Ya gotta love Frank’s Galleria Cinema here in Venice, where long lines form early for that $5 ticket and $5 senior snack pack of small popcorn and drink. Cheap, cheap, cheap. We never miss a week!
I admit I’m a movie snob....no action thrillers, no horror pictures. Don’t love science fiction or animated films. I abhor violence. I can’t take anymore slavery movies or holocaust movies. I know, I know, it’s important to remember our past so we don’t repeat it. Got it. And, I agree, but I got that lesson a long time ago and now if I see that kind of violence, I can’t sleep for days and just feel sick that people can treat others so horribly.
BH, however, doesn’t have those hangups....although he will pretty much ignore the one star or no star movies. The great thing about Frank’s is that they show pretty much everything! Even the independents...a rarity for most big theatres.
Now is one of my favorite times of the year. The awards. I know it’s cheesy and ridiculous to pick one movie out of great movies. Really....can you choose the best child out of your own tribe? Of course not. But, I still love the excitement of trying to predict the best...or more to the point, will they agree with me?
That’s hardly likely since I rarely pick a winner. I’m sure this year will be no different. Now, the nominees are coming out....Academy Awards tomorrow. Golden Globe winners were announced Sunday....if the producers of these events would just let Tina and Amy host all of these shows, the ratings would be astronomical!
I have a couple of favorite movies this year. Loved Muscle Shoals. It’s a documentary so I guess that doesn’t count; but I’m a blues and southern rock and roll lover and seeing that live footage and interviews with the under-knowns that made it happen was awe-inspiring. I could see it over and over, especially in a theatre with fabulous sound.
Dallas Buyers Club moved me more than any other film experience I had this year. It’s heart wrenching yet courageous. I’m sure it probably affected me more profoundly than many people because of my direct experience with AIDS. but haven’t most people by this point, had a connection? Matthew McConnaughey lost nearly 50 pounds and was nothing less than brilliant. Even more impressive was Jared Leto as the transvestite, Rayon....he as a she was beautiful and vulnerable.
When they both won awards at the Golden Globes, I jumped out of my seated with joy! That will probably not repeat at the Academy Awards but what an affirmation for their performances in a truly gritty movie.
Saw American Hustle last week. Extraordinary ensemble...David Russell, director and screenwriter, is again fearless in this fictional comedy based on the ABSCAM scandal of the 1970s. You won’t even recognize Christian Bale, he’s so bloated...or for that matter, Jennifer Lawrence who’s so hilariously brazen. I need to see it again. There’s just so much there.
Did not love Her, but BH totally disagrees. Futuristic. That’s my problem...just too grounded in the present. Joaquin Phoenix plays a sad introvert who writes beautiful prose for a living but can’t convey emotion in his own reality. Gradually, he falls in love with Samantha, a computer operating system, who becomes so real to him that he brings her on double dates and totally loses it when he learns she is dating 3000 other people and is in love with 691 of them.
You can definitely see Spike Jonze’s point as you walk on the street and see hundreds of people texting on their cellphones. Are we losing the art of conversation or relationship? Geez....I really hope this is not our future! Of course, it won’t be my future as I’ll be checking out long before that happens...lol.
The Wolf of Wall Street. A Martin Scorsese production...ya think??!! Completely over the top in every conceivable way. I read one interview where Leo DeCaprio and Scorsese would ruminate about whether some of the scenes were too much. Believe me, nothing was vetoed! A three hour movie? I love movies but around the two hour mark, I’m ready to move on. I can honestly say I was captive for the entire time.
Didn’t see 12 Years a Slave....just can’t handle it. BH thought it was the best movie of the year. He also thought Gravity was excellent...too out there for me. Too science fictiony...too suspenseful.
Suspense is just not good for me....or the people around me. I get so scared I jump in my seat, grab BH and throw my popcorn into the air.
Better that I see something totally inane like The Millers or This Is The End or The Heat, where I can laugh my head off!
Hey! I never professed to be an intellect!
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