Quietly Into That Long Goodnight

So, my bad back, due to a trampoline accident during Jr. High, decided to wake me up around a quarter of 3 this morning, and refused to let me go back to sleep. And, since I'm not into pain pills, I had no choice but to ride it out. In order to do this properly, I turned to my usual source of self-medication: the idiot box. Needless to say, even with some 500 channels to choose from, the early morning hours are not the best time to find a feel-good remedy. This morning, however, the powers that be took pity on me. I caught Finding Neverland only a minute or two into the start. It is a truly magical film, and I think it's Deep's best role to date (yes, even over Cap'n Jack). I've always been a fan of Kate Winslet, and she doesn't disappoint in this one either. And casting Hoffman, as a nod to Hook, was pure genius. Now most of you know that there is nothing that I detest more than kids in movies. It's rare that I can watch a young actor on screen without my patience running thin. However, the children in this one weren't that bad. In fact, young Freddie Highmore did an amazing job. Your truly believable actors rely on subtlety to bring a performance to life, and most child actors don't have the maturity to pull it off. But Highmore does it better than most. I may not care for pre-dawn wake-up calls, but I'd be hard pressed to find a better way to deal with one.

Will he? Won't he? Does anybody care anymore? Well, it's Groundhog Day. Is Punxsutawney Phil going to see his shadow today? Where's Bill Murray when you need him? Do we really need this "holiday" anymore? It's not even listed on my desk calendar. He sees his shadow, and what, 6 more weeks of winter? With the heat stroke that's hit North America this year, would that necessarily be a bad thing? Well, I guess it depends on whether or not I'd have to live those 6 weeks with Andie MacDowell. I can think of no greater punishment. My vision of hell is MacDowell reading the New York City phone book over and over again in her always annoying, fake-sounding Southern drawl. Ugh! Don't drive angry!

I'll have more to report on the Everwood script next week.

Thanks for stopping by.

"Passion is universal humanity. Without it religion, history, romance and art would be useless." ~Honoré de Balzac