LA CHIMERA is an Italian film that is magical in many ways. The most magical thing was that three thirteen year olds came in the theater as the picture was starting, ordered food (I didn't know you could do that), and sat through ninety minutes of the movie in complete silence. Did they know Italian? Or were they used to reading subtitles? Did their parents tell them it would be like Indiana Jones? (It has been compared to that in reviews) But then they left (wordlessly) without seeing the final forty minutes. Quite an unusual film with Josh O'Connor giving a standout performance along with Isabella Rossellini. I am very grateful that the theater down the block is showing this sort of film. I hope it lasts.
RIPLEY is gorgeous to look at it if nothing else. But there are other delights: Dakota Fanning is wonderful and if Andrew Scott is too old for the part, he does give it a gravitas that Matt Damon didn't. Also watched a documentary on Charlotte Rampling called LOOK on you-tube. Watched the first episode of THE SYMPATHIZER (HBO-MAX).
I think I give up on SUGAR. NORTHERN EXPOSURE is better than ever. Did I appreciate it at the time? Not sure.
There's an article in the NYT today about how people pick up and ditch streaming services constantly now. I got rid of three in the last few months and am considering ditching APPLE and HULU. Really, you have to have more to offer than one show if you're going to charge $15 a month. The best value for me is Criterion. They have a tremendous library of films--if film is what you like.
Still working on reading THERE, THERE, (Orange)which is good--I just am reading more slowly than ever.
Going to hear the Philadelphia Orchestra play Brahms in Ann Arbor today. It was a choral piece. Very moving. He wrote after the death of his mother.
And you?
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Another quiet week of trying to avoid most of the news about Trump's trials and about the antics of Margorie Taylor Green -- both are just tiring me out and their antics have become incessantly repetitive. That, of course, may be the plan. I realize it's dangerous to ignore these bozos; sooner or later I'll steel myself to listen to more of their blathering. I've even reduced my viewing of the late night comics for the nonce.
A quiet week again, marked by Amy's 26th birthday (Happy birthday, Sweetness!). Seems she changed the spelling of her name to Ammy several years ago. Who knew? To celebrate, we went out to dinner, had a great time, laughed a lot, and brought home out respective body weights in doggy bags. Mark's birthday is coming up next, followed by Christina's, then we have to skip ahead because June is a remarkably fallow month for birthdays.
Pretty decent weather here except for the times when we planned to go to the beach, then thunder, lightning, rain, and winds. This weekend's storm brought a "Boil Water" alert, something I'm not used to.
Still watching (and enjoying) BEYOND PARADISE. I've started streaming SISTER BONIFACE, a spinoff from FATHER BROWN. A very quirky show set in an English village filled with very quirky, albeit stereotyped, characters. In some ways, it reminds me of Colin Watson's Flaxborough novels. Not a great show by any means, but amusing enough. The third season starts this week on Britbox.
It's also been a quiet week for reading. I read two books by F. Paul; Wilson: THE LAST CHRISTMAS, a sort of "filler" novel in his Repairman Jack series, and DOUBLE DOSE, the second novel in his DUAD duology. (Every time I think of DUAD, I find myself humming "Camptown Races.") The duology is an extensive reworking of his early science fiction novel HEALER, which in turn was a reworking of his novella "Pard".-- The story has been jiggered to fit into the framework of Wilson's "Secret History of the World." I had intended to have this an F. Paul Wilson week, but I got bogged down with his collaborative novel with Kevin J. Anderson, Janet Berliner, and Matthew J. Costello, ARTIFACT This one, billed as a "Daredevil's Club Adventure," was evidently meant to be the first in a series, but no further books came. Sadly, the book is a case of the sum being much lesser of its parts. I've also been dipping into three nonfiction collections: TRAVELS by Michael Crichton, CRIME BEAT by Michael Connelly, and SPIDER, SPIDER, SPIUN ME A WEB by Lawrence Block.
Friday we're off to South Carolina to check out the massive used book store.
Have a fantastic week, Patti. Take care.
Sounds like you had a good week. Quiet here, which is how I like it. We went from 82 one day (though that was in Central Park; down here by the water it was maybe 74) to the 40s - the high on Saturday was 48. A little drizzle, but not a lot of rain. We're trying to eat home more, though we actually ate out five times last week. Oh, well.
Finished the third series of NORTHERN EXPOSURE and the fourth of MI-5 and about to finish the third of SCOTT & BAILEY (all for the second time). Watching TEMPLE, COMMANDMENTS, BEYOND PARADISE, STAR TREK: DISCOVERY (last series), TANDEM (seventh and last series), DEADLY TROPICS, THE WAGNER METHOD, NORDIC MURDERS (despite the title, set in Germany near the border of Poland), MUM (one episode to go), LOUDERMILK, THIS IS GOING TO HURT, NCIS (series 17), DINNERLADIES (finished it Saturday), possibly others. Jackie is watching the second series of JOE PICKETT, which she says is better than the first (which wouldn't be difficult).
At the advice of a friend in Scotland, we just added BLUE LIGHTS (the second series just ran in Britain) - on Britbox. It centers on three probationary cops in post-Troubles Belfast, though there still seems to be a lot of tension, and they still have to check under their cars for bombs before getting in. The central character is probably Grace, who left her job as a social worker to become a cop, but still has a social worker's mindset about helping people. The main actors are not well known, but several familiar British and Irish actors are in it, like John Lynch as the head (of course) of an Irish crime family, and Richard Dormer. Six episodes in the first series. Check it out.
I'm reading Ken Bruen's GALWAY CONFIDENTAL. The main problem is that it is the second straight book (the other was Steven Havill's PERFECT OPPORTUNITY) with teeny tiny print. Maybe Jackie is right about only reading books on Kindle, because this is just too small.
We did our taxes late this year - we didn't get back from Florida until March 30 - but, amazingly, we got our federal refund in just a week. Amazing!
Oh, I always enjoyed Northern Exposure, Patti. And I'm glad you thought Ripley was good. I'd been wondering if I should see that.
Ripley is especially good to look at it. You just don't get that kind of artistry on TV much.
So true about the font. And if it isn't big enough, it isn't dark enough. But I really dislike reading on a Kindle too. The books feel too much alike.
Boy, would it be fun to go to that bookstore. I always dreamed of going to Hay on Wye.
I'm surprised you are in FL long enough to file there, Jeff.
We had to wait until we got home because some of the stuff (Social Security, etc.) comes in the mail and I wouldn't know how to get it online. The bank stuff (investments) and Jackie's pension stuff we can get online.
Saw the new Guy Ritchie film in the theater. Very good. Found a 2014 Danish film called The Salvation. It's a western featuring one of my favorite actors Mads Mikkelson. It's a revenge western in the vein of John Wick. I also liked it. Flt bad but I got bored with the Zone of Interest.
On Tv I binged Shogun. Great series. Much better than the Richard Chamberlain one. Also liking Sugar and the Sympathizer. Can't understand all the love for NCIS. Every episode I've watched was poorly written and very unrealistic. Doing things the real NCIS don't do. Also liked the three part Secrets of the Octopus on Natinal Geographic. Octopuses are one the most intelligent animals around.
Read the newest novel from British author Adam Nevill called All the Fiends of Earth. It's an end of the world novel very much in the vein of War of the Worlds, Day of the Triffids and J.G. Ballards The Drowned World and The Crystal World. Quite a page turner.
Starting Don Winslow's City in Ruins.
Spent most of the week sick. Not bad during the day but hits me at night. I think it's allergies which cause a ton of drainage which leads to other problems.
Probably will do something on friday. Turning 76. Can't believe I'm so much older than my parents ever got to be.
Last week we saw MAMMA MIA!: THE MUSICAL and went to a concert featuring THE PAINO GUYS. This week is calm, but we already have tickets to THE FALL GUY next week.
We are celebrating Earth Day today by mowing the lawn. Diane used to have her Fourth Grade class do Earth Day activities but I'm not sure that's a thing today. Climate change is too political for some schools today.
I'll be interested in the Opening Statements at the Trump trial. Most of the TV legal analysts claim this is the "weakest" of the four suits against Trump, but I think Stormy Daniels' testimony might resonate with many voters.
Western NY is already 2 inches of rain above NORMAL for April with more rain in the forecast this week. Stay safe!
Busy week and weekend with little variety in entertainment. The only scripted show I continue to watch is BLACKLIST. Although you can count the late night shows as scripted.
Finished another Ruth Downie mystery but my focus wandered a fair amount. Started listening to Maria Bamford's SURE,I'LL JOIN YOUR CULT. Had to stop since I was in a dental chair for a cleaning and any laughing aloud would make the hygienist's job difficult. I shall resume.
My library continues to move forward with expansion planning and efforts. Next step is to get the proposed fundraising contract signed. After that is a capital campaign.
The local prom and Rotary Club sponsored post-prom was Saturday. Boy #2 approached his mother at 10AM Saturday saying he was invited to go with a group of friends and he decided to accept. I've volunteered at post-prom almost every year and this the first - and only year - one of my two kids attended the prom. I did not get to sleep until 3AM.
I was slowly and reluctantly moving by late morning to attend a fundraising sale and then to work for a afternoon Memory Cafe. I ended up crashing mid- evening and then unable to get back to sleep until after midnight.
We had a friend from Stockton visit on Friday night. Actually, she was on her way back from a camping trip to Anza Borrega and stayed overnight to break her long drive home. She loves the desert and camping, but it sounds terrible to me. She does get to see lots of wildflowers.
We have been watching: CSI (Season 10) and CSI Vegas and just heard that CSI Vegas is cancelled after Season 3. I will miss Marg Helgenberger. I am also enjoying Northern Exposure; still in Season 3. I am liking STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE. With DEEP SPACE NINE and VOYAGER, I had seen a season or two, but ENTERPRISE is entirely new and set before the original STAR TREK series. We are watching MAGPIE MURDERS, two episodes so far. Also watching BEYOND PARADISE; with only 6 episodes per season, that will be over soon.
I also read much more slowly than I used to, Patti. That only bothers me when I reading a longer book, where it takes me forever to get through it. I finished reading THE HUMANS by Matt Haig. It is a story about an extraterrestrial coming to earth with a mission, but it seemed more like a book on philosophy to me. It was uplifting and left me in a good mood. Now I am reading THE MISTRESS OF ALDERLEY by Robert Barnard. I have read a lot of his books and still have many I haven't read. Same thing with Peter Dickinson; I need to get back to his books.
Glen finished CHECKMATE IN BERLIN by Giles Milton and has moved on to HOW THE COUNTRY HOUSE BECAME ENGLISH by Stephanie Barczewski. He has a lot of books on country houses, some unread, many on the already read shelf, around 20 books at least. I would like to read some of them but I have never enjoyed reading nonfiction the way he does.
Happy Birthday, Steve. I turned 76 in January. Didn't even know about the Guy Ritchie movie.
Maybe I should give SUGAR another try.
Have always loved MAMA MIA. I was a big fan of ABBA although I know a lot of people aren't though
Have always liked Robert Barnard. We did a special posting on him after his death. Peter Dickinson is also first rate. I like the sound of that country house book. I read one on how a house like that deteriorates over time. Fascinating.
Off to the library. Back later.
Oh, the proms. I remember Megan going. In her era (her nineties) they were wearing black dresses. Her date wore a white tux. Weird.
Everyone looks good in black. While male preening had reached the kidz by the 1990s...
CBS is slashing and burning even solid (if expensive) performers such as CSI VEGAS and SO HELP ME TODD, probably foolhardily.
I've wanted to see SO HELP ME TODD but never have. A Facebook friend is a director on the show and occasionally has picture posts from the set. She has lots of praise for the cast.
She also posted images from a Jamie Lynn Spears TV film, ZOEY 102, which I have zero interest in seeing.
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