We watched Babel last night. I came in cold, knowing only Brad Pitt appeared. When he finally appeared, his appearing was understated and casual. I appreciated the "tourist" feel of his part, up until the tragedy takes them off the tourist's beaten trail. Then, it becomes scary, in a paranoid way. I mean, they needn't be scared among the villagers but they can't help themselves.

I'm a little sick & tired of out of sequence movies. I understand with the busy schedules of today's stars, this piecemeal approach is necessary (I'm teasing, of course, it isn't because of the stars' schedules!). But, the story moved slow enough for me to keep up with the sequence ... the call home from the Casablanca hospital threw me the farthest because, in my mind, those kids were missing at the border and the nanny was frantic.

I appreciated the view of teenage Japanese life. Those kids just party all the time, don't they? Well, we did too, as kids. No biggie. I wasn't ever bored watching the movie. I enjoyed the scenery. I wish some things had gone better. I'm uneasy watching adults make decisions that involve children, especially hard decisions. I didn't like seeing the border guards get so ugly. And I didn't like seeing the Moroccan get beat up by the police.

Still, for an R-rated movie, the sex & violence was more-than-bearable. I didn't mind watching the movie once but don't feel a desire to watch it again. I don't feel like I missed anything, that any message got by me.