Staycation

I’m off work this week. Nothing special. Running some errands, having lunch with a couple of friends, reading, taking naps. Just a week off work to not think about work.

The part of my mind that comes up with ideas for blogs appears to have taken the week off, as well. I got nothing. Nada. Zip. Bupkes. Things are happening I can write about later, but, right now, the blog component of my creative persona is somnolent.

We did watch a couple of moves over the weekend. Want to hear about them?

Killing Them Softly. Not great, but better than I’d been led to believe from the reviews. What most critics complained about—the frequent use of 2008 news and campaign sound bites as background—both The Beloved Spouse and I liked, as they were often used to draw parallels between what was happening in the movie to actual events in a delightfully cynical manner. The problem was, they all led to Brad Pitt’s speech at the end, which was a screed, though the last line was perfect for such a movie.

I haven’t read Cogan’s Trade—the George V. Higgins book on which the film is based—though the filmmakers captured Higgins-style dialog and general tone very well. The acting is also excellent. Almost a hell of a movie, still a good, solid effort. This is the kind of movie I keep complaining we don’t make in this country anymore: moody and low-key, with a level of verisimilitude rarely seen in American films anymore.

Road House. I’d heard this was a guilty pleasure for quite a few crime aficionados, so we checked it out last night. I’ll confess, it gave me a story idea I think I can run with, but I’ll run in the opposite direction from where Road House went. Patrick Swayze spends about half the movie with his shirt off and sweating, so I have a pretty good idea of which sub-set of crime fiction fans find this a guilty pleasure. (Nothing wrong with that; I watch Castle.) Still, anyone pleading guilty to this one needs some time in maximum security.

I’ll do better next time.