movies – Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50

Posted on February 2, 2023January 31, 2023 by LA · 48 Comments

Thrills and Chills

I’m a movie fan. I belong to AMC movie club and am a member of Film Forum. Watching movies is one of my favorite hobbies- I go to at least one movie a week, often new releases, though I love catching an oldie that I’ve never seen, or I loved so much I want to see it again.

Movies. Great entertainment.

However, movies are really not just entertainment. Movies also show the social climate of when they were produced. You can learn a lot about a time period by watching film.

Presently, we are having a real go of thriller/horror movies. I admit that this is not normally my go to genre, but some of the new ones are really good. They sort of thrill you on the visceral scale- you scream or shut your eyes, but they also hit on the intellectual. Once you open your eyes and get past the horror, you really start to think. Think about social issues and moral issues and how we live our lives in the 21st century.

I think this era started with Get Out. Have you seen it? If you haven’t, you should. Jordan Peele does a masterful job in this seemingly average movie about an average family meeting their daughter’s boyfriend. Spoiler alert: there is nothing average about these people. This movie scares you, but really makes you think and question. Isn’t that what true art is supposed to do? Think and question?

Here’s some recent thrillers that I think are spot on for combining entertainment and thought:

The Menu
M3GAN
Vengeance
The Batman
Barbarian
Emily the Criminal
Bodies Bodies Bodies
Triangle of Sadness

While these can be considered satires, that doesn’t take away from the underlying message that each of these films is trying to show. They do a really good job of showing hypocrisy, cancel culture, the problems with tech and social media, and the overall climate that the world faces today.

I’m interested to see where movies go from here- which direction they will take in trying to get people to wake up and think. I think this could be a really good era for the thriller and movie making in general.

Have you seen any of these movies?

Do you consider film to be art?

Do you think movies should make us think about the underlying issues that we face every day, or that exist around us?

Discuss

Posted on January 23, 2023January 22, 2023 by LA · 36 Comments

Satire

I wrote a post on Friday https://wakinguponthewrongsideof50.com/2023/01/20/anything-can-happen-friday-unlikable-female-protagonist/ that talked about a trigger warning in the Hulu streamed film Not Okay. After one of my blog friends pointed out that the film was supposed to be a satire, (which I disagree with completely) there was discussion that the trigger warning was satirical. So lets talk about this.

WARNING- THERE WILL BE SPOILER SO IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW PARTICULARS ABOUT NOT OKAY, READ NO FURTHER. I’LL FORGIVE YOU

What is SATIRE?

Per New Oxford American Dictionary– the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize stupidity or vices

Does Not Okay fit that definition of satire?

I don’t think so. I think the opening scene does show an ignorant character. She does say some stupid things. However, I did not view it as the filmmakers being satirical- I found it to be a judgement more than anything else, more of a mock than a satire.

What is to mock?

Per New Oxford American Dictionary– tease or laugh at in a scornful or contemptuous manner

Is there a difference between mock and satire?

I think to satirize is to exaggerate something so people can see how ridiculous something is- I don’t necessarily think it is done with spite or malice. I think mocking is mean spirited and passive aggressive nasty.

Why do I think the movie is not a satire?

The character says stupid things and is ignorant of many things, including her own privilege. You do chuckle at her in the beginning, but her behavior after that is more contemptuous. You don’t like her and it’s no longer funny- it’s just not a character that you want to like. Not liking a character because she makes poor life choices and decisions is not satire.

If a movie is a satire, does the theme need to carry through from start to finish?

When I think of Dr. Strangelove or more recently Don’t Look Up or The Menu, the theme is carried through from start to finish. There is no doubt what you are watching is satire, and at least in the case of Dr., hilariously funny. The movies end in the most ridiculous ways possible. In Not Okay, the ending is sad. There is no funny or satirical overtone- it is straight up contempt for the main character, the unlikable female protagonist. Can it be a satire if it doesn’t end satirically?

If the content warning was supposed to be a joke, should they have included TRAUMA in the warning?

This is why I think it was done intentionally: trauma is something that would be put in a content advisory, because there are people who really want to know this. If the unlikable protagonist was supposed to be funny, wouldn’t it have been in bad taste to include them in the warning together?

Your turn:

How do you define satire?
What are the best satires you’ve seen/read?
Do you think because someone says that something is satire, that it really is satire, or does it have to pass the smell test?

Posted on January 17, 2023January 15, 2023 by LA · 79 Comments

Positive Outcome

If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.
Orson Welles

When doing five minutes of research, I realized that I probably shouldn’t title my post happy endings, but essentially my thoughts and queries revolve around the term happy ending as it applies to books, movies, and life.

How do you define the words happy ending or positive outcome?

Much of fiction ends “happy”. Good guy wins out, the couple fall in love, the moral dilemma is resolved. But just because things end where the audience thinks they should, does it necessarily mean that it’s happy?

I’m going to give you a spoiler alert about Friends- the on again off again relationship between Ross and Rachel appears to be on for good as the show takes its final bow. There are many that think this is the ultimate relationship and this is the ending they wanted all along. However, Rachel gives up a dream job in Paris to stay with Ross. Is it happy or settling?

I recently watched a TV movie with my daughter- one of those Netflix things about a twenty something that does something stupid. What made this movie different was that many people would not consider it to conclude on a positive note. While some of the things said are a step forward, the viewer is left wondering how the protagonist will fare in the future. Of course, the warning label before the movie said “drug use, sexual situations and unlikeable female character” so apparently the American public needs to know when it might not be happy ever after and they need to be prepared… (I guess I could write a whole blog just about that phenomena…)

How do you define happy ending/positive outcome?

Can you give an example about an ending that was positive that you thought was good?

Can you give an example of an ending that was not “happy” and why it did or did not work?

What do you think of the Welles quote?

Happy ending: Yes or No?

Posted on March 24, 2022March 22, 2022 by LA · 127 Comments

All By Myself

I tend to go to movies by myself.

Some people find this odd.

When I go to see a film by myself, I am totally absorbed into the film…I can sit exactly where I want…I can see whatever film I like no compromises… I feel that a movie is the one place I don’t need anyone to make conversation. The movie is on- there is no talking.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t go with other people- yesterday I saw a movie with a friend and I was glad I did because it was a movie that required a post movie discussion.

Going to the movies by myself is my number one self date…

Are there any things that you do by yourself that others may think that it’s odd to do solo?

What are your favorite self dates?

Are there things that you only like to do with others?

Discuss:

Posted on January 28, 2022January 27, 2022 by LA · 55 Comments

My Month in Books and Movies: January 2022

BOOKS

Book	Author	Genre	Rating
Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year	edited by Allie Esiri	compilation	1
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas	Agatha Christie	cozy mystery	2
The Maid	Nita Prose	cozy mystery	3
The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women	Kate Moore	non-fiction	4
Perestroika in Paris	Jane Smiley	fable	5
When Ghosts Come Home	Wiley Cash	mystery	6
The Narrowboat Summer	Anne Youngson	women’s fiction/self reliance/starting over	7
I’ll be Seeing You	Elizabeth Berg	memoir	8
Dava Shastri’s Last Day	Kirthana Ramisetti	women’s fiction/family saga	9
The Plot	Jean Hanff Korelitz	psychological drama	10
A Little Hope	Ethan Joella	Interconnected short stories	11
The Love Hypothesis	Ali Hazelwood	rom com- there’s a misunderstanding and one sex scene	12
The Last Thing He Told Me	Laura Dave	psychological thriller	13
Fleishman is in Trouble	Taffy Brodesser-Akner	literary fiction	14
If Only	Judith Arnold	light fiction- family/older woman	15

I like books that are to be read a page a day for a year. And it’s Shakespeare.
Charming mystery for fans of Poirot. It’s light, but interesting and fun. Typical Christie
Very quirky main character- I like quirky, but if you don’t, beware. Interesting take of judging people and expectations. On the light side, if you don’t want to think too much.
I’m surprised by how much I liked this book. The story of the fight for justice for people poisoned by radium at their workplaces. Story is told simply, which in this case helps, because too much jargon would have made it a boor. A few too many details about how the women dressed and how much their husbands were in love with them- slowed down the story for me. Just because they were women doesn’t mean we need what can be referred to as feminine details. However, incredibly interesting tale.
Sweet fable. The main characters are a horse and a dog and a bird. If this isn’t your thing, skip it. But if you just want a little lightweight charm, this is for you.
Aging sheriff wondering what the future holds- surprised me in a good way
Quaint story about three women coming to terms with changes in their lives, both wanted and unwanted. Light female empowerment- what you can do if you set your mind to it
Memoir about needing to put parents in a care home. Written as a series of journal entries chronicling the way she felt about her parents feelings. Brings up many discussionable points- may write blog about it
The premise of this book is really interesting- the actual book is not. Family saga that thinks it’s way more out of the box than it actually is. Could be interesting for a book club because there are things that would be good to discuss, but overall annoyingly average
This is an easy read if you like psych dramas. The story moves at a reasonably brisk pace and there’s not to much to trip over. This is not necessarily a good thing. I expected more.
This is not really a novel, not really short stories, so I don’t know what to really call it. It’s really about a few inhabitants of a small town and how they interact with one another, sort of. I applaud the author for trying to make sense of the random connections that we make with one another, yet I felt that pretty much every story was incomplete.
If you were to see the cover of this book, you would get that it’s exactly like its cover- If you want a trite, predictable read, go no further. Sometimes I need that…
There was a lot of hype about this book. I don’t get the hype.
This is a reread for me (book club). I hated it when I first read it, because I hated all the characters. On the reread, I was able to concentrate on the bones of the book a bit more, and it is a well written novel. However, I still think the characters are precious and whiny and I really wanted them all to fail miserably.
If only I hadn’t thought this book looked interesting when I saw it while browsing. This book annoyed me on many levels. The protagonist talks about how she eats salad with no dressing because she’s afraid of gaining weight. Why of why are we allowing women to do this to themselves. She hates every salad she eats- do I want to read this. The character is so bored with her life that she keeps imagining the paths that she should have taken. The problem is- who cares? She’s a trite, cliched boring character and no matter what road she took she would be a boring, trite, cliched character. it’s not shocking that she barely has any friends, a surface relationship with her children, and the most boring marriage. Let’s write about fun, intelligent women in their 60’s…not hollowed out shells.

MOVIES

Movie	Where Seen	Genre	Rating
CODA	Apple TV	family drama	1
Encanto	Theater	animated/childrens/musical	2
Being The Ricardos	Amazon Video	biopic/drama	3
Parallel Mothers	Theater	foreign language/drama	4
Belle	Theater	foreign language/animated	5
The Tender Bar	Amazon Video	coming of age	6
The French Dispatch	Theater	absurdist	7
A Hero	theater	drama/foreign language	8
MacBeth	theater	drama/you know…Shakespeare	9
President	Theater	documentary	10
Don’t Look Up	Netflix	comedy/satire	11
The lost Daughter	Netflix	drama	12
In The Same Breath	HBO Max	documentary	13

This movie is so good. Laugh. Cry. Experience all the feels. Great acting, great story, great screenplay- there is very little wrong with this film. If you can, subscribe to Apple TV for a month- watch this and Ted Lasso. Totally worth the money for the app to watch these shows.
Beautiful songs, gorgeous animation. However, it tries to give too many messages. That being said, if you have a kid who loves Disney, this is a win
Decent biopic- slightly choppy scene by scene. Editing could have been tighter. Excellent acting. In the battle of the Leading Actress biopic, I must give the edge to Nicole Kidman. IMO, the four leads should all be nominated for awards- the acting makes this movie come alive.
This movie has moments of brilliance. It also has two excellent plot lines and neither felt complete or whole. Would be better if it focused on one story line and not two. I don’t think they meshed as well as the director hoped they would.
Beautiful animation. Coming of age and resilience- but I felt there were plot holes
Based on a memoir, this is a decent coming of age story with a better than average performance by Ben Affleck
If you like the work of Wes Anderson, you will like this. Decent screenplay, but otherwise average
Well done morality tale, but probably goes about three steps too far. Should have been shorter- movie drags into boringness
Beautifully shot version of Shakespeare- but you really need to love MacBeth, because my Husband needed to leave the movie before he went mad…
Very good documentary about the 2018 Presidential Election in Zimbabwe. Obviously seen from the viewpoint of the people opposed to the current President and officers. Makes you question the meaning of a Republic/Democracy. Has made the Oscar short list, but I don’t think it’s strong enough to garner a nomination.
This is a decent satire featuring an all star cast. The story goes a little all over the place, and the script could/should have been better. While I don’t think it deserves an Oscar nod- the all star cast and topic will probably be hard for some to resist.
I like Olivia Colman as an actress- however, I think she’s very average in this aspiring to be average drama about a women who keeps thinking about her past. Uneven and confusing pacing. I just didn’t care about the story or the characters.
Documentary about COVID. Sorry- still too early for me to watch a doc about this topic. I question docs made while something is still happening. There was a point where Cuomo looked like a God- did we need a doc about that small portion of 2020? I don’t think this will be nominated for an Oscar.

This is the Barnes and Noble Bingo challenge. My goal is to complete the whole card this year! Feel free to do this with me!!!

Posted on March 28, 2021March 28, 2021 by LA · 51 Comments

Highlights of the Week That Was

I slowly get back on my feet….the city slowly gets back on its feet…

They are installing a new art exhibit in Madison Square Park- will keep you apprised as to what they are doing. Presently it looks like they are planting some new trees.

Afternoon tea at Prince tea shop- It was soooooo good!

What I finished reading this week- I can already see that I will be reading less as time goes on. My present goal for April will be 8 books.

Theater for the New City did a pop up showcase on Saturday outside their theater. This is the Pablo Band. Wonderful on so many levels.

Movie I watched at home- FYI- I thought it was convoluted

This is an Instagram that I just thought…why? Why do we feel the need to project the image that we don’t eat when we begin a relationship? Conversely, why do we feel the need to let ourselves go once we are in a relationship? Is this a topic that should be thrown off on an insta post? This idea may end up as a future post. Tell me if you think it is worth discussing.

Posted on March 7, 2021March 7, 2021 by LA · 52 Comments

Highlights of the Week That Was- March 7

Barbounia in the Flatiron District NYC- Lamb Kebab Terra Cotta- they put this delicious bread thing on top- it was soooooo good. My friend ordered the desserts by asking the waitperson to just bring the two best desserts. I don’t know what we ate but it was delicious

This is a comic from my blog buddy Matt. If you want to check out his amazing work www.aprolificpotpourri.art

this is how I was trying to prep for my podcast: can you say cut and paste

This is The Strand bookstore in NYC- at the same time there were two movements going on- 1) Save a beloved Indie bookstore from going out of business 2) Don’t save it because the owner invests in stocks of large corporations like Amazon, so you’re not really supporting a small business

What I watched this week. Quite good and Daniel Kaluuya is just amazing

Kyma in Flatiron District- the zucchini and eggplant chips were stupid good

https://anchor.fm/laover50/episodes/Gratitude-Saturday-ers9qr

Posted on May 3, 2019May 3, 2019 by LA · 55 Comments

One Star

I had a very interesting conversation with TJ Fox the other day. We were discussing reviews and rating systems and I said I never give a one star review (or five star for that matter), and I usually discount one star reviews as well. TJ asked- “Don’t some things warrant a one star?”

And I got to thinking…

Is there anything so bad that it should be given the lowest star count on a rating system?

What would make a book so bad that it would deserve only a star?

My thought process is that a book would need to lack in all areas. The plot would need to be ridiculous, the characters one dimensional, the dialogue unbelievable, the setting mundane and lifeless. There would be no rhyme or reason to the chapters or structure. it would need to make no sense. And the grammar would need to be completely off the mark. I have yet to meet a book that lacks in all these criteria simultaneously.

When reviewing something, what goes into it? When you tell someone “Don’t read” or “Do Read” or “Must read” on what basis are you setting that? How much of that is personal preference?

I have a really good friend S. Her taste in books is opposite mine. She never enjoys the books I like. Is she wrong? Am I wrong?

No. Because that’s the problem with reviews: you can be biased by what genre or style you like or don’t like.

I recently read Taylor Jenkins Read “Daisy Jones and the Six”. The story unfolds in an interesting way: from the perspective of someone making a documentary of a band. So the story is told in snippets of how interviewees answered questions. I thought it was a brilliant way to tell a story of this sort. I love quirky ways of telling a story. Others don’t. How fair is it to give this book a one star review because you don’t “like” the method? (I saw one star reviews of this book, so this is a legitimate concern)

I don’t like science fiction. Just don’t like the genre. Would it be fair of me to rate a sci fi book one star?

I did not like the TV show “Breaking Bad”. I stopped watching after season two. I also only watched one episode of “Game of Thrones”. Is it fair for me to say DNF (did not finish) or one star because it’s not my taste?

This week I talked about book to movie adaptations: plot changes, characters eliminated or changed, miscastings…. To someone who has read and loved a novel, the adaptation of it just falls short. But what if someone never read the book and just watched? I never read the Inspector Lynley books, but I thought the series on PBS was pretty good. But Jane Fritz thought that it was totally miscast. We would rate it differently because we are viewing it from two different angles. Would it be fair for Jane to give it a one star because it’s not what she wanted to see based on her preconceived ideas?(to be clear, Im using this as an example- I don’t know what she actually would rate the series) Just like me with the Malkovich Poirot: I thought it was HORRIBLE because I am a Poirot purist. But what if I had never picked up a Christie? Would I still think it was horrible?

So…

How does one write an impartial review? How do you divorce personal preference and just look at the bones of a work? What should a review be based on?

Posted on May 2, 2019May 2, 2019 by LA · 34 Comments

Who?

We all agreed that John Malkovich was by far the worst Poirot ever. Though to be fair, I saw a movie with Tony Randall playing the detective, which was just…..indescribable…. It was done in the sixties, so I’ll forgive it to a point…. But what other roles have been horribly miscast?

I love Tom Hanks. He is one of my favorite actors, and he actually seems like a really great guy. Fine actor. I can’t tell you how good I think he is. Except, you know, he can’t play everyone. For example- “Bonfire of the Vanities”. Not only was this a horrible adaptation of a book, it was just a horrible movie. I mean horrible. And miscast is an understatement. The last person who should have played the arrogant prick of a main character was Tom Hanks.. (In hindsight Kevin Spacey would have been perfect actually…)

And how about the iconic Dan Brown character, Robert Langdon. I remember reading DaVinci and was casting the movie in my head. I immediately thought Liam Neeson. Maybe Russell Crowe. Tom Hanks never entered my imagination. I have no doubt that Tom Hanks is a brilliant guy- but he doesn’t play as an elbow patch wearing Harvard academic. Not. at. All. And they keep making the movies with him, and I keep watching them, and I keep shaking my head…..why oh why?

This is one of my problems with film adaptations of books. As a reader, you get a mental picture of a character. This week a couple of people had very interpretations of what Jack Reacher should look like. And that’s great, because we all bring our own interpretations into things. But when you have imagined a character one way, and then see them on a big screen as something else….well, it’s hard to change your mind.

Sometimes you have the perfect casting. Colin Firth is Mr. Darcy. End of discussion. I will never read P and P again without picturing Firth. Jennifer Ehle is Elizabeth Bennett. David Suchet is Poirot.

It’s a wonderful thing when an author writes such a brilliant character that we all “know” what they will actually look like. We know how they would act, we know how they would react. Some authors have the innate ability to bring a character to life. Things like this are what makes a great book: iconic characters and settings. And a literature purist just doesn’t want to see the dream fade. They want the character to live on in their memory.

If I overthought this subject a little more, I could probably argue that there is some psychological component to this. We imagine something and then the reality is quite different. Maybe we want to keep our fantasies safe…..but this is a blog for another day…

But anyway….worst miscastings?

Posted on April 29, 2019April 29, 2019 by LA · 53 Comments

Eliminating and Melding

I love books.

I love movies.

I don’t always love books made into movies.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when characters are eliminated or melded together. I understand why it’s done: keep production costs down by reducing headcount, keep storyline cleaner, save time. I understand the practicality- I am all about the practical. But….

The first time I encountered this daunting character thing was upon reading Gone With the Wind. SPOILER ALERT: In the book Scarlett has three children, Bonnie is her third. The movie adaptation of this book only has her having one child.

Blasphemy.

Even at twelve, I was incredulous that this had been allowed to happen. It was a 9 thousand hour movie, with 8 billion people in the cast. Really? They couldn’t cast two kids? The additional kids were a great way to really look at Scarlett’s character as a whole person. Being a Mother changes you, or should change you? Did we miss integral parts of the story because they weren’t included in the movie? Did the premise change? How much of the integrity of the book was compromised by cutting out these characters?

Not long after my disillusionment with the movie/book dilemma of GWTW, I encountered another slight- “Rich Man, Poor Man” (SPOILER AHEAD) In the movie there is a sister character and a girlfriend character. In the mini series, these characters were combined.

What? Combine a sister and a girlfriend to make one character? Madness…

Now, I admit that RMPM is not a classic of literature- it’s a page turning soap opera of a story. But you take any lesson or value or literariness out of the book by melding these two characters together. If the book had melded these characters it might not have gotten published- that’s how strong the need is for there to be two separate characters. Nature/nurture was a strong foundation of the novel, and it was completely reduced to cheap and tawdry in the mini series. But I guess even back in the seventies we just wanted cheap and tawdry…

So- which book/movie adaptations annoy you the most regarding eliminating or melding of characters? These were the ones that came to mind because these were the first time I recognized the phenomenon. Which characters were integral to the storyline of a book but ended up in the vast black hole of unused characters?