Movie Monday - 1/29/2024

The Oscar nominations were announced last week and after seeing the following films, I only have a handful left to watch before the ceremony. I’m mostly happy with the field of candidates for Best Picture. As a whole, the other nominations clustered around those films; so, there weren’t many outliers I have to watch for the acting awards. 

A frustrated writer is tired of not getting the recognition he is seeking in American Fiction. He decides to write a stereotypically Black novel to mock the process. I so enjoyed the story and the acting. Jeffery Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Sterling K. Brown, John Ortiz, Erica Alexander and Leslie Uggams (yes, Leslie Uggams!) all did a great job. I loved it.

Killers of the Flower Moon is adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name that chronicled the plot to kill members of the Osage community to steal their headrights earned from oil deposits found under their land. I read the book a few years ago. Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser and Martin Scorsese star in this film and they were wonderful. It’s sad, but so good.

Poor Things - oh, what can I say about this film? It told a good story, but the method was intense. You get to see Emma Stone having a lot of sex; so, if that floats your boat, this movie is for you. Basically, a physician?/scientist? (Willem Dafoe) finds a dead pregnant woman (Stone) and conducts an experiment by taking out her brain and inserting her baby’s in its place.  Mark Ruffalo and Ramy Youssef also star. The theme is about women’s independence, which I’m all about, but that delivery…

Good Streamers:

Little Bird - PBS Passport 

MK out. 

Movie Monday - 1/22/2024

It’s been cold at Chez Merry Karma. That makes for good movie watching.

Rye Lane is a cute little movie about two people who meet while each are dealing with recent breakups. I loved the two actors who played the leads - Vivian Oparah and David Jonsson. Colin Firth has a small role. I really liked it.

Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan have standout performances in Maestro, a film about the complicated life of Leonard Bernstein. It was phenomenal.

Call Me Kate is a documentary about Katharine Hepburn. She was a force. I enjoyed watching.

Good streamers:

Fool Me Once - Netflix

MK out.

Book Chat - 1/18/2024

The theme for the first month of books I’ve read so far this year is “secrets.”

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott 

This novel based on real life events tells the story of how the book Doctor Zhivago got published. It was good.

Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

After her husband dies, the wife discovers that her husband had a secret life. It was very good and there are sequels!

What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand

We learn more of the story and the plot thickens. It was so good.

MK out.  

Movie Monday - 1/15/2024

This week’s selection is lackluster. I need to get my list out and start banging out the better films.

In All About My Father, a guy and his working class dad visit his new fiancée’s wealthy parents. Sebastian Maniscalco and Robert De Niro star. It was kind of dumb.

Dan Levy wrote, directed and starred in Good Grief. It’s about a guy who lost his husband. He takes his two best friends on a trip to Paris. The story was good, but the delivery did not impress me.

Recent Streamers:

The Crown Season 6 - Netflix

Friends from College - Netflix 

Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones - Netflix

MK out. 

Book Chat - 1/11/2024

I read 54 books in 2023.  Following are the last few I have not yet mentioned.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Award winning author Joan Didion writes about navigating life after her husband’s sudden death during their daughter’s illness. I like Didion’s writing style. It felt as if she were in the room telling me her story.

The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley

An 84-year-old lady and her college dropout minder make a run for it. Exactly why they are running is not immediately clear to the minder or the reader. It was cute.

Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time by Angela Brown

Olivia finds out the date of her last day on Earth. She has some living to do, and sets out to do it. It was very entertaining.

Bittersweet by Colleen McCollough

Four sisters set out to become nurses in Australia after WWI. It was good.

The Perfect Couple by Elin Hilderbrand

Two families gather on Nantucket for a wedding weekend. On the morning of the wedding, the bridesmaid is found dead on the beach by the bride herself. Many questions arise before they are finally answered. It was good.

Penelope in Retrograde by Brooke Adams

A woman trepidatiously comes home for Thanksgiving for the first time in many years. It doesn't help that she shares an awkward and unexpected ride share with her ex-husband. I enjoyed it.

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty

A soon to be limited series on Peacock, the book tells the story of the Delaney family. After the wife goes missing, the community has theories about what has happened to her. Which one is true? The answer is surprising. It was very good.

See y’all next week.

MK out.

Movie Monday - 1/8/2024

The movies keep coming and I’m just getting more behind.

What Happens Later takes place over one night when two former lovers accidentally bump into each other at the airport and all flights are grounded. Meg Ryan and David Duchovny star as the couple who clearly still have feelings for each other. It was cute.

When I hear the description “black comedy,” I expect a few chuckles - there don’t have to be many. In Saltburn, there were none. It was twisted. The son of an aristocratic family invites a less fortunate classmate to spend the summer with him at his family’s grand home. Trouble ensues. The acting (Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver and Archie Madekwe are the mains) was phenomenal. Oh! I am mistaken - Carey Mulligan has a minor role and there was one line about her character that made me chuckle. It was definitely a psychological thriller, but so twisted! 

MK out.

Movie Monday - 1/1/2024

Happy New Year y’all! We have turned a page into a new chapter. I’m hoping all of you have a great year ahead. 

I’m determined to watch many movies in the coming weeks. There seem to be a lot of good ones out there this year.

In Anatomy of a Fall, a man has fallen to his death and his wife is the prime suspect because there are no witnesses. The film revolves around the wife having to prove her innocence. Sandra Hüller, Samuel Theis, Milo Machado Graner and Swann Arlaud star. The film is set in France. English and French is spoken throughout; so, there are subtitles. It was very good.

Past Lives is another subtitled movie about childhood sweethearts who reconnect as adults and realize that they were meant for each other. Greta Lee, Teo Lee and John Magaro star. The film is set in Seoul and NYC. The story is good and the acting is wonderful. It was great!

In other news, I ate black-eyed peas, cornbread, cabbage in my salad and roast pork. I think I covered all the bases.

MK out.