Movie Review: Good Night, and Good Luck

One thing I kind of miss sometimes is going to movies. I like going to movies, and being sucked into a different world for awhile (while eating popcorn, of course). Quite understandably, since having children it is something I get to indulge in less and less. So far this year, I've been to one movie at the theater, Curious George (it was okay). Last year, I think I maybe went to four movies. While I got to go to Star Wars Ep. III and the Wallace & Grommit movie, I also sat through Shark Boy and Lava Girl. So, most of the few movies I get to see are on DVD.

This past weekend, we rented Good Night, and Good Luck, a film about the journalist Edward R. Murrow standing up to the Red Scare in part perpetuated by Sen. Joe McCarthy.

I thought the film was well done, the message was a good one, the actors were swell, and the pace was good. I liked the use of black and white, and the placing the film within its context was superbly done. But the film lacked in a few departments as well, most notably time and story development.

Now, the movie runs short at only 93 minutes. During this 93 minutes, there seems to be a lot of filler. There are three songs sung by Diane Reeves, in their entirety. There are also numerous ads shown, though these are nice because it really helps set the context of the story and the times. One of the two "side-stories" involves two of the co-workers hiding the fact that they are married, as company policy of the time dictated that no couples could be employed by CBS. Other than adding that little drama and context, this storyline feels completely unnecessary to the plot of the story. It feels out of place, or that it could in fact be another entire story on its own merit. But it doesn't seem to belong at all to the main storyline. So, in essence, we've got a short story being told with a lot of contextual fluff.

The other part that seemed to be lacking is any real conflict and/or drama. There is some tension, but I think that the conflict in this story really isn't present at the individual level for the characters. Joe McCarthy isn't cast as an actor in this film, as George Clooney decided instead (and perhaps wisely) to use clips of McCarthy instead. Now, I applaud this move from a historical standpoint, and respect it. But we lose two things because of this. We lose and direct, unrecorded communications that may have occurred between McCarthy and Murrow (if there was any, of which I do not know). But we also lose the "evil guy plotting in his lair" type sequences. Without this, the story becomes rather one-sided and fails to show McCarthy, his agenda, his plans, and ultimately, his demise. Instead, we view the hero and his cronies overcoming a challenge that didn't seem very real or difficult. Which doesn't make for much drama.

Overall I was satisfied watching the film. It was engaging, but also lacking. I'm sure other people liked it more, but I don't think it was Oscar worthy. (Not that the Oscars are really worth much, in my humble opinion.)

Not Dead Yet

"I...feel...happy....I think I'll go for a walk...."

So, somehow we all survived. It got worse before it got better. After the last post, I got sick, but Nicholas got better. So I had a couple of sick days at home sans family to try to rest up.

Poor Carma got sick too, but she didn't let it ruin her trip to Paris.

Needless to say, we were glad when she returned though.

Sick of Sickness

I don't want this to come off as a series of complaints, but I do want to remember how much it sucks when your entire family is sick.

It all started last weekend, when Thurman started to feel ill. He was clingy and morose and cranky, which should have clued us in that he was sick. He also had been yawning and complaining that his ears were plugged up.

We figured he had som kind of sinus thing, and gave him Benadryl to help clear it up. Well, on Monday morning he was hard to awaken in the morning, very sluggish, and cranky. He also said he wasn't very hungry. I made him a pancake anyway and told him he should try to eat some. Carma and I were discussing whether or not to send him to school when he vomited on the pancake. End of discussion.

So, he and I stayed home that day, and he felt mostly better it seemed. He napped some, and ate a bit of lunch. We played video games and watched a movie. I took him to the doctor that afternoon, and was a little surprised to have the diagnosis: both of his ears were infected. He was prescribed some amoxicillin, which we got. We went to pick up Niko and Carma about 5:30, and got home. Next thing we knew, he was vomiting in the garage.

So the debate Tuesday morning was whether or not to send him to school. He seemed fine, and didn't want to miss school again. Both Carma and I had pressing issues at work to deal with, and so we sent him.

So Tuesday afternoon when I went to pick him up, he had just had a HUGE amount of diarrhea in his pants. Let me preface the next part by saying I love my son, and would do anything for him. But cleaning up that mess was the most disgusting thing I've ever had to do. I struggled to keep myself from vomiting the stench was so bad. It took about 20 minutes just to clean him up and get him changed.

So again, the discussion at home was whether or not Thurman should go to school. We figured that the diarrhea was a one-time thing.

We were so very wrong.

Wednesday, I was called to come get him because his diarrhea was bad. The poor kid spent over an hour in the bathroom, and the poor teacher who had helped clean him up. That night, we decided it was best to put him in his "Goodnights" training pants, because he just couldn't help it. We felt bad for the poor kid.

Thursday he spent the day at one of our friend's house, after Carma took him back to the doctor. The doctor, like us, figured it might be an adverse reaction to the Amoxicillin (which we stopped giving him on Wednesday). His ears appeared to be fine though, so he didn't give us a prescription for different antibiotics for Thurman. We were told to monitor the diarrhea situation, and if it hadn't stopped by Friday, to bring him in Saturday. Thursday the diarrhea was better, but still hadn't stopped.

Friday, Carma took him with her to work, which made for a stressful day for her. He only had it once that night, and not very much. So, we decided to pass on bringing him to the doctor's office, and thank heavens that was finally the end of it.

Except that then, Nicholas came down with a cold. A pretty bad one, with tons of snot. Plus he started teething again. Usually, Niko gets up once during the night for a bottle. The past few nights, I doubt he's been up and needed our "help" no less than four times a night. Which makes for very long nights for all of us (except Thurman, who miraculously can sleep through anything).

So, Monday (yesterday) Nicholas was too sick to go to his daycare, with a low-grade fever and his cold. So, I stayed home with him, which was not easy. He was clingy, fussy, tired, and not very hungry all day. We went to get Thurman in the afternoon, and according to his teachers, had spent a lot of the day yawning and saying that his ears were causing him some discomfort.
Monday was an especially long day because after work, Carma was scheduled to go give a lecture at Rutgers. She came home about 11:00 pm, and told me that she wasn't feeling well. She had a sore throat, was congested, and felt sick. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had a sore throat, and felt nauseatingly tired and sick.

Today, Carma is taking both boys to the doctor, while taking a sick day herself. I'm at the office, despite my body's protests and desire to be in bed.

Oh, and Carma's flight for Paris leaves in less than 60 hours, and I'll be at home with the boys for five days. I really, really, really hope we all feel better by then.