be a real hit to San Diego's downtown businesses and hotels. And San Diego is a nicer place to hang out, too. But--if it's this hard to get a ticket, they have to somehow find a way to accommodate everybody.

When I attended, I found myself talking with artists and graphic novel authors and artists much of the time. I'm less interested in the movies or the video games, but there is no shortage of entertainment just walking the hall, which feels like it's a mile long and a half mile wide.

It's fun outside the hall, when you may see a Klingon talking with Captain America and Hello Kitty at a streetcorner. Or, you can have a meal at Dick's Last Resort, where the specialty of the house is being insulted by the wait staff. They may even single you out and put an insulting (and possibly obscene) paper hat on you!

I'll miss the action, and also the preview of next year's new Spider-Man movie, but maybe, if I act quickly, I can get tickets for 2012.

Colin Firth Wins a Golden Globe for The King's Speech

There are many stories about royal life to be had--some of them of battlefields, some of love and romance, some of debauchery. But Berty's struggles (his name was Albert) and the help he receives from speech therapist Lionel Logue are very moving.

The movie is based on recently discovered diaries by Lionel Logue, the man who helped him learn to speak in public. A lifelong stammerer, the future king is brought to frustration when he must step into the role for which he was not prepared--being King of England--when his older brother, Edward (David) forsakes the throne for his true love (American, divorced, non-royal Wallis Simpson).

King Edward VIII's story is often told, but George VI's is not. He is the leader who rallied his people through World War II, and his wife, the Queen and later Queen Mother, was a beloved figure for decades. Berty couldn't have done it if he were speechless, and Logue helped him gain that back.

The book is a good read, too.