A Reminder:

OK, Dinky, now you'll remember: After that thick piece of heavily-iced birthday cake you ate with your hands because you were too lazy to get a fork, wash your hands before you play your guitar.

This week was full of movies. This time of year my friend the movie reviewer lets me watch his Academy Award screeners to see what I think. That's how I was able to view "Big Fish" three weeks before it was out. I was so psyched to see "Lost in Translation" with Bill Murray, but I still haven't finished it. It just doesn't grab me. I like art films, just not the ones that scream, "Look at me, I'm an Art Film." Bill Murray is good, as always, but there's just not enough there for him to be good at. My friend, Scooter, said it best: The filmakers spent so much energy trying to say something that just didn't seem that important.

"21 Grams" was far more interesting but I'm still not sure I like what it had to say. I didn't like the way it was saying it at first, but in retrospect, the arrangement of the scenes was pretty cool. It's kind of like watching "Memento" in which the movie is presented backwards, finish to start. Except that while that movie is still linear, "21 Grams" is all mixed up. You don't know if the scene you're watching takes place after or before the one you just saw. Pretty ingenious, really, considering the characters' lives are in shambles. You have to puzzle the movie back together at the same time the characters are trying to put back the pieces of their existence. I'd say it's nothing more than a downer, but I've seen worse. At least this movie lets you have a glimmer of hope.

I also took the opportunity to watch a couple of old movies that I've missed. One of these is "Fight Club." I loved it. Ok, I didn't love it, but I liked it a lot. It was hard to switch gears in the middle and go from laughing at everything to tripping over the intensity of the "other movie" the third act becomes. But once I had a chance to digest everything. . . well . . . does anybody want to fight? I mean, really, no obligations, no winning or losing. We can even put on gloves and headgear if you want. I just want to fight now.

I didn't have a chance to watch "Cold Mountain." I hope he lets me borrow it for a few more days.

The aforementioned birthday cake was for my boy who turned 8 back in December. We waited to have his party so it could truly be his day rather than just a small part of Christmas. It was the first time the kids have gone bowling. I haven't been in a long time. I couldn't believe how much it cost. But it was fun. I won, of course. My score, you ask? Well, um, it was 87. But, come on! I didn't even have time to warm up. The worst part is, my three-year-old came close to beating me, but then, I only had to trip him once and it threw off the rest of his game.