with a u
Last night started my two-night stint of movie-going, with The Favourite, which I was so excited to see -- and therein lay the problem: even getting a B+ rating, the movie did not quite match my enthusiasm for it beforehand, which by definition makes it at least a slight disappointment. I half-expected to be exhilarated by its greatness, given its nearly universal critical adoration.
That said, as I basically alluded to in my review, I also had the distinct feeling that the movie might take some time to sink in, and my appreciation for it may deepen over time. I already have a plan to see it a second time when I go with Laney on Friday next week, and although I no longer look forward to it in a context of how "blown away" I kind of stupidly expected to be by it, I do still look forward to a second viewing, just so that it can help it sink in a bit better, or more effectively. I think I will always hate the fisheye lens cinematography, though, so no matter how much greater appreciation I gain for it, I will never come close to regarding it as a flawless movie. Because I think I will always maintain that is a glaring, persistently distracting flaw. Other people might not care about that particular detail, which may strike many as arbitrary, but I really did not like it.
The story is compelling and the acting is excellent, however. And the production design is superb.
Anyway, you can read the review for greater detail on my thoughts about the movie, which I wrote after getting home right around 9:45. It was thus 11:00 before I was actually in bed and falling asleep.
As it happens, the Golden Globe Award nominations are out today, and The Favourite has five nominations: Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy; Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy (Olivia Colman); two for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical or Comedy (Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz -- this covers all three main characters); and Best Screenplay. Ascribing any kind of predictions for the Oscars to the Golden Globes always seems a fool's errand, given they have literally fewer than 100 voters, none of whom overlap with Academy voters, but they do have nominees in common a surprising amount of the time. That said, the SAG Award nominees are being released on Sunday, and those are far more reliable predictors, with a huge number of voters and a massive swath of them overlapping with the Academy.
Yesterday the earliest showing of The Favourite was not until 7:30, so I had time to come home and have dinner first. Shobhit made lentils and rice and also a mix of potatoes and zucchini. It yielded a lunch for us both for today as well. We had them with fried tortillas last night, and Shobhit was listening to news programs so I went to the bedroom to upload some random recent photos I've taken, to Flickr.
It was very cold again this morning -- 31° in Seattle. I finally had the wherewithal to dress in layers: my red hoodie under my pea coat; extra gloves slid over my hands already in fingerless gloves. For once I didn't feel like I was freezing my ass off on the walk between the bus stop downtown at 3rd and Pine, and work. That walk takes about twenty minutes. I listened to Christmas music as I went -- specifically, Cyndi Lauper's very good 1998 Christmas album Merry Christmas... Have a Nice Life! That album always takes me back because it coincided with my first Christmas season living in Seattle. Twenty fucking years ago now!
You know, I really do worry less about the state of the world, now that I'm already middle-aged. Even if I do die of natural causes at a ripe old age, that will itself arrive before I knew what hit me, so you know, whatever. What difference does it make, really, if I go that way, or President Fuckwit kills us all tomorrow? I mean, probably about forty or fifty years, I suppose. I've still had a good run either way!
I just got kind of dark, didn't I?
[posted 12:48 pm]