tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28218694021127147242024-03-05T06:15:34.352-06:00et maintenant??AND WHAT NOW??Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.comBlogger1418125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-43251386674930044602022-03-26T08:26:00.000-05:002022-03-26T08:26:42.220-05:00Howard ranks the Oscar nominees<p>Tomorrow is Oscar night, and I’m back to my annual tradition of listing the Oscar Best Picture nominees, ranked in order of how much I liked or didn’t like them — not predictions of winners. I did see all ten nominated films. Ten was too many! In my opinion, most of this year’s nominated films aren’t special enough to be considered for Best Picture of the year. But hey, that’s just me. Maybe the film industry has just left me behind.</p><p>So here we go…</p><p>1. <b>CODA. </b>Fir those of you who don’t know, CODA stands for Child Of Deaf Parents. Considering that three of the four main characters are deaf, this is a beautiful amazing script. A warm and gripping family story. Highly recommended for everyone! </p><p>2. <b>WEST SIDE STORY. </b>Considering how much I love “West Side Story”, on stage and on film, it was hard for me to not pick this Number 1, but hey! This musical won Best Picture in 1961, and I’m not sure that it needed to be done again,but Spielberg did a great job, and this re-make in many ways is better than the first one.</p><p>3. <b>LICORICE PIZZA. </b> This is a hard-to-describe movie, but I liked it. Picture it: 1973, Southern California, high school kids coming of age — but somehow it all works. And Bradley Cooper makes an appearance, which is always a plus.</p><p>4. <b>BELFAST. </b>I had trouble with the Northern Ireland accents, but the other people in the audience seemed to get it, so maybe my brain just doesn’t move fast enough. But it was definitely an interesting and disturbing time in that country’s history, and the film is worth watching to get a feel of the troubles.</p><p>5. <b> DRIVE MT CAR. </b>Fortunately, I saw this in a theater — a captive audience with a big screen. On my TV at home, I never would have made it through the three hours . It’s tedious and complex and actually quite impressive. In Japanese with subtitles. Lots of Chekhov references. Definitely not for everyone.</p><p>6. <b> KING RICHARD. </b> There is no question that the story of Venus and Serena Williams is cool, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a cool film. At times it felt like watching a tennis match for two hours and 21 minutes. Will Smith may win an Oscar.</p><p>7. <b> NIGHTMARE ALLEY. </b> It’s brutal and dark, but Bradley Cooper makes it worthwhile.</p><p>8. <b>THE POWER OF THE DOG. </b>I liked parts of it but didn’t really get it. This film received the most Oscar nominations and should win for cinematic achievements. Beautifully filmed.</p><p>9. <b> DON’t LOOK UP. </b> It’s just too un-special to be a Best Picture nominee. It would have made a final made-for-TV Movie of the Week.</p><p>10. <b> DUNE. </b>Who-cares? dialogue leading to the next round of special effects and violence. Maybe I would have cared more if I had seen it in a theater instead of HBO Max. Or if I had read the book. But life is too short.</p><p><br /></p><p>That’s all I got, kids! Get out of your recliner and go see a movie. And watch the Oscars, so that we all have something to complain about.the next day. </p>Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-87478548200077095212020-07-24T21:01:00.001-05:002020-07-24T21:01:52.543-05:00don’t rain on my non-existent paradeIt can be argued that baseball in its best is pretty boring.<br />
<br />
Last night, in an abbreviated baseball season, baseball summer 2020 season, with no fans in the seats, started. Up there on the screen were the Washington Nationals playing the New York Yankees.<br />
<br />
So what can screwed that up! How about rain?<br />
<br />
A baseball game with no fans and a rain delay? How we still watching??! Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-70787272252956801842020-07-20T22:47:00.000-05:002020-07-20T22:47:12.407-05:00if I were a U.S. school teacher...i’d be awfully tempted to retire right about now....Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-12040400787007370562020-07-19T18:32:00.000-05:002020-07-19T18:32:47.462-05:00where to find inspirationI’m feeling so uninspired these days... But where does a person find inspiration?<br />
<br />
From a place? I recently moved from a home that inspired me to an apartment that so far does not inspire me. Do I have to move again, or hope for change right here?<br />
<br />
From a lover? Jerry, the love of my life, passed away three years ago, and life with someone else could never be as good, so why try?<br />
<br />
From friends? Maybe, if they are the right kind of friends — if they care whether I am inspired or not.<br />
<br />
From within my own soul? Or has that train left the station?Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-66080072196235316262020-07-18T19:46:00.000-05:002020-07-18T19:46:59.592-05:00weird in a good wayI consider myself lucky that I have visited, at some time or other in my life, all 50 U.S. states. As I neared that “50th”, I purposely chose a #50 that I was looking forward to seeing, rather than settling for, say, a North Dakota. It was Oregon. I had people to see there — relatives and friends — on the Oregon Coast and in Portland, and the state’s reputation for its beauty, its progressiveness, and alternative lifestyles held some appeal for me.<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
It was October 2011. The Coast was indeed beautiful, and there was much happening in the city of Portland. Jerry and I happened to be there during the “Occupy Movement” that started as Occupy Wall Street in New York City and gradually sprouted out across the country. Occupy Portland was one of the largest and most active of the protests, having taken over several blocks of downtown Portland. A wide variety of human beings had encamped there over several weeks and were proudly representing Portland’s unofficial city motto — “Keep Portland Weird”. Jerry and I had been participating in Occupy Minneapolis, and it was fun to see the contrast. The Occupy Movement was peaceful and made a valid statement.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fast-forward to Portland, Oregon right now. In the last few days, peaceful protestors in that city have been violently attacked by unidentifiable federal or military agents in combat gear. Apparently, Drumpt is attempting to make an example of Portland, to see what he can get away with in repressing alternative political expression. Pay attention. This is real and repulsive. As my nephew Jeff said this morning, “The fascism is no longer hidden.”....</div>
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Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-17143110976701642392020-07-17T17:05:00.000-05:002020-07-17T17:05:05.426-05:00stilted conversationRemember when there were topics of conversation that didn’t include coronavirus and/or our idiot “president”?<br />
<br />
Think of the diversions that normal summers could give us —<br />
<br />
— Sports! We are already halfway through the non-existent baseball season. I could have been lamenting how disappointing the Philadelphia Phillies could have been doing! And how are we going to have a fall without football?<br />
— Summer vacations! Most people are afraid to get on an airplane or stay in hotels or resorts. And I for one am not about to sleep in a tent.<br />
— New movies! And once movie theaters open again, is somebody even producing movies now that can be released?<br />
— Concerts and live theater! I’m dying to see some live entertainment... a symphony orchestra, musical theater, anything!<br />
— Summer love affairs! Who wants to kiss through masks?<br />
— Political conventions! (Ha! Just kidding!)<br />
<br />
Or maybe it’s just a summer to bask in memories of summers past..... or have a shaky hope for summers future.Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-49063701685790080252020-07-15T15:52:00.000-05:002020-07-15T15:52:23.657-05:00tax day 2020Normally in the U.S., individual tax-filing deadline day is April 15, a date on the calendar that has generally become notorious. In this abnormal year of 2020, the deadline, because of Covid, was pushed out by the I.R.S. to July 15th. Today!<br />
<br />
I wonder if Drumpt filed his on time and if we will ever see it. Now that his lie about his tax returns being “on audit” and thus unavailable has been debunked, he has whined that his tax returns are too complicated for us to understand anyway.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah? I’ve been a CPA for 40 years, dude. Try me!Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-82841237123676193922020-07-14T14:17:00.000-05:002020-07-14T14:30:09.238-05:00la quatorze juilletWelcome to Bastille Day 2020.... I don’t know if they are celebrating in France as they usually do.<br />
<br />
Bastille Day — or French National Day — celebrates the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789, a protest that led to the French Revolution.<br />
<br />
Do you ever feel like storming anything?<br />
<br />
And Bastille Day has become just an excuse to celebrate everything French, sort of like St, Patrick’s Day has become a reason to celebrate everything Irish.<br />
<br />
For all those who don’t really want to raise a glass to the French, well, let them eat cake!Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-1335403168620408302020-07-13T11:31:00.000-05:002020-07-13T11:31:36.392-05:00the Washington (fill in the blank)Today, the Washington Redskins NFL organization has (finally!) dropped the Redskins team name after years of hearing protests that the name is a racial slur. A new nickname will be decided and announced at a later date.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Indians baseball team is considering a name change.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to a question....<br />
<br />
Christopher Columbus “discovered America” accidentally when trying to find another route to the East Indies, and when he landed he assumed that the inhabitants were Indian, that he had succeeded. So when he at some point realized that he was in a new land and not in India, why were the natives still called Indian and are to this day? Somebody couldn’t have come up with a different, more specific and original name?Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-80906136580703059882020-07-12T22:36:00.000-05:002020-07-12T22:36:50.538-05:00Pence with a pistolPeople have been talking about the Broadway musical “Hamilton” because it’s been on TV lately. The stage version on Broadway was such a smash several years ago that tickets, if a person could manage to locate any at any price, were super-expensive. It’s a filming of that original stage production on TV now, so it’s kind of a big deal. I was fortunate to see it live on stage when the Broadway touring version came here to Minneapolis a couple of years ago. It’s impressive, although the hip-hop music isn’t so much my cup of tea.<br />
<br />
A strange hero for a Broadway musical, though — Alexander Hamilton, one of our U.S. “Founding Fathers”. And even though Hamilton was important in those early years, such as being the first Secretary of the Treasury, he is perhaps best remembered in history for how he died — gunshot wound from a duel with Aaron Burr. Although it’s hard to imagine how any intelligent men would ever agree to a gun duel, no matter their disagreement, what made this duel even stranger was that Aaron Burr was the sitting Vice President of the U.S. The duel was illegal, but Burr was never charged.<br />
<br />
Can you imagine our current U.S. Vice President in a duel? Actually, it’s scary to think of him with any weapon of any kind in his hand. But one thing is for sure: If he were to survive a duel and be charged with a crime, he could count on a pardon from Trump. All that butt-kissing would have paid off.Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-65955696145869286342020-07-10T20:24:00.000-05:002020-07-10T20:24:52.368-05:00sweating it out — summer 1968Mid-July in Minnesota, and it’s hot. On these muggy, miserable days, I take some sort of comfort in the memory that this is nowhere near the miserableness of my summer of 1968. That’s when I was drafted into the Army and spent those dreadful months in basic training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Polk, Louisiana (Two U.S. Army bases named after Confederate generals — 🙄).<br />
<br />
So can you picture me trudging through the swamps of those Southern states with a rifle on my shoulder and a full backpack weighing me down — all for the now-laughable purpose of preparing mostly-pacifist me to be a killer in those even more miserable swamps of Vietnam??<br />
<br />
It was bad, but that was as bad as it got. After all that prep, I didn’t have to serve in Vietnam. The universe was watching out for me. I wish I would have known that as I was sweating profusely, shaking mud out of my boots, swatting mosquitoes and watching armadillos scoot by. Get the picture?Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-86528380347015733002020-07-09T20:41:00.001-05:002020-07-09T20:41:25.074-05:00Proverbs 3:3<i>“Never let loyalty and kindness leave you....”</i><br />
<br />
But then — how many people never knew what loyalty is and never had any kindness in their soul?<br />
<br />
I could name names.....Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-61891086682438451642020-07-08T21:00:00.000-05:002020-07-08T21:01:50.636-05:00next plane to AmsterdamNow that Europe is forbidding Americans to travel there because of our out-of-control mishandling of the coronavirus, I’m of course dying to get back there! And it’s been too long.....Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-63367133849523795422020-07-07T18:42:00.000-05:002020-07-07T18:42:47.075-05:00what to do in a sports bar I stopped at a nearby sports bar, had a glass of scotch on the rocks and a few chicken wings... sitting at the bar, counting at least twelve large TVs around me set on channels that struggled to be something about sports... But what news is there? Fretting about whether there will be any Major League Baseball this summer or any football games this fall or NBA or NHL or whatever else there might be?<br />
<br />
And, just because it has something going on, has NASCAR ever gotten this much attention? And how the heck is NASCAR a sport? I drive a car every day, and I love driving, and why would I want to watch simebody else driving a car?<br />
<br />
Another scotch, please.... and what might be on the other channels? Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-7401425189725715382020-07-06T14:48:00.000-05:002020-07-06T14:48:21.423-05:00her reasons for social distancingSo here is my question for the day: How is it that Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend has tested positive for Covid-19 while he has tested negative, considering how contagious this virus is?<br />
<br />
The way I see it, there are only two possible answers:<br />
<br />
— They are lying, and he really is positive, or<br />
— They as a couple aren’t, shall we say, “intimate”? Maybe she has laid down the rules: “Stay away from me, you creep! Be like your dad and go hire whores!”<br />
<br />
Take your pick.Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-84586125624796788462020-07-05T12:24:00.001-05:002020-07-05T12:24:58.861-05:00virtually perfect attendanceMy weekly calendar stays full during this COVID lockdown, but too many of those appointments are Zoom meetings or FaceTime connections or other iPad conveniences.<br />
<br />
This morning, for instance, being a Sunday morning, I sit here watching the virtual Sunday morning service at my church. Since none of us for now can attend in person (and it’s rare for me to miss Sunday morning church), virtual is all we have now, and, while I’m thankful for having such technological inventions just in time for this pandemic, I — people-person that I have somehow become — sure do miss seeing friends at the other end of the pew and hugs and handshakes and hearing the pipe organ and the choir in person.<br />
<br />
Looking on the bright side, I at least can now watch the service while drinking coffee and maybe only marginally dressed.<br />
<br />
That first Sunday back in that welcoming, beautiful church, though, will be sweet.Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-116605723742637842020-07-04T12:55:00.002-05:002020-07-04T12:55:48.877-05:00the 2020 version of the 4thHey there, on this, the 4th of July, the 244th anniversary of Independence Day.....<br />
<br />
.... and it has to be one of the weirdest 4ths ever. I could dwell on that, but I find myself wondering today how July 4, 2021, might look different from this one —<br />
<br />
— A different U.S. president?<br />
— A less divided country?<br />
— Major anti-racist progress?<br />
— The Washington DC NFL team with a different name?<br />
— The final defeat of Covid-19?<br />
— A re-invented “back to normal” that reflects some positive lessons that we may have learned from the first half of 2020?<br />
— Peace?<br />
<br />
We together need to have hope and faith.<br />
<br />
<br />Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-77663325831217849412020-07-03T15:50:00.000-05:002020-07-03T16:07:40.466-05:00I know who you are. I see your face.A couple of nights ago, my niece Ruthie and I went to a nearby bar/restaurant where we had never been (because it was Trivia Night, and we are trivia-team people). In this stage of the pandemic here in Minnesota, rules for re-opening of businesses vary by city and by venue, but masks and social distancing are encouraged and sometimes required in all public places.<br />
<br />
So we walked into the place, hopeful for a new place to hang out but not sure what to expect. She and I were wearing masks and there were plenty of people there — but none of them, other than the servers, wearing masks — and customers lined up along the bar with no distance between them.<br />
<br />
We didn’t know any of these people, but it was easy to figure them out with just a glance. They were making a statement as an act of defiance, following the lead of their so-called president and Leader, who has made this coronavirus a political issue by his denial and ignorance.<br />
<br />
So I wouldn’t mind finding a new bar, but it’s not going to be one where we would be surrounded by Trump-lovers, especially in a place that has lousy scotch choices. And we didn’t do very well at Trivia, either!Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-90619835975150136812020-07-02T18:02:00.001-05:002020-07-02T18:02:50.812-05:00walk on through the wind, walk on through the rainIn an effort to give my pacemaker a break and keep this heart going for at least a little while longer, I’ve been trying to do a lot more walking and am then keeping a count of my steps on my iPhone. 8000 to 10,000 steps a day (4 to 5 miles) is a cool goal, but, man, is it hard to get cooperative outdoor weather: it’s too hot, too cold, too rainy, too windy, etc., and an excuse is all I need to not walk on any given day! Today, for instance, it was 91 degrees, muggy and windy. I especially hate the wind, because it seems like no matter what direction I’m walking, I’m going <i>into </i>the wind.<br />
<br />
So for some of those weather-forecast-unfriendly days, two or three days a week, I’ve become an early morning mall-walker at the Mall of America, that mega-mall a few miles from me. It’s perfect for a just-barely-motivated walker like me because it is circular around a big center space of carnival rides and has four levels of interesting but un-tempting chain-store fronts. Except for Starbucks, the stores aren’t open until later in the morning, so a skinny latte is my reward at the end of the trek.<br />
<br />
And there are other aging mall-walkers every day there too, probably recovering from heart attacks or knee-replacement surgery, so I’m never walking alone.Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-92051790722565891342020-07-01T15:10:00.001-05:002020-07-01T15:10:58.536-05:00greetings from minneapolisFor 856 days straight, from August 10, 2010, until January 2, 2013, I blog-posted here -- a mix of inspired prose and absolute silliness (Actually, I struggle to remember the inspired prose). After that, my posts were sporadic at best.<br />
<br />
As we today start the second half of the weird year of 2020, I am more and more feeling the need and urgency to do some semi-serious writing but am searching for direction: A play? A story? My Manifesto?<br />
<br />
My friend Alicia has suggested that at a minimum I begin journaling or, more to my liking, blogging daily -- just to be back in the habit of obsessively writing <i>something </i>-- until I find that direction.<br />
<br />
So here I am, maybe starting a new streak of lovable nonsense with occasional words of substance. Hopefully.<br />
<br />
And there should be plenty to blog about in this world of today, and I'm a person who doesn't struggle for opinions. Here we are with a pandemic, a politically-divided country, worldwide re-invigorated racial justice protests and discussions that began right here in Minneapolis with the murder of George Floyd..... and the daily ins and outs of ordinary life (assuming that we eventually have ordinary life again).....<br />
<br />
I realize that blogging maybe isn't the thing that it used to be, but, if you decide to follow me again, I'll feel honored.Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-31890226416700551112020-02-11T20:08:00.002-06:002020-02-11T20:08:28.248-06:00as changes await us Yeah, I’m moving soon, down-sizing from a house to an apartment. I have lots of work to do — sorting and throwing stuff, getting my house ready to sell — so you might see and hear me moaning and whining until I’m in the new place.<br />
<br />
In my background, as I write this, the TV is on, and results of the New Hampshire Democratic primary are trickling in. I could moan and whine about that too. Maybe I’ve already had a rough enough day.Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-79678520180081387942020-02-09T18:52:00.000-06:002020-02-09T19:06:35.950-06:00waiting for the plow guyIt was snowing when I woke up this morning, and it snowed until about noon. It added up to six or seven inches total, which of course could have been a lot worse (this, after all, is Minnesota in February), but it was enough to make my driveway passable only if I floored the gas pedal, hoping and praying no cars were coming down the street as I gunned it out into the unknown. But that’s the only way to not get stuck!<br />
<br />
My plow guy is usually great, but today he didn’t show up til 6:30 PM, so I fussed all day that he wouldn’t show up at all — especially since I have friends coming to watch the Oscars with me. So he came through for me after he probably had a super busy day.<br />
<br />
I won’t have this minor driveway-stress next year. I’m moving, ya know.Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-29818000209593901062020-02-08T17:42:00.000-06:002020-02-08T17:42:00.770-06:00it’s so hard to not give a damn — part 2Up til yesterday, I had watched every minute of the Democratic presidential debates.<br />
<br />
But I’ve hit a wall of discouragement and couldn’t make myself watch last night’s debate in New Hampshire, knowing the candidates would be viciously attacking each other at the cost of a unified front against Trump. Predictably, Democrats have formed a circular firing squad, making Trump’s re-election even more likely. Risking a second Trump term risks our government potentially heading to fascist dictatorship, and I can’t watch that happen.<br />
<br />
So, instead, I spent a pleasant evening with my friend Mary O, while having guilt the whole time that I wasn’t watching.Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-90628385966914458722020-02-07T11:59:00.001-06:002020-02-07T11:59:46.750-06:00Howard ranks the Oscar nomineesOkay.... As usual, I saw all of the Oscar Best Picture nominees (9 of them this year), and here I am with my annual rankings of how I liked them -- from my layperson and admittedly somewhat twisted point of view. Definitely not predictions. The Oscar telecast is this Sunday, February 9.<br />
<br />
Here is something different for me this year: I liked all of the nominated films. It's hard to compare and select from such vastly different cinematic styles and genres -- a Korean class study to a Batman prequel to Louisa May Alcott and everything in between -- but it's decision time.<br />
<br />
So my Oscar picks and comments go to --<br />
<br />
<b>1. ONCE UPON A TIME... IN HOLLYWOOD. </b>This is a Quentin Tarantino revisionist-history story, this time taking place in Hollywood in 1969. Of the nine nominees, this is the one that haunted me the most afterwards because I remember 1969 all too well and preferred Tarantino's bloody storybook ending to what really happened. Tarantino for Best Director Oscar.<br />
<b>2. 1917. </b>OMG, this is an amazing film, and, if I could ever make a war movie my #1 choice, this would have been it. If you've ever wondered what it would feel like to be in the trenches in World War I, <i>1917 </i>will do that for you in muddy detail. This movie should win Best Cinematography for its seamless filming that makes it feel like it's all been filmed in one take.<br />
<b>3. PARASITE. </b>This is a really hard movie to describe. It goes from comedy to tragedy, but it pulls us along through the cool story of two families, one impoverished and one well-to-do, all in Korean with English subtitles. It will win Best Foreign Film at least.<br />
<b>4. MARRIAGE STORY. </b>Even though this in some ways feels like a re-do of 1979's <i>Kramer vs. Kramer</i>, the acting is superb and the story is so real for many of us. Adam Driver deserves an Oscar.<br />
<b>5. JOJO RABBIT. </b>For quite a while, this movie is pretty uncomfortable as we find it hard to laugh at Nazi Germany jokes. But it comes around, and by the end we get the jokes. Very original.<br />
<b>6. FORD VS FERRARI. </b>I'm not at all an auto-racing guy (because I like being the driver), but this is a good story (especially the struggle against the corporation), Christian Bale is cool, and the auto-racing itself is deserving of a Best Film Editing Oscar.<br />
<b>7. THE IRISHMAN. </b>Doesn't it feel like we've already seen this movie before (<i>Goodfellas</i>?), except that this one added Jimmy Hoffa, plus it's a lot longer? But it's good Martin Scorcese anyway.<br />
<b>8. JOKER. </b>Of the nine nominees, I saw this one last because I had such low expectations. But it's actually very entertaining, especially after the first hour or so.<br />
<b>9. LITTLE WOMEN. </b>This is a beautiful movie, of course. My main complaint is that it assumes from the beginning that you've read the book, have seen the other film adaptations, and already are very familiar with the characters. I've seen the other films (long ago), have never read the book, so I kept confusing in my mind who was who.<br />
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So that's it. Actually, my favorite movie of the year was <i>Blinded By The Light</i>, which apparently wasn't Oscar-caliber level. If you need a feel-good movie, try that one. It's nice to feel good..Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2821869402112714724.post-61014627512077786032020-02-06T23:53:00.000-06:002020-02-06T23:53:10.458-06:00it’s so hard to not give a damnLast night I was moaning to my friend Melissa about how, politically, this week has been for me such a downer — acquittal, caucus-screwed-ups, unreasonable Bernie fanatics, etc. — and her suggestion to me was to try to look away, dim my concentration, re-focus. While I realize the sensability in that suggestion — after all, I am old and probably won’t be around to see the next horrors that might be coming socially and politically — I also see babies being born. What life is coming for them?Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16821973102759611038noreply@blogger.com0