Very good performances all around, especially by Sophie Okonedo as May Boatwright. It may have been that I was tired, but I found this movie to be a little slow. But it’s not often you get such a good cast, so it wasn’t the worst thing.
Cost: free (work-sponsored Netfix subscription)
Where watched: at home.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2008/secret_life_of_bees.html
I was tasked with the cake making, so I made Vintage Cakes‘s Daffodil Cake. It’s a marbled chiffon/angel food cake with lime zest and a lime glaze.
My “Easter bunny” gift this year was asparagus. 
A friend posted a retrospective of Hilda illustrations (article also here) on Facebook and I excitedly told her about the the one that had been hanging in my grandparents’-now-aunt’s house since before I was born. And here it is! I’ve always loved this illustration. And in the second link above, there is a different version of this with a washcloth over her nipples. I’d always wondered where her nipples had gotten to.
Back to Easter. The table is full of delicious treats.
And we had a good variety of things for dinner too! 
This was a second viewing for me, so I was able to breathe through the first half, unlike my initial viewing. Regular air intake left me more room to be in awe of how well Larson and Tremblay are together, each actor strengthening the other. This is a great movie that also manages to be frustrating because so many people will read the synopsis and decide it is not for them.*
Cost: $3.00
Where watched: Laurelhurst with S. North.
*It is. It’s one of the most beautiful films about being a mother that I’ve ever seen.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/intl/ireland/2015/room_ver3.html
This is from Jennifer who encourages me to make a visit to the park. I have not yet visited, but hopefully will eventually. Jennifer also tells me that “I wish I could travel without need of wealth!” She also includes a PS saying that Oregon Rocks, which was very nice.
This is a very beautiful postcard and I like best how it smeared a little in the mail so it looks as if there is a UFO in the upper left corner.
This is from Natalia who sends the following quote by famous stage director Nikita Mikhalkov:
The essence of the Russian “people determines, on the one hand, the hope for a miracle, and on the other hand, the belief that all is not the power to decide but compassion, kindness, contemplation, compassion.”
I must say that I enjoy very much this postcard which purports to be–according to the back–The Cafhedral[sic] of the Elevation of the Cross in the Yuriev Monastery 1823. But it actually seems to be a picture of a boulder in a field, with the cathedral off in the far distance.
The two male leads were both incredibly wooden in their performances, and neither one of them was good looking enough to draw attention away from their lackluster skills. The story itself was interesting, so that was good. And it was quite pretty to look at, what with the random spikes growing out of everything.
Cost: free due to work paying for Netflix
Where watched: at home with Matt.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2011/red_riding_hood.html
I was bracing myself for violence as depicted in Twelve Years a Slave, and was relieved that this movie’s violence was not on that level. But the violence shown was horrible.* Very good performances by all and completely worth watching.
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home.
*I kept thinking how the police officers on the bridge who attacked the marchers had to go home and eat their dinner. And what did they have to say about their day? And what do their now-grown children say about their father’s actions during the Civil Rights Movement.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/intl/uk/2014/selma.html
(A comment on the poster noted that on the four-color poster, Dr. King’s neck had been slimmed down. I looked and it was true. See for yourself. Another comment supposed that this had to do with this being the British version of the poster, and Brits being more familiar with actor David Oyelowo than Martin Luther King. To that I say, “hmmmm.”)
I’ve seen this before,* and remembered loving it; and I’m happy to report that despite the passage of 16 years, this movie is still as fresh and as enjoyable as it was at the turn of the millennium. Partially this is due to Gina Prince-Bythewood’s ability to write and film a love story, and partially because Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps go above and beyond their acting duties and infuse their characters with so many levels of humanity, you can’t help falling in love with them yourself.** Overall, I think it’s a travesty that Prince-Bythewood isn’t directing a feature film every couple of years or so.
Cost: free from library
Where watched: at home.
*In 2000, when I was in Lincoln, NE for a wedding and borrowed a bike so I could ride to the theater.
**I do have some problems with the “forth quarter” of the movie, but those quibbles are not for the three sentence movie review.
If you are in the mood for a longer review, I think Roger Ebert makes some good points about the kind of “sports film” this is. Reading it, I’m reminded of how I miss his reviews.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2000/love_and_basketball_ver2.html
Mostly, I found this movie to be slow, which isn’t a bad thing.* What this movie did have were subtle shifts and a lot of internal introspection and change. Also really good acting by all participants.**
Cost: free from library.
Where watched: at home.
*For instance, it examined gender roles in a much more interesting way than The Best of Me did.
**While Emayatzy Corinealdi was very good in the lead, Lorraine Toussaint really killed me with her portrayal of a mother trying and failing to connect with her daughters.
poster from: http://www.impawards.com/2012/middle_of_nowhere.html
Antares hides when things become a jumble in the house–as depicted here, mid-way through the house cleaning. But Sentinel wants to know what’s going on, so he always comes out to supervise. This time, he found a nice spot where he could do so.
