Birthday Hiatus

I've been back from my vacation for almost a week now and I'm still not fully functioning yet. All I can think about is the next time I can take an extended amount of time off from work. Mostly so I can have free time to go to the movies. I've been three times since my last post.

FIRST UP
On it's opening weekend, I saw Fifty Shades Freed. I went on a Saturday after my book club with Kelly. It was my treat. It's been tradition for us to see the films together. We always go opening week and we always go to the same theater. I didn't get the VIP seats this time since they were already sold out. We snuck in a bottle of wine and found our seats (middle row, seated towards the right side of the screen). I had so much fun. The majority of the audience were drinking and/or drunk already. It really helped make this a memorable experience. As for the actual movie, it was good. I felt that the actors were so happy this was the last one that they just went for it. The leads' chemistry was at an all time high in the finale. I'll definitely be watching it on cable.


THEN CAME THE JUGGERNAUT
This is obviously the highlight of my film going experiences these past few weeks. I almost dedicated a whole post just to Black Panther, but decided to do a short retelling since I plan on seeing it again with the boyfriend. I saw it on the Friday that it opened. I went to a matinee showing with a fellow book club member, Shanti. It was the first time we'd been to the movies together with just us. We had seats towards the back, leaning left on the screen. I can't talk enough about how fucking epic the film was. I kept grabbing Shanti's arm and squealed multiple times. If I cared, I'm sure I would have been completely embarrassed. The next viewing I had was that Sunday with a coworker of mine, Monica. we thought we were doing something by getting there 40 mins early but all the good center seats were already taken. So we grabbed two seats on the left side of the theater towards the back. I was not trying to fight anyone for the middle ones. Again, the film fucking owned my whole life and I can't wait to see it a third time.


AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST
I had a solo outing to see the Oscar nominated short films. I only saw the animated ones. I was the only black person in the theater which usually puts me on edge but it didn't bother me too much this time. I guess because I had been waiting for the right time to see these films so I could give a rat's ass about my own discomfort. I nabbed a seat in the second to last row towards the right side of the screen. The films were shorter than I thought they'd be. Not a one went over 15 mins, I think. In fact, they were so short, they also showed the "honorable mentions" after the nominees. My pick for the win is Negative Space. It just hit me the hardest in terms of the story and the animation was great. I'm a sucker for stop motion.

Coco

Instead of watching the Superbowl, I went to the movies with my mom. Sunday was not an ideal day to leave the house. It was raining something terrible outside. All I wanted was to be warm and snuggly in my bed. But I couldn't resist going out since I've wanted to see this film since it was released.

I got my mom to agree to pick me up by offering to buy her ticket and some popcorn. The theater was practically empty. It seemed that everyone had decided to stay home. We picked our seats which were middle seats closer to the back of the theater. There were two other groups of families in there with us so it was all very cozy. The film started and I was swept away in a magical adventure. Disney has not been holding back their punches with their latest releases. I felt like I was on an emotional roller-coaster. The ending had me in tears. I was literally holing back sobs.

I will be shocked if this doesn't win Best Animated Feature at the Oscars. It deserves every award its nominated for.




                           

The Post

I have been desperate for another movie outing. After my doctor's appointment yesterday morning, I found myself wandering over to the movie theater in the area. There were two movies starting up in time: Jumanji and The Post. I sent a quick text to my boyfriend, leaving the choice to him. He picked The Post so here we are.

It was in one of the smaller rooms, no more than 50 seats total. I walked in right as the lights started to go out and I saw that I was the only black person and under 50. But with the reserved seating, it felt like I was alone once I sat down. I sat right in the middle for the best view. The trailers were all boring except for Tully. I really wanna see that when it comes out. Finally, the movie starts and...

I was not let down. It reminded me of Spotlight with its tone and pacing but it wasn't executed as well. Still, I enjoyed the film very much. Meryl Streep can do no wrong in my eyes. Her acting is always on point. She had great chemistry with Tom Hanks. He was a son of a bitch that you couldn't help rooting for. The ending was cheeky and fun but had a tonal shift that I found abrupt. It mostly made me awkward laugh than genuinely laugh.

All in all, I'm happy that I gave this film a chance. I don't see it winning an Oscars though. Though Streep was amazing, I think the win will go to someone else. And as far as best picture goes, it's nowhere close in my running. I'm surprised it was nominated at all.

The Shape of Water

I'm halfway through the first month of 2018 and I've only seen ONE new film in theaters. To be far, I did see Justice League again on New Year's Day. My mom still hadn't seen it and she wanted a date. We went to the discount theater and she treated me. The experience was nice. She thoroughly enjoyed herself and declared her love of all DC films. So suck on that, critics!

My first true outing was this past Sunday though. Kelly took me to my first film of 2017 so I guess we decided to make this a tradition. We had been trying to coordinate this date for weeks, since The Shape of Water was initially released in December. Life, as its known to do, kept us apart until one fateful Sunday when we were both working. We went to dinner before the movie and had delicious food. 

It was finally time and Kelly treated me to some delicious popcorn. She's seriously the best. We had sent out an invite to two other friends but the lights had dimmed and we expected it to just be us. ALAS, Maria arrives 40 mins into the film. Just her company made us 10x happier. 

The film itself was good. The acting by the leads, Doug Jones and Sally Hawkins, took my breath away. Their chemistry was decadent and their love was so pure (and weird as fuck). The highlight of this film was the cinematography. If it doesn't win at the Oscars in this category, know that they were robbed. I mean, just look at that movie poster. If it doesn't make you swoon then you haven't a romantic bone in your body.

Art Imitating Art

Before I saw The Last Jedi, I made it a priority to see another film. I dragged my boyfriend with me to see The Disaster Artist. I had been excited about the film since the very first bit of news that it was being made. Having James Franco direct and star in it was genius to me. He can match Tommy Wiseau’s manic energy note for note. I wasn’t sure about Dave Franco playing Greg, Tommy’s best friend and partner in crime. He just seemed like a pity hire for the role. I didn’t need to be worried though. The Franco brothers work well off each other. The film was as awkward to watch as I originally thought, which is a testament to who well-acted the movie was.

I was adamant about seeing it opening weekend so we made a plan to catch a matinee on Sunday. We got there and bought some nachos since I was starving. We had seats right in the middle of the theater, middle row and middle seats. We snuggled in and waited for the magic to happen. I already talked about how well done the film was above but the audience’s response was just as good. We were feeding off of each other’s enthusiasm. We clapped at the end of the film, which I rarely do. It was obvious we had all seen The Room before so we could appreciate the film all the more.

I don’t normally follow the Oscars but I’d be surprised if James Franco doesn’t get nominated for best actor. Mostly so that Tommy Wiseau can finally get an invitation to the ceremony and this whole thing can come full circle. 

Fan Event for Star Wars

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

I bought these tickets back in October. Once I received an email about special showings for super fans. I knew I had to get it for the boyfriend. But as we tried to find a theater we liked and that was close by, they quickly sold out of seats right before my eyes. It was infuriating to see them slip away while we tried to finalize our plans. I was forced to settle on a theater that I hadn't been to in years. But they had the seats and I had the money so I bought two.

Months go by and we're finally at the day of the opening. It was on a Thursday at 6 so we both left work for this. We show up at the theater wayyyyy too early; so early that we couldn't even sit in the auditorium. So we slink on back to the car and the boyfriend insists on watching a Star Wars lore video on YouTube about everything that's happened in the past 10,000 years of this space opera. The video was incredible. There was just so much stuff I didn't know that I needed to know. Click HERE to watch it for yourself. Even if you're a casual fan, it's very well done and held my interest the whole time.

We finish that and head back into the theater. With the special viewing came Star Wars trading cards and a free popcorn. We collect the goods but skip on the food. We go in and find our seats, which hadn't been updated since the 90s. I realize that I've been spoiled with the newly renovated movie chains and their recliner seats but come on. These seats were just sad looking but not totally uncomfortable. The very few trailers play and then...

AWESOMENESS ENSUES. I was gasping and screaming and applauding and crying and completely exhausted by the end of the film. I usually stick to just the experience and not review the film itself but I will say that despite all my geeking out, it could have been better. The movie holds up to the last episode and is well acted but the pacing was a bit off in places and there were times I wish I had a fast forward button.

But I have no complaints. I plan on seeing it again very soon. I just hope it holds up to my expectations.

Opening Weekends

I have seen two films in their opening weekends and I forgot how fun it is to see movies with a large audience who are also seeing it for the first time. It's exhilarating when we're all excited and eager to see what will happen. But if lots of people aren't your thing (which they sometimes aren't for me), it can be exhausting instead.

Last weekend, I saw two films with my boyfriend. We were already a week late in seeing Thor so we decided to see that one first. It was AWESOME. I can say it's the best Thor movie out of the trilogy and was funny as hell. It's easily the second funniest Marvel movie. I thought the shift in tone was well needed and well executed. The color schemes caught and held my attention the entire time. The end credit scenes were a little less fun. The first one left me confused and the second one was kinda funny. It was just a good time all around.

But the good times couldn't last. Next, we went to see Murder on the Orient Express. The crowd was mostly older white people. I'm sure they were fans of the book as I was. My hopes were extremely high after the amazing listening experience. It started off well. The changes felt organic and seamless. Then the third act happened. IT WAS A FUCKING MESS. I'm glad I was away from the rest of the crown, sequestered off in the back row, because I was huffing and puffing the whole time. I'm still fuming about it. The director and writer and whoever was responsible needs to send me a personal apology.

Fast forward to this past weekend and I'm hoping my boyfriend will ditch cleaning the house for an early matinee of Justice League. He gives in and go see the 10:00 showing. And that was awesome. Even better than I could have hoped for. This was a great followup to Wonder Woman. I don't understand why the critics are giving it bad reviews but if you wanna see it, see it in Dolby theaters or XD or IMAX. It's worth the extra cost.

I think this is the most active I've been with going to the theaters on the weekend. I usually try and go during the week. But this was a nice change.