Ryan McNeil
After a busy few weeks, and a few busy ones to come, I promised myself that I’d spend a holiday Monday on my couch…and wow, was that a great idea.
Besides being able to finish re-reading my favorite book, I was also able to spend the day watching a whole gaggle of old movies for the first time. From a distance, that might seem lazy or inopportune: spending an entire sunny holiday in the living room with eyes fixed on the television or pages of a book. Well, for starters, I’ll have you know that I didn’t spend the whole day on the couch. At one point, I did step out to get donuts.
Even if I did stay in all day, I don’t believe that’s the worst thing in the world. If it was the third or fourth day in a row then this might be a different discussion. But if one can manage a “day of rest” – which, let’s be honest, is getting harder and harder to manage for most people – I vote you go for it. Give the brain some minor stimulation, and allow your cells to recharge.
That was my Monday, and it did me a world of good. I saw mermaids and racecars…singing sailors and lusty lovers. Then the next night, I went to a concert that started at 11:30pm.
Here’s the week at hand…
Screenings
ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL – Gotta love free movies!
TOMORROWLAND – If any of y;all are going to Disneyland anytime soon, can you pick me up one of those pins?
Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Never Seen
LE MANS – Holiday Mondays are made for Steve McQueen movies
SPLASH – I get Darryl Hannah now.
A SUMMER PLACE – Somewhere along the way, I developed a taste for 1950’s melodrama, and LORD-EEE is this melodrama!
ON THE TOWN – So if *I* sing while I’m playing tourist, will that be frowned upon?
Streaming/Blu-Rays/DVD’s I’ve Seen Before
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 2 – Every movie is better when it uses doves, right Andrew?
BULL DURHAM – “She may be woolly…”
THE GOOD GIRL – For podcasting purposes.
I still don’t know what to feel about Tomorrowland, but going to watch that soon.
My Tomorrowland review is up now, so you could check in with that if you wanted, but basically I saw it as inspiring-but-flawed.
Haven’t seen Splash in ages. I used to watch it a lot as a kid.
As for me I actually saw a bunch of stuff (and not just obscure stuff)! First timers:
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Curse IV: The Ultimate Sacrifice
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Dragon Tiger Gate
And I re-watched:
Mad Max
The Road Warrior
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome – all in anticipation of seeing the new one today hopefully.
Did Grand Budapest survive all the hype as a first-time viewing?
Yeah, I’d say so. I’m not really a Wes Anderson fan but I enjoyed it a lot.
First-Timers: Scarecrow, Mommy, Othello (1952 film), Parade, and just now, The Headless Woman.
Re-watches: Gimme Shelter, Revenge of the Nerds, Real Genius, In & Out, and later tonight, CQ.