Usually I take the direct Amsterdam to Seattle flight at 10:15am, arriving 11:25am. But since I didn't know my schedule in Berlin when I bought my plane tickets, I opted for a later flight via Minneapolis that leaves Amsterdam at 1:25pm and arrives in Seattle at a gut-wrenching 7:19pm... a full five hours of extra travel time.
At which point I have to drive 2-1/2 hours to get home.
Usually the drive is no big deal, but yesterday it became one by the time I left the airport at 8:00pm completely exhausted. Things were further drawn out when I stopped 45 minutes outside of Seattle in North Bend at the Mt. Si Shell Station (pronounced "Mount Sigh") to fuel up.
I only mention this because the gas station is across the street from the Mt. Si Chevron Station, which is the place that Sandra Bullock disappeared without a trace in the Jeff Bridges/Kiefer Sutherland thriller The Vanishing. This was a crappy remake of a pretty good Dutch movie called Spoorloos, but with the customary Hollywood "happy ending" slapped on to ruin the film. Well, it was actually ruined before the ending, but that's what I remember disappointing me most...
Speaking of movies, I rather liked the film The Young Victoria that was playing on-demand during my flight home...
This was surprising to me, because usually I can't stand weepy period romance films. But this was something entirely different, with politics and power playing a bigger role than romance. If that wasn't enough, the production values and performances were all top-notch. Emily Blunt has come a long way since The Devil Wears Prada... which is kind of incredible when you consider the movies were only two years apart!
And now I suppose I should get back to work. I seem to be buried again.
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I’m about as big of a Jeff Bridges fan there is (Dude!), but I hated The Vanishing. And I haven’t even seen Spoorloos, even though I’ve been meaning to see it one day. Terrible flick.
That was Sandra Bullock? I saw a teaser the other day where someone is buried alive and thought of this movie — though I’d forgotten the title and couldn’t think of the female in it. I’m guessing I had no idea who she was back then.
Oddly enough, I do like period pieces. Haven’t seen that one, though.
I saw Young Victoria on our train ride up to Vancouver for TC2010!
You know, when I met you at Tequilacon, I should have asked you what it is that you DO. You’re always traveling! 🙂
A good movie doesn’t always need a happy ending. When it’s possible to get a copy of spoorloos in Amerika, go see it.
Oooh see, I haven’t wanted to see The Young Victoria at all and I love weepy period pieces! Hrmmm, you always sway me, devil boy. 😉
Best part of The Vanishing? A tie:
(1) Seeing Kiefer Sutherland looking very Jack Bauer when he finds one of those baseball hats in his closet with a string attached to clapping hands on top of it — and wears and plays with it.
(2) The cheesiest ending of any movie ever: “Coffee?” “No thanks; we’ve stopped drinking coffee.” *knowing glance* *end scene*
Oh – I suppose I should declare “spoiler alert” or something…
Oh, The Vanishing. Now, I love me some Jeff Bridges as much as the next, er, Jeff Bridges fan. But he was horrible in this movie.