Blog of Leonid Mamchenkov

I almost missed “Dan in Real Life“.  I wasn’t even planning to see it, since the poster is does not appeal to me and I’m not a big fan of Steve Carell.  I mean, he is OK, but he’s not someone who attracts me to the movie.  But anyway.  I ended up alone in the cinema.  And I’m glad I did.

This is a strong 8 out of 10.  There is no point at telling the story or bringing up any scenes from the film - most of them are rather traditional and have been seen before.  The movie follows the stereotypical love story with all elements such as close family involvement, road trip, hurting someone’s feelings, kids, rain, “go get her”, etc.  All these were present here too, and, I should say, there were very well done.

But the strength of the film is not in the love story.  It’s in other things.  For me personally, it was very refreshing to see a healthy family. And a big one a that.  This whole film was around a well managed and developed family - something they don’t show very often in the movies.  This film shows how parents can spend time with their children, how siblings can be good and supportive friends, how important are good family values and how they are passed along and cultivated.  This part of the film was so good that I almost could not believe my eyes.  Tha alone is worth the time.

And that wasn’t the only good part.  Somehow, the film is very romantic and sentimental.  Sometimes it’s said, sometimes it’s funny.  Sometimes it’s very social, and sometimes it’s very private.  And it “feels” very good too.  There is an almost natural balance of moods and transitions.  It’s not boring, and it’s not trying to squeeze any tears out of you, while, at the same time, it’s not trying to make you laugh so hard you fell from your chair.  It asks its share of questions, tries to provide some answers, and leaves a lot to think about, while still entertaining.

With all that, I am a little glad that it didn’t have a strong overwhelming story to tell.  It already offered enough, and with a good story it would be pushing its luck.  (However there are movies that do both).

Also, there is plenty of good acting in this film. It’s not brilliant or anything, but it is very believable and human.  There were some familiar faces cast for this movie, and those that aren’t so familiar, did equally good.

Overall : strongly recommended.

We’ve setup our Christmas decorations today.  This a bit later than we usually do it, but still much earlier than I feel we should do it.  Anyway.  Now everything is sparkling yellow, solid green, and blinking colors.  It looks nice and fresh, but there is definitely a need to switch some of the lights off at least once in a while…

Maxim and Cappa are overexcited about this whole Chritmas thing.  Cappa tries to climb up the tree and bangs on all the toys.  Maxim helps her to hit those chocolate balls in hope that they will fall off and he will be allowed to unwrap and eat them all.  Or spread them all over the walls and furniture in the most unaesthetic manner…

The Christmas is coming.

I had to visit the bank today.  Since I was on my way to the park (with Maxim), I decided to take him in.  While we were standing in the queue, one of the clerks stopped by to say hi.  She played a bit with Maxim and suggested that we open an account for him.  I thought she was kidding, so I replied in a Fargo-ish way “Oh, yeah.  Right”. Surprisingly, she looked at me very seriously and said that she wasn’t joking one bit.

Needless to say I got interested.  She said that all I had to do was to bring Maxim’s birth certificate, and based on this document she can open a bank account on his name.  Maxim will only be able to use this account when he is 18.  But until than, both I and Olga can transfer small amounts of money to that account - 10 or 20 pounds a month.

As a result, if we’d do that, Maxim will have a good sum of money to start the adult life.  (Calculations for the lazy ones: 10 pounds per month x 12 month per year = 120 pounds per year.  Maxim is now 1 year old.  That means that he has another 17 years to go before he can use the account.  120 pounds per year x 17 years = 2040 pounds + bank percentage.  4080 + percentage you’re willing to make it 20 pounds per month).

I understand that for many parents saying this outloud is like repeating that the planet Earth is round, but for me it was a completely new unconsidered idea.  I’ll be rushing back to the bank with Maxim’s birth certificates one of these days.

One of those moments, that are hard to capture with a camera…

Album location: /photos/2006/2006-03-18_POTD/

We took Maxim for his routine pediatrician check-up today. Everything was smooth and nice. He has gained almost half a kilo in the last month (now: 10.4 kg) and has grown almost 2 cm (now: 78 cm). He got his next vaccination too. Yet another one will be given to him on the next visit, in about a month’s time. I hope they help…