Month: September 2019

Annihilation Will Spark a Good Post-Movie Discussion

The review:

Alex Garland’s Annihilation is yet another quality flick, especially good for post-viewing discussion.* To say again what many are saying in all realms of life: representation does matter and I loved that women were the people doing the exploring in this movie.** It’s a visually stimulating movie with great performances; while Natalie Portman is her usual excellent self, Gina Rodriguez, Tuva Novotny, Tessa Thompson and Jennifer Jason Leigh were all wonderful to watch as they explored the Shimmer.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched, at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Annihilation is good for dates early in the relationship, Garland’s previous Ex Machina is good for a more established couple.
**Number of movies I can think of where an all-woman team bands together to get things done: One. Ocean’s Eight. Number of movies where an all-man team bands together to get things done: roughly 3000.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Oscar Isaac filmed this movie and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) on adjacent studio lots. He had the same trailer for both films and would often film scenes for both movies on the same day.

Last Days for this Fire Escape

The window outside the kitchen area at my work is the one that goes to the fire escape. This is the same fire escape that the robbers came in through to steal three computers, a projector and a throw rug to carry them all out with. But they’ve put a better lock on it since then.

They are removing this fire escape as part of the building remodel. I’ve never sat on it, myself, but a coworker did on a regular basis.

Still, I’ve enjoyed having it and will miss it when it is gone.

Update from the future. For reasons unknown, they did not remove the fire escape!

Discovered on Walk: Little Free LEGO Library

Little Free Libraries abound in Portland. But this was a unique find!

My walking companion and I decided the “you’re on camera” sticker wasn’t really a real thing. We saw no cameras.

The note says:

Hi! Take a minifigure and leave a minifigure that someone else would like. [Illegible] a note in the little log if you want. Have fun!

Matt Sells His Car

Matt’s mom offered him a great deal. He could sell his 2015 Honda Civic and keep the money, and then have her 2017 Honda Civic which she no longer drives.

Here his is with all his documents in order.

This was a great deal as his 2015 Civic was just under the 75,000-mile threshold. (Which works out to about 18,750 miles per year owned). His mom’s 2017 Civic had just under 10,000 miles on it. (Less than 5,000 miles per year.)

“Ten-thousand miles!” Matt exclaimed more than once.

The other good news is that Matt’s job that caused him to put so many miles on his car has ended. So hopefully this can stay a low-mileage car.

Yesterday Won Me Over Completely

The review:

I’d forgotten what a romantic Danny Boyle is, and his love of the absurd,* and those two things, combined with an interesting premise, elevated Yesterday far beyond my expectations. Himesh Patel’s varying levels of despair—even as he was gaining fame by “writing” songs by the Beatles—was fun to watch, as was Kate McKinnon as Debra Hammer—a money hungry manager. I also found myself surprised by the turns in the story, which always makes for a good film; as does good music, which the Beatles produced in quantity.**

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: $4.00
Where watched: Academy Theater—nearly a full house.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*The movie Millions has a special place in my heart
**There’s a moving turn near the end I didn’t see coming, which was also delightful.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Though it was not in the original script, director Danny Boyle was so taken with the discovery of a recording studio by a railway track that he had the text altered to incorporate the trains and utilize the location as Gavin’s studio.

The Sun is Also a Star is Not a Movie I Enjoyed (Because the Book is Better)

The review:

Ry Russo-Young’s The Sun is Also a Star is not going to get a fair review from me because I’m too close to the book.* I initially rejected the movie because the actors both look like they are well into their 20s;** when I did watch the movie the changes that were made from the book stripped a lot of what I loved from the story.*** I didn’t necessarily expect this to be amazing, but I did want it to be better than it was.****

The verdict: Skip

Cost: $1.75
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*Which is excellent, and I recommend you read it immediately. It’s short. It won’t take you long. Nicola Yoon is the author.
**I’ve since found out that Yara Shahidi is actually still a teenager
***I’m usually pretty good at separating the book from the movie—they are different mediums and need different things. But this movie was left with not much after so many things changed.
****Especially because Russo-Young directed Before I Fall, which I really enjoyed.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

The lead characters Natasha and Daniel are loosely based on Nicola Yoon (the author of the book the movie is based on) and her husband who are Jamaican and Korean American respectively. Neither faced the immigration issues shown in the film.