Thing 101: The Patriot

101. Watch the DVDs I own but have never seen.

The Patriot: Mel Gibson is a strange, strange man. But I like him as an actor. Here he plays a father who is reluctantly dragged into fighting in the Revolutionary War and ends up a hero. Lots of bloody battles, lots of absurd "stand in a straight line and shoot at each other"-style fighting, lots of Gibson's patented Crazy Eye look. I liked Heath Ledger as the eldest son, causing me to once again shake my fist at him for dying so young. It was, however, a little surreal to see Lucius Malfoy as a Redcoat. Few actors can pull off that kind of evil.

Anyway, it was fine and something I might put on as background noise another time, but certainly not a film I'd go out of my way to see.

Thing 101: The Patriot

101. Watch the DVDs I own but have never seen.

The Patriot: Mel Gibson is a strange, strange man. But I like him as an actor. Here he plays a father who is reluctantly dragged into fighting in the Revolutionary War and ends up a hero. Lots of bloody battles, lots of absurd "stand in a straight line and shoot at each other"-style fighting, lots of Gibson's patented Crazy Eye look. I liked Heath Ledger as the eldest son, causing me to once again shake my fist at him for dying so young. It was, however, a little surreal to see Lucius Malfoy as a Redcoat. Few actors can pull off that kind of evil.

Anyway, it was fine and something I might put on as background noise another time, but certainly not a film I'd go out of my way to see.

Thing 85: A Wrinkle in Time

85. Attend 5 plays

Current progress: 3/5

On the day after Christmas, my husband and I went to the Roundhouse Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland, to see A Wrinkle in Time. It was well-done, with a minimalist set, tiny cast (just 6 people, and two of them only played one character each), and lots of interesting special effects. I read the book a few years back, but decided against rereading it before seeing the play, and I'm kind of glad I did that. This way I was just taking the play at face value instead of constantly comparing it to the novel. I was particularly impressed with the lead, a woman in her twenties who convincingly played 14-year-old Meg Murry. My husband suggested we make it a tradition to see a play at Christmas every year. I agreed.

Thing 85: A Wrinkle in Time

85. Attend 5 plays

Current progress: 3/5

On the day after Christmas, my husband and I went to the Roundhouse Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland, to see A Wrinkle in Time. It was well-done, with a minimalist set, tiny cast (just 6 people, and two of them only played one character each), and lots of interesting special effects. I read the book a few years back, but decided against rereading it before seeing the play, and I'm kind of glad I did that. This way I was just taking the play at face value instead of constantly comparing it to the novel. I was particularly impressed with the lead, a woman in her twenties who convincingly played 14-year-old Meg Murry. My husband suggested we make it a tradition to see a play at Christmas every year. I agreed.