Movies

Best Picture – update #1

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments

Because we are old (kids grown) and have plenty of time, my husband and I try to see all the Best Picture nominees before the Academy Awards broadcast in March.

So far, we’ve seen 7 of the 10. Here are my quick (very unprofessional) reviews.

ANORA – Haven’t seen it yet

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN – I really liked it! I thought Ed Norton and Timothée Chalamet were fantastic as Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. I have always liked folk music, so the history of the social justice grounding of the movement was interesting to me. My husband, who is more of a punk/hardcore guy, thought it was a bit boring and melodramatic.

THE BRUTALIST – Really good. It’s actually worth sitting in a movie theater for 3.5 hours to see this epic film. (There is an intermission to get up and stretch your legs.) Adrian Brody is fantastic. It’s a think piece. And worth seeing on the big screen for the Carrera (Italy) scenes alone. It will give you something to talk about at dinner. Brutalist style architecture is currently on Trump’s enemies list, so it’s au courant as well. If The Brutalist wins Best Picture, I’ll be OK with it.

CONCLAVE – I already posted about this film. We both liked it. Ralph Fiennes is terrific as the Head Cardinal in charge of overseeing the weird, secretive process the Catholic Church uses to pick a new pope. The scenes of Rome at night and the interior of the Vatican were my favorite parts. Isabella Rossellini plays a woman with the no real power (it’s the Catholic Church after all) but she plays her small part convincingly. I don’t really think it should win Best Picture, but who knows…

DUNE: PART TWO – Neither of us liked it. It’s long and boring and not our genre. In my opinion this movie is for younger people. All effects, no heart.

EMILIA PÉREZ – Really good! And so unusual. My husband said it was the only musical he’s ever truly liked. They don’t burst into big voice belting, but just kind of quietly sing/talk at key moments. It’s very effective. I actually wish we’d seen it on a big screen rather than on TV. There are a lot of dark scenes in Mexico City that would’ve been cool to see in a big dark theater. Women play all the major roles, so it passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors. I’m definitely OK with this one winning Best Picture.

I’M STILL HERE – Haven’t seen it yet

NICKEL BOYS – Haven’t seen it yet

THE SUBSTANCE – This is a horror movie people! Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley are fantastic, but I had to close my eyes a LOT. It’s “body horror” so a lot of gross stuff happens. If you’re OK with that, it’s worth seeing. There are a whole lot of women (including some I know and love) who put tremendous effort and money into defying nature with Botox and fillers, crazy face and body treatments, and actual scalpel surgeries. It’s a window into this mentality that goes completely off the rails as the movie progresses. Not Best Picture material, but worth streaming. (Also, tidbit for GenXers: Margaret Qualley is Andy McDowell’s daughter! She’s gorgeous like her mom, but in a completely different way.)

WICKED – I’ve already posted about Wicked. I loved it! It probably won’t win Best Picture because it was a huge blockbuster, but it probably should because it brought so much enjoyment, just like Barbie did last year. As previously mentioned, my husband doesn’t like musicals and even he said Wicked was “good.” From the moment Ariana Grande dropped down into Oz (a land of gingers) in a pink soap bubble carriage, I was all in.

Boston City Hall is the most well-known example of Brutalist architecture in Massachusetts.

Alt-inauguration

~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments

OK, I know I live in a deep blue Massachusetts bubble, but I have not heard of one single person who plans to watch Donald Trump’s inauguration tomorrow.

Feelings seem to range from benign avoidance to disgust and true nausea that it’s being held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

I don’t think I’ve skipped watching an American presidential inauguration in the past 30 years. They are part of American history. Hell, I’d normally watch for the cold-weather women’s fashions alone. The coats! The gloves! The hats!

But I will not be watching this one. And I’m just so relieved Michelle Obama is skipping it too.

My alt-inauguration plan is to go see a midday matinee of The Last Showgirl, starring Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis, in a movie theater with my husband. Anderson’s performance is getting good reviews and since she’s the estranged ex-wife of Trump inaugural performer Kid Rock, it seemed like a great choice.

What’s your alt-inauguration plan? Or are you planning to watch?

Michelle Obama’s 2009 inauguration look
Michelle Obama’s 2013 inauguration look
I loved Kamala’s purple coat in 2021
And then there was this. Possibly the worst look ever worn to a presidential inauguration.

The hostages are free!

~ MaryG ~ 13 Comments

Sometimes your little life overlaps with historic events.

I’ve already written about the nation’s bicentennial and how I was there to see President Ford speak at the Old North Bridge in Concord in April 1976. I was ten.

I was reminded of another historic event while watching President Carter’s funeral this week—the Iranian hostage crisis (1979-81). American GenXers will remember this because it was such a BIG deal. Everyone knew about it. Yellow ribbons were everywhere.

In a nutshell: In November 1979, Iranian militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage, including Bill Keough, a former school superintendent in my town. The hostage takers were mad at the U.S. for supporting the deposed “Shah” of Iran.

They kept those poor people captive for 444(!) days—in very harsh conditions—led by the evil “Ayatollah Khomeini.” (Every GenXer knows how to say that guy’s name because it was on the news every single night.) Diplomatic efforts failed, and a U.S. military rescue mission, Operation Eagle Claw, ended in disaster in April 1980, killing eight servicemen. This severely damaged President Jimmy Carter’s administration and contributed to his loss in the 1980 election. The hostages were released on January 20, 1981, just minutes after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, following the signing of the Algiers Accords (for which the Carter administration did all the legwork).

When the hostages were finally released, everyone watched with bated breath and there was widespread jubilation, especially in my town where we knew one of them! My high school marching band was invited to participate in a massive homecoming parade for Mr. Keough.

As one of the “goose-fleshed majorettes,” I mainly remember how COLD it was. I was 16, with not an ounce of fat on me, wearing a short little dress and holding a cold metal stick — in Massachusetts in FEBRUARY. Having recently compared notes with one of the “rosy-cheeked trumpeters,” I was reminded that our band director Mr. Toland made a last-minute decision to nix “The Empire Strikes Back” (one of our favorite numbers to perform) as we approached the grandstand. I guess he “read the room” and realized Darth Vader’s theme song was not the thing to play when celebrating triumph over the actual Evil Empire (Iran).

I was not political in high school. My parents didn’t talk much about politics (possibly because they were on opposite sides of the fence) and I cared way more about my hair than inflation or gas prices. But watching President Carter’s moving funeral, I was struck by how little credit he got for the hostage release. In The Boston Globe article above, Mr. Keough gave President Carter and his team full credit and gratitude for getting him home:

“Keough took the occasion, as he would again at a ceremony after the parade, to praise the handling of the hostage crisis by former President Jimmy Carter and his negotiating team “even in the face of personal disasters in their own careers.” “We are thankful that our President made the right decisions all along the way.” he said, adding his “eternal gratitude to the eight young men who died trying to rescue us and who will live in my memory and I hope in yours.”

GenX, if you didn’t get a chance to watch President Carter’s funeral and have time for only one clip, I suggest you watch President Ford’s eulogy, delivered by his son Steve. It’s hard to imagine that this level of grace and humility in politics existed in our lifetime.

Here I am in my skinny majorette days practicing with the marching band.

Consider the source

~ MaryG ~ 11 Comments

These days everyone is encouraged to “look at the source” of information they take in. “Don’t believe everything you hear” is a common refrain.

Well, my husband and I have the same policy with TV and movies. Certain people are in the “respected recommender” category. If Alissa or Ann or Gina tell us we should watch something because we’ll love it, we listen. I even jot it down for future reference.

Other people are in “the grain of salt” category. We’ll listen to their recommendations, but we have to consider the source. They might be someone we like very much personally, but we just don’t share their taste in TV and movies.

Some people who were once under consideration to be respected recommenders have recently been categorized “grain of salt” based on highly touting a pretty stupid show on Netflix. (I’m not going to say the name of the show, because many are finding it delightful.)

Now that Boston Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert retired, I feel a little lost sometimes. If you’re the kind of person that eagerly awaited each new episode of Succession and is sad that both What We do in The Shadows and Somebody Somewhere just ended forever, then I’m listening.

We’re already aware and are excited for new seasons of Severance and White Lotus starting soon. And I went ahead and bought tickets to see A Complete Unknown on New Year’s Eve, because even though it’s getting mixed reviews, Bob Dylan is Bob Dylan. And I like to see all the big rock biopics on a big screen, with that big Hollywood sound.

You feel me?

Conclave (2024)

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments

I’m reblogging Dan’s review of Conclave. If you like movies and you’re not familiar with Dan’s blog, you’re missing out! He’s the real deal: a professional-level film critic with expansive knowledge of film history and the film industry. I think he’s about 30 years younger than me so occasionally I know that a film he liked is just not for me (because I’m too damn old), but I concur 100% with his opinion of Conclave. As I said in the comments, even my longstanding contempt for the Catholic Church could not keep me from this one.

And another good thing about Dan: he doesn’t spoil an ending. It’s safe to read his reviews, even if you haven’t seen the film yet.

★★★★1/2

Dan’s review

Two thumbs up for Wicked

~ MaryG ~ 8 Comments

I’m going to go ahead and give Wicked (the movie) two thumbs up. Five stars. A standing O.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. The two leads (Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba) are captivating and the movie magic is off the charts. It’s sort of Harry Potter meets Willy Wonka meets Legally Blonde, yet it retains all the heart of the original, beloved Wicked Broadway musical.

If you know the Broadway musical, the movie is Act One only. It ends when gravity is defied. Part two will be out next year and I will most certainly be getting a ticket.

I don’t want to spoil it for anyone so I won’t describe my favorite scenes or the very cool cameo appearances, but I will tell you that our movie theater of 300+ seats did not have an empty one last night and people clapped at the end. Even straight men seemed to like it. My husband described it as “good!” and said he liked the story (a rave for him, for a musical).

Despite the ban, I did sing along quietly in a few parts, but with the “Dolby Atmos” immersive surround sound, I don’t think anyone heard me. Hollywood pulled out ALL the stops for this one. Go ahead and see it.

We did our bit to help support the collective excitement by wearing the official Wicked colors to the show 🩷💚

Heretic

~ MaryG ~ 25 Comments

We haven’t been to the movies in quite some time, but decided to venture out to see Heretic starring Hugh Grant last night. That’s right, we went to see a horror movie on the big screen. That’s unusual and out of character for us as we are officially old now. My husband, at 62, qualifies for the senior discount at movie theaters and everyone knows horror movies are for the young (who love to be frightened en masse).

But Hugh Grant is one of “ours.” At 64, he’s a young boomer (like my husband) and I feel like I’ve known him all of my adult life. From his very earliest period piece Maurice in 1987 (a tale of gay love in repressed Edwardian England), through all the rom coms (Love Actually, Notting Hill…), scandals, arrests and love affairs (why couldn’t he just work things out with Liz Hurley?), I followed it all.

In Heretic, he’s smart and evil, but still somewhat charming (that upperclass Brit accent, those twinkling eyes, the modest smile). The two young actresses who play Mormon missionaries entrapped by Grant are fantastic. There are many long monologues and dialogues about world religions that make you think. At one point, the young women are forced to make a choice between two doors—one labeled Belief and the other Disbelief—to try to escape Grant’s metal-reinforced house of horrors. But the scary parts aren’t all that scary. I didn’t scream once. It’s more of a thought-provoking thriller.

Bottom line: it’s worth seeing Grant in this role if you’ve “known” him your entire adult life like I have. Technically, he’s a Baby Boomer, but culturally, he’s GenX. Apparently this group now has a name and it’s Generation Jones.

Hugh Grant with Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East in Heretic
Hot couple Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley back in the day

Woman of the Hour

~ MaryG ~ 17 Comments

An insightful post by Singing Gecko reminded me that I recently watched—and highly recommend—Woman of the Hour on Netflix. It stars Anna Kendrick, who also directed it. Quite a feat. She is extremely talented.

I think men especially should watch it.

We all know that the vast majority of men are not serial killers…or rapists…or even misogynists (despite the election results), but they’ve really never walked in our shoes. The “trapped” feeling when alone in an unlit area with a large man lurking is hard to describe in words. The mixture of fear, self-doubt (am I overreacting?) and calculation (what if I run to the stairs? will someone hear me if I scream?) is extremely well-portrayed in Woman of the Hour.

Woman of the Hour is a dramatic, bizarre and entertaining true story that helps explain why so many women recently said they’d choose the bear.

Even better, one of the major settings of the film is The Dating Game—a classic TV game show that elder GenXers like me will remember from childhood, especially if your parents let you watch tons of TV like mine did.

Tony Hale, Anna Kendrick and Daniel Zovatto in one of The Dating Game scenes in “Woman of the Hour.”

Three Things

~ MaryG ~ 11 Comments

3 quick things:

First, I learned a new word on Bluesky and it is “kakistocracy.”

Use it in a sentence: “The United States will become a kakistocracy soon.”

Second, I got my tickets for the new Wicked movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. We’re going Thanksgiving weekend and I fully expect the audience to be chock full of musical theater kids (young and old) who WILL sing along. My husband said he wanted to go with me, so he’ll just have to deal with it. (I will be one of the singing people.)

Did you get your tickets yet?

Third, I will be spending the day with the world’s most adorable and perfect infant today. I thought my own kids were pretty darn cute, but my granddaughter is off-the-charts gorgeous. And it’s not just me saying that…there is a general consensus that she’s the prettiest little dark-haired, dark-eyed baby that anyone has ever seen! There is absolutely no danger that anyone has to fake it, like Jerry and Elaine did in that classic Seinfeld scene. 🤣

Have a great day, if you can. If not, just keep going.

XOXO

❤️

Mary

Stranger Danger

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments

I’m making a sincere attempt to leave my political anger behind for the weekend…there will be no F bombs in this post.

I’m from Massachusetts. We don’t say “y’all,” except when it rhymes. Well, it’s fall y’all and it’s absolutely gorgeous here. If you’ve never been to New England in the fall, you should add it to your bucket list.

After a few days of true sweater weather in the 50s, it’s going to be back in the 70s today.

A view of a pond along the rail trail I walk daily
A skeleton seated on a tractor beside the rail trail
Late afternoon sun shining through some greenery along the rail trail

Speaking of “my” rail trail, there is an empty field that runs alongside it:

Interestingly, this field was used as a shooting location three years ago for “Salem’s Lot,” which is now streaming on Max. The movie is based on a book by Stephen King, the prolific horror writer from Maine.

Back in the fall of 2021 on my daily walk, I watched Hollywood transform this field into a 1970s drive-in, complete with numerous cars from the era.

This is the Salem’s Lot set under construction in October 2021. The blue building on the right is the projection booth for the drive-in.

As you can imagine, there was a lot of gawking by walkers and cyclists along the rail trail. It was still peak COVID, so many people were working remotely and there wasn’t much else going on. This was fascinating! By the time the filming actually started, there were production assistants keeping people off the field. But you could still see a lot of the activity from the rail trail. One day I saw what I thought were zombies crossing the field.

Well, last night we watched Salem’s Lot on Max and I discovered they weren’t zombies—they were vampires! As you might imagine, I paused the TV several times during the drive-in movie scenes to orient myself.

The beginning of one of the drive-in movie scenes in Salem’s Lot on Max. The blue projection booth building is on the left.

I’m sorry to report that it’s not a very good film, BUT if it’s free to you, it might be fun to watch it on Halloween night while you answer the doorbell for trick or treaters.

If you’re a GenXer like me, it might also bring back some bits of your childhood you’d forgotten. The story is set in 1975 and the kids in the film are about the same age I was then…10.

As a ten-year old, “Stranger Danger” was constantly lurking. Adults were always warning us about the possibility of somebody with a puppy or a candy bar luring us into their car. I never worried one bit about school shootings, but I did worry a lot about getting kidnapped!

When that first little kid gets snatched in the film, I thought to myself “stranger danger.”