Oops. Movies

I missed a day! Only 22 days into NaBloPoMo -- National Blog Posting Month (although I haven't officially signed up) -- which is a pledge to blog every day for a month (and then to do that every month) -- and I missed a day.  Chalk it up to social pressures.

Mater Familias is visiting.  After a day cleaning, and then a day essentially picking her up (Logan Airport makes all air travel all that much worse -- they were actually stopping cars and searching them on Thursday, in the midst of the usual tangle of traffic entering the aiport), we sat and talked all day yesterday. Very pleasant.  We did drive to a local mall and walk around, for exercise (because Mater doesn't do very well on icy streets and there are no sidewalks around here).

First night she was here, we watched Charade, the classic Audrey Hepburn-Cary Grant (and can't leave out Walter Matthau) romantic thriller.  Last night, it was Michael Clayton, the recent George Clooney (and can't leave out Tilda Swinton or Tom Wilkinson) non-romantic thriller.

Of course, we loved Charade -- there's nothing not to love, especially as the story made a point that Cary Grant (59 years when the movie was made) was way too old for Audrey Hepburn (33 years when the movie was made), although their age difference wasn't as egregious as many films of the period.  I don't know how the same story would hold up, today -- Audrey, for all her gamine, convincing, sincere beauty, was rather dependent, clingy and almost stupidly trusting. (Perhaps the proof is in the pudding -- it was remade as The Truth about Charlie in 2002, which did badly critically and at the box office.  But the remake didn't have Hepburn and Grant.)

We liked Michael Clayton, too. Mater even commented on the quality of the theme music (which might be a sign of a bad movie -- that you're paying attention to the music, not the story, but in this case is not). It had just the right amount of suspense for me, more of a story of self-discovery than of thrills and chills.

George Clooney arguably could be called as much of a movie star, with that essential quality of charm and looks and gravitas, as Cary Grant.  Pair him with, perhaps, Scarlett Johansson in 10 years, or Amy Adams in 5, and you might get something approaching the magnetism of the classic stars. (Other suggestions for young women stars -- no one will have that unique Hepburn quality, but they might have some quality that's equivalent?)