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Another weekend, another wedding reception in the concert hall's banquet room. This one was much nicer...the guests weren't drunk or obnoxious. I was only asked once if I worked for the Secret Service (usher captains wear headsets). The acme of the evening was hearing the bride ask for sodas at the bar. To my knowledge this is all the couple drank. Finally, newlyweds who'll remember their wedding night. The wedding party also had a clever touch...a number of people were asked to bring homemade cookies. So after dinner, as people were chatting and sipping their drinks, they could munch cookies. This is clever because it a.) makes people happy, b.) keeps their stomachs full of solids to better absorb the alcohol and c.) encourages the drinking of coffee. I just wish they'd have offered me some. Chocolate chip cookies are perhaps God's most perfect food. I watched Master and Commander yesterday...meh. It certainly didn't strike me as Best Movie material...I think a plot is required for that anyhow. The acting was very good and the technical realism outstanding. The central tension of the film, however, seemed to hinge on the conflicting ideologies of the captain and the ship's doctor. We're supposed to respect the doctor's scientific curiosity and drive, but ultimately want to fight alongside the swaggering captain. Nerd that I am, I'd rather tromp about the Galapagos looking for new species. Also, as a true nerd, I have questions about the accuracy of the relationship between captain and men. I rather doubt it was as chummy as portrayed. A&E's Horatio Hornblower series, while technically inferior and a bit too "clean" to be accurate, I think better captures the more common on-deck dynamic. It's probably a reflection of the filmmaker...HH is a British production. The captain is the captain, rank is rank, and you bloody-well do what you're ordered. The British fleet is superior to the French because her seamanship is better, her crews better disciplined and her captains cooler under fire. Standard British stiff-upper-lip stuff. M&C is, of course, a big-budget American movie...the captain leads by getting down and dirty with his men, by being a "common man." The Brits win here because they act like Americans. This is all well and good for Americans, but the captain is supposed to be British, even if he's being played by an Aussie. I still enjoyed the movie...just at arm's length. Though I do admit having to avert my eyes a couple times...the blood comes in buckets. I am such a wimp. |
