So we rented a few movies last week. We thought getting something serious, and a comedy to balance it out, would be a good choice, and grabbed Monster and Bad Santa. Now, ever since that movie came out I have heard how hilarious it is, even reviewers seemed to guiltily admit they thought it was really funny in a crude sort of way, and I tend to have a weakness for twisted humor, so I figured this would be a nice timewaster. It wasn’t. Both Joy and I thought it was just mostly mean and depressing. What is funny about a drunk peeing his pants?

Afterwards we watched Monster, which was a much better calibre movie but also horribly dismal and depressing. I am just amazed at Charlize Theron’s transformation in that role, I would never have recognized her. She did a fantastic job… I came across an interesting interview with Charlize Theron about this role, by the way.

We decided the next movie we watched would be something a little lighter and more ‘up’… what possessed us to instead watch Serpico a few days later I can’t say. Ugh, another downer. Don’t get me wrong — it was a good movie. I dunno, I guess there are just so many things in real life to be worried or angered or depressed by, that when I do take the time to watch movies these days I am looking for something to take me away from all that. And as far as some of the comedies go, there just seems to be a trend to get meaner and meaner… on TV we have all these new reality shows that thrive on tricking people into humiliating themselves, or putting them in uncomfortable situations so the audience can watch them react, and that is entertainment? It just seems horribly mean-spirited to me.

I don’t watch much TV these days. CSI, and whatever looks interesting on the Discovery Channel is about all. All the shows I really like end up getting cancelled, (still bemoaning the death of Firefly) and the few I do watch are in summer reruns, and I just have no taste for reality TV or most of the other stuff that is on nowadays. I miss the silly action adventure type shows like Xena:Warrior Princess. I miss the old X-Files. X-Files, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I think both went on a little past their life span, but I still miss them.

No wonder half the time Joy comes home from work to find me watching Office Space or Dogma for the gazillionth time…

Last night apparently my brain was very busy and I had some rather strange dreams. One of the stranger details that I can remember is that I was dressed in a pumpkin costume (sort of like the Fruit of the Loom apple guy’s costume, but a pumpkin) running around an elementary school scaring children.

I assume this has something to do with eating a great big veggie burger loaded with jalapenos just before going to bed.