A jungle of green.
I wouldn’t have it any other way. Hey, it’s will be positively balmy today as the temperature hits the mid-thirties! I won’t know what to do with myself. Wear shorts? Go for a swim?
We had the most marvelous time with our friends Trish and Colin yesterday. We gathered at Rick and Doug’s home for lunch and great, great conversation. Before we knew it, five hours had passed. All the while, snowflakes were slowly falling and deer were feeding on the hill behind their house and it was magical.
Don took this photo of Trish and me. She is very tiny and full of energy. She has so many wonderful stories about a life spent in the theater, working in England, her native Australia and here in the States. Her husband Colin is also a terrific raconteur and between them, we were entranced. Don has worked with both Colin and Trish.
Warning: If you don’t want to read my opinion on a film you may not have seen yet, stop here!
We came home and had some dinner and then watched Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. We are bucking the crowd on this one: we didn’t like it. We were really looking forward to it as we’re both fans of Frances McDormand. But the script was badly written and it was badly directed. It’s what I am calling a Coen Brothers Wannabe. Since we, and Don especially, love the Coen brothers, we were sure we’d love the film. But, the more we talked about it afterwards, the more examples we came up with where the scenes and dialogue were shaped – actually, contrived – to further a weak story line that left too many things unexplained and veered all over the place. I’m all for some ambiguity at times, but this wasn’t ambiguity, it was just poor writing. Frances McDormand was okay. It’s the kind of role she can do well. Sam Rockwell was very good; his was the most effective characterization in the movie and, given the script’s deficiencies, he worked wonders. We accepted that it was rather stylized and were willing to go with it but, in the end, it was hard to like any of the characters and we just felt manipulated. It seems to be the flavor of the moment, but I’m darned if I can figure out why.
We feel much the same way about Call Me by Your Name, which elicited yet another long conversation after the end of the film where we kept coming up with contrivances that were glaringly obvious and never rang true, along with many moments in the script that were never explained and never followed up on.
When the viewer has to do a lot of work to try to make disparate elements of a film come together to make some sort of sense, the film has failed.
Loved, loved Get Out. I can’t say enough about that film. Jordan Peele is brilliant.
We have The Shape of Water on the docket for tonight and Mudbound slated for tomorrow. Ahead: I, Tonya, Lady Bird, and The Darkest Hour.
We’re having fun watching all these movies and want to finish up in time for Don to vote.
Thank goodness it’s warmer outside!
Don wants me to keep the tree up another day. Okay!
Happy Tuesday.
Thanks for your assessment of the films. I liked Three Billboards, but didn’t love it, though I do love Frances McDormand. I wanted to love it, but you’ve articulated the reasons why I couldn’t. Get Out was great! And the others will have to wait until I can see them.
We wouldn’t have seen any of them it it hadn’t been for the screeners that are being sent to us!
Lucky you! I do enjoy your reviews of them.
Thank you!
My husband and I watched Mudbound several weeks ago, it really stuck with me and I have thought about it many times since. We had also watched Get Out, I didn’t enjoy that movie, I felt like it was a remake of an older movie starring Kate Hudson called The Skeleton Key.
Enjoy your day:)
Kandi
Never saw The Skeleton Key as I’m not a fan of Kate Hudson. I’m looking forward to Mudbound, Kandi.
Yeah, I feel the same way about her, Kate Hudson; not a fan. I can never figure out why but I’m offput by her. She can sing, dance, act…so, I dunno…I feel like she’s always on a red carpet somewhere, or making some appearance, when she really isn’t in anything or doing anything, so why does she get exposure (because of her mom?)? Is she more of a celebutante rather than a celebrity? And she’s often wearing the skimpiest outfits imaginable (all eyes on me, please; especially my boobies). I feel like I’m being really mean (unfair?); oh dear…
And I don’t think she’s a very good actress – so, to me, it’s more about celebrity than acting.
So there you have it, and you’d know, since you and Don are in the biz.
xo
I apologize if my comment came across a “snarky”, I truly did not intend for that:)
I didn’t think that for a moment! No worries!
Yes…it was balmy yesterday here, too…we got up to 40! A repeat is scheduled for today as well. Not warm enough for shorts, yet, but we did crack the window open last night…felt good! Our snow is melting, too…January thaw, perhaps? It’s a jungle path to Stella….it looks wonderful! ;)
Please let there be a thaw (even though my sinuses protest!)
Lady Bird is terrific! You’re in for a treat, especially if you like coming of age movies.
Can’t wait. And I love Laurie Metcalf!
Wow, are you lucky to get these screeners, Claudia. Since the Golden Globes, I have a growing list of films I want to see. My husband and I really both want to see The Post with Meryl Streep as Kathryn Graham and Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee; there are a lot of good actors in the cast besides those two, too. I saw Meryl Streep on a chat show and she couldn’t say enough about the genius of Spielberg; he rushed the filming because the movie/subject is so timely but, in that genius, didn’t sacrifice quality, according to her. She said he’s at the top of his game with this film, giving the same kudo to Hanks.
Very, very interesting to hear your take on the Frances McDormand movie which got so much exposure at the Globes. My husband still can’t quit talking about Get Out. It had quite an effect on him (I haven’t seen it). I don’t know anything about Mudbound. I am looking forward to Lady Bird. This screening/voting responsibility of Don’s has proven to be a nice thing you two can share on these cold nights when you’re both on job hiatus; perfect.
Yes, it’s nice to watch a movie on a cold winter’s night! I know there are a lot of people who loved 3 Billboards. I think we’re the exception, though I did read a review on NPR (after I wrote the blog post) that said much the same thing I did. I think he used the phrase, ‘it rings hollow.’ Whatever the director was trying to do, and I think I know where he was headed, it just didn’t work. Martin McDonagh (spelling?), who wrote the script and directed it, is an established playwright and I know he’s talented. I just think that in this case, it was a hit and a miss. Frances McDormand is one one of my favorite actresses. I know there are actors who make it look easy when it really isn’t, but I don’t think this was much of a stretch for her. She’s fine and she always brings her considerable acting chops to anything she does, but it could have been so much more interesting, however, the writing and direction made the character almost one-dimenionsal – not quite – but almost.
You ought to review films like you do books, Claudia. You’re good at it. As in, earn some income from it. You really nail this stuff and I appreciate your perspective.
I was reading about her, Frances McDormand. She and Joel Coen have been together a long time (personal life/married; about ten years into it, they adopted a son from South America; she is herself a child of adoption). I think I read that she has a master’s from the Yale School of Drama. (Sometimes, I like a back story!) I really do need to SOME day watch “Fargo” – I hadn’t realized she has both an Emmy, Oscar, Tony and – now – a Golden Globe. She’s built quite a resume. A good body of work, into her 60s now.
Yes she went to Yale. I forgot about that. So that means she is well-trained, though, thank goodness, she is from another era, as I find a lot of the recent grads to be talented, of course, but much the same – less quirkiness. McDormand is quirky and I love that about her. She is wonderful in Fargo. You should see it.
Woo-hoo, Claudia, enjoy your balmy-ish weather! We’re having a 6hour respite from heavy rains, so I’m driving out to get my car smog-checked. I wasn’t interested in seeing any of the movies that were nominated, even though I enjoy watching the various actors that are cast in them. I saw Frances McDormand as Lady MacBeth last year, and I was expecting a tour-de-force. Good production overall and a thrill to see her on stage, but I was disappointed at how restrained her performance was, given it was Lady MacBeth. My favorite of her films is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
I’m not sure what McDormand’s training is an an actor – I’ll have to check into that. Because Shakespeare takes some serious chops and they don’t necessarily translate from film to stage. Whereas, actors who are trained for the stage can make that transition to film much more easily and credibly. xo
how wonderful to be and have friends in the theatre world!
I’ve always imagined a dinner like the one you described in this post.
and it’s heartening to know that actual stimulating and fabulous conversation is alive and well!
It’s so welcome when it happens because it’s all too easy to get locked into laptops and phones, isn’t it?
Happy to hear you had a bit of thaw! We had sunshine and much warmer temps today. I love the photo of Stella and the plants (sounds like a play). Speaking of, how exciting to be able to watch all these movies that are getting all the buzz. I seldom see the movies up for awards because going to the movies is pricey and I’m such an at home gal. I find your reviews very interesting as always. Don votes for the SAG awards right? One of my favorite awards shows.
We never go to the movies because it’s so expensive! So getting these for free is a real treat.
Nervously reading online to keep myself from obsessively looking out my back windows for mudflow in pouring rain today here in SoCalif. (If I had mudflow, it would be a rare event; I’m not even under voluntary evacuation. Still, there’s always…worry. I’m not worried about my own small hillside sliding; we’ve had no burn, have good vegetation and a super-strong retaining wall; I’m just leery of what’s on the other side of the hill, 5 blocks up, scorched. Last month, it was the constant glance for orange sky and fire out my windows; now, it’s rain and mud. It really puts you on edge; life not normal. You’ve of course felt this with your mega snow. So far, all is okay with yours truly and it’s likely to remain that way; for as bad as Ventura County was hit with wildfire, it’s Santa Barbara County which is now in such a serious mess/tragedy in the burn-out aftermath. ”
It’s when you wish upon wish that people would have heeded warnings to evacuate well ahead of the worst rain but, you know, they’re sick of being displaced and going through evacuation for days and weeks on end, staying in motels/hotels, some of them just now returning to their homes since the fire. Such serious consequences, though.
It seems like A LOT of rain unless we’re just SO not used to it. I mean, we can’t just go from 1 to 50 here; we have to go from 1 to 550, you know? No rain in ‘forever’ and, now this, although it’s supposed to slack off tonight. When I say pouring, it has been POURING (I’ve probably been outside to check drains about 25 times by now; we’ve left the yard gates wide open; we want free flow, nothing dammed up; vulnerable spots are sand-bagged, though).
Such irony; we need the rain SO badly, but can’t enjoy any of it; just too much going on to not get jumpy. I just hope nobody else dies; they’re still looking for people in the mud. I’ve got three neighbors who didn’t go to work today in Carpinteria and Santa Barbara because the 101 North is closed. We’re pretty hemmed in – can’t go up the coast, HWY 150 is closed again; we’re open on the 126 Fwy East to the interstate (5) and could go 101 South; but a lot of roads have been overwhelmed as feared with debris flow/flooding; slides; rocks. Not little rocks; big rocks, AKA boulders. Those blessed search dogs which seem to be largely retrievers and labs are belly-deep in mud, looking for survivors. Brave, obedient canines all.
I would like to just never remember this ‘winter’ of 2017-2018 and hope it doesn’t get any worse. Like your blizzards, I’m done with natural disasters for now. It’s really been an emotional time for everyone both in Northern AND Southern California these past months. In a wilder moment, I had this image of California burning up and just sliding into the ocean, disappearing forever. Oh, my brain; scary. I had watched an old movie with Pierce Brosnan, what was that called? Dante’s Peak; about a fictional volcanic eruption. Wasn’t the best thing for me to watch, clearly. I don’t need worse images in my head! Which is why I’ve never seen that other thriller with Paul Giamatti called “San Andreas” (earthquake).
Glad you’ve ‘warmed up’ somewhat; hope it continues for you!
Hang in there!
Dear Vicki…I used to think that I would love to live in California…Now..since meeting you in a blogging sort of way…I’m not so sure about that!…Drought…fire…mudslides…one on top of the other!…plus always the threat of earthquakes!…Of course we can get those things here in Pennsylvania but rarely to the extent that they are in CA… My goodness…I think I would constantly be a nervous wreck!…How do you do it girl?
I’m just so sad this morning; quiet. I knew when we awoke that the death toll from the Montecito mudslides would have risen. I formerly lived less than 10 minutes from where this devastation has occurred and my husband, before I knew him, actually worked for a few years in Montecito, so this hits hard. I’m still staggered that there wasn’t the same horrible circumstance in the city of Ventura which suffered a large amount of structure loss and, of course, the hills in Ventura are completely charred. But the rain pounded harder in neighboring Santa Barbara county; a sickening perfect storm of land configuration, burn area and weather.
Not everybody in Montecito is ‘rich’ and there are people struggling to make a living there just like anybody else. Nice little shops, galleries, restaurants, etc. on Coast Village Road now inundated with mud. As a treat back in the day, a few times a year, we ‘office girls’ would have lunch in one of the little cafes. I’m seeing the photos/video of The Montecito Inn and, well, just such a mucky mess of slimy mud and debris; it’s something, and will be huge clean-up, but nothing compared to loss of life. This area hasn’t, in the past, been exempt from flooding but I don’t ever remember anything like this and I’ve lived in Ventura County and adjacent Santa Barbara county most all my long life. I certainly never remember the major artery/link of the coastal 101 Freeway being taken out to this degree (at one point flowing like a river yesterday).
We’re sunny this morning; drippy, but sunny. I’m sure it’s beautiful and clear in all directions; the sky was full of stars last night after the rain finally stopped. It’s not lost on us how dirty we’ve been from soot & ash & smoke from December. I’ll get busy; I have to do errands; it will be good to see a cleaner surrounding and try to shake off the feeling of despair.
This is Enough. Give people a chance to recover before any more catastrophes. And, yes, I love California with everything in me but it’s no longer a great place to live; for all that our governor (who I like and admire and believe) sends out a good positive message about strides our state is making to combat climate change and everything else, she’s proven time and time again that we can’t fight her, this formidable Mother Nature. We can no longer count on the past, we long-timers, as a gauge on how the weather here cycles; what we’ve been through before and what we can get through again. It’s different now, and has been for some time; Earth is changing and so goes California the same. Maybe a nice place to visit, but I’d never come here to live. I think my cousin was wise to pull up stakes in San Francisco and move to Pittsburgh!
So glad it is warmer today. Stella looks so good in that photo. She shines like athe star she is!
Marilyn
She is definitely the ‘star’ in this cottage!
It sounds like a nice gathering of friends you had Claudia!…I don’t know a thing about any of those films but I certainly do trust the opinions of you and Don….
Thank you, Nancy!
Hi, Claudia. Thanks for your review of 3 Billboards. What did you love about Get Out?
After you see Lady Bird, will you please give us your critique? I just saw the movie and loved every minute of it. Such a great & touching story. I was raised in Sacramento where the story takes place and also went to the same all-girls Catholic high school that played a large role in the movie. It was so true-to-life and brought back a lot of good (and not-so-good) memories from high school all those years ago. Thanks! Jill
I think I wrote about it last week. It’s so well written – the story is riveting. And there are unexpected plot twists around every corner. It manages to be a dark comedy, a horror film and a social commentary about race in America at the same time. I loved it.