Round out your 90s Paul Thomas Anderson Film Fest with Hard Eight

The review:

Paul Thomas Anderson’s first film holds its reveal for much too long, but is worth watching for the performances.* It’s always a good sign when I’m curious about what’s going on, but also don’t really need to know because the acting is keeping me entertained.** This is clearly early PT Anderson, but early PTA is still a better movie than a lot of mid-career directors.

The verdict: Good

Cost: free via Kanopy
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Watching 90s John C. Reilly in 2019, I marvel at how even when he was young he looked middle aged. He was 21 when this was released! Aside from looking reliably middle-aged for decades, he always turns in a winning performance.
**There’s also a bit part with Philip Seymour Hoffman. He’s such a gem. I still miss him.

Questions:

  • Do you think the casino rate card trick would work today?
  • What’s your dream team of PT Anderson regulars?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

When Jimmy (Samuel L. Jackson) and Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) have their confrontation, Jimmy mentions that he knows Sydney’s friends Floyd Gondolli and Jimmy Gator. In Paul Thomas Anderson’s next movie, Boogie Nights (1997), Philip Baker Hall plays Floyd Gondolli. In Anderson’s followup to Boogie Nights, Magnolia (1999), Philip Baker Hall plays Jimmy Gator.

Let it Snow Is Pleasant, Unchallenging

The review:

Luke Snellin directs a gentle Christmas movie adaptation of a YA Novel* with some utterly delightful moments.** A cornucopia of young people*** plus Joan Cusack (in a coat and hat festooned with tinfoil) wander through the snow-covered landscape of generic middle America. The multiple stories are well balanced, everyone finds what they are looking for, and it made for a solid Sunday Afternoon Movie.

The verdict: Good

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

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*The book is also named Let it Snow and it consists of three short stories written by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle. Many things have changed from the book to the movie.
**My favorites: Shameik Moore charming Isabela Merced’s grandfather with his love of the Rolling Stones, Kiernan Shipka and Mitchell Hope’s duet of “The Whole of the Moon”
***Isabela Merced (the teenager in Instant Family), Shameik Moore (Miles Morales aka Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, also the main character in Dope) Odeya Rush (the rich, vapid kinda-friend in Lady Bird and the best friend in Dumplin‘); Liv Hewson (Before I Fall); Kiernan Shipka (Sally Draper in Mad Men); Jacob Balaton (the “guy in the chair” in Spider-Man: Far from Home, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and one of the many actors who portrayed A in Every Day); Miles Robbins (the guy who was the drug connoisseur in Blockers)

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite movie set in winter/in the snow?
  • Which of the actors in this movie do you think you will still be watching in fifteen years?

Favorite IMDB trivia:

Port Authority of Allegheny County’s Light Rail Vehicle 4201 is the trolley used in the Beechview Scene.
(The IMDB trivia page is a bit light right now)

Other reviews:

Magnolia Holds Up Reasonably Well 20 Years On

The review:

Twenty years out, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia is full of incredible performances, especially by the men* and the film includes the usual Anderson mesmerizing aura. That said, some things didn’t work for me, namely the “random happenstance” that begins and ends the movie, but which I felt had no real connection to the movie itself.** It’s still worth the watch, especially for a particular reason I won’t spoil here.***

The verdict: Good

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home (And I stayed up much too late on a Sunday night. It’s a three-hour movie.)

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*I found most of the women’s roles, especially Julianne Moore and Melora Walters, to have parts that left them with nothing much to do than be shrill.
**Also, John C. Reilly’s policeman character would have played differently today, and (as Boyfriend Matt pointed out) the movie is singularly focused on the experience of white people, so much so that the few people of color who appear are mostly irritants to the white actors’ stories.
***And which I didn’t remember as being so very bloody.

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite P.T. Anderson film?
  • Who do you think got the best role in this film? (I think John C. Reiley.)

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Claudia was the first character created, and the other characters were branched off from her.

Other reviews:

Jojo Rabbit is the Funniest WWII Movie in Decades (And Also Sad)

The review:

Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit continues his streak of really great movies focused on children.* This movie is both funny and heavy** and does a great job of showcasing all the talents of its stars.*** Sure, you may have been living your life thinking there would never be a movie with Adolf Hitler as an imaginary friend, but now that there is, you must see it.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Free for me (we used my birthday dinner money)
Where watched: at the Baghdad, where there was robust clapping as the film ended.

Consider also watching:

Further sentences:

*Or as Waititi puts it: boys with dad issues.
**There are so many dark World War II dramas; this was a breath of fresh air.
***Roman Griffin Davis carried the film, despite being eleven, Thomasin McKenzie got the nuances of a young woman in hiding, Rebel Wilson and Sam Rockwell did their thing as the comic relief, Waititi made an excellent imaginary friend/Adolf Hitler and Scarlett Johansson vacillated between a solid mother figure and one unhinged by war (though I think the choice to do the German accent was a mistake) (People who are annoyed by accent choices may have some problems with this film).

Questions:

  • What’s your favorite film with a child star?
  • What’s your favorite WWII film set in Germany?

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Taika Waititi discovered in his research that WWII Germany was very vibrant and fashionable, and was interested in shying away from traditional war films showing it as dreary and dark, instead presenting the town as a seemingly celebratory place and dressing characters as stylishly as possible. He liked the idea that everything seems happy, but just underneath the surface “the third Reich is crumbling, and, you know, the dream is over.”
(This was true. Aside from great costumes, I also thought the house Jojo lived in was gorgeous.)

This PO Will Go

The main post office has been a part of my life since 2006, when I started working at The Emerson School. It takes up a huge swath of land at the northern edge of the Park Blocks, and it sprawls with an assured sense that the postal mail will always be an important part of daily life.

Alas, this is not the case. The mail processing facility has moved out to the airport for better access to the planes and shipping channels. (Though worse access for most employees, probably). And now this entire segment will be redeveloped into some magical bit of mixed-use Portland.

Here’s the view from Northwest Johnson street, where you can see the train station popping up over the mid-century design.

Later, there will be more photos of the front, but you can see where the mail trucks use to pull out for places near and far.

It was once big enough to have an in-house cafe!

Seal Building for Sale

This building sits at the corner of NW 23rd and West Burnside. It used to be the offices of Barbara Sue Seal Properties. I have memories of it from an early age, when we used to come to the Alphabet District when vising at Spring Break/Christmas/Summer

This article says that Barbara Sue Seal started this business in 1983 and was immediately successful. She sold her business in 1997, but still loves doing deals.

Hopefully the next tenant will leave the seal be!

Time to Put on the Winter Quilt

During the warm months, the winter quilt is folded and stored between the matress and the box spring. But once the temperature dives, I’m ready for the chilly weather.

While this quilt was the quilt I learned that I don’t like to quilt, it’s warm and heavy and will probably serve me for many more years to come. It’s already about 15 years old.