So honey and I did date night last with another couple. We went to the matinee of 3:10 To Yuma then to a Bugaboo Creek (the original destination after was the Texas Roadhouse, but it had an hour and a half wait – uh, no thanks!). We had a lot of fun – it is good to get out and do different things once in a while.

The movie starred Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. It was a good choice for a date night – enough action for the guys to enjoy and enough Crowe and Bale for the ladies. More interesting than the scenery in the movie was its moral ambiguity. I liked that there was no true “good” or “bad” side to root for, and I liked the ending. Even so, I can see that it may not be in theaters long – most people want clear cut “sides” to root for or against. Russel Crowe plays Ben Wade, robber and leader of a gang of cut-throat thieves and murderers. Christian Bale plays one legged rancher and war hero Dan Evans, who is at risk of losing his ranch. In the beginning, the “badness” of Wade and the “goodness” of Dan seem absolute, yet throughout the movie these perceptions are challenged. If nothing else, this movie did a great job of illustrating the general lawlessness of the American West, and the damage done to land and people by the railroad companies pushing through.

As always, the best part of going to the theater is the previews. The previews from last night seemed to be mostly for movies coming out around the December holiday season, though a few were slated sooner. There were the requisite horror and horrific movies (Saw IV and Alien vs Predator – Requiem), the movies we already planned to watch on DVD later (Good Luck Chuck, December Boys, Cleaner, In The Valley of Elah, There Will Be Blood, National Treasure: Book of Secrets) and the movies that got our attention as something we’ll try to see in theaters (The Brave One, We Own The Night). We also noticed that Shoot Em Up is already out, and want to try to catch that before it leaves theaters.

Dinner was fun, and only a 30 minute wait, not bad for forgetting to call ahead. I had grilled salmon that was a bit dry, but not bad, and a pinot noir that was terrible (Mirassou. Avoid.) The rest of the table had the bloomin’ onion thing, spinach dip, ribs, lobster pasta and steak tips. The restaurant gets high marks for acknowledging my shellfish allergy and keeping the food prepared for me separate, even letting me know they cooked it in a separate and freshly cleaned section of the grill. Our waitress was outstanding, too – never missing a beat in spite of a packed section and having to stop and sing the stupid birthday song about 97 times. We lucked out all around – there were tons of kids there, which always makes us cringe in dread, but for some reason they were all angels. Seriously. It was fantastic – all of the little nose miners behaving, quiet and laughing instead of running, fighting and screaming. I’m sure their parents were just as pleased.

After we got back from our night out (which was in the nearest “city”, 40 minutes away), we went to our local tavern and had a night cap before heading home. All in all it was a fun night out. So what did y’all do this weekend? Anything good?

Tags: 310 to yuma, russell crowe, christian bale, western, movie trailers

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