TNT has had some stellar movies on today, as if they knew I was taking the day off. Isn't that thoughtful of them?

Starship Troopers (cheesy, but a tongue-in-cheek cheesy, so it is palatable), Star Trek: Insurrection (I was cross-stitching and napping, so missed most of this, but I'd seen it before), and Signs.

While M. Night Shyamalan has his critics, I can honestly say I've enjoyed all the movies of his I have seen. I think my favorite is Unbreakable, although I really like Lady in the Water also. However, I think Signs is probably the best regarded of all his films, with good reason. I've never seen a "science fiction" movie (it's about alien invasion, but not really) approached from this point of view, and Shyamalan tells a beautifully emotional story that doesn't depend on the science fiction aspect at all. As a matter of fact, if you take the sci-fi element out of the movie, you still have a powerful story.

It's all about the story. And if it's not, it should be.

He's at work on The Last Airbender, and although I'm not familiar with the television show on which it's based, it looks interesting and I like the plot summary. He's due to hit another home run, but we'll see. Shyamalan has been accused of being rather "self-indulgent", and his last few films have not done well with critics or the box office, although The Happening did better at the box office, it was generally considered to suck. I haven't seen it.

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Is there someone hawter than Viggo Mortensen in the LOTR movies? No, didn't think so.

*phew*

I love LOTR (in spite of the lack of strong female archetypes. In this, I definitely approve the expansion of Arwen in the movie). I read it in high school (freshly carved on stone tablets back in the day) and I have always had a copy with me ever since. I can't count how many times I've read it, and I used to have trivia contests with other people who read it. When the movies came out, I was really apprehensive about watching them. There's just no way they could live up to the experiences I had in Middle-Earth myself.

But of course, I had to watch. And for the most part, I was not disappointed. There is one change made to the story that I totally abhor (besides missing Tom Bombadil). That is the portrayal of Faramir.

I felt absolutely outraged at how Faramir was depicted in the movie. It's the polar opposite (imo) of the character in the book, and I hate that part of the movie. I don't watch it. It actually makes me sick to my stomach. While Boromir was...weak? Not, that's not the right word...misguided? (yes, that fits better) his brother, Faramir, was cut from a different bolt of cloth. I think this is because Faramir was more tempered by his father's favoritism toward Boromir, and had a stronger moral fiber.

Anyway, I don't see how changing the character made the movie any better, and it pisses me off -- worse, it offends me as a lifelong fan -- that Faramir was made to look like just another weak and greedy man devoid of honor and common sense when in fact, he was just the opposite.

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I have traveled to many wondrous places today, thanks to the wonder of movies and TNT. It was a lovely day off. Maybe I should send them a thank-you card. Heh.

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From the Vault of Personal Experience:

In hindsight, you may think you haven't always made the right decisions. However, make peace with the fact you made the best choices you could at the time with what you had, and let it go already.

I have played that damned mash-up video about a hundred times. Damn you, DJEarworm!

I have yet to find my niche. At my age, I'm ashamed of that.

Never take advice from a guy named "Wormtongue". Just sayin'.