What I Am Enjoying
I am still watching The Great British Baking Show. It is a very relaxing and comfortable show to watch. Even if you do not watch the series, there is a funny phrase from it that I have started using: “A total bag of pants.” This means that something is a complete disaster or failure. I have added this phrase to my vocabulary and I am trying to use it in different ways. I also enjoy watching Prue Leith. She is eighty years old and acts like a proper British leader of the family, but she also has a fun style from the 1960s. She often asks the contestants questions that sound innocent but can be taken a different way, like asking about their “beaver” or their “large nuts.” It never gets old. Sadly, I only have a few more seasons left to watch.
Maybe Worth Watching
The Ninth Configuration is a wild movie from the 1970s, though it came out in the early 1980s. The story takes place in a military hospital for people who are not mentally stable. The patients there seem to have access to a Hollywood prop department, so they can do whatever crazy thing they want. The movie was written and directed by William Blatty, who had just finished The Exorcist. Because of his success, the movie studios let him do whatever he wanted. There are some great scenes, but the talking often does not make much sense. I had to watch it in small parts. It is definitely a strange movie that tries to be artistic, not a standard film.
Grantchester is a mystery show that feels a lot like Father Brown. It is about a priest who solves crimes. The main difference is that this priest is Anglican, not Catholic, and the show takes place after World War II instead of before it. Since I like Father Brown, this show is good enough for me. However, as the seasons go on, it becomes less about solving the mystery of the week and more about the main characters being unhappy. It lost some of its fun feeling. Netflix only has the first four seasons, even though there are ten total.
In the Mouth of Madness is a movie from the 1990s that I watched again. I remembered almost nothing about it. It tries to create a scary feeling like the stories of H.P. Lovecraft, but it does not quite succeed. There are a few genuinely creepy moments, but it relies too much on the same trick of waking up from a dream and uses the same footage too many times. It is surprising that John Carpenter made this only ten years after The Thing, because the monster effects are not as good. It would have been better if they showed less. The movie is helped by actors like David Warner and Jürgen Prochnow, who look very evil. The ending is clever, but it is the kind of clever that makes you say “ah, that is clever” rather than shocking you. I think the movie works better if you stop watching a few minutes before it actually ends.
The Long Kiss Goodnight is another movie from the 1990s I rewatched. It is a typical action movie made by Shane Black. It has action scenes, two partners who do not get along, lots of witty conversation, and takes place around Christmas time. It is not as good as Lethal Weapon, but it is not a bad movie.
Nobody Wants This (Season 2) is a comfortable romantic comedy and sitcom. Sometimes it can be a little embarrassing to watch, but it understands that it needs to be funny and heartwarming so that both men and women will enjoy it.
Under the Skin is a book I read after watching the movie. The book is good, but it is very different from the film. Books can show you what a character is thinking, while movies are visual. I think the movie was right to be very quiet, but that meant they had to change the story to make it more confusing. Note: This book is not for people who get squeamish easily.
Wick is Pain is a documentary about the John Wick movie series. It is good if you liked the movies. What impressed me was seeing stunts that I thought were computer effects in the theater. I found out later that the computer effects were only used for the background, not the stunt itself, which was real. For example, the building fall at the end of the second movie was actually done by a person.
Maybe Not
Turned Off / Not Recommended
“Oh, Hi!” was recommended to me. The story is about a young couple going on a weekend trip. They find some bondage equipment, and the man gets tied up. After they have sex, he tells her he does not think this is a serious relationship. She gets mad and leaves him tied up while trying to prove she is good girlfriend material. The problem is that nobody in the movie is likable. She seems crazy, and it is established that she thought about stabbing a previous boyfriend. Leaving him tied up is not played for laughs and is not funny. On the other hand, she is right to be upset. You do not go on a weekend trip alone after dating for four months and expect her to think it is just a fling. I think both the “crazy girl” and the “idiot boy” are guilty. I turned it off after 30 minutes and tried to continue a few times but failed.
Tenet finally showed up on streaming services. It feels like Christopher Nolan was trolling the audience. The idea seems to be: “What if I don’t have a plot at all, but do as many cool things as possible?” I turned it off before the hour mark and tried again but could not get through more than a few minutes. It is like a James Bond movie with excellent action scenes and locations, plus time travel special effects. But when you look at it closely, it feels like it is making fun of the audience.