Furlough. Like Eddie, the kid from Terminator.
This has probably been my longest blog furlough to date. Don’t worry, I’m back. We watched Walk the Line tonight. It was very good. Oscar nomination good. I sincerely hope both Witherspoon and Phoenix win Best Actor/Actress, but I’m probably not going to watch the Oscars, because I simply refuse to sift through the rubbish to find the gold. George Clooney + John Stewart = Rubbish. Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong, Cinderella Man, and Walk the Line = Gold = not nominated for best picture = I don’t give a rip about the Oscars. Viewership is projected to be at an all time low this year. I wonder why the frick that could be. They want me to pay $45 to see a movie, but they don’t care what I like–they certainly would never reward it.
Hubby will be at a Clippers (that’s right, Clippers) game tomorrow afternoon/eve, so I’ll probably stay home and watch a rental. I’ve been meaning to catch I heart/love/feel strongly about Huckabees and Garden State. I also haven’t seen Mansfield Park or Back to the Future in a while.
So happy Sunday everybody. That’s all I’ve got. It ain’t much. Somebody send me an intriguing topic to rant about–I’m all out.
March 5th, 2006 at 12:35 am
That’s funny, Danielle and I watched the same movie tonight. We both thought it was a good, but agreed it would have been nice if they focused a tad more on the 35 years his life wasn’t such a mess.
March 5th, 2006 at 9:50 am
I kinda agree…thought it was just like every other musician story. Got into drugs, screwed up their marriage, hit bottom, got locked in a room to detox, came out, everything is dandy. I never cared about Johnny Cash at all. He never did anything good. Yah, he played music, but there was nothing rewarding about his character.
As for the Oscars, I read a really annoying article at the washington post about how the Oscars are a social indicator or some crap. I’ll go post that and a really good article by ann coulter over at my site.
March 5th, 2006 at 10:39 am
The only thing that’s a social indicator about the Oscars is how few people are watching, i.e. America is fed up with Hollywood’s leftist agenda.
I don’t know much else about Johnny Cash’s life, but the thing I enjoyed about this portrayal was the combination of his childhood experiences, the allusions to his faith (which I understand is less subtle in real life), his ongoing struggle with his father and personal demons, and the healing wrought by connection with a good woman and her even better, loving family. The next 35 years may not have made as interesting a story. I don’t know if he ever did anything good or not, but he did write killer good songs, and I’m planning to familiarize myself more with them. I have a sneaking suspicion that God enjoys his music and had a hand in the way the songs were wrought out of Cash’s life experiences. And using your God-given talents to write songs, even earthy songs filled with pain, is a good thing.
March 5th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/04/movies/MoviesFeatures/04cash.html
I enjoyed this article about the movie.
March 5th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
hey there, you have a day alone too…. Angelo is working that crappy show for the next 24 hours… which means that for the 24 hours after that he’ll pretty much be a tired, cranky mess…. got to love the Oscars. Well, I am also not participating in the viewing that said show. I am watching as much Discovery channel as I can possibly fit in. Lots of good stuff is on tonight. Including a show called “The Shrinking Woman.” Which is a ‘day in the life’ of a 1345 pound woman and how she becomes a 123 pound super model. Ok, maybe not… but i’m sure it promises to be a good watch. You can join me if you wish.
March 5th, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Nathan! To say that there’s nothing rewarding about his character… wow!
I agree that playing music (sports, or acting) doesn’t make you something amazing… but the *story* of a man growing up amongst quite a bit of faith, becoming famous doing what you love, getting into a ton of trouble (marriage, drugs…), hitting bottom, having the woman you loved your entire life nurse you back to health, marry that woman, devote the rest of your life to each other, and then die months apart… (dude watch the music video for ‘Hurt’ that johnny did after june died and months before he died… such a personal / emotional piece!).
I don’t think the movie could’ve done much justice (or been way too long) to the latter part of his life, it would’ve been cool to see a little of his late 90’s MTV revival… a good movie, both actors do a fine job at telling the story of johnny cash.
Also the guy is way important to many musicians (not just to country music!!)
John Stewart is pretty funny and there are some funny bits during the show: specifically steve carell and will farell and also ben stiller’s bit, the mock political ads and the brokeback bit in the beginning… sorry if i’m so attentive but i’ve seen the show a few times so far…
Enjoy your movies, i have both i (heart) huckabees and garden state at home if you want to borrow either.
March 5th, 2006 at 10:16 pm
While what you list might make a good story, I still don’t think he had much character (as in doing what’s right, staying true to your wife/family, etc). I felt like I was watching Ray. I’ve seen the music video, all well and good, but that wasn’t in the movie.
Granted I know next to nothing about real life Johnny Cash, but I don’t think a background of the characters should be required to appreciate the movie.