movies

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Bohemian Rhapsody

Last night Venetia and I went to see Bohemian Rhapsody. The movie received the Golden Globe Award for Best Dramatic Production and Rami Malek took the award for Best Actor. The movie received mixed reviews, some feeling it was light on fact and heavy on Queen music, to which I say, “And the problem with that is …?”

The movie was a homage to Freddie Mercury and Queen, and if you love their music, as I do, that’s all you need to know. From my viewpoint I knew it was a success when I suddenly realized that when I saw these four guys on stage performing, I forgot I wasn’t actually watching Queen.

If lack of historical detail or messing with timelines bother you, stay away. But if you just want a couple of hours of immersion in great music and great memories, don’t miss it!

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Movie: The Shape of Water

Last night was movie night again with Venetia and Raul. This has been a Wednesday night thing for them for a long time, and I’m happy they’ve now included me. I’m not a lifelong movie lover, and when I do go it’s usually because a friend has invited me — thanks to you too, Grace!

The Shape of Water won four Oscars, including Best Picture.

It’s a fantasy about a marine creature that is brought to a top-secret government laboratory in 1962. It is befriended by a lonely young woman, who eventually teams up with a few friends to save it from a nasty fate. Along the way, there is lots of emotional exploration, and a quiet humour that I enjoyed.

The firm is beautifully staged, evoking the times through noire sets, nasty villains and sharp social commentary. The underlying theme of acceptance of “other” is a lesson for today as well as the sixties.

My friends liked this movie more than I did. Despite all its great qualities, I found it dragged. I was quite bored a couple of times, and all in all I think it could have been better told in an hour. But I did love the sea creature!

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Movie — Darkest Hour

I went to the movies again with Venetia and Raul yesterday, and saw “Darkest Hour”. This movie focuses on the beginning of Churchill’s time as Prime Minister during the war years, including his struggles to have his plans and ideas accepted by the Opposition. It take a close-up, intimate look at his arguments with Chamberlain and Halifax over their desire for peace negotiations with Hitler, and ends with the heroic evacuation of Dunkirk.

My definition of good acting is when you don’t actually see the actor, just the character. By that measure, Gary Oldman does a masterful job, as I truly never noticed him — I only saw Churchill. It was a gripping movie, and I must admit it stirred my British blood quite a bit! I hope Oldman wins the Oscar for Best Actor, as it would be well deserved.

Kristin Scott Thomas also turned in a low-key but effective performance as Churchill’s wife, Clementine, and Ben Mendelsohn’s King George was convincing and empathetic. The movie should also win an award for make-up, based on Oldman’s physical transformation alone.

Highly recommended.

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Went Out Last Night with My Two Moviegoing Friends

Venetia, Raul and I went last night to see the new Woody Allen movie, Wonder Wheel. It was at Cine Lorca, one of the many movie and live theatres on Avenida Corrientes. I love the street, as it has a great vibe.

It’s kind of an interesting experience to watch a movie in English with Spanish sub-titles — it’s usually the other way around.

I quite enjoyed the movie, but I didn’t love it. Visually, it was wonderful. Set in the 1950s on Coney Island, the background of the amusement park on the beach seemed to me to be an authentic representation of time and place. Although the movie had Woody Allen written all over it, there were also lots of places where Tenessee Williams peeked through, particularly a scene near the end that strongly evoked A Streetcar Named Desire.

The acting, I thought, was a mixed bag. Jim Belushi and Kate Winslet turned in credible performances, but I couldn’t make up my mind about Justin Timberlake. Was he playing a guy who was not very bright, or was it bad acting? I don’t know.

It did occur to me several times throughout the movie — and Venetia and Raul both agreed — that they sometimes looked as if they were acting on a stage instead of in a movie. That may have been intentional on Woody Allen’s part, as he does tend to have these quirky ideas.

I’m used to Woody Allen’s comedies, which I usually like, but this was dark and very different.

Worth the night out — but I enjoyed the wine and cheese with my friends after the movie better!

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Christmas Shopping in the Sun is just Weird!

I just have a few gifts to buy for friends here, and I finished buying them yesterday. It’s very weird to be thinking of Christmas and buying gifts when it’s 30 degree or more outside and the sun is splitting the trees. I quite like it, but it takes a bit of getting used to.

When I mentioned this to my tango teacher last week he laughed and said he had spent Christmas in Japan a few years ago and had the opposite experience. He kept thinking, “This isn’t Christmas, it’s cold. Christmas is hot and sunny!” I guess it’s whatever you grow up with.

I had a new Buenos Aires experience last night — I went to the movies! I’m not a big movie fan even in Toronto, and I’ve never been here before. But my friends Venetia and Raul go often and they invited me to go with them last night. We met at Raul’s place first and had “picada” — cold cuts, cheese, nibblies and wine, which is a good way to start any evening in my book.

Is this your idea of Hercule Poirot?

We saw the new version of “Murder on the Orient Express”, and I didn’t like it much. I found it quite boring really, although the scenery and the production were certainly beautiful. The cast was outstanding — Johnny Depp (one of my faves), Judy Dench (another), Michelle Pfeiffer and more, but somehow none of them had much of a chance to shine.

Kenneth Branagh was the director and also starred as Poirot, and honestly I just couldn’t get into his portrayal. Venetia suggested I was just spoiled by all those years of David Suchet, but it wasn’t just that. I just didn’t think he was true to Agatha Christie’s original — he was too “ordinary”, and Poirot certainly shouldn’t be ordinary! And he had no twinkle in his eye!

I’d love to hear what anybody else thought of it. I enjoyed the picada more than the movie!

I have another tango lesson this afternoon, always something to look forward to. I think I might be ready to venture back to the milonga soon, and I’ll report on how that goes when I pluck up courage!