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.