Action cat moves in for the kill.
Last night Bob and I did something we hardly ever do, we went on a date. We didn’t plan it on purpose. He said he was going to see There Will Be Blood and I haven’t seen anything at the theater except for Juno which was way back at my birthday so I said I’d go with him.
We went to the 4:30pm matinee which was almost full and we remembered immediately why we never go to the movies on Saturdays. It’s full and everybody talks. The movie is intense and everyone settled pretty quickly and/or I was so involved that I stopped noticing but there were a few moments when we first sat down when I thought we’d made a mistake.
I think this is a movie more for people who admire film making and less for people who like entertainment if you can get my distinction. I think it belongs in what I call the “brilliant failure” category.
The performances are amazing. Daniel Day-Lewis is completely genius and the actor who plays his kid and Paul Dano, the Little Miss Sunshine guy, all really good. The first half hour or so, has stunning visuals but there’s this moment where the movie turns a corner. Bob and talked about it afterward and agreed on this same moment and at that point you’re invested in people that you cannot like or root for in any capacity. The story and the way people behave are grounded in reality, there’s quite a journey going on, but as a viewer, sometimes you want to see a glimmer of goodness before the credits roll.
Afterward we went to Burgerville so I could use my coupon for a free chocolate-hazelnut milkshake and eat my third fast-food hamburger since October. What’s happening to me? Maybe I’m learning to enjoy delicious food. The shake was great.
After dinner we went to the mall to use Bob’s Macy’s giftcards and coupons. I helped Bob for awhile and then wandered off. One current style that I don’t get are the bags or purses or whatever the kids are calling them these days. The bag department took up about 20% of the real estate on the ground floor and I looked through the displays fascinated by the bright ugly colors, unappealing shapes and big shiny buckles and fasteners. I pretended that the store wanted to give me one and which one would I choose? None. Not even for free. And these aren’t even the thousand dollar bags that you see in the ads.
Bob is looking forward to the Oscars tonight. I used to like awards shows, especially the Oscars, but now it feels like my life draining out of me. I can spend 5 minutes the next day reading the results in the paper and have to sit through all the b.s. Then I found something in the paper that, at least partially, changed my mind. One of my favorite movies last year was Once and I especially loved the soundtrack. The NYT has an article, Life Imitating Film about the stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova playing their song at the show tonight. I will tune in for that moment alone. And I hope they win because they are not b.s.
