It's Been A Long Day
Now Playing: THE SENTINEL
Today I attended the funeral of a family friend, a man whose son is a close friend of my brother and me. One thing I always admired about him (who I've known since I was a kid) was his love of life. He was a true iconoclast, loved music, had a grand sense of humor, was extremely friendly, and was one of the most optimistic people I've ever known. I also have to credit him for getting me into crappy movies. He always used to bring home the absolute worst stuff from the video store, and when I was in high school or even younger, I might be out at their place, staying up late watching KING FRAT or 2000 MANIACS. It's quite possible that my life would be totally different today if not for him...though I'm not certain whether to thank him or not...

Tonight I went to the movies for only the second time since June. The 9:30 show started at 9:46 after at least 25 minutes of commercials. THE SENTINEL stars Michael Douglas as a Secret Service agent sexing up the First Lady, not that I blame him, 'cause she looks like Kim Basinger. A traitor inside the Secret Service discovers the affair and uses it to frame Douglas for an assassination plot against President Sledge Hammer (David Rasche!). Kiefer Sutherland (yeah, Jack Bauer!) is the agent investigating Douglas. He has a personal beef with Douglas, whom he believes used to bone his ex-wife. Also in the movie for no good reason is Eva Longoria, even though if I was the President, I wouldn't want a 4'11" 97-pound woman protecting me from assassins. Director Clark Johnson (Meldrick from HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET) has a small role, as does Gloria Reuben, Paul Calderon (just saw him this week on LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT) and Chuck Shamata (from DEATH WEEKEND). Also, I think the end of the movie was shot at the same Toronto location where THE KIDNAPPING OF THE PRESIDENT took place. THE SENTINEL is a typically slick but soulless PG-13 Hollywood thriller with no particularly clever, original or exciting attributes. It probably won't put you to sleep, but it ain't likely to get your heart pumping either.