Sitting Here Lonely With No One To Hold Me

[Control Myself – Maroon 5]

I went to see RED today with Catherine.

The cinema wasn’t very full – I think it’s at the end of its run – but I think that it was actually better off that way.

The movie, in my opinion, was actually really enjoyable. It didn’t go over the top with amazing improbably action stunts, but it did have it’s amazingly cool moments – Bruce Willis stepping out of a spinning car, calm as a hardwood coffee table, John Malkovich exploding a bazooka missile by shooting it dead on its head – but I think the best part was that they made it funny without appearing to try.

A lot of the humor were more subtle than in-your-face comedy – there were some reactionary expressions, meaningful silences, and some plain hilarious situations. There were times when the pacing of the dialogue, in trying to show that these guys were relaxed seasoned spies, was a bit slow, but mostly they made up for it.

And I think that John Malkovich did a pretty damn good job of being a paranoid retired spy who was “given a dose of LSD daily for 11 years”. I liked him since Johnny English, and every time I see him on screen I think “oh this should be good”.

I wouldn’t say go out of your way to see it, especially since it’s ending, but if it comes up as a movie choice on DVD night, pick it!

Anyway, after the movie Catherine and I had our newly made yearly tradition of a Nandos lunch together, and we had a good talk about Uni and her future choices. She did not laugh like Ernie once. I was disappoint.

Alex.

Another Ghost That’s Been In Your Bed

[Bubble Wrap – McFly]

Today I said goodbye to one of my best friends Cathy. She went to QLD. She’ll be back in 7 weeks for a bit but that’s not the point!

Woke up at 6:30 (I swear, I fucking swear the birds were still sleeping) and quickly had breakfast. Took a 7:40 something train up to Southern Cross, and bought a Skybus ticket. Took the bus to the airport feeling severely under-luggaged – everyone else was carrying at least one respectably sized suitcase, and I was carrying an obviously empty Country Road bag.

Caught up with Cathy and chatted for a bit, and had a good hug (I was suppressing tears, for her sake, I swear). Then took the bus back. On the way back I overheard a couple asking the lady next to me if she knew how to get to Lt Bourke St. Since I was going to Melb Central to meet with Jenny after, I offered to walk them there. Had a chat about the weather differences between Melbourne and Toronto, about why they’re here in Melbourne when there’s a Winter Olympics going on over there, and all that stuff. I was glad I decided to be the nice local for them to start a good holiday here.

Met up with Jenny, and got tickets to Daybreakers which I knew proved to be interesting as 1) it’s about vampires and 2) Jenny hates thrillers. Had lunch at Nando’s (where I discovered she couldn’t handle chilli at all) where Jenny had her first experience of Peri Peri chips. Then we went to Southbank, where I discovered that Jenny hates bridges and heights and deep water (which is pretty much how to cross Southbank). Then we went back to Melb Central, and met up with Catherine (major yay, DESPITE her WAGGING). After that, we sat in the arcade for a bit, then went to see the movie.

To her credit, Jenny wasn’t as bad as April in Disturbia. April in Disturbia was embarrassing. Jenny managed to not be embarrassing. Then again, to her, most of the movie was her hand covering her eyes.

Daybreakers was pretty interesting. I mean, story wise, it wasn’t anything deep and meaningful, pretty basic stuff. But their spin on vampirism, and how vampires deal to survive, and the brutality of beasts, were very refreshing. Also, there was a lot of gore. The movie relied heavily on loud sounds and sudden moves, as well as a LOT of blood flying everywhere to get the bone chilling factor, but oh well, what else can they do? At least these vampires fucking sizzled and burned in the sun, unlike another unmentionable.

In all, a pretty good day. I got a text when we were at Southbank from Cathy saying that my plane letter made her cry for an hour. Ah win! She made the point that we might see each other more when she comes down to visit than we did in 09. Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone? True.

I miss you, “Bi Bo Boop”.

Alex.