Movie Monday - 5/23/2022

I haven’t been watching many movies lately. I haven’t had the headspace to devote 2 hours of my life in one sitting. Not that my schedule is filled with anything pressing. It’s seems that my screen time is taken up with streaming various series. I did watch two films recently.

A Secret Love is a documentary of a same sex couple facing health challenges in their later years. 

Carrie Pilby is an older film starring Bel Powley and Nathan Lane. Carrie (Powley) is a socially awkward prodigy who is rather stuck. Her therapist (Lane) assigns her 5 tasks to get her on the road to a happier life. It was really cute.

Good Binges and Series:

Anatomy of a Scandal - Netflix

The Way Down Part 2 - HBOMax

Call the Midwife Season 11 - PBS Passport

Outlander Season 6 - Starz

Julia - HBOMax

Inventing Anna - Netflix

MK out.

A Good Day

 I will never tire of this view.

MK out.

Movie Monday 4/25/2022

My movie watching mojo has left the building. I have been deriving much pleasure from watching episodic shows.

BUT

I watched The House of Gucci several weeks ago and forgot to share my thoughts. The film is based on true events regarding the assassination of Maurizio Gucci by a hitman hired by his ex-wife, Patrizia Reggiani. Lady Gaga did a wonderful job playing Reggiani. Adam Driver played Gucci. Al Pacino and Jared Leto also started. It was good!

Good binges:

The Dropout -Hulu

Sandition Season 2 - PBS

MK out.

Movie Monday - 4/18:2022

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It is a documentary chronicling Rita Moreno’s incredible life. I did not know she had a relationship with Marlon Brando. It’s good.

There’s a delightful movie on Amazon Prime called Please Stand By. It’s about an autistic girl who plans to enter a contest that requires writing a properly formatted Star Trek related script. Once she painstakingly finished writing it, the next issue was getting it submitted in time. Dakota Fanning, Toni Collette and others star. I loved it.

Good binges:

The Gilded Age - HBOmax 

Bridgerton Season 2 - Netflix

The Thing About Pam - Hulu

MK out.

FO Friday - 4/9/2022

While the dash has been keeping me quite busy, it’s the mood that has kept me from knitting and sewing. I have finished a couple of little projects though:

I reclaimed the yarn from a scarf I made that I never wore. The pattern is Hat for Joy. 

This hat was made from yarn leftover from another project. The pattern is Pup Tent. 

I am currently working on a vintage sweater. It’s from a book I used way back when I first started learning how to knit from a pattern. 

MK out.

The Oscars Post 2022

The Oscars are tonight and to tell you the truth, I am not all that excited. For one thing - ten nominations for best picture is too much. Secondly, awarding some of the categories before the show and only announcing them to cut time is disappointing and disrespectful to those categories. Finally, three hosts is three too many. That’s how time can be cut from the show - skip the extra entertainment that takes away from the nitty gritty.

I have not seen Parallel Mothers at the writing of this post; so, there’s that.

I did get to see the last two movies that have been nominated for Best Picture or one of the acting awards:

In Licorice Pizza, a high schooler meets a young woman who works for the yearbook photographer and he is instantly enamored. The film tells the story of what happens next. Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman star. Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, John C Reilly and Maya Rudolph have fun roles. It’s a cute movie with a Best Picture nomination.

Drive My Car is set in Japan and subtitled. The film has been nominated for Best Picture and Best International Feature Film. An actor/theater director is still grieving the death of his wife when he is invited to direct a multilingual adaptation of a famous play. As part of the festival’s contract, a car with driver will be provided to him. At first he balks, but after seeing that the girl assigned is a skilled driver, he relents as long as they use his car. Over time, the two share their tortured pasts as he navigates the challenges presented by directing the play. It was very good.

Now to my picks:

Best Actress - Jessica Chastain

Best Actor - Benedict Cumberbatch 

Best Supporting Actress - Ariana DuBose

Best Supporting Actor - Kodi Smit-McPhee

Best Picture - The Power of the Dog

MK out.

Movie Monday - 3/21/2022

I have three movies left to see before the Oscars. One may not be available to see until after the show, but here’s hoping.

Interesting tidbit about the 1960s West Side Story - George Chakiris (who played Bernardo) is the nephew of a close family friend. The story is about two rival street gangs in 1950s New York. One member from one group falls in love with a the sister of the other a la Romeo and Juliet. I’m not sure why the musical was adapted again. It was pretty great the first time. I was surprised that the remake maintained the 1950s setting. It begs the question again - why was it remade, especially because it’s almost exactly like the first? Maybe because it’s impossible to improve the original and Steven Spielberg really, really wanted to do it??? Despite all that, it was pretty good.

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand star in The Tragedy of Macbeth as the title character and his wife. We all know the story - A trio of witches predict that Macbeth will be King and Lady Macbeth is going to make sure it happens. I very much appreciated that the set design didn’t make it look like a stage play. It flowed well and kept my interest.  I liked it.

In The French Dispatch, the story of the last issue of a fictional newspaper is told in three vignettes. Wes Anderson is a master of quirky characters and perspectives askew. The large ensemble cast includes Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Benicio Del Toro, Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet and Owen Wilson. It was good.

Recently binged:

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 4 - Prime

All Creatures Great and Small Season 2 - PBS

MK out.