12/27/04--Its like waiting for the cable guy

So today my entire day has centered around waiting for this contractor to come and give us an estimate on some work we need done on our bathroom that was damaged during one of the hurricanes.  (Who remembers which one?  Weren't there like 20 this year?)  Anyway, he was supposed to come between 9am & 10am.  I get a phone call around 9:50am saying there was some sort of an emergency and he won't be able to make it until around 12pm.  Which was a little over 2 hours ago, and you've probably figured out....he's not here yet.  Hence the title of today's column.  Remember how the cable guy would come to your house and they would give you some sort of a window like "he'll be there between 8am & 2pm".  Just enough to totally fuck you day.  We're having to due this because our home owners insurance company apparently thinks that contractors are currently being paid minimum wage.  The sent us back their evaluation saying that (no lie here) knocking out the drywall in our bathroom, disposing of it and then putting in new drywall will cost--about $8.   Yeah, right.  If we were still living in the 30's.  I was telling my neighbor Sal about that (he works for a contractor) and he laughed. 
"Most contractors I know won't even get out of their car for less than $150."

My point exactly.

So I managed to catch a few movies over the weekend.  Here are my thoughts:
1) The Fog of War--this is not for everyone.  Okay, its not for just about everybody.  But, for those of you who are interested in U.S. history, and who can watch a documentary without immediately thinking BORING!, you'll find this to be a really interesting, oftend fascinating look back at the U.S. war effort in WW II & in Vietnam, through this interview with former secretary of defense Robert McNamara.
McNamara is perhaps best known for his role in Vietnam, and at the time was vilified by anti-war activists as the person who was most responsible for keeping american troops in southeast Asia.  However, I found especially compelling his thoughts on WW II, particularly his comments on what the U.S. was doing BEFORE the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
"I felt if we lost the war that I could be tried as a war criminal."
I'm sorry, but that is powerful stuff, and if you really want to try something a little out of the ordinary--watch this film.  No matter if your a democrat or a republican, it is one fascinating look at a recent chapter in U.S. history as told by someone who was there.  ****1/2
2) Orange County--when this little teen comedy came out, it was primarily in the news because the star of the film was Tom Hanks' son Colin, and his co-star was Schulyer Fisk, daughter of Sissy Spacek.  Its got more to it than that.  This is a pleasant diversion for 90 minutes or so, a step above the ususal teen summer fare, with Hanks trying to do everything he can to get into Stanford.  Some funny moments from a stellar supporting cast, including Jack Black, Catherine O'Hara, Lily Tomlin, Harold Ramis, Chevy Chase & an uncredited Kevin Kline.  Fisk  in particular really shines, and shows real star potential.  ***
3) Black Cadillac--here's a neat little gem that I stumbled upon late one night.
Here's the premise:  3 friends, on the way back home on a school break, stop at a roadside bar and get mixed up with some of the locals.  Soon after, they begin to notice that they're being stalked by a ominous looking black car (the title...get it?).
Nobody in the cast that you'd recognize, except Randy Quaid, who has a small part as the town's sheriff....but this is a pretty neat little thriller in the mold of JoyRide & the superior Kurt Russell film "Breakdown".  On a smaller scale, this is a pretty good little thrillride all of its own.  ***1/2

Later,
Jeff