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1. Mother: Have you heard about Kansas?
[We used to live in Kansas for a very long time.]
ME: Uhm no, what about Kansas? [I'm thinking oh, shit, now what? And do I want to know?]
Mother: We'll Kansas has the Woman's right to choose to have an abortion written into it's constitution. So they put it to a referendum to overturn that clause.
Me: And (oh frigging hell, don't tell me they overturned it.)
Mother: They voted no.
ME: Wait, what? (Go Kansas?)
Mother: They voted NO on the referendum, they shot it down. On Instagram your brother's high school friend and her daughter have shirts on saying we voted No and we won - so if you're wondering what that's about...that's it.
I saw it and it took me forever to figure it out.
Me: Well, that actually makes sense. Kansas is an odd state. It's Libertarian.
Mother: True.
Me: Say what you will about it - but at least it's not hypocritical. It was abolitionist state. Also it did get rid of the Death Penalty a while back because it was bankrupting it. Now, Missouri on the other hand is backwards as they come...

While Kansas has a woman's right to choose written into its constitution, idiotic Missouri still has laws on its books that women are property of their husbands. Or it did in the 1990s. I know this because I was volunteering with Legal Aid of Western Missouri in the 1990s getting orders of protection - we had to call them orders of protection or restraining orders, because of that annoyingly ugly law.

Note to self - stay out of Missouri. Actually, I try to stay out of much of the Southern US - it's nutty. I think its the heat - that much heat can't be good for anyone.

2. Movie Meme..
Movie Meme ganked from rogueslayer )

3. A daytime soap opera has fled broadcast networks for streaming.

Me: Days of Our Lives is leaving NBC for the streaming Peacock Network
Mother: You've got to be kidding me.
Me: Nope.
Mother: But what about the viewers who don't have streaming?
ME: Eh..it's kind of the wave of the future. Let's face it Broadcast is dying.
Mother: It certainly is. The Primetime is dead. There's nothing but wall to wall game shows and procedurals.

I'm going to cut the cable cord soon and switch to full on streaming I think. Mother's already half-way there. My brother already did it years ago, as did most of my co-workers. And Wales recently did it.

I'm hanging in there for a soap opera (that I can kind of watch at 8pm on Hulu) and Spectrum News.

4. So, I finished Act I of The Sandman on audiobooks. And I highly recommend it. I listened for free or with a credit, so there is that caveat. But I'd have paid for it. It's the best audiobook that I've listened to - hands down. The voices were astonishingly good. It held my interest throughout. Gaiman makes an excellent narrator - so good in fact, I might hunt down more books read by Neil Gaiman. The man is charm personified.

If you like dark fantasy (not everyone does - I don't know anyone off line who does...sigh), and if you like Judeo-Christian mythos with a twist, and with a kind of whimsical horror twist to it - then you'll like this.

Gaiman is kind of whimsical. He doesn't take himself all that seriously.
(It's British whimsy...so there's that.) He is into world-building, and likes to saunter off into sub-tangents. Gaiman is into meandering. But his characters, for the most part, are rich and tasty, and unlike his other books - Morpheus has depth and is chewy - less of a cipher, mainly because he has more time to play around with him - since it's a lengthy comic serial.

The voice talents are stellar. James McAvoy's Morpheus is delicious. As are all the other voices. It's well-cast, well-directed, and well-performed.
I highly recommend.

I'm also re-reading the comics via comixcology digital (which is a godsend for graphic novel/comic book readers - I have the Fire HD for comics alone). I borrowed them.

I've pretty much figured out what will and what won't be in the series by looking at the cast. Read more... )

Starting Act II The Sandman - on audio, which is the volumes after Dollhouse. This section most likely won't make it in the television series (unfortunately). Although Desire and Despair appear to be in the Sandman television show cast - so who knows what they are doing.
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1: What Movie did you last watch? When was that?

What about last movie that I remember? Promising Young Woman - about a month ago. It is a movie that won't leave you, trust me on this.

2: What movie are you anticipating or excited about?

Minari - assuming it ever makes it to On Demand. And I'm anticipating "Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness", Shang-Chai and the Ten Rings, Marvels, and Black Widow. I have a weakness for Superhero films.

3: What movie are you planning to watch next?

Various possibilities: Minari, Things Heard & Seen (a Netflix horror flick about a hidden secrets and a house), Pieces of a Woman, and Thunder and Rockets (?) - movie with Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Butler (I adore Octavia Butler)...also possibly the Mitchells vs. the Machines, and when it becomes available Ravka and the Dragon...(can't remember the name exactly).

4: What was the last movie you added to your to watch list?

Minari

5: Which movie did you last re-watch?

The Quiet Man

6: Which movie was the last one you really, really loved?

The Sound of Metal and Nomadland. I adored both, but Nomadland may have a slight advantage.

7: What was/were the last movies you bought on DVD?

Can't remember...it was so long ago. I've stopped watching DVD's or buying them - since I discovered streaming and on demand. I did buy various Avengers films on streaming - Amazon.

8: Where do you like watching movies best - Movie theater, laptop, phone, ebook player (Amazon Fire HD), or television set? Why?

Movie Theaters. I honestly don't understand how people watch them on computers, phones or ebooks - that gives me a headache. For me it's either movie theaters or a large 55 inch screen. I need the visual experience to be large. Sound I'm less picky about - but it helps if I can hear it.

9: Children's, YA, NA or Adult? Why?

Adult, although partial to animation, and some children's, YA flicks.

10: Sci-Fi or fantasy? Why?

Science Fiction for the most part. Fantasy hasn't been as successful on film, no clue why.
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Day #29 of the 30 Day Film Challenge.

The prompt is...A film that makes you want to fall in love..

Uhm. There's romantic films, but they don't necessarily make me want to fall in love. I keep drawing a blank on these prompts...

I'm tempted to go with Gross Point Blank just to be facetious.




And...




I don't tend to like sappy or overly sentimental romantic films like The Notebook. I like banter, and good dialogue. A battle of wits. Strong women who meet strong men. Titantic for example? Did not work for me.
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Day #27 of the 30 Day Film Challenge.

The prompt is A Film That Made You Uncomfortable

Hmm..I don't know about this category. I tend to avoid films that make me uncomfortable or try to. Also I forget them. I'm very good at forgetting things. There is however one film that still bothers me due to a famous sequence with Johnny Depp - it was among Johnny Depp's first films..

I'd been warned off of it by my brother - but I saw it with a bunch of friends freshman year of college anyhow...



Followup, since people keep picking two films...I saw this film on television after my mother reported seeing it and absolutely hating it. It made her uncomfortable and she ranted about it. The mere fact that she actually went to see it with a friend in the movie theater - amused me. Because I just can't see her actually watching this.. I can't remember the movie at all, except I found it to be cringe-inducing in places, absurdly amusing in others, kind of boring, and I disliked all the characters. Honestly, it's the sort of film you want to watch to remind yourself that being single is not so bad and men are gross, selfish jerks.

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Day #26 of 30 Day Film Challenge

The prompt is A film that is visually striking to you - and you haven't already picked in a prior category, or was picked by me in the category before this one. (Not that I think anyone is going to pick Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Akban).

Err...I don't know. I'm drawing a blank. Visually striking films? I thought Gone with the Wind was a visually striking film, but I have "issues" with the film, so don't want to pick it..



Say what you will about the above film - it is visually striking, one of those films you kind of have to see on a huge screen.
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Day #26 of The 30 Day Film Challenge.

A Film You Like That Was Adapted From Somewhere

(And no, we can't pick the one we just did.)




This is my favorite Harry Potter film, which was directed by Alfonso CuarĂ³n, who is among my favorite directors. He improves on the book, and manages to do something the prior directors didn't which is improve on the book and make it something new.

Adaptations are hard to do. You have to please the people who loved the original, and bring in a new audience. Also somehow stay true to the source material. John Le Carre famously stated that he preferred adaptations that veered from his work - he liked to see another point of view. I considered picking one of his, but I can't remember the films adapted from his books that well.

I feel like this is a memory test - and I'm kind of failing at it. Although to be fair, my brain has a lot to deal with at the moment.
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It's Day #25 of the 30 Day Film Challenge

The prompt is A Film You Like That Is Not Set in the Current Era

Hmm.

This was more...what films do I remember?




I almost chose Valmont, but I can't remember Valmont. While I do vaguely remember and would not mind re-watching Sense & Sensibility - which stars five favorite actors - Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Kate Winslet, and Greg Wise. (Where can you go wrong?) And it was directed by Ang Lee.

Oh by the way we are currently tied on Next 30 Day Meme Poll.

It's between 30 Days of Halloween Themed Books/Films/TV and 30 Days of Television.

Keeping in mind that the people who have been diligently participating in these memes all chose 30 Days of Television.

I don't care - hence the poll. I'm making enough difficult decisions at the moment. But I'll most likely be swayed by the people who participate the most... Or I could do both, I suppose.

I'm finding these memes to be nice little stress relievers. Anyhow, now is the time to break the tie...
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Day #24 of the 30 Day Film Challenge.

The prompt is ...A Film That You Wish You Saw in Theaters

Well, considering over 90% of the movies that came out this year most likely fall within that category...or not depending on your point of view..

For me?

Decisions, decisions..

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Day #23 of 30 Day Film Challenge.

The prompt is A film that you like by a director who is Dead

Hmmm...choices, choices...

Going with Billy Wilder's comedy classic:



And you can't pick a director or film that you already chose somewhere else. (ie. If you picked Kubrick or Hitchcock already, you can't do it again - sorry. This category is too easy already, have to limit it somehow.)
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Day #21 of 30 Day Film Challenge...

Okay, I'm changing the prompt again. The prompt is "a film that makes you angry.." and honestly? I drew a blank, and well, I don't know about anyone else - but everything seems to make me angry nowadays. Work makes me angry.
The pandemic makes me angry. The national political situation makes me angry. I'm frigging tired of being angry - it's making me snappish and irritable.

So, you can do that prompt if you want...in your own journals.

Personally? I want films that make me laugh. Although, the problem with comedy is what makes one person laugh may offend or make another angry.

A Film That Makes You Laugh

Mine?



I've seen it twice now - both times it makes me roar with laughter. The first time - my entire family was roaring with laughter (well except for my brother who wasn't there).
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Day #21 of 30 Day Film Challenge

The prompt is A Film that you dozed off in




I not only dozed off - I fell asleep. It was at least on my television set - rented, not in the movie theater. I don't fall asleep in movie theaters.
And I didn't just fall asleep once. I rewound it, and did it again.
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Day #20 - of the 30 Day Film Challenge.

A Film That Changed Your Life - is the prompt.

Ugh. I don't know. Films don't change my life. I don't give my entertainment that level of importance. I mean I guess you could say "Star Wars" changed my life in some respects, but not really. I'd still be me if it didn't exist.

So, if like me, you are drawing a blank on this one? I'm providing an alternate prompt.

A Non-Animated Live Action film that has an animal as the lead character



I remember seeing this as a little girl in 1974 - I adored it. So much that I also wanted the book. Did it change my life, no. But I did love it back then.
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Day #19 of the 30 Day Film Challenge - a film made by a favorite director or a director you happen to like.

Thank you for all the comments - sorry, I've not been responding. I'm struggling with focusing at the moment and things..well...

Mine is Peter Weir - in case you don't know who directed the film provided below. Weir, an Australian director, is among my favorites. I've seen pretty much all of his films.

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Day #18 of the 30 Day Film Challenge.

A film that stars a favorite actor/actress (it said your favorite, but I changed it to a favorite - because I don't have one favorite. And it varies.)

Now, I've got to pick one...

Ah three actors for the price of on..I'll watch Christian Bale in anything, although I do love Michael Caine and Hugh Jackman, but Bale is by far the most versatile actor I've ever seen.



Oh here's his first film, which blew me away..




Christian Bale is the rare actor who has managed to jump from child star to adult star and still have a wide variety of roles, and be acclaimed. A feat that few others have managed.
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Day #17 of 30 Day Film Challenge.

Favorite Film Sequel

First, thank you for all of your comments. Sorry I've not been replying - no real time, and I can't focus on much at the moment on anything - work is about all that I can currently manage. And that's giving me headaches.

Hmmm - when I went to find my movie on youtube, discovered it's playing at various movie theaters. Which is odd. Are movie theaters open now? Are they playing it because they can't find anything else? Has my computer decided to jump back to the 1980s...because can I go too? (There's a few classmates I'd like to neuter or smack upside the head.)

Oh. Apparently it's the 40th Anniversary of this particular film or it was in May, they had to wait until now to celebrate - because, well, we were all locked down in May. We are still now - just not all of us, and in various stages.

Anyhow...this is the rare sequel that I actually preferred to the original film and in this specific series? It's actually my favorite film in the series, period. Most sequels tend to be let downs. Unless they are stand-alone films like the Marvel films. Few build well on their source material. And in the case of this film - not only did it build well on the source material, it expanded on it, and overtook it - and out shone it. If it hadn't, I honestly wonder if we'd have had the franchise that we do today.

Another tidbit on this film? I saw it in 1980. I was eagerly anticipating it. And remember my brother and I persuading my father to take us. We saw it at the Midland Theater in Kansas City, a huge theater, about an hour from our home - on the balcony. It's the same theater that we saw the silent film presentation of Napeolean, and various musicals. It was an event, and it was amazing.

shadowkat: (Grieving)
Day #16 of 30 Day Film Challenge.

These prompts aren't getting any easier...

A Film that is Personal To You



I saw the film in 1977.

We were the first kids on our block and among my friends to see it. We saw it opening weekend.

I was around 12 years old at the time. A skinny little girl with pig tails and long legs.

And we saw it the summer before we moved to Kansas City from West Chester, PA. It was to be our very last summer in Pennsylvania.

Prior to Star Wars - my idea of science fiction was horror films.Read more... )
When I looked at this selection - the first film that popped into my head was Star Wars. I tried to think of another film, a more obscure, cool film, but no...the only film that came to mind was Star Wars for all the reasons outlined above.
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Day #15 of the 30 Day Film Challenge.

A Film that makes you happy

Considering I'm depressed at the moment...this is probably a good one.



Also saw this in repertory theater - which was interesting, because of how well they pulled off all the crazy dance numbers. Singing in the Rain has some of the best, and by far the most fun, song and dance numbers ever.
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This is Day 14 of the 30 Day Film Challenge.

The prompt is "A Film That Gave You Depression" -- apparently that's possible. Personally, all I need to do is watch the news or a documentary, hence the reason I don't watch either.




Feeling kind of numb at the moment. Which is nice. Debating if I want to brave the great humidity for a walk. The sky is flirting with being overcast and rain, but can't quite make up its mind.
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It is Day #13 of the 30 Day Film Challenge.

The prompt is - A Film that puts you in deep thoughts.

Yeah, I know. WTF? Right?

I had to think about it...I already used Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in another category, so it doesn't work.

Going with...



Had a discussion with my brother once - who felt that the casting should have been flipped.
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Day #12 of the 30 Day Film Meme.

I don't like this prompt - it's a film that you hate from your favorite genre. What if you don't have a favorite genre? And I don't tend to "hate" films, dislike maybe. Life is too short to hate movies. If I don't like a movie? I don't watch it or I tend to forget about it. I hate the thing in the white house, but I don't hate movies. Books...well, that's another matter.

So I'm making up my own prompt. You're free to play along. If you prefer the previous prompt - you can do that in your own journal.

What is a film you like with a color in the title?

Saw this film in London in 1986, and adored it. It's a beautiful film.

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