The Squid and the Whale
When I first heard about the movie, The Squid and the Whale, I was hooked right away just with the title. Then I learned that it is about a divorcing couple and there are two sons involved. Now that’s a movie I want to see. I was a product of a broken home and there was also a time when I thought of separating from my partner but just the thought of all the hassle of splitting our properties and the days we have to spend with our children caused me undue stress. But at the end of the day it was really the kids I was concerned about because I didn’t want them to go through what I did when my parents separated. And just that drove me to work on my marriage harder.
The Squid and the Whale is a very interesting film. The story begins as the husband (Jeff Daniels) and wife (Laura Linney) are on the verge of separating. It is told from the point of view of the children. They see the classic signs — their parents always fighting and the dad sleeping on the couch. And then one night they have a family meeting. The parents explain to them that they are separating and having a joint custody and how they are going to split the days of the week between the two sons. It’s funny how they thought that they have arranged how to split everything until the youngest son asks, “What about the cat?” Oh yeah, they forgot about the cat.
The movie is funny at times but it also shows us how painful it is to go through a divorce/separation, not just for the couple, but for the children as well. It is very confusing for children and they tend to take sides and sometimes be torn apart. I know because I’ve been through that when my own parents separated.
This would have been a good movie to show to kids especially those who are going through the same experience, but there is a lot of F words and sexual references. The two children are both adolescents and they are coming of age. Children of divorcing couple usually act up. And the children in this film did, sexually.
I like how the older son, Walt’s (Jesse Eisenberg) character is transformed at the end. At first, he had this anger towards his mom because he thought that she caused the separation. She was starting to succeed as a writer, when in fact, it was the dad who was a published author and who encouraged her to write. And then he learns from his dad about her affairs, much to the mom’s dismay. I also thought the dad shouldn’t have told him about the affairs. Although I understand that the dad just wants to prepare his son for the realities of life. And it is also a time when Walt is beginning to feel attraction for girls.
Because of his problems at school, Walt is made to talk to a therapist. When he starts talking about a “happy memory,” he tells the therapist about that day when he ducked from a friend’s birthday party and he and his mom watched “Robin Hood.” He also tells him about how they would go to a museum and then at night they talked about the things they saw there. There was this squid and this whale fighting and he couldn’t look at it because it was scary for him, but then when his mother described the squid and the whale to him when they got home, it wasn’t as scary. This all happened before his brother was born. This is when he realizes that he was once close to his mom.
People change and grow apart. Sometimes, no matter how couples try to save their marriage, it just can’t be. As this film points out, I think it’s important to tell the children that it’s not their (children’s) fault. It has nothing to do with them. Because children tend to blame themselves. I did. Also it’s not just one person’s fault. Each of the couple must have done something to contribute to the failure and demise of the marriage.
The children in this movie are about the same ages as my two oldest sons, 16 and 12. My 12-year old son was curious about the title and wanted to watch it. I didn’t let him watch it. I think he’s too young for the sexual content. I did explain to him though what the title meant. It’s how the image of the squid and the whale fighting was scary to young Walt. I think it represents how the sight of two parents fighting or the experience of separating is also scary for children.
I enjoyed watching this movie. It’s rated R in the U.S. but 14A here in Canada.
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow shows us to the possible effects of global warming. Drastic changes in temperature, tornadoes that flatten L.A., a tidal wave that engulfs New York, abrupt coldness in the Northern Hemisphere where everything turned solid and nobody could survive outside. You’d freeze to death.
Climatologist Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) tried to warn the president who wouldn’t listen to him. And inspite of the dangers waiting for him, Jack set out to get his teen-age son, Sam (Jake Gyllenhaal), who was stuck in a Public Library in New York, together with a few friends and survivors. Jack warned him to stay inside. And he followed his father’s instructions.
Cool spectacular effects.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The 40-Year-Old Virgin is Andy (Steve Carell), a mild-mannered clerk at an electronics store. His friends find him nice but odd. One night, they invited Andy to a poker game, which ended up in sharing their sexual encounters. They discovered that Andy was still a virgin. So they resolved to help their friend lose his virginity. They brought him to singles bars and gave him advice on how to get it on with the girls, which often resulted in wacky and disastrous events.
But Andy met Trish (Catherine Keener), this divorced woman, who works across the street. They started dating but Trish wanted a no-sex relationship until their 20th date. And Andy agreed. Because deep down, he really respected women that was why he remained a virgin all these years.
It’s a funny movie and Steve Carell was great. I love the scene where his chest hair was being waxed. I learned from an interview that this scene was filmed when he was actually being waxed, to make the scene look authentic. And Steve Carell also co-wrote the script. Witty writing. And one more thing I like about this film is that it was very charming and not vulgar as you would expect in a movie with this theme.
Derailed
Charles Schine (Clive Owen) and Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston) were both married business executives who met on the train. He forgot his money and she offered to pay for his ticket. He felt he needed to talk to her. And that’s when it started. They met again on the same train the next day and the next thing you know, they were having lunch dates and drinking in bars.
“I bet you $20 that I can kiss you without touching your lips.” That was the famous and very sexy line of Derailed. Of course he touched her lips. “Worth every penny,” he said.
Their rendezvous ended up in a hotel, but just after they had torn each other’s clothes, a thief broke into their room, beat up Charles and raped Lucinda. He wanted to call the police but she didn’t want their adultery to be exposed.
It was brave for the adorable Jennifer Aniston to take on this very different role. She was good in this film, so was the dashing Clive Owen.
Like the film Unfaithful, this one makes you think if it’s really worth being unfaithful to your partner. I love the twists and turns at the end of this movie. This thriller keeps you at the edge of your seat. Some things you never see coming until it’s too late.
Superman brings me back in time
“Oh look guys, it’s Superman!” I was so giddy. My kids must be wondering why I was acting like a child when I first saw the Superman action figures at Superstore about two weeks ago.
I grew up with the Superman movies and Superman has become a part of my childhood.
I was in High School when the first movie came out. I can’t remember exactly my movie experience but I remember explaining to my cousin Meann, who was four years younger than me, how Superman turned back time to save Lois from the San Francisco earthquake. She couldn’t grasp it yet at that time. She was still in grade school.
The one that got away
Is there really love at first sight?
In Before Sunrise, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is an American who met Celine (Julie Delpy), a French student, on a train in Europe. They enjoyed talking to each other and when Jesse was about to get off in Vienna, he proposed to Celine if she wanted to get off the train, too, and stay with him that night until he leaves for U.S. the next morning. She didn’t hesitate and they walked around the city that night and learned a lot about each other. They fell in love and before they parted the next day, they promised to meet again at the train station in six months.
This movie has a lot of conversations, witty conversations. I enjoyed it. Some people may not especially those who want a lot of action.
Before Sunset happens nine years after Jesse and Celine first met. Jesse had just written a book about this French woman he met on a train. He was in Paris for a book signing and Celine showed up. He was about to leave that same night. They decided to have a cup of tea and catch up with each other. They asked each other how they look like. Do they still look the same? Ethan looks a lot older. I guess this was filmed after he went through his divorce with Uma Thurman. Julie looks older, too, but still beautiful.
After having tea, they strolled through Paris before he had to leave. We find out that they were not able to meet on their sixth month anniversary and the reason why. They also learned that they were both thinking about each other after all these years but Jesse is already married and Celine is engaged. Will they try to rekindle their romance? If you had a second chance with the one that got away, will you pursue a relationship?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
I haven’t read the book by Roald Dahl nor have I seen the first movie, which starred Gene Wilder. So I can’t really make any comparisons. I’ve read a negative review of this film when it first came out but my kids and I enjoyed watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
It’s about Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore), a poor boy who can only dream of eating chocolates that he can’t afford. He and four other children are invited to a tour of the world’s most magnificent chocolate factory owned by the reclusive and eccentric Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp). Not only are they invited to see the great candy factory but there is also a surprise at the end of the tour.
As opposed to Charlie’s humble nature, the other kids are nasty and annoying. There’s Augustus Gloop who’s always stuffing his mouth with chocolates; the spoiled brat, Veruca Salt; Mike Teavee, who spends most of his time watching TV and playing video games; and the ever confident gum-chewing champion, Violet Beauregarde.
The chocolate factory is amazing. There is a frothy chocolate waterfall and many candy-making contraptions, which Willy Wonka invented himself. There‘s also a glass elevator that not only goes up and down but also goes sideways. Willy’s crew are the little people called the Oompa Loompas. Their sing-and-dance numbers are very amusing. And what’s amazing is that the Oompa Loompas was actually played by only one actor, Deep Roy. He was just digitally cloned.
This is a very colourful and a fun movie to watch. My kids give this two thumbs up.
My Movie Room 
