The 2020 Thanksgiving Pickup

Times being what they are, we can’t gather for Thanksgiving like we usually do. So we each made a food item and brought enough to share.

Linda and Matt demonstrate the physical distancing. Matt isn’t usually in Portland for Thanksgiving, so this was a treat.

More distancing.

Mom brought mashed potatoes and gravy. (I think.)

Chris made Spanish Rice to go with Matt’s enchiladas.

Aunt Carol made soup.

Linda made squash.

I made rolls, and burned some of them, alas.

Aunt Pat made turkey, pumpkin pie, and whipped cream.

Prepping for Thanksgiving 2020

The pandemic has meant we have to get creative for Thanksgiving this year. We’ll still meet up, but outside, and just to exchange food. Matt is prepping chicken enchiladas for his contribution.

And here is his final product.

I made rolls and they are done, but I also made a German Chocolate Roll for the feast at the Orange Door.

Mr. Jealousy: Good Early Baumbach

A picture of Eric Stoltz's head with a sketch that makes him look like the devil. Text: Mr. Jealousy

Mr. Jealousy

Directed by Noah Baumbach
Written by Noah Baumbach

The review:

In 2015, Noah Baumbach’s Mistress America would give us a screwball comedy; 18 years before that film Baumbach gave us a glimmer of coming attractions with an amusing tale of a jealous boyfriend who joins a therapy group to learn more about his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend.* As with most Baumbach films, the people on screen aren’t ones you want to hang out with, but boy howdy are they interesting.** As the situation becomes more complex and the tension builds, Eric Stoltz, Annabella Sciorra, and Carlos Jacott*** really turn up the humor.

The verdict: Good!

Cost: Free via Kanopy, Multnomah County Library’s Streaming Service
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I know! Can you imagine? And there’s the further complication that he pretends to be his best friend so as to remain anonymous.
**Unlinke most other Baumbach films, this also includes a cast member who is a person of color.
***Also fun: Peter Bogdanovich, director of a lot of really good films, plays the group therapist.

Questions:

  • Joining group therapy to get details on your girlfriends ex, how shady is that on a 1–10 scale?
  • What’s your favorite Eric Stolz film?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

On The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance marquee that appears in the film, a quote (“a classic”) is attributed to G. Brown. The critic in question is Georgia Brown, famed Village Voice film critic and mother of writer/director Noah Baumbach.

Other reviews of Mr. Jealousy:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: I'll bet my writing's more of a voice of our generation than his. --Mr Jealousy. Read the three sentence movie review. 3SMReviews.com

All movies watched on Netflix May–Present

Five Really Great Movies on Netflix Right Now. The S Edition

  • Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse. It’s a superhero film not hanging out on the Disney+ platform! The animation is amazing! It’s also funny!
  • Stranger Than Fiction. A film that warms the cockles of my heart because it’s just so different. I love Will Ferrell in comedic roles, but he’s also great in this drama. Plus, Maggie Gyllenhaal. And Emma Thompson with writer’s block.
  • Saving Mr. Banks. Speaking of Emma Thompson as a writer, here she plays P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins. She wears great suits, and there’s a back-in-the-day plot, too.
  • Searching For Bobby Fisher. I haven’t seen this since 1994, but enjoyed this chess story back then.
  • The Social Network. Are you ready for a taut drama (with nearly zero women) about the beginning of Facebook? Then settle in for a tense, nervous Jesse Eisenberg and a similarly fantastic in a not-tense way Justin Timberlake.
  • (Also, if you haven’t yet watched Spotlight, recommended last month, see that you do!)

Recommended

  • The Half of It
  • The Lovebirds
  • Becoming
  • 13th
  • A picture from the movie Athlete A
  • A picture of Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seattle
  • Alex Sharp, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch and Sacha Baron Cohen backed by a wall of protesters in the Trial of the Chicago 7
  • Shailene Woodley in the film Adrift.

Good

  • Inception
  • 18 Presents
  • See You Yesterday
  • Da 5 Bloods
  • Photo of the cast of Can't Hardly Wait
  • A picture of the five stars of The Old Guard
  • Picture of Nev Shulman next to a portrait of Nev Shulman.
  • Picture of Jamie Foxx and Dominique Fishback in the film Project Power
  • Picture of Jesse Plemons and Jessie Buckley in the film I'm Thinking of Ending Things
  • Picture of Tom Holland in the film The Devil All the Time
  • Armie Hammer and Lily James in Rebecca (2020)

Skip

  • Picture of Jacob Elordi holding a sign saying, "I missed you more" in the Kissing Booth 2
  • Anne Hathaway and Rosie Perez in The Last Thing He Wanted

Have you watched any of these films? Do you agree or disagree? Leave a comment and let’s talk!

Wild Nights With Emily | Dickinson Like You’ve Never Seen

Susan Ziegler and Molly Shannon in Wild Nights With Emily

Wild Nights With Emily

Directed by Madeleine Olnek
Written by Madeleine Olnek

The review:

I’m willing to bet that everyone reading this knows about Emily Dickinson and I’m also willing to bet that if you watched this film, you would find what you know about Dickinson to be missing a rather important piece of information.* Molly Shannon takes on the Dickinson role and her portrayal is in a lot of ways the opposite of Cynthia Nixon’s portrayal in A Quiet Passion. You’ll get the flavor of Dickinson’s life and learn a truth long suppressed.

The verdict: Good

Cost: Free via Kanopy, Multnomah County Library’s streaming service
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Aside from writing process while alive, the story of the publication of Emily Dickinson’s poems after her death is an interesting one. This movie gives a few insights into what went down, but if you’re interested, you might want to read This Brief Tragedy by John Evandelist Walsh.

Questions:

  • When you think of Emily Dickinson, what do you think of?
  • Once you know the truth suppressed, how do you feel?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

No trivia, but I give you this excerpt of Q&A from a KQED article:

Although the film is set in the 19th century, you wrote the script with contemporary colloquial expressions. Did you want to avoid the trappings of a period piece?

I’ve been really moved, if that’s the right word, by Drunk History. It’s shown us that historical pieces, when they’re stripped of all the pretension that we associate with them, are really about people in situations dealing with ideas. When I was reading Dickinson’s letters, I was surprised by how contemporary so much of the language was. It shocked me: jokes and things that you would never think someone in the 1800s would say. So I didn’t want the actors’ attention on presenting the period. We’ve seen that in a million films. I was interested in everyone focusing on what each person felt in that situation, the connections with other people and what they were struggling with.

(It’s a good article. Recommended) (I’m also a fan of Drunk History for the same reasons.)

Other reviews of Wild Nights With Emily:

Little Dear Floral Bouquet Sampler Finished

Et voila! This was fun. New to me were the whipped wheel (needs some work) the feather stitch, the buttonhole wheel, button knots, and couching. I used the Little Dear summer colors again, though I needed to add extra colors. I chose orange, to no one’s surprise. Also some purple.

I pricked my finger (that needle is sharp!) and so there was a bit of blood on the embroidery. You can see it by the purple satin stitched flower and on the green stem below it.

So I added a bit of stitching to cover it up.

I really enjoyed the button knots. For something that looks a bit like vermin, they did pretty up into a flower-like substance.

And I enjoyed couching so much that I carried on into the whipped stem stitch without even noticing.

Another great embroidery from Little Dear!

13 of My Favorite George Clooney Films

I’ve a new job and a new coworker and she’s looking for George Clooney recommendations. Here are mine divided up into four handy categories. Click on any orange title to find the three sentence review.

Movies Where George Clooney is a Cool Leading Man

Out of Sight

Steven Soderbergh directed and based on an Elmore Leonard novel, this is Clooney as a bank robber on a jail break and Jennifer Lopez as the US Marshall who is after him. There’s a great scene in a car trunk plus Steve Zahn pops up for comic relief.

Three Kings

David O. Russell directed this film about soldiers who set out to steal gold hidden during the first Gulf War. From the era when Mark Wahlberg was working to shed his Marky Mark persona and rebrand as An Actor. Plus, Ice Cube!

The Good German

More Steven Soderbergh fun. World War II is over, but there are still things for Clooney’s war correspondent to uncover. This is a bit of a mystery, and also stars Cate Blanchett. Plus, Toby Maguire in a different role than his then-current job playing Spider-Man

Money Monster

All Star all around with Jody Foster directing Clooney and Julia Roberts, and includes a standout Jack O’Connell performance. O’Connell takes Clooney hostage on live TV, straps him into a vest of explosives and we’re left to discover how Roberts and Clooney are going to get everyone out of this situation alive.

Films Clooney Directed That I Enjoyed:

Good Night and Good Luck

Clooney is in this, but it’s really the story of Edward R. Murrow taking down Senator Joseph McCarthy. David Strathairn is great as Murrow, and it’s an interesting peek into early TV culture.

The Ides of March

If you’re into movies about political campaigns, this will be your jam. It’s dark though, and even the sad-eyes of Ryan Gosling might not be enough to pull you through the muck. I found it engrossing if icky. (Update. After reading my review, I’m reminded that I was also annoyed by the lack of women in this film.)

Films where Clooney is Shabby, Schlubby, or Funny

I enjoy when an actor known for his general suave nature and incredibly good looks doesn’t mind looking ridiculous. Judging by this list, Clooney has Soderbergh for serious roles, and the Coens for comedy.

The Descendants

Alexander Payne gives us Clooney in pain as he discovers things he didn’t know about his marriage, reacts to his daughter’s troubles, and tries to do the right thing about the huge chunk of undeveloped land on Hawaii he is the trustee of. Shailene Woodley is electric as his pissed off daughter.

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson star in this Coen brothers adaptation of The Odyssey. There are memorable bit performances by Holly Hunter and John Goodman. Fun fact: eighty percent of the US population bought this soundtrack in 2001 and listened to it ad infinitum. (As I went down to the river to pray…)

Intolerable Cruelty

In my favorite Coen brothers film, Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones face off as a divorce lawyer and a gold digger. This uses Elvis Presley’s song to great effect to kick things off, and also includes a host of odd Coen characters, my favorite of which is Heinz, the Baron Krauss von Espy. (But Wheezy Joe is fun too.)

Hail Caesar!

More Coens, more fun. Clooney is one of many great actors in this film about the golden age of the big Hollywood studios. Alternately funny and charming (and with a mystery) this includes a tap dance number with Channing Tatum, a synchronized swimming performance starring Scarlett Johansson, the best use ever of the phrase “would that it were so simple” and Tilda Swinton as rival gossip columnists who are also identical twins.

The Essence of the Clooney Magic

Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen

Danny Ocean is charming, he’s debonair, and we want him and his crew to get what they’re after, even if they’re going about it in very complicated, not-exactly-legal ways. Each one of these films is entirely ridiculous and incredibly fun, especially with the ensemble cast.

That’s my thirteen. What are yours?

All Movies Watched on Kanopy May—Present

Kanopy. Quality films for free.

Here are five movies I’ve loved that you can watch right now. For free!

Five Really Great Movies on Kanopy Now

  • Night Moves. I call this Kelly Reichardt’s most “commercial” film as it stars people who have also been in superhero films. But it’s still a very quiet contemplation of environmental activists.
  • Humpday. Lynn Shelton’s portrait of two guys at different phases in their lives who goad each other into dumb things is astutely observed and quite funny.
  • A Town Called Panic. If you want a good laugh, take in this animated feature from a couple of hilarious Belgians. Nutty incidents abound.
  • The Spectacular Now. Shailene Woodley on her way up, and near-peak Miles Teller, this story about a high school senior who made the transition from fun drunk to alcoholic earlier than his peers has a lot of great moments.
  • Drinking Buddies. You have to be the kind of person who likes ponderous films where not much happens, but if you are: wow! The tension is amped up in this film about brewery employees.

Good

  • The Watermelon Woman
  • Picture of Evan Rachel Wood, Callum Rennie, and Ellen Page in the film Into the Forest
  • Picture of Dominique Fishback and Tatum Marilyn Hall in Night Comes On
  • Drawing of the stars of the Hitch-Hiker: Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, and William Talman
  • A depiction of a reel of film with the faces of Matthew McConaughey, Jack Black, Keanu Reeves, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Billy Bob Thornton
  • Picture of Taysha Fuller, Irene Bedard and John Reddy in the motion picture Songs My Brothers Taught Me.

Skip

  • The Beat Beneath My Feet
  • A picture of Francisco Solorzano and Patrizia Hernandez with a sketch of NYC brownstones behind them
  • A picture of Kristen Wiig in the film Welcome to Me.
  • A picture of Cynthia Nixon and Jennifer Ehle in the film A Quiet Passion

The Last Thing He Wanted: Not Great

Anne Hathaway and Rosie Perez in The Last Thing He Wanted

The Last Thing He Wanted

Directed by Dee Rees
Written by Marco Villalobos, Dee Rees

The review:

This was the kind of subpar movie where even analyzing what went wrong didn’t make it more fun. I think ultimately, not enough was revealed to the viewer to hook them in* and what results is 110 minutes of not-quite getting it and 5 minutes at the end where things are revealed. I also found the terse speech patterns of Anne Hathaway’s character to detract from, rather than add to, the film.

The verdict: Skip

Cost: Netflix monthly fee $8.99
Where watched: at home

Consider watching instead:

Further sentences:

*Or perhaps I didn’t catch the things I was supposed to catch.

Questions:

  • Would you be interested in other films that portray women journalists?
  • Where do you think this film got off track?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Ben Affleck replaced Nicolas Cage.

Other reviews of The Last Thing He Wanted:

Orange background with a white frame. Text: In a perfect world we make perfect choices. In the real world we make real choices. —The Last Thing He Wanted. Read the three sentence movie review: 3SMReviews.com