Extraordinary Film Review!

I'm probably not as ashamed as I should be to say that the arts and style sections of the NYT are by far my favourites.  And by that I mean, all I really ever read.  I guess that makes me shallow, but hey, it's what I enjoy.

This morning was pretty rough, mostly as a result of the insomnia I experienced last night (see previous post), and the sore throat I woke up to - which of course inevitably means the onset of a cold I simply do not have the time to suffer through.  Please go away, cold.  

Anyhoo, back to the point.  Sitting in my inbox was my daily email from the NYT that shows the main headlines from each section.  As usual, I automatically scrolled down to Arts, and clicked on the A.O. Scott review for the new movie Harrison Ford/Brendan Fraser movie, Extraordinary Measures.  I must have been giddy with fatigue, because I just about died laughing at some of the over-the-top language used in this review.  I'd like to share a few priceless lines with you, but before I do I'd like to point out that I have a great deal of respect for A.O. Scott.  He has great taste in movies, and is also a very good writer.  I hope he continues to write in this fashion, as it makes me extremely happy.

1) Mr. Fraser, his eternal boyishness comfortably expanding in a pudgy 40-something frame, plays John Crowley.

2) His inquiries lead him to Robert Stonehill, a University of Nebraska professor played with sublime cantankerousness by Harrison Ford.

3) And the temperamental contrast between Stonehill and Crowley is also handled without too much exaggeration, though of course there are the requisite scenes of seething and shouting and storming in and out of offices. 

4) The desperate father’s impatience is often at odds with the scientist’s detachment, but “Extraordinary Measures” is ultimately about how feeling and objectivity can work together.  (Really, A.O.?  Now I have not seen this yet, but really?  That's what Extraordinary Measures is about?).

The worst thing is, I can't tell if it's me or Mr. Scott who has gone crazy.  Maybe both.  Maybe neither.  Maybe I should just stop now...