The 1997 Ang Lee, award-winning film? We haven’t, either. Lee used a historic 1973 ice storm as the backdrop for a drama loaded with actors we enjoy—Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Joan Allen—and directed by a filmmaker with an impeccable reputation. Yet, we never much wanted to see it. The storyline is heavy with infidelity, teenage angst, and suburban ennui. The characters are living lives that feel as brittle as ice-encased trees.
How brittle are ice-encased trees, exactly? Extremely. A half-inch of ice on a branch can increase its weight by thirty times. When the wood reaches its breaking point, it doesn't just bend; it shatters. And when the tree goes, nothing good happens.
(Image generated by Gemini. Even AI knows that a downed limb in a North Carolina suburb looks like a scene from a disaster flick.)
Back in 1979, when we first started dating in San Diego, California, we weren’t exactly looking for "suburban ennui." Even if Ang Lee’s masterpiece had been out then, it wouldn't have been our speed. Our idea of a good time was… well, Alien. A 1979 drama-laden masterpiece with a chest-burster to catch an audience’s attention.
San Diego had suffered through "The Great Freeze" in 1913, but it has never had a true ice storm. Not like the one in the movie, and certainly not like the one coming for us now. To be honest, if The Ice Storm picture had included chest-bursters, we’d have bought tickets to it.
We’re not saying all movies need to have a chest-burster in them. That would be ridiculous. But, be honest now: wouldn’t The Barbie Movie have been more interesting with a chest-burster scene?
Yes. Yes, it would.
All of this comes to mind because there’s a significant winter storm bearing down on about half the states in the USA. In North Carolina, we’re currently under a Winter Storm Watch. In Holly Springs, we’re expected to be in the "freezing zone," where rain falls and freezes instantly on whatever it contacts. Every tree branch, every pine needle, and every power line is expected to soon be covered by a heavy, glass-like shell of ice.
North Carolina’s governor and Duke Energy have both begun using that ominous phrase: “multiday outages.” It’s The Ice Storm movie scenario, minus the wife-swapping.
We’re prepared. We have water, blankets, flashlights, and a battery-powered DVD player. And, as you might expect, the Blu-ray version of Alien. In space, no one can hear you scream. In a North Carolina ice storm, everyone can hear the branches snapping.
We’ll be fine. We hope you’ll get through this, too.
How brittle are ice-encased trees, exactly? Extremely. A half-inch of ice on a branch can increase its weight by thirty times. When the wood reaches its breaking point, it doesn't just bend; it shatters. And when the tree goes, nothing good happens.
(Image generated by Gemini. Even AI knows that a downed limb in a North Carolina suburb looks like a scene from a disaster flick.)
Back in 1979, when we first started dating in San Diego, California, we weren’t exactly looking for "suburban ennui." Even if Ang Lee’s masterpiece had been out then, it wouldn't have been our speed. Our idea of a good time was… well, Alien. A 1979 drama-laden masterpiece with a chest-burster to catch an audience’s attention.
San Diego had suffered through "The Great Freeze" in 1913, but it has never had a true ice storm. Not like the one in the movie, and certainly not like the one coming for us now. To be honest, if The Ice Storm picture had included chest-bursters, we’d have bought tickets to it.
We’re not saying all movies need to have a chest-burster in them. That would be ridiculous. But, be honest now: wouldn’t The Barbie Movie have been more interesting with a chest-burster scene?
Yes. Yes, it would.
All of this comes to mind because there’s a significant winter storm bearing down on about half the states in the USA. In North Carolina, we’re currently under a Winter Storm Watch. In Holly Springs, we’re expected to be in the "freezing zone," where rain falls and freezes instantly on whatever it contacts. Every tree branch, every pine needle, and every power line is expected to soon be covered by a heavy, glass-like shell of ice.
North Carolina’s governor and Duke Energy have both begun using that ominous phrase: “multiday outages.” It’s The Ice Storm movie scenario, minus the wife-swapping.
We’re prepared. We have water, blankets, flashlights, and a battery-powered DVD player. And, as you might expect, the Blu-ray version of Alien. In space, no one can hear you scream. In a North Carolina ice storm, everyone can hear the branches snapping.
We’ll be fine. We hope you’ll get through this, too.
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