Bedrest and Clint

I woke up feeling like utter crap today. Sore throat, fever and associated aches. For the first time in close to five years I took a sick day. Under orders from Phrank, I tried to stay in bed as much as I could. After bed rest, Tylenol and pumping various vitamins and minerals down my throat, I think I'm feeling better. Thankfully I'm scheduled to have the next two days off so I can rest more. I'd guess all the running around and late bedtimes finally caught up with me.

I did finally watch Pale Rider in it's entirety without commercial interruption for the first time ever. I'd forgotten what a great movie it really is. I've always been a fan of the Clint Eastwood westerns I've seen. I'm of the age where there were still a lot of westerns on TV when I was younger, even on broadcast TV. At the time westerns did really catch my eye. Now I suspect it was because they were to black and white (pardon the pun). The Clint Eastwood westerns aren't so cut and dry, there is ambiguities in the characters. The so-called good guys have a dark side in these (and there can be sympathetic villains or at least villains who discover a change of heard). Which I suspect is closer to real life. His last western Unforgiven is a prime example of this. Of course I'm not saying anything new here, this point has been brought up numerous times in the past by people other than myself.

Movies that have that touch of ambiguity to it intrigue me. Personally, I can relate to a tarnished hero or protaganist more than a completely pure character. As much as I like seeing explosions, action movies tend to annoy me some. Mostly because the hero is generally flawless or his flaws consist of neglecting his loved ones. But when the character has internal demons as well as outside forces to battle, well that just makes it more interesting I think.