Saturday, December 31, 2011

at the movies

This is a photo of my grandmother with one of my dad's young friends, taken in the 1940s.  I love many things about this photo: the kid's bow tie, my grandmother's whole outfit, the pair of gloves or scarf that can be seen hanging from her handbag, that the photo was taken on the street in the evening, in front of the lights of a movie theater.  I assume that my grandmother is escorting the kids to the movies (where's my dad?  Taking the photo?).  She has something in her hand--perhaps movie tickets.

Andy and I have watched a lot of movies this holiday season, both at home and in the theater.  Here are some brief reviews for you.

*Hugo.  Awesome!  A great film to watch during the holidays, and you don't have to be a kid to enjoy it.  Beautifully filmed.  I posted a little about it here.  We watched in in 3-D.  I thought Scorsese utilized the 3-D to great effect.
*Sherlock Homes 2.  Meh.  Made me sleepy.  I didn't particularly care for the first one, either.
*Melancholia.  Gorgeous.  Disturbing.  Loved it.  Afterwards, Andy and I had strangers talk to each of us in the restrooms.  A woman asked me what I thought of the movie.  In the men's room, a guy told Andy, "Guess I won't be getting any tonight."  !?  They turned out to be a couple, and they followed us to the cocktail bar around the corner and then left almost as soon as they entered without ordering anything.
*The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  Good.  But as expected, didn't add much to the Swedish-made original film, other than sexing up Mikael Blomkvist by casting Daniel Craig.
*Beginners.  This was a Netflix rental.  Pretty bad.  Considering the great cast (Christopher Plummer, Ewan McGregor, Melanie Laurent, an extremely cute terrier), I was disappointed.  Also--and this was my bad, since I picked it--a depressing choice for Christmas day.  I thought this was going to be quirky and heartwarming.  It was quirky.  (And I am not one of those people who likes "feel good" movies.  See: my positive review of Melancholia.)
*The Illusionist (L'Illusionniste).  Wonderful!  An animated film based on an unproduced script by Jacques Tati.  This was made by Sylvain Chomet, the same director who made The Triplets of Belleville, which is also delightful.  Absolutely gorgeous, and bonus: set in Edinburgh.

Happy new year to all!

xo
K

4 comments:

  1. What a lovely photograph, so details and kept well! I just love everything about it!!! Happy New Year!

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  2. creeeeeeeepy movie stalkers. and um, ditto re: gwtdt. daniel craig! but I loved the ending. best ending I've seen in a long time...

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  3. Happy new year to you, Karen!

    What a lovely photograph. I love your grandmother's style and especially her glasses.

    We've been enjoying some TV and movie time these holidays too. I adore 'The Triplets of Belleville' and I can't wait to see 'The Illusionist'. I've also heard so many bad reports about Sherlock 2 but I think I'll see it purely for the RDJ eye candy. ;)

    Have you seen Submarine and Super 8? We watched those two recently and loved them.

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  4. That *is* an amazing photo. Quite different from the usual "vintage" shot - there's the action (they are walking) and yes, the fact that it was taken at night. A real gem.

    I've just watched the new BBC tv series Sherlock. Have you seen it? It stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman (did you watch the British Office?) and I LOVE it. New episodes just started yesterday and that's what I will be watching tonight!

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