Cousin Ron reports that he and Jim went to see Bohemian Rhapsody at this theater. Apparently it was both beautiful inside and with excellent theater popcorn. I’m always up for good popcorn. Mostly it’s not that great, with the exception being one movie theater in the close-in Boston suburbs (Newton?) which had amazing popcorn. I still remember it, more than 20 years later.
Apparently, Ron’s part of Ohio had 15 inches of snow over two weeks, and wall-to-wall media coverage of apopolyptic proportions. Although apparently also everyone carried on.
Cold War is dedicated to director Pawel Pawlikowski’s parents and left me wondering many things. It a beautifully composed movie* with stunning performances, especially by Joanna Kulig. I was fully engaged the entire movie, and yet, it left me rather cold.**
*It’s good looking in black and white with whatever aspect ratio makes the film square. Plus, there’s a lot of music. **I needed more background on the main characters. And I didn’t so much get the ending. I’ll be googling now.
Work is doing a survey that involves mailing to many Portland residences. A lot of them come back to us as vacant. On this one someone helpfully added “demolished.” It’s not surprising.
Here’s my best guess as to what 3951 N. Vancouver looks like. It’s been absorbed on PortlandMaps.com into 3535 N. Vancouver, which is currently the Brass Tacks restaurant.
This building could have been torn down in the past few years, or it could have been torn down as part of the “improvement plan” in the 1960s that gutted a historically Black neighborhood and resulted in empty lots for decades.
Something will appear here though, and probably sooner rather than later as this area is hip, happening and nearly fully gentrified. We can’t have weedy, empty lots in that kind of neighborhood.
I’m a completist. I watched all the Best Picture nominees. You might not have my level of dedication, or time. If not, here’s a handy guide to help you plan your best picture nominee viewing.
Roma.
You want to watch Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma if you are fan of movies that unfold slowly, are more character driven than plot driven, and are sad and cathartic. Also, if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to have a live-in servant.
Green Book.
You want to watch Peter Farrelly’s Green Book if you are fan of excellent performances, pithy things said by lead actors, and if you are not at all convinced by the arguments about white saviors and racism your college-age niece made at the Thanksgiving table.
Black Panther.
You want to watch Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther if you are at least mildly interested in superhero films, like a popcorn movie that actually deals with contemporary issues, and love movies that feature women fighters prominently (though still not in the lead). Also if you are only going to watch one movie in the Avengers universe, this is the one.
A Star is Born.
You want to watch Bradly Cooper’s A Star is Born if you like movies about music, are looking for some killer performances, or are a fan of romantic love. Also, to forever banish the memory of the ’76 version.
BlacKkKlansman.
You want to watch Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman because it’s funny, tense, has a lot to say about race in the USA, and so you can weigh in on the discussions about the final scene.
The Favourite.
You want to watch Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite because you love movies where women get to really act, love movies where everyone is terrible to some degree, and love random weird stuff dropped into the narrative.
Bohemian Rhapsody.
You want to watch Bryan Singer’s* Bohemian Rhapsody because you love or like the music of Queen, want to see some amazing 70s/80s costumes and Rami Malek’s excellent performance, and don’t mind that this movie is a standard draggy biopic that takes no chances.
*IMDB credits Singer as the director. But he only worked on half of it.
Vice.
You want to see Adam McKay’s Vice if you are a fan of actors radically changing their appearance to get in character, if you are an Amy Adams completist, and if you don’t have any lingering feelings about the George W. Bush presidency.
If our movie tastes align.
You want to see: The Favorite, A Star is Born, Roma, BlacKkKlansman, and Black Panther in that order.
You don’t mind seeing: Bohemian Rhapsody
You should stay far away from: Green Book, Vice
If you want to watch the movies most likely to win.
You want to see: Roma, Green Book, Black Panther, and A Star is Born in that order.
It’s just past seven o’clock a.m. and I can tell that I’m the third person to walk to the train this morning.
It wasn’t enough snow to be a bother, and not nearly the amount of snow that was predicted. This is the snowstorm that has reminded me why I never let myself get excited about Portland snow forecasts. Often they are much ado about nothing.
Tom Waits is Prospector in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a film by Joel and Ethan Coen.
I was calibrated to the wrong type of Coen Brothers film when I sat down to watch The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.* What I found were six pretty good stories firmly set in the business-as-usual Wild West.** It had the usual Coen touches,*** but I found the short story format overall to be a little draggy.
Verdict: Good
Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($7.99) Where watched: at home, with a lot of scenes viewed through my fingers
*I was thinking this was more of an O Brother Where Art Thou?/Hail, Caesar!/Intolerable Cruelty. Fun and peppy. But it was more of a No Country for Old Men. Bloody and sad. **You know, white men wander about doing their thing, Indians attack, women are minor characters. There’s no new ground being broken on this front. ***Visually memorable, great acting via facial expression, some odd turns.
I avoided Kelly Reichardt’s Wendy and Lucy for years because I was a little too worried about the dog.* Having overcome my fear, I found another quality movie focused on a small slice of life. Michelle Williams brings another quality performance to a Reichardt film and the stakes are high for such a small story.
Cost: free from Multnomah County Library (my Kenton Library branch is very close to the Walgreens where this movie was filmed. There’s a lot of North Portland spotting for those in the know.) Where watched: at home** in preparation for Filmspotting Madness best of the 2000s
*The dog is fine, I needn’t have worried. **Matt was half watching. “Is this a crime or horror movie?” he asked when the movie started. I assured him it was neither, as even Kelly Reichardt’s film that involved crime was not a crime film. As the movie ended he said, “I kept waiting for her to be raped, or harmed in some way.” Though I did fear for the dog, I knew that the trouble for Wendy was not going to involve physical harm. That’s not Reichardt’s way. (Slight exception, Night Moves, though it makes sense in the context of that film.)
The Sixth Sense remains M. Night Shyamalan’s directing triumph twenty years on. It’s still scary, still packed with great performances,* still brings the tears. While I mourned a little that I knew the big secret** I spent my time both looking for things I could now see because I did know the secret and fondly remembering my first viewing.
*Haley Joel Osment has so much going on with his eyes; this comes from Bruce Willis’ late 90s peak; Toni Collette is, as ever, the actor who is going to do so much with her performance **As does probably everyone by now, but if you don’t I suggest watching this tout suite, before someone spoils it for you.
