movies: July 2007 Archives

We had a nice family evening together watching Charlotte's Web tonight. You'll probably remember the story, from E. B. White, about the little girl who saves a runt pig from certain death. The little pig befriends the other farm animals, including a spider who again saves him from being the main course at Christmas dinner, and goes on to win hearts and minds at the county fair.

My daughter just loves this story, so we had to get he latest version of it. This 2006 features Dakota Fanning as Fern, the little girl who saves Wilbur ( The Pig ) and gives him a home in her uncle's barn. The cast also includes the voices of many stars including Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Buscemi, Robert Redford, John Cleese and Kathy Bates.

It's packed full of funny and entertaining scenes that follow the original story. If you loved the original book or the animated version, this remake with live action and computer generated graphics will certainly provide for an entertaining evening.

I'm a big fan of The X Files. I've watched every episode countless times. Every time the 1998 movie, Fight the Future is on I watch whatever I can of it. I'm not exactly sure of the reason, perhaps it is the relationship between Mulder and Scully or the anticipation that Mulder will finally find his sister and reveal the government conspiracy to hide evidence of extraterrestrials.

Regardless, fans like myself were never exceptionally happy when the series ended and have wished for something more. Well, according to IGN, there may be a new X Files movie coming out as early as next summer. This info came directly from David Duchovny ( Fox Mulder ) who has also confirmed that Gillian Anderson ( Dana Scully ) will also be involved with the movie. And this isn't the only source. Reuters is reporting the same information.

So I guess the only thing really to speculate about is what the movie will be about. According to screenhead.com the movie will have to stand on it's own merits without going too deep into anything after the end of season 9. It can't be related to aliens or abduction. From my understanding about the mythology of The X Files, it could go a number of ways:

• The Black Oil and Colonization
• The Clones and Hybrids
• The Abductions, the Coverup, and the Rebels
• Mulder, Scully, Doggett, Reyes, and the X-files
• The Syndicate and the Informants
• Other Characters
• Family Matters
• The Origin of Humanity and Religion, Telepathic Powers, and the Alien DNA
• The New Colonization Plans, the Super Soldiers, and the Pregnancy
• The Digital Tape and the Anasazi
• Mulder's Flight and Beyond

Personally, I think it would be pretty interesting if it picked up with Scully, her kid, and Mulder together and still digging deeper into the story. I'm looking forward to this movie. Don't get me wrong . . . I'm not one of those nuts that watches the night skies waiting to be abducted or fearing aliens bearing anal probing hardware. I'm just a big fan of the X Files.

I came across this post earlier today. It is an Open Letter to Michael Moore suggesting that he make a movie much like Sicko, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 911 or Roger and Me. I have yet to see Sicko, but I have seen his other movies. I do find his movies thought-provoking enough that it has ignited an urge to find out more about the topics he chooses to grapple with. While some would challenge the validity of the facts Michael uses in his films, ( and I'm not going to debate that point ) he clearly wishes to see people dig deeper that what they are commonly exposed to via major news outlets.

Which brings me directly to the point of this post . . . Do you trust the news you receive regardless of its vehicle or source of delivery? The news you watch on TV? The news you read in magazines? Newspapers? Internet? Even if there was some sort of expose would it really make a difference?