This past weekend the boy and I had quite a bit of time together. Griffin had sleep-overs on both Friday and Saturday. So Friday, he and I were paging through the home-theater channels to see what movies there were.
I am Legend
Cool. But is he old enough? I’d heard that the baddies were more campy than scary so I figured he’d be okay with it. Idea: Let’s watch the free preview… that didn’t go so well… “Um, maybe we shouldn’t watch this.” Actually, I guess it did go well, because he did the responsible thing and wave off (unlike his father). We ended up sticking The Fellowship of the Ring into the DVD player.
Saturday morning, we decided that I am Legend would be more palatable in daylight with a whole day before bedtime. I like Will Smith, but he plays pretty much the same character in all his movies. And I haven’t read Matheson’s book, but my understanding is that there’s a bit of deviation from it, especially around the happy ending of the movie. But that’s not the point….
I remember seeing The Big Red One with my dad when I was like 10 or 11. It was a bit of a father-son moment. It was the point in time where my dad said, “Hey, you’re getting old enough that we can enjoy some of the guy things like war movies together.” It was something I didn’t really realize at the time, but after Hays was born it clicked, and I’ve been waiting almost 10 years for it to happen.
And then on Saturday night, we were once again out and about and decided to catch a discount showing of National Treasure: Book of Secrets. I had taken both kids to see it during its original theatrical release, but for less than a fiver I had blocked out two hours of entertainment. It’s flashier than the original, but the “puzzles” in this one are framed much more obviously as plot devices, which makes them predictable (eye-rolling). Nick Cage is a damn fine actor, but he’s not aging very gracefully. The pancake makeup and (assumed) hairpiece were noticeable. But it’s an entertaining story and Hays enjoyed it — nine-year-olds aren’t nearly as critical of movies.
After the movie (10pm), we went and got burgers and I learned that I’m getting old. Eating a grease bomb at 10:30 at night is a sure path to night-long indigestion and heartburn nowadays. Damn.
I’m hoping Abby likes non-girly movies, or else I’ll be stuck bonding over 2016’s version of Mandy Moore.
I Am Legend is much easier to handle in the daylight, and it’s very different from the novella. I thought it would freak Andrew out, but he liked it and didn’t lose sleep (from what I could tell, anyway!) And I love being able to watch those kinds of movies with the boys. Much better than Barney and Rugrats….