I'm having a very hard time understanding how quickly time is going. Seriously. It's February. I feel like it just New Years day yesterday. Weird. I'm a little sad that winter hasn't truly been winter, but I am also grateful because less ice on the road is just fabulous. Now that I look at the list of books and movies, I'm pretty sure I know where January went...I spent it reading books in between watching movies!
Movies:
In January, I saw several movies: Sisters, Joy, The Hateful Eight, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, and Revenant.
Sisters was mostly hilarious. There were a few moments where it felt slow, but I laughed so much I didn't even care. Everyone in the movie did a great job, and as funny as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler always are, I have to say, I think John Cena stole the show (much like he did with his sensitive boyfriend role in Trainwreck). If you often find a couple of hours of crude eccentricity make you feel better and make your cheeks hurt from laughing, definitely rent this movie when it comes out on DVD.
Joy was a good movie. If I rank the Jennifer Lawrence/David Russell movies, Joy would be my least favorite, but it was still good. (American Hustle being in the middle, and Silver Linings Playbook being the best - and infinitely rewatchable.) It's not that Joy was boring or poorly acted...it was actually quite well done. I think what I didn't like was that it didn't really take me away from reality. Again, it was still a good movie and I did enjoy it and I'm glad I saw it, but it's not one I'm anxiously awaiting the DVD for...not like I did with SLP.
The Hateful Eight. Wow. So, full disclosure, it takes so long for Tarantino to release a film that I forget all the things I do not like about him and his films in between seeing them. This was an extremely bloody, violent movie...with moments of shocked hilarity...but mostly just incredulous looks at the screen. I had a moment where I saw something bad coming...and I waited and waited and waited and then it seemed the moment had passed and all was fine. Then POW there it was...extreme disgusting goriness all up in my face in glorious wide screen. Hand up in front of eyes, out loud "eeewwww" - loud enough to make the guy sitting in my row laugh at me. It was very Tarantino. And in the way I have a soft spot for that particular brand of movie, I did like this, but I do not want to see it again. (Note to self: try to remember you don't really need to see his films before his next movie...but I know you won't, so maybe just remember to take some nausea meds first.)
Sherlock! SHERLOCK! Of course I paid money to see a TV show on a big screen. And it was totally worth it. I love, love, love the BBC's Sherlock and this was a great return to the show. I wish they would've shown both Luther episodes like that in December...hang on while I talk about Luther. Have you seen Luther? What's that? No? NO?!?!?! STOP READING THIS AND GO WATCH LUTHER! LOVE IDRIS ELBA! LOVE HIM! Ahem, sorry. Anyway, Sherlock both picks up where it left off and takes us on a trip in the way back machine (kind of like a Tardis, cause, you know) so we get a jumbled crime-line and jumbled dress/mannerisms. It was fabulous. I can not wait for the next season to come to PBS. In the meantime, I have those two Luther episodes, the three Luther seasons, the three Sherlock seasons, the two seasons of The Paradise, and a season of Poldark to keep me sane. (Hi BBC! Love all the things you do! Feel free to send me free DVDs!)
Revenant is a very good film. I really liked it despite not ever wanting to see it again. Leo might win the Oscar, which will be ok I guess, although others might be better...I really feel like he actually acted hard though. I mean, when would Leonardo DiCaprio ever be subjected to any unpleasant environment? Never, right? The bear also did a fantastic job in the movie (no spoilers). But the one person who ought to win an award? Tom Hardy. They made him actually look unattractive and he stayed that way throughout the whole thing. That is stupendous makeup work because I didn't actually think it was possible. Well done team...but don't do it again. Leave the pretty alone please. Anyway, ruthless film. Definitely engrossing. I didn't read the book and I don't remember enough of that history period to comment on accuracy, but it did take me to the time and place, so well done on that too.
Books:
I was less books than movies last month...and that's ok. In January, I read: Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes; Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini; At the Water's Edge by Sarah Gruen; The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner; and It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Breakups in History by Jennifer Wright.
I know Shonda Rhimes first and best from Grey's Anatomy...and reading her blog posts after each episode in the early days. I liked her style from the get go. This book though, it's something else. Have you ever randomly picked up a book and started reading and within the first chapter, you knew, you knew, that this was someone who got you even though you'd never met and never will? Year of Yes is my new touchstone. It is the way to find yourself back to a good place when you're down on yourself. It is as inspirational as Shonda Rhimes is herself. Reading her own story was much better than watching her shows (and given the ratings, we know Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away with Murder are very well watched). I checked it out from the library and as soon as I turned it in, I went directly from the library to the store and bought my own copy because I never want to be without it. It's happy and sad; funny and moving; and very, very uplifting. She makes you feel better about you while making herself feel better about her own self. It is a really great book.
I'm not a huge Leah Remini fan...I've never really watched anything because she's in it. But, she left Scientology. And wrote a book about it (Troublemaker). Therefore, I wanted to read it. Since I didn't know much about her, I didn't know she'd been with her faith since her childhood. She definitely dropped a lot of names, but I think she was probably pretty honest about how she felt and her perceptions of life. It would've been better to read in the summer, poolside. It was kind of like reading an article in one of the magazines in the checkout line, only it was much longer of a read with better pictures.
At the Water's Edge was a good book. It's been several years since I read Water for Elephants, so I didn't remember any of her style or anything. This one takes place mostly in a small town in Scotland, near the Loch Ness monster. The main female character goes with her husband and his best friend to this town to find and document the monster. I have always wanted to go to Scotland and go where I might be able to see Nessie (in the meantime, I want this to keep the dream alive) so this book appealed to me more than some others. It was very, well, human. The problems, the solutions, the reactions of people in war time. I don't know...I don't want to give anything away...it's just a really good read.
The Geography of Bliss has been sitting on my bookshelf since 2011 (the receipt inside told me so). Eric Weiner travels to some of the happiest places, and least happy places, in the world and writes about it. Most of you know that reading a travel book is dangerous for me...I start planning trips to all the places in my head. I enjoyed it and I liked his take on happiness in different places being different things. I was left a burning need to go Reykjavik, Iceland (http://www.visitreykjavik.is/). If you can handle the extreme desire to travel it gives you, this is a fun book to read.
It Ended Badly was very well done. Some of the historical breakups, I was very familiar with (Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII and Katherine Howard, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Lucretzia Borgia and Giovanni Sforza) and others were learning experiences (Edith Wharton's sad life, the horrible, no good, very bad Norman Mailer, and so on). It was a quick read...just 13 stories...she did her homework and Wright's way of writing is like talking to your friend about another friend's breakup. It was another good read.
Well, that's it for January. February is starting strong...we'll see how long that lasts. Happy Super Bowl and Oscars month!
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