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February 03 And the Oscar goes to......So... we've started our Oscar count-down.
For regular readers, (all 3 of you) you'll remember that every year we HAVE to see every movie nominated for Best Picture. It was a requirement of marriage... Joe actually had it put in the marriage license. (I put in that he had to do the dishes) We work our way down the list of nominations, leading actor movies, supporting actor movies.... blah blah blah until we get to set-designer, art direction and wardrobe... the best thing is for a movie to gets bunches of nominations so we can knock a lot of them out at one time. I love it when that happens!
Anyone who knows me, knows that one of the things that makes me most anxious is to not have a plan, I hate a scatter-shot approach to anything...and that's sort of Joe's method about everything. So over the years this march to the Oscars has become a bone of contention between us. This year, in the spirit of detent, Mr. Movie-man, finally got it that I'd be calmer about this whole thing if he would just compile a list of the movies, in priority order, and let me think of it as a project.
Geeze, that makes me sound like a mental case - arghhh, but the reality is that I've never been much of a movie-watcher, I can focus on a spreadsheet or a contract, or a Stephanie Plum mystery for hours on end, but when it comes to movies, I have the attention span of a guppie. When I met Joe, I actually had to teach myself to stay focused on the plot and watch a movie through to the end. Joe does help out with that though, he's pretty particular and he does the research so that we hardly ever watch a movie that's pure crap... they don't always appeal to my taste, mind you... Clockwork Orange, Platoon, BORAT! but, as a general rule, the movies he picks are first-rate.
So, back to the list.... it has 34 movies on it - (and yes, I am rethinking the list thing a little teensy bit) I won't give you the entire thing here, email me if you want it. So far we've seen 3.
Little Miss Sunshine - liked it alot - it's a 3+ on the 1-5 scale - warm feel-good type of movie
Borat - hated it - no more than 1 on the 1-5 scale - not much more than an adolescent Porky's III type of movie - only more disgusting - I don't see why anyone would think it's funny, but aparantely lots of folks think it's a winner.
Dreamgirls - loved it - 4+ on the 1-5 scale, music was good, story was good, it had big-production musical moments that went on a bit too long for my taste, but after all, it's based on a broadway musical, so....duh!
This is Superbowl weekend, and it's colder than blue blazes outside, so I doubt if we'll even get out of the house. Joe rented 3 lesser-knowns that he wants to see and may watch on his own. Wait - I think Devil Wears Prada is in that stack, so I will probably watch that with him. Other than that, it looks like it's shaping up to be a Stephanie Plum-weekend to me. I just finished 11 and am looking forward to starting number 12 - that girl is a mess!
I know you're all holding your breath for the next movie update, so I'll be sure to give you the reviews as they come in.
March 05 On the spot Oscar UpdatePredictions Score at Oscar Half-time:
Joe is 8 for 18
MsJackie is 6 for 18 February 21 And the Oscar goes to...We've started our annual Academy Award Marathon - oh joy! Just like the lemmings or the swallows or those goofy emperor penguins, every year it's the same old trek. You see, our time is limited. Between football season and Oscar night it is an absolute requirement that we see every nominated movie possible. So, we kill ourselves and jam a year's worth of normal movie going into about 3 weeks. We frantically search movie listings and show times and the kid in the popcorn stand sees us so many times that he knows us by name by the time the golden statue is handed out.
My husband is a movie freak. No other way to say it...I know it hurts, but you know, I calls 'em as I sees 'em. He makes a list, checks it twice, and crosses off the would be contenders with an orange highlighter as we narrow down the field. I have to admit that even though I call him a freak he is very knowledgable about movies, he does his research and almost never steers us wrong. I usually enjoy the movies he wants to see and there have been very few disapointments. ( I am NOT going to go into my opinion of A Clockwork Orange or Braveheart or Platoon which differs vastly from his opinion.) It's just that trying to cram so many movies into so little time turns it into a project instead of entertainment, and make no mistake, I do expect to be entertained when I see a movie.
You see, I'm a casual movie watcher. I don't really want to be enlightened, or educated and I especially don't want to be preached at. I'm just looking for a nice relaxing way to spend an hour or two. That's the difference between us, Joe wants a movie to mean something, to tell him something that he doesn't already know, he wants it to broaden his horizons and leave him pondering something....the goodness of man, the frailty of man, the inherent evil of man... or maybe the eternal question of why is Darth Vader really so cranky. I'm not exactly sure what question he hopes to have answered.
To be sure there are occasions when he does enjoy a good screwball comedy, like the classic Bringing up Baby, or Philadelphia Story, but for the most part he wants some meat with his dessert.
Anyway, back to the marathon. This past weekend we made good progress... eliminated 20 nominations with only 3 movies... that's a pretty good percentage. I think our record was the year Titanic was nominated for everything or maybe it was last year when Return of the King cleaned up... I forget. Anyway... we kept pace this weekend, so he's happy and since he's happy, I'm happy and it looks like we may only have to see 3 or 5 or 12 movies next weekend. I'll keep you posted.
Oh, and p.s. If you get the chance to see Capote or Good Night and Good Luck, you won't be sorry you watched them. Brokeback Mountain is good to, but not really in the same category. Funny to say, but I think it's a chick flick.
February 20 August in FebruaryA few weeks ago my husband called me at work and asked if I wanted to see a play. I'm not big on going out during the week and I'm not big on going to the city anytime but I wasn't paying a lot of attention so I agreed without really knowing what I'd agreed to. When he reminded me that we had tickets to see August in February this past Monday night, I was a little surprised. I had a vague memory of agreeing to go somewhere to see something, but I didn't realize that it was that play and that it would be so soon.... and on top of my usual reluctance for stuff like that, I was struggling with a mild case of the plague that had put me on the couch all weekend. My brain went through about 15 different excuses I could use to not go...but there was no way I could disappoint him and beg off. He was so excited about seeing it, especially this year in light of August Wilson's death.
Pittsburgh is a remarkable city in that early steel money brought cultural and artistic influences to the area that would make a city twice the size jealous. I'm impressed. I'm a country girl born and bred, and happy about it, but despite my initial reluctance, I do like having the opportunity to see world class performances by local and visiting artists who are really, really, really good.
I wasn't really familiar with August Wilson's work. I knew who he was and I'd read a bit about him in the Post-Gazette after his death, but I'd never seen any of his plays or any of the film adaptations that aired on PBS. This particular showing was to be a tribute to him and was to be narrated by James Earl Jones, and considering that I'd happily listen to James Earl Jones read the yellow pages, I sucked it up, loaded my purse with kleenex and lemonheads, put on a happy face and off we went.
We had a nice meal at the Original Fish Market, albeit very light in consideration of the grumpiness of my tummy, and made our way to the Byham Theater for the play. I love the Byham. The history of that theater is very cool, and the light-bulb-holding-cherubs that line the hallways and the naked angels on the ceiling are just plain weird but in an appealing sort of way.
We got to the theater a few minutes before the doors opened so we were able to stand in the entryway and watch the crowd gather. An eclectic gathering to be sure. Older ladies and gentlemen in their finery, obvious regular theater goers; a collection of younger, more casually dressed student-types who were a bit more rowdy than the average theater-goer; there was a small group of folks like us, baby boomers who were mostly comfortable in the setting, but not quite accustomed to it. Perhaps the most interesting group of all was the August Wilson contingent. Considering that tonight's presentation was by one of Pittsburgh's more famous native sons, and that it was a one-night event, it was no surprise that the house was full... and most, probably 80%, were there because of August Wilson's tie to the Hill District of Pittsburgh. August Wilson's stories were more than a history of African-American struggles, they became 'any-man stories' but tonight you could just feel the excitement in the air as people from his neighborhood gathered to honor him and hear his words telling their own stories.
We had decent seats, orchestra level, about 15 rows or so back, but it didn't matter, every seat in the house was good. You could have heard a pin drop when James Earl Jones walked onto the stage to begin the opening scene. He looked older, and somehow more frail and more human than his larger-than-life voice would indicate, but he held the audience's attention with every syllable he uttered as he set the stage for each of the eight vignettes that followed. The play was comprised of scenes from the series of plays August Wilson wrote defining the 20th century struggles of African-Americans, and on this night, in this place, the audience didn't just watch, we were a part of those struggles and that life.
Throughout his career, August Wilson won many awards, including the Pulitzer, but somehow, I think that he might have been most proud of the performances those local actors gave and the avid attention and appreciation shown by the audience on this night in his hometown. |
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