Thanksgiving Weekend

My cousin Christopher came in from D.C. for his second straight Thanksgiving with us and we seem to have started quite the unusually family tradition. Last year, my step-father, Christopher, and I ventured out to watch The Departed. This year, we journeyed to No Country for Old Men. I guess violent cinema, at least when in the hands of Martin Scorsese and Joel and Ethan Coen, is one thing we are thankful for.

In addition to the trip to the theatre, we fired up the dvd for two consecutive movie watching nights. My Aunt Linda, another great film lover, was also with us this Thanksgiving. My mother, who only watches movies in groups like this, and my sister were also there. The first night was Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious, a gloriously filmed thriller that starts slowly but sizzles from the moment Claude Rains enters the screen. The next night we took a stroll with Jack Nicholson through Chinatown, one of my all-time favorite movies. In between, the boys delighted to Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr. one afternoon; a landmark in silent movies and another of my favorite films. I don't get the chance to watch this many movies in such a short span anymore, so I enjoyed my opportunity - and each film was spectacular (though only the one was new to me).