Mortality and Bankable Stars

This year has certainly emphasized the concept of mortality for me. Life is something no one gets out of alive and while that sounds trite, it is profoundly accurate. I know this is so much tougher for Great Aunt but I can’t get Soxfather’s departure or more correctly his absence out of my every day thoughts (and don’t want to). Something will happen and I’ll want to share it with him or we’ll have a family event coming up and I’ll realize it will have to happen for the first time without Soxfather. Like I said, so much tougher for my big sister, whose life was inextricably intertwined with his. These grim ruminations bore to the front when another close friend called with the news that his younger brother has less than a week to live. No, I’m not going to tell you who, as his family deserves their peace in this most difficult of times. What this year long dip into departure has generated is a greater respect for the blessing that is life and the amount of gratitude that I and my loved ones are still north of the dirt line. Cherish the people in your life and the time you have with them.

Since it’s been a rainy week and there were finally a couple movies I wanted to see, you will not be surprised to hear that I was patronizing the local cinema. I saw two movies, neither of which blew me away, but were very watchable for the simple reason that they featured bankable stars. I think both would have gone straight to DVD if the Rock, Roberts, and Clooney weren’t featured. I guess that’s what makes them bankable, I’m willing to pay to see what they do. It’s always interesting to see if you can spot the next generation of bankable stars emerging with performances so notable you’re left asking, in the immortal words of Butch, “Who are those guys?”.

First up was Black Adam. I guess this has been a vanity project for the Rock for a number of years and he’s certainly up to the part of a thousands year old super hero awakened to face modern evil. They had a good, if unbelievable story, but they decided to include some obscure (to me) other superheroes who, with the exception of a former 007, were not up to the competition. There were some very funny allusions to other superheroes, such as “superheroes don’t kill people.” Which the Rock replies “I do”. They could have done a lot more with that but sacrificed it for a more somber dive into mayhem (as DC is wont to do). I still enjoyed the movie for what it was, a misplaced summer blockbuster. Suspend all belief, ye who enters here and the Rock is always a lot of fun.

Ticket to Paradise would probably have ended up on the accursed Hallmark Channel (sorry, Christmas movie season is rolling near) if not for the presence of George and Julia. They play against type as two very unlikable parents trying to break up the impending marriage of their daughter in Bali. The island scenes were appropriately idyllic and both of the major stars proved they can still carry a romantic comedy, even as supreme heels. It took maybe a tad to long for them to finally traverse to decent humans but the star power was enough to forgive the unforgivable acts. I’d keep an eye out for the young actor playing the besieged fiancé, Maxime Bouttier, definite screen presence, held his own with Clooney.

Three movies fell in my A-Z effort, all keepers, Bruce Almighty (still a little funny but what did we see in Carrey, seems more annoying than funny on a  re-watch), Bull Durham (Costner and baseball, always a wining combo), and Bullet to the Head (Walter Hill directed action and Stallone in an axe fight with Khal Drogo – great flick).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RECURRING CHARACTERS:                                      

ABFA – Amazing Best Family Athlete - my daughter in law; BR3 – Blog Reader #3 – granddaughter #3; BRS - Blog Reader the Sequel - second granddaughter; Cantankerous Friend – friend since grade school who likes to argue about everything, poses as radical leftist to attract women; Connecticut Riverboat Captain – another close friend from high school, renowned sailor of the big river; Curbside Girls – close friends of my daughter acquired during her single days in Brooklyn; Deckzilla – our backyard deck which grew to monstrous dimensions once my wife got involved in planning; Favorite Panamanian - the wife (of course); FBR - First Blog Reader - first granddaughter; First Friday – celebrations to mark the First Friday of the Week; Great Aunt - my elder sister; Keene Friends 1 & 2 – friends since high school from my home town of Keene, NH; Kindergarten Friend – friend since kindergarten whom I reunited with after many years; Maine and Virginia Musqueteras – two close friends of my wife – her US sisters, my wife is the 3^rd Musquetera (musketeer); Namesake Nephew – son of Great Aunt and Soxfather named after me; Neighborhood Mafioso - wife's close friend and Panamanian mafia member; PanaGals – female relatives /friends of my wife from Panama; Panamanian/Latin Mafia – inevitable group of Latino friends my wife accumulates wherever we have lived & their spouses; Pittsburgh College Roommate– high school friend, also a “Minor Celebrity” in Pittsburgh; Riggins - also known as the Grandpuppy, son's dog; Soxfather - my brother in law; Tia Loca – wife’s younger sister; Wingman – my son in law; Wingmom – Wingman’s mom, of course