Movies -- A Recap -- Part XIII -- The Romance/Romantic Comedy Edition

There are times that S and I are appalled by the other's failure to have partaken in a particular piece of pop culture.  As a recent example of this, I was shocked to find that S had never seen Pretty Woman.  What a classic in the careers of all the mains - Julia Roberts as Vivian, Richard Gere as Edward, and Jason Alexander as the sleazy friend.  Of course, I cannot pass this by without giving a shout-out to Hector Elizando, whom I adore equally in his roles in Tortilla Soup and The Princess Diaries. (Fun fact - Hector also starred with Julia and Richard in Runaway Bride.) 

 

I didn't know what to expect from Cloudburst, but I adored it.  Two old ladies, nearing the ends of their lives, face the difficulties of aging together.  It's sweet and thoughtful, and gets just enough edge from the old ladies' seasoned attitudes towards life and the world to keep it funny and on this side of melancholy.

 

 

 

 Hampstead is exactly what it presents itself to be.  Diane Keaton and Brandon Gleeson each play characters who seem, at this point in their careers, to be themselves.  Diane's character is left with nothing but debts, and Brandon's character is a crotchety old man living on the outside of society.  Mostly it gets huge brownie points from me because of all the London that's in it.  Can't get enough of that, especially since it's based on a true story!

 

 

 We saw a movie a while back that had a similar general plot as Weekenders, where two couples got stuck in an apartment outside of New York during a terrible storm.  Weekenders was way better.  In Weekenders, a couple, a guy, and the guy's brand new date end up at the same B&B due to a scheduling mix-up.  Though of course there are the expected troubles between the couple, the whole structure around that disaster is cute.  It's not winning any Oscars, but it's a nice mix of the expected and the unexpected, like the following quote: "I used to have the route patterns of all my favorite trails memorized. I could run four miles with my eyes closed.  But now, if you asked me the color of the apartment building across the street from mine, I don't think I could tell you."  Haven't we all felt that way sometimes?

I could include Yesterday in a post about musicals, if I were writing one.  Since I'm not, I'll include it here.  But first and foremost I have to say that the Beatles music throughout really makes this movie.  Reportedly, Himesh Patel did all his own signing and playing in the film; huge props to him for that.  Second to the rockin' soundtrack is the fact that it's a pretty sweet movie starting two young actors I like - Himesh I had not seen in anything before; Lily James I saw in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Downton Abbey, both of which I probably liked more than is reasonable.  So this one gets points from me.  Oh, maybe I could tell you about the story -- after an accident, Jack (Himesh) wakes up and realizes that no one but him remembers the Beatles, and his struggling music career takes off.  Can we come back to the music one more time?

Pearl Harbor Day

Today is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  But what do you say on a day like this?  It's not "Happy Pearl Harbor Day," for obvious reasons.  

I recall a few years ago that this discussion came up in the context of Facebook's "like" option.  When someone posted that a family member had passed away, friends wanted to show support but the only option was to "like" the news.  That didn't seem right, in light of the particular news being shared.  Now Facebook has a variety of reactions a reader can utilize.

So what do you say on a day like today?

Goals 2021 -- December Edition

I would like to blog this month. 

I make this goal knowing it's somewhat unrealistic.  Work is nuts right now, and I anticipate that if it slows down at all, the free time will be taken up by holiday festivities. Nevertheless, I attempt this.

Goals 2021 -- November Recap

I did better with friends this month than I did with family.  I'll spare the details, but just say that I met my monthly goal for friends.  What's funny about the goal this month is that I didn't really behave much differently than I otherwise should -- and probably would if I were less absorbed in my own day-to-day obligations.  Having this goal made me think about each friend a little bit more, and do a little follow-up that otherwise I might not have done.

As for family, that was less of a success.  I did get one phone call from a family member I don't talk to that often, so I made sure to take it and make time to talk.  That was lovely and unexpected.  And of course there was Thanksgiving; it was spent with my dad, sisters, and the associated folks, and was a grand old time.

What I'm Reading Now -- The Song of Achilles

The Song of Achilles has been on my radar for a while.  I was still a bookstore employee when it was originally released, and I heard lots of good stuff about it.  It seems up my alley -- I like the old myths and I like retellings.  (Grendel is one of my faves in this vein.)

So, in addition to reading this long overdue novel, I also get to tick yet another book off my 2021 Reading Challenge.

What I Read -- Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair

I have never read Pablo Neruda before.  Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair did not start out well for me.  I did not like any, until I got to XVIII ("Here I Love You / Aqui Te Amo") and XX ("Tonight I Can Write / Puedo Escribir").  Those two were acceptable.  Other than that, I found them mostly to be too obscure and weird -- which is exactly the reason I don't like most poetry.  (Sweeping statement? Yes.  But often true.)

What this did get me, though, was a very quick check mark on my 2021 Reading Challenge.  This was by far the shortest of all the selections for the year, and it was nice to make such quick work of one of them!

Sherlock Holmed: Selected Stories -- Take 2

I don't know why I put off reading this book for so many years.  It turns out, it's a rollicking good time!

Arthur Conan Doyle's stories are fast-paced and easy to read.  Dr. Watson, our narrator, does sometimes go overboard in his adulation of the private detective, but such passages are usually short-lived.  Aside from those sections, I had a darn good time with this one.

I like short stories as a concept.  I like that I can dip in and out and generally don't have to commit too seriously.  Short stories are less intimidating to get started on.  Even though any book can be stopped at any time, I hesitate to begin a hefty novel if I don't have a big block of time to commit to it.  And this is not to indicate that I don't ever stop mid-short-story.  I do.  This whole thing logically makes no sense; I get that.  But nevertheless, that is the case in my brain.  It's easier to start a short story.

And so I did.  And then I kept reading.  Despite my delay in writing this post, I got through them pretty quickly, at least for me.  I was never much of a mystery reader when I was growing up.  I don't know why this is, but I was not.  Then I read Lush Life, by Richard Price.  This was not the world's best mystery by any stretch of the imagination, but it did open up my eyes to the fact that a mystery read could be quick and fun.  Such is the case with Sherlock.

And, as the end of the year closes in, I am able to tick one more book off my 2021 Reading Challenge!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

 

Goals 2021 -- November Edition

What is a good goal for November?  I still have some holdovers from October, but those are boring.  So here's the plan: contact at least three friends I don't see or talk to as often as I should.  The contact must per personal, even if it's not in person.  Phone calls, letters/cards, visits, and the like are acceptable.  Text messages other electronic-only contact is not.  And, while I'm at it, I'll throw a few family members in there as well.