EXTRACT

This movie was directed by the same creative mind who was responsible for Office Space and it was a sad weak endeavor. It had funny moments and scenes and i didn't get bored or restless but it lacked momentum and recognizability of situations that might realistically occur in one's work or personal life (which is what made Office Space such a deliciously funny movie.)

It was the story of the owner of a company that produces flavoring extracts for baking and the hassles of being in charge of a bunch of people with a subplot of the owner not getting any sex after 8pm from his wife.

The movie's saving grace throughout was Jason Bateman as the company owner. He was wonderful. His wife was played by Kristin Wiig from SNL.

It was released about a year ago. Bill's opinion and Jean and Tim's (if i may be so presumptuous as to speak for them; i can, of course, being a spouse of long duration speak for Bill) was the same as mine.

THE FIGHTER

This was an absolutely wonderful movie. I was totally transported to Lowell, Massachusetts and the world of the Ward brothers. I cried and cheered during fight scenes and laughed during some of the confrontations between Micky's mom and his girlfriend. The dialogue was great; witty and real sounding - like 'normal' people would talk.
And all the actors kept their Massachusetts accent throughout the movie.

This is the story of Micky Ward, a boxer who won several welter weight titles and his half-brother, Dicky, who was his trainer and who had also been a boxer. Dicky is also a crack addict. Christian Bale played Dicky perfectly. He combined the edgy, tweaky, jittery aspect of an addict along with his innate charm and glibness with the discipline and strength of a former boxer. Bale was mesmerizing in all his scenes. Because Dicky is usually always stoned, when a documentary crew from HBO starts filming him; he thinks its because he's going to stage a come-back. Dicky still partially inhabits the time when he knocked out Sugar Ray Leonard in the ring (or did Sugar Ray just trip?) But the filming crew is making a docu about crack addiction. The scene where Dicky realizes the intent of the movie is really heartbreaking; one of several scenes that was really emotional and poignant.

Micky was played by Mark Wahlberg who i think is a wooden actor; not as bad as keanu reeves but in that category. But because his role in this film was as the brother who lacked confidence, who was dependent on other people's opinions and who lacked the assertiveness and brouhaha of Dicky, Wahlberg did a fine job.

Melissa Leo played their mom; a bossy, manipulative, loudmouth who quite obviously favored Dicky over all her children; she also had 6 or 7 daughters.

The music was excellent and fit each scene.

Its a story about boxing (the fight scenes were very realistic), family, codependent relationships, loyalty, drug addiction, relationships - romantic and relative and expectations. It was not a Rocky-remake that's for sure.

Both bill and i rated it a 10.

LITTLE ANTHONY'S DINER - TUCSON, AZ

This diner is right next to the Gaslight Theater, Tucson's venue for slapstick satires, magic shows and sing-a-longs. The decor is 50's rock and roll and all the waitresses are dressed in poodle skirts and loafers.

We loved it here; great place for New Years' Eve. We shared 2 sandwiches (one accompanied by fries and the other by cottage cheese!!! That was Bill's choice; not mine.) The chicken salad was pretty good but the egg salad was bland and dry.

But the chocolate malted shake we shared was AWESOME. The best we've ever had - creamy and thick. So thick you either had to use a spoon or suck so hard your stomach would rise into your esophagus region.

We will be back. Ostensibly, it would be for dinner, but the real reason will be for another milkshake. (oh, they do have a lot of salads, pizza, burgers, sandwiches and even a few dinners like chicken fried steak or spaghetti. But those pale and fade away next to the supreme delight of their milkshakes.)