Movie and a Book

We like to watch movies. Sometimes it takes us a few weeks to get through a whole movie, because we are so busy, plus usually I fall asleep before it ends. But we finally got through this one:

I realize it's not new. But my husband assured me it was a goodie. Have you seen it? If not, allow me to ruin the ending for you. She dies. It's horrific and depressing, and it ruined the entire movie for me. Skip finds it annoying that I expect all movies to have a happy ending. What. I do. There's enough sadness in real life. Hollywood needs to make me happy.

Hilary Swank was pretty good in her role as trailer trash who makes it big by optimistically working her way into women's boxing. You really root for her the whole movie. And then, BAM! Championship fight, grand prize... you guessed it... one million dollars. She takes a cheap hit from an animal of an opponent, falls wrong onto a chair, and breaks her neck. The rest of the movie she is paralyzed and dying. Clint Eastwood, Mr. Flint and Steel, is softened by her innocence and determination. He spends most of the movie chasing demons from his past, avoiding repentance, and lashing out at the world. And in the end, instead of finding redemption in a truly honest way, he "honors her wishes" by unplugging her breathing tube and injecting her with adrenaline. I mean, I woulda begged the guy to do the same thing for me, make no mistake. But the whole movie was so depressing, and his noble act of assisted suicide was very confusing to my conscience.

Don't see it. Unless you like that sort of thing.

Moving on.

I read this:

We like Tupac's music around here. We obviously don't listen to it very much because it is not appropriate for children, and we always seem to have some of those floating around. I am not trying to put the guy on a pedestal here. He was clearly a self-professed thug. Just ask his abs. But this book was written from the viewpoint of a young black girl whose life was profoundly affected by Pac's music. I actually checked it out of our school library... it's a Newberry Honoree. If you'd like to take a look into a life vastly different from your own and still feel connected to the honest emotions of it all, then read this. I cried a little. But I cried a lot at Million Dollar Baby, and I rate things based on the type and quantity of tears they make me shed.

The end.