I've come to the conclusion that the best time to see movies is weeknights or Sunday, late at night. There are generally few people in the theatre so you don't have to get there so early, and the people that do go then don't seem to be as obnoxious. Or maybe the level of obnoxiousness is the same, it's just less noticeable because there are fewer people. At any rate, I am a fan of off peak movie watching.
In an attempt to get me out of the house after an entire day sitting in front of my laptop, Jeff took me out to see "Walk the Line" last night. I had heard lots of good things about the movie so I had high hopes. My high hopes were mostly realized.
The acting in "Walk the Line" was truly amazing. Both Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon performed phenomenally. However, the movie itself could have used some work. Not that it was bad, it just wasn't on par with the performances. Some parts could have been edited more effectively and I wish they had been able to focus on the complexities of Johnny Cash rather than the straight up alcohol and drug abuse. Obviously that was a big part of his life, but at times the movie seemed to reduce it to a stereotypical story of an addict. It would have been nice to go a little bit deeper. One scene in particular, where he seems to be inspired to perform in prisons due to letters from inmates could have been explored in a more meaningful way. (I mean, unless I missed it, they just focused on Folsom prison, when in reality he performed at other prisons, like San Quentin, where interestingly Merle Haggard - then an inmate - heard Cash perform). At times the movie seemed to reduce Cash to just another addict musician, when he was so much more.
All in all it was good though, and the performances of the two leads are certainly worthy of Oscar nomination. And hey - if it gets more people to listen to Johnny Cash music, it's all good.
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