T-minus 13 days until
Christmas!
This was an off week
for me, and it’s all because of The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. A friend alerted me that the play was being
shown in Chicago on Sunday, and by Monday I was checking out the touring schedule
and attempting to justify an abrupt trip to Chicago to see the production. After three days of flip-flopping, I booked
cheap train tickets, an inexpensive hotel on Michigan Avenue, and grabbed a
third row ticket to the Saturday matinee.
It was great.
I say that because,
while contemplating this spontaneous trip, I didn’t leave much time for me to
watch movies or read books. In all, I
ended up reading one book and watching four movies. You’ll never guess which book I read…
Books
The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: B+. I read the book back in early 2015 and
enjoyed it with some reservations, but I’ve always been interested in seeing
the stage adaptation. When I got the
chance to read the play at a local library, I jumped at the chance. It’s a great play that is both faithful to
the original and a separate entity. The
only thing I didn’t like about the play is that it didn’t contain as many stage
directions as it should. The stage show
is non-linear and will shift scenes at the drop of a hat (it works in context
and isn’t confusing), but the written play doesn’t let you know when a scene
ends and when one begins.
I also attempted to
read The Christmas Shoes. Three pages in, I went “nope” and never
looked back.
Movies
Blue
Jay: B+. What's up with the black and
whi...oh my gosh, I'm already in love with this awkward opening sce...oh shit
Duplass is working it hardco...oh god I love how simple this film...am I
watching a play...NO DON'T MAKE ME FEEL THINGS MOV...gah!
Life,
Animated: C+. Inspiring, yet the film runs out of
steam quick with its subject. Still, those animation scenes, and that sidekick
story, tugged at the heart strings.
The
Boss: F. Okay, I'm throwing in the towel.
I've been a big Melissa McCarthy supporter/apologist since Bridesmaids. I thought she was good in The Heat and Ghostbusters.
I loved her in St. Vincent! That
said, I have to stop watching slapstick films starring Melissa for my own
sanity. This isn't the only bad Melissa McCarthy film I've sat through (I'll
have you know I miraculously finished Identity
Thief in one sitting, and I circled around the theater twice deciding if I
could justify catching Tammy before
opting for Unfriended), but this is
the first time I felt guilty for watching a film starring her. It's depressing
to think about how few laughs there are in this script. It's going to keep me
up at night to think that they hired Kathy Bates and then forgot her character
existed without the hint of a resolution, or that Peter Dinklage's agent would
read this script and with a good conscience pass it along to their client. This
isn't just a misfire; this is showing up to target practice at the wrong
building, and you left your gun at home anyway.
Hardcore
Henry: F. I want to apologize for giving The Boss an F earlier this week. I would
rather watch that film on an endless loop than to see even 30 seconds of this
piece of shit. I can't decide what aspect of the film was the worst: the
script, the camerawork, the godawful special effects, or the piss poor acting.
If I see a performance worse than Sharlto Copley's this year, I'm just going to
stop watching films and become a monk. I watched it because I knew it was
getting some mixed notices, and erred on the side of optimism. I respect everyone's
opinion and to each his own, but I'd rather watch a 90-minute film that shows
people 69 fisting and shitting on each other than to see this film again.
The past couple weeks
has shown me blatantly disregarding what I plan to read and watch, so this
might be irrelevant. Anyway…
Books
A
Christmas Carol by
Charles Dickens: I’m convinced that I
need to read a Christmas book this month.
This seems more likely than The
Christmas Shoes. I had to read this
once in elementary school and once in high school, so it’ll be interesting to
re-visit this as an adult.
Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay
Kristoff: For real this time.
Movies
Miss
Sloane: I’ll check this out eventually…
Why
Him: I got invited to see this last week, but
right before going I got invited to see it at a much closer theater this week. Again, this movie looks especially stupid, so
my expectations are very low. At least
it’s free?
Rogue
One, A Star Wars Story:
Like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find
Them, I’m hoping to go during a time where it’s not cray-cray. I enjoyed Episode
VII last year, so I’m hoping for two decent Star Wars films in a row.
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