So I didn’t mention that I spent Saturday morning enduring my first session with my new personal trainer. Her name is Amy, which will sort of make it like I’m screaming at myself when I tell her to go to hell in the middle of 200,000 lunges. Okay, so it wasn’t 200,000 but for legs that are unaccustomed to such labor, it might as well have been. And of course, being the masochist that I am, this is exactly why I’m paying her. Left to my own devices I would never willingly perform a lunge, much less multiple sets of them. Or a ball squat. Or any ab related work more intense than your basic crunch.

The workout itself was good. The aftermath has been an agony of soreness. My thighs want to turn inside out with every step I take. They seem a little better today, three days out. Soreness shouldn’t last three days, should it? Anyway, it was pretty good and I’m paid up for five Saturdays. She took the evil body fat percentage test (go to hell, Amy) and the weights and measurements (go to hell, Amy), so at the end of five weeks I’ll actually be able to tell if she’s done me any good at all. I’m optimistic.

The Rain in Spain

Tonight we’ve got tickets to the Alliance Theatre’s production of My Fair Lady. This will be our first visit to the Alliance since we’ve lived here and provided I can make it home from work in time to change and head back downtown before the curtain rises, I’m looking forward to it.

Mystic Oscar

As the countdown to Oscar gets shorter and shorter I am once again monumentally behind on almost all of the nominated films. One film I have seen though is Mystic River. I have a lot to say about it but it all has to be prefaced with the admission that uhm, I read the book. For some of you this might discredit any opinion I have about the film as being biased by the novel, and maybe I am–a little. But I’ve always maintained a good balance about film adaptations of good books–they’re separate entities and can be good or bad for very different reasons.

I hated Seabiscuit the movie. Loved the book. I quit reading Cold Mountain about halfway through out of sheer boredom–the movie looks pretty damn entertaining to me.

As a whole, Mystic River the movie did not impress me. Sean Penn was brilliant. Easily one of the most powerful screen performances of the year. Unfortunately, the movie becomes almost completely about his character. As a director I think Eastwood missed the boat here. This could have been a very taut ensemble drama about three broken men, their shared past and their damaged friendships and lives. Instead it became, “Sean Penn lost his daughter!” while Kevin Bacon’s character is barely developed and Tim Robbin’s Dave wanders around looking more like a mildly retarded man than a guy with deep psychological pain.

And that is probably what bugged me the most about the film. Robbins. I freaking love Tim Robbins and I hated him in this movie. Dave should have been the most tragic player in this whole story and instead he comes off so pathetic and repellent that you pretty much feel that whatever happens to him is his own stupid fault. Because of course, it’s all about Sean Penn! He’s who we should love. He’s who we should pity. Whatever.

Laura Linney is completely under utilized but gets one of the films most important and bracing bits of dialog towards the end of the movie. And Marcia Gay Harden’s portrayal of Dave’s wife was so good it kills me to think how much better it would have been if Robbins and Eastwood had given her anything to play off of.

In short, Sean Penn for best actor? Sure. Eastwood for best director? No. I just think there was too much wasted talent and too many wasted opportunities. Mystic River for best picture? Again, no. Marcia Gay Harden for best supporting actress? Sure. Tim Robbins for best supporting actor? I’m sorry, no. And again, it kills me to say that. I’d vote for Tim Robbins for president. In this film, I’m just not feeling the love.

So there you have it, my completely uninvited review of Mystic River. Sometimes I can’t help myself. Maybe I should have tried to figure out what tasty appetizers Shannon and Laura are going to make to match all of these categories for the Oscar Party. Sean Penne Rigate, anyone?