I’m sitting here at home, bored, on a Saturday night (how sad is that? I don’t have any wild, crazy parties to attend this weekend… as opposed to all those other weekends that I DO attend wild, crazy parties…). And for some inexplicable reason, I’ve settled on watching the Sylvester Stallone movie, “Daylight.” Must be a slow TV night. If you haven’t seen it, Daylight is about an accident in the Lincoln Tunnel that causes a collapse in two different sections, trapping a ragtag group of motorists inside. (They’d HAVE to be a ragtag group, because if they were just a “regular” group of people, the movie wouldn’t be as fun.) And, of course, not only are they trapped, but the Hudson River starts pouring in, threatening to drown them all. But this movie is actually amusing me somewhat – not because of the bad acting and horrible dialogue (for some reason the entire group keeps taking turns blaming Stallone for the precarious position they’ve found themselves in – “get us out! You said you could get us out! You lied to us!” It’s as if no one else is capable of strength or forming an idea. Eh, well, it’s just an action flick…) And I’m not amused because of Stallone’s inability to form coherent, intelligible language… wait a minute – yes I am.
But the main reason I’m amused is because this movie reminds me of all the times I’ve driven through the Lincoln Tunnel with mom and dad and whoever else happened to be with us, and how we’ve all felt compelled to remind mom of how CLOSE the river is to the ceiling of the tunnel. How it’s AMAZING that the tunnel even stays together. How it’s SUCH a long drive from one end to the other, and if you’re not careful, your car might get pummeled with falling tiles. Yes, we’ve had a lot of fun preying on mom’s fears. :)
Personally, I’d love to go to England some day so I could travel through the Chunnel to France (or vice versa…). But if mom came along, she’d no doubt take a ferry across the English Channel, because there’s no way she’d ever subject herself to a 31-mile underground-underwater tunnel. Imagine how much fun we’d have talking about all the falling ceiling tiles? (Mom would NOT be amused…)
Anyway, it would seem that everyone in the movie has made it out of the tunnel (except for a few extras, of course… there are always a few expendable extras) – even the dog has managed to swim and climb to safety. (Why does it seem like every disaster movie has to include a dog? And there’s always a point in the movie where you’re made to think MAYBE the dog is about to head off to that giant fire hydrant in the sky, but of course at the last second the dog is rescued, or manages to rescue itself. Because killing off the dog would NOT sit well with test audiences…) So I’m off to find something else to watch. Perhaps something with a bit more substance. I think I’ll start with the Travel Channel. Maybe they’re showing that documentary about the construction of the Chunnel…
5 comments:
Oh, you are an evil person.I'm with your mom on this one. I'd have the whitest knuckles and be digging the fiingernails into something soft, blood coming out my eyeballs from me squeezing them shut so tight. Well, okay, maybe a tad of hyperbole ther, but I'm a bit claustrophobic too.
And about the dog. It's something EVERYONE can agree on about the movie. You know, a sense of community. Who could ever wish ill on sad puppy eyes after all?
Another thing I've been meaning to say for sometime if I haven't before. Even if I have, it's worth saying again. Basically, it's a "thanks" for putting a smile on my face with your excellent writing. I've been meaning to ask: Have you had formal training (past high school)? As a writer, you obviously are good at painting the details of a picture or scenario that give it character and uniqueness. Do you do any other form of writing (creative or otherwise)?
I hear ya! I was quite bored myself last night. I found myself watching Design on a Dime! It was pretty good though, I must say. It would have been nice if we could have watched Daylight together...and made fun of it the whole time. That's the fun part about those sort of movies.
p.s. Give Echo a scratch behind the ears for me. ;)
Mwahahaha! (That's one of those evil laughs you hear from movie villains...) :)
Evydense, thank you so much for your kind words! It makes me happy to know I can make people smile. :) Unfortunately, I don't have a college degree (something I SHOULD go back and get...) but the few years I did spend in college, my major was English Writing and Rhetoric.
So I've taken a couple writing courses, and several literature courses. But I think the best way to learn how to write is to read a lot, and then simply WRITE a lot. I find that my writing evolves the more I read, because I'm constantly running across new authors with new voices and new styles I'd like to emulate.
I've written all kinds of short stories and anecdotes, and a very occasional poem. (I've never considered myself much of a poet, although every time I write a poem, I seem to receive very good feedback on it. So perhaps I'm a poet and don't know it? Ugh... I actually made myself roll my OWN eyes with that comment. :)) Maybe I'll post one of my stories or poems some day...
And Kat, it would've been WAY more fun if you would've been here to make fun of Daylight with me! And if Eric was here, he probably could've done some kind of silly Stallone impression... :) Echo says thanks for the scratch behind the ears, and say hi to Gus for her. Ah... puppy love... :)
I would love to read one of your poems!
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