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child-of-lightning · 5 years

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road trip

we’ll start in delaware, and I will love you more and more with each mile.

you’ll drive first, because I know you’ll insist on starting the trek behind the wheel. you’ll drive, and your hand will be on my thigh or holding my hand, and I’ll watch you and admire your focus.

our first stop will be in maryland, we’ll pass your hometown and you’ll take me through the back roads like you always do, and then we’ll get to destination number one. we’ll have some good crabs and share the sunset before trekking again, and this time I’ll drive.

we’ll keep working our way through maryland until we get down to virginia. there, we’ll visit several landmarks and spots, big and little cities, and we’ll pass my college.

but of course, in between all of these stops and the future stops, we’ll switch drivers, we’ll cook and buy meals, and I’ll get to fall asleep in your arms under the stars when we sleep.

and we’ll keep trekking. after virginia, we’ll head down to north carolina. we’ll have some delicious southern food and talk to the locals in each town we go through. we’ll buy some postcards and send them to our family, letting them know that we’re having a great time on the trail.

after north carolina, we’ll head down further to south carolina and check out some historical spots. we’ll stop in fort sumter and laugh remembering our high school american history teacher and all of her stories and antics.

when it gets dark and you’re driving, you’ll look over at me and I’ll be fighting sleep in the passenger seat, and you’ll know by my drooping eyes that I only fall asleep while you drive because I trust you and I know you’ll never let me get hurt.

but when we switch drivers and I continue, we’ll be on our way to georgia. there we’ll eat some delicious peaches and we’ll do some paddling. but we’ll be so excited to get down to florida, that we’ll leave shortly after.

we’ll leave for florida in the morning. you’ll cook us breakfast in the back of the rv, and we’ll stop just past the florida line to enjoy it. we’ll spend several days in several parts of florida, because we have family there who needs to be updated about our trip so far. we’ll see your family and then my family, and we’ll spend a day at the beach and a day at disney and maybe even more. when we’re there, it will remind us of the trip we took to florida when we were teenagers.

when we eventually leave florida, we’ll head to the southern part of alabama. we’ll get into even more of the southern life, and visit the uss there. we’ll pass through and work our way to louisiana. we’ll spend some time there, partying whether it’s mardi gras time or not. with any luck, we’ll have forgotten what we even did there by the end of all our celebrations.

but we’ll sober up and get to mississippi after. there, we’ll see some national parks and enjoy the clear southern sky. from there, we’ll go to the music part of tennessee, and we’ll see the museums and stores dedicated to recording and producing music.

after stops for gas and checking on the rv, which we’ll obviously be doing throughout our entire journey, we’ll venture on to arkansas, pronounce it like “ar-kansas” the entire time because that’s the kind of humor we thrive on, and we’ll see the toltec mounds at a state park (they’re cool!). after that, we’ll drive west to oklahoma, and we’ll see some historical towns.

we’ll get down to texas, and we’ll pass through dallas and san antonio, getting to know some of the people down there while we drive through. we’ll hold hands every time we get out to explore a city or town, and I’ll be shocked that we made it all the way to texas without running into any major problems on the drive!

I will admire you while you admire the landmarks and towns. I will look at your face, curious and smiling, and know that there is no one I would rather spend those weeks/months with, no one else I would rather explore it all with.

after we finish up in texas, we’ll work our way back up to new mexico. there, we’ll see some national parks and enjoy some delicious food. we’ll go through that state and drive up to colorado, where we’ll stop in colorado springs to see the incredible vastness of the land in pikes peak. it will be just a glimpse of the wonderful hills and mountains we’ll be seeing on the west coast, which will be a lot different from the flat land in our own state.

we’ll then hike up to wyoming. we’ll see yellowstone, and check out how cool the land is and how different it is from what we’re used to. we’ll go west to idaho, and eat potatoes the entire time.

I haven’t even mentioned one of the most important parts of all this. the rv will have an aux cord, and we will alternate being DJs through the entire trip. we’ll listen to new music, albums that we’ve loved since we were teenagers, and we’ll introduce each other to new music. singing in the car with you is one of my favorite things to do, and I can’t wait for us to sing in the car across the country.

we’ll bop our way down to utah. we’ll see some national parks there too, and we’ll drive past the place I took my first very far ski trip. before entering arizona, we could maybe even stand in the four corners. even better, we can kiss, and say we kissed in four states at once.

we’ll see the grand canyon in arizona. we’ll reminisce on the trips we took with our own families when we were young, and remember the feelings of seeing those breathtaking views for the first time.

then, we’ll hit the bright lights and excitement of las vegas, nevada. we’ll go zip lining over fremont street and check out all of the clubs and parties we can get into. when we’ve had our fill of the busy city, we’ll head to california.

there, like florida, we’ll spend several days. we’ll see san francisco, sacramento, and los angeles. we’ll walk the streets they put in all the hollywood movies and we’ll hold hands and we’ll show everyone just how much we really love each other. we’ll have mini existential crises that we’ve already made it all the way across the country! we’ll walk on the california beaches and swim in the clear pacific waters and reminisce on all the beach trips we took in high school and college. we’ll walk the streets looking for famous people, and we’ll go into the most expensive stores and pretend like we can afford all of the things they sell. we’ll hit some high-end clubs if we can get in, and we’ll explore the wilderness during the days.

but of course, we’ll eventually have to get back on the road to the next state. we’ll ride up to oregon, and admire the beautiful land and how different it is from what we’re used to. we’ll explore, and spend some time in small towns there. we’ll soon work our way up to washington.

in washington, we’ll go up to seattle, visit the downtown area, the fish market, and get a good meal in town. we’ll check out some ski slopes and see the mountains (mount rainier!) and we’ll visit my family while we’re there. when we have had our fill of the northwest corner, we’ll head back east towards montana.

there, we’ll there, we’ll see some more national parks and admire the night sky from all the way over there. we’ll eat some different foods and explore all of the land, maybe go on a few hikes. as we’re seeing all of the various landmarks and differences between where we live and where we have gotten to, I will love and admire you for making it this long with me, and for being a much more precious work of art in this world than any of the sights we’ll have seen by now.

next we’ll head to north dakota. I’ll tell you all about how I once did a middle school project on north dakota, and how I’m the “expert” of the state, even though I secretly don’t remember anything I wrote down. we’ll see fort union trading post and drive the roads with the rv, listening to some good travel music and podcasts.

we’ll shoot south towards south dakota, and make our first stop at mount rushmore! we’ll send mount rushmore postcards to all our family and friends and take pictures imitating the faces of the carved men. we’ll sit and talk politics for a while, and we’ll see badlands national park in honor of the name of halsey’s first album.

after south dakota, we’ll go down to nebraska, and we’ll investigate some of the older land and great plains historical areas. we’ll see all of the rock formations and be truly living the southern lifestyle- as long as we’re both wearing our big floppy hats.

after that is minnesota. we will keep alternating drivers and having deep conversations about life. during these drives, we’ll have to keep each other busy, of course. we’ll try to guess the songs that come on shuffle in an album, listen to weird videos, try to alternate singing lyrics in songs and end up in complete laughter, and wave/make faces at the people who pass us on the road.

in minnesota, we’ll see fort snelling and how busy minneapolis could get. we’ll do some shopping and sightseeing there, and then continue. we’ll then drive to wisconsin. we’ll see some national parks there and check out all of the local shops, scenery, and general lifestyle.

iowa will be next. there, we will see some art in des moines and explore the capital city. we’ll go into some museums and see the wildlife of the mississippi river. we’ll try some of the food there, and cook some of it ourselves in the rv and have our own fancy dinners within the rv itself. because I don’t see us struggling with finding entertainment in the simplest things- that’s always been something we’re good at. we can have a good time doing anything, as long as we’re with each other.

then, before we know it, we’ll be in kansas. we’ll listen to songs by the band with the same name, and we’ll drive through while looking at the bigger cities along with the smaller towns, and enjoying some great food and drinks.

we’ll go to missouri next, where we will see the super cool gateway arch and take super basic pictures under it. exploring the towns will also be very fun, and we’ll pick up some souvenirs for those at home.

illinois is next. we will trek over to there, and see abraham lincoln’s house, along with downtown chicago. we’ll keep driving through, and every time you turn the wheel and sing along to the songs I’m playing, I will look at you and think about how much I absolutely adore and admire you.

we’ll see indiana and all of the art and gardens in the areas there. we’ll keep going, and reach kentucky, and drive north a bit more to ohio. we’ll drive through all of the little towns and try the food delicacies in each of the places. we’ll make a list of our favorites, and compare them when it’s all over.

we’ll go to michigan, and have some cool views of the great lakes. we’ll then drive up and see the amazing atmosphere of vermont, and admire the smaller, cuter towns. and yes, we will drive through pennsylvania and new york and on the way up, but we will reach them after.

we’ll check out some places in new hampshire, and then go all the way up to maine! it will all have gone by so fast, we’ll be shocked we’re back on the east coast already. because time always goes by so quickly with you.

we’ll go to massachusetts, and we’ll see the historical parts of boston, and see some museums in the area. we’ll walk around the city, and the parks within the city, and we’ll feel bittersweet that we’re already almost to where we began.

next will be rhode island, and we’ll talk and relate with the locals about what it’s like to live in such a small state.

we’ll visit connecticut after, and see the mark twain house, and compare life in the small eastern states with the large western states.

we’ll make our next stop in new york. if we aren’t completely out of money, we’ll see a broadway show, but if we are out of money, we’ll just walk the streets of times square and reminisce on our visit to new york as teenagers, and how we love each other just as much and even more now. we’ll take pictures and pop into some stores, and maybe walk all the way down to central park and take a stroll there, too.

we’ll go to pennsylvania and see the liberty bell, right in the middle of the city, and get some good cheesesteaks. we’ll be so close to being done by then, we’ll be antsy to shower and sleep in something that’s not an rv! but at the same time, we’ll be wishing it wasn’t over so soon. we’ll be so happy and grateful for the memories made across the country. and i know for me, at least, i’ll be wishing and hoping for the same kind of wonderful memories across the world.

and i will love you more and more with each mile we drive, each step we take, and each memory we make.

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND September 20, 2019 - VILLAINS, BLOODLINE, DOWNTON ABBEY, AD ASTRA, RAMBO: LAST BLOOD

It’s hard to believe that September is almost over, and we’re just sailing through the September festival season with the New York Film Festival starting (for real) next week. There are three wide releases, but I will only have seen one of them before writing this, so instead, I’ll talk about a couple genre movies opening Friday, both of which played at Lincoln Center’s “Scary Movies XII” last month.

I remember writing quite extensively about VILLAINS (Alter/Gunpowder and Sky) when I was over at the Tracking Board, mainly about the casting of Bill Skarsgard from It, Maika Monroe from It Follows, as well as Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick. It’s the new movie from Dan Berk and Robert Olsen, who directed the horror sequel The Stakelander and have written a pretty amazing comedy-thriller twist on the home invasion movie. Skarsgard and Monroe play a young couple who hide out in a seemingly abandoned house after robbing a store. They soon learn that not only is it not abandoned, but there is a young girl chained in the basement. The owners of the home, played by Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffrey Donovan, then return and things go sideways for the young couple as they find that maybe their petty crimes make them the good guys in this scenario. Villains is getting a fairly hearty release into roughly 100 theaters across the country, so check your listings to see if/where it will be playing near you. (It mainly seems to be playing in Regal theaters across the country.)

Another interesting genre film opening Friday is Henry Jacobson’s psychological thriller BLOODLINE (Momentum Pictures), starring Seann William Scott as Evan, a high school social worker with a secret – he’s also a serial killer who tries to help his patients by ridding them of their issues. Evan is also experiencing a new baby with his wife, which might keep him from his killing habits, except that his mother (Dale Dickey) has shown up to help them, and she was the one who taught him his ways. This is a really dark and gory film that I quite enjoyed in a similar way as some of my favorite serial killer thrillers, from Hitchcock’s Psychoto Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer and others. It honestly can’t be a better time for this with all the true crime television we’re getting, and I was pretty blown away by Scott’s performance in this. Bloodlineisplaying at the IFC Center for Friday and Saturday late night screenings and probably will be available On Demand as well.

You can read my interview with Seann William Scott and the directors of VILLAINS over at The Beat, the latter posting Friday.

The one wide release I have seen this weekend is Focus Features’ DOWNTOWN ABBEY, a continuation of the PBS series with an absolutely amazing British cast that includes Dame Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton and so many more that I won’t name all of them. I feel that I’m not the best person to properly review the movie since I haven’t seen a second of the series, but I generally liked what I saw and might give it a look if I can find a good streaming source on which to binge it. I actually liked the movie enough to recommend it without having any previous knowledge of the series.

Probably my biggest disappointment of this week is that I didn’t have a chance to see James Gray’s AD ASTRA (20thCentury Fox), starring Brad Pitt, before Thursday night, because I wasn’t able to get to the press screening. It’s been one of my more anticipated movies of the year, mainly because I generally love outer space movies, but I also have been interested in seeing what Gray and Pitt do with the material, especially with such a great supporting cast.

Another movie that I only got to see just before this column posts is Sylvester Stallone’s RAMBO: LAST BLOOD (Lionsgate), which I reviewed over at The Beat. I had very few expectations for the movie, as I’ve never been a huge Rambo fan. I’m not sure why, but I guess I just never got into the Rah! Rah! USA! Stuff that permeated the United States in the ‘80s, and I was more into music than movies at the time. Reading my review, it’s obvious that Stallone’s latest attempt to revive a franchise didn’t do much for me.

You can read what I think of the above’s box office prospects over at The Beat, as well.

LIMITED RELEASES

I’m not quite sure why there are so many limited releases this weekend –I count almost 30 (!!!!) over on Rotten Tomatoes– but I’ll see what I can get to this week since I’m already a little behind. If you missed, Rob Zombie’s 3 FROM HELL on Monday and Tuesday night and more importantly, missed my scathing review of it over at The Beat, well, then you’ve missed it since this column is posting after it played its last night before its blu-ray release next month. Sorry!

A fantastic documentary opening at the Metrograph this week is Jacqueline Olive’s directorial debut ALWAYS IN SEASON (Multitude Films), a stirring film about the history of lynching, circling around the death of 17-year-old Lennon Lacy from Bladenboro, North Carolina, which is ruled as a suicide but his mother Claudia is convince that her son was lynched. Olive’s powerful film provides a background for how lynching became so prevalent in the early part of the 20thCentury, including an eerie annual reenactment by the town of Monroe, Georgia that wants to make sure that the county’s atrocities aren’t forgiven or forgotten. Narrated by Danny Glover, Olive’s directorial debut is powerful and moving and a film that must not be missed – maybe it’s no surprise that it won a Special Jury prize at Sundance Film Festival for “Moral Urgency” earlier this year. I was pretty shaken up when I saw it at this year’s Oxford Film Festival.

The Metrograph is also screening two National Geographic shorts, Alexander A. Mora’s The Night Crawlers and Orlando von Einsiedel’sLost and Found, over the next week. The Night Crawlers looks at a group of Filipino journalists known as the “Manila Nightcrawlers” who seek to expose the truth about President Duterte’s war on drugs and the number of people who lost their lives over it. Lost and Foundi s a new doc short from the director of the Netflix doc The White Helmets which looks at the Myanmar’s ethnic violence against the Rohingya people through the eyes of a man in a refugee camp seeking to reunite children with parents.

Japanese animation house Studio TRIGGER’s first feature film PROMARE (GKIDS) will get a limited release on Friday, following Fathom Events showings on Tuesday (already passed) and Thursday (tonight). It will then be opening in New York at the Metrograph and AMC Empire on Friday for a one-week run. It’s an apocalyptic sci-fi thriller set in a world thirty years after a race of flame-wielding mutant beings called the Burnish set half the world on fire an the battle between the anti-Burnish Burning Rescue and Lio Fotia, leader of the aggressive new “Mad Burnish” mutants.

Paolo Sorrentino, director of the Oscar-winning The Great Beauty and its follow-up Youth, returns with LORO (Sundance Selects), about a young hustler named Sergio (Riccardo Scamarcio) managing an escort service who sets his sights on the egotistical billionaire Italian ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (Tony Servillo) who is trying to bribe his way back into power. It will open at the IFC Center Friday.

A couple other docs opening this weekend, the first two opening at New York’s Film Forum…

Now playing is Hassan Fazili’s Midnight Traveler (Oscilloscope) about how the filmmaker received death threats from the Taliban in 2015 for running Kabul, Afghanistan’s Art Café, a progressive meeting place, so he, his wife and two young daughters must travel 3,500 miles over 3 years across four countries to get to Hungary, a journey documented via mobile phone cameras. It will open in L.A. on October 4.

Then on Friday, there’s Matt Tyrnauer’s new film WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? (Sony Pictures Classics) looks at the lawyer and power broker who was part of Joe McCarthy’s anti-Communist activities and who was pivotal in molding a young Queens developer named Donald Trump. I wanted to like this movie more because Roy Cohn is such an interesting human being in such a despicable way, but this doc really didn’t do much for me.

Opening in New York (Cinema Village) and L.A. (Laemmle Glendale) is DIEGO MARADONA (HBO Sports), the new doc from Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna), which will show on HBO on October 1. If you don’t know international football (or soccer), the Argentine Maradona is one of the most famous footballers of all time, a bit of a legend since signing to Naples in 1984 for a record-setting fee. I haven’t watched this yet but hope to soon.

Opening at New York’s IFC Center Friday is Max Powers’ Don’t Be Nice (Juno Films), focusing on the Bowery Slam Poetry Team as they head to the national championships, and there will be QnAs almost every night in its week-long run, and then it will open in L.A. on September 27.

Completely unrelated but also at the IFC Center is a full-week run of National Theatre Live: Fleabag, screening a pre-recorded performance of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman show that inspired her hit Emmy-nominated show from the Soho Playhousein London’s West End. Heck, I might try to get to one of these since it won’t be on television or any other format for at least a year.

After opening for “one night only” on Tuesday, Louie (The Cove) Psihoyos’ new movie The Game Changers will get a release on New York this Friday and L.A. the 27th. Exec. produced by James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan, it explores the rise of plant-based eating in professional sports along with Special Forces trainer James Wilks and features segments on Schwarzenegger, Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton, tennis player Novak Djokovic and NBA star Chris Paul.

Demi Moore, Ed Helms, Karan Soni (from the “Deadpool” movies) and Jessica Williams star in the horror-comedy Corporate Animals (Screen Media), the new comedy from Patrick Brice (Creep, The Overnight) about a corporate team-building adventure that turns to cannibalism when an office group find themselves trapped in a cave system. The movie has a great cast but the strange concept and weak screenplay really keeps the movie from delivering.

Other movies out this weekend include James Franco’s Zeroville (MyCinema), co-starring Megan Fox and Seth Rogen; Nicolas Cage’s new movie Running with the Devil (Quiver DIstribution), a drug thriller co-starring Laurence Fishburne, Barry Pepper, Leslie Bibb and more; and the award-winning Chinese drama Send Me to the Clouds (Cheng Cheng Films), opening in L.A., NY, Toronto and Vancouver.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Maybe the movie I’m most excited for this week is Zak Galifianakis’ BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE (Netflix), which I’m sure is going to be silly, maybe even stupid, but I’m still amused by his style of humor. I also haven’t seen the new Netflix doc Inside Bill’s Brain: Decoding Bill Gates, and I also no absolutely nothing about the movie other than what’s in the title.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

On Tuesday, the Metrograph began a series called “Bleecker Street: The First Five Years” running through Thursday withsingle screenings of Debra Granik’s Leave No Trace, Sebastian Lelio’s Disobediance and Brett Haley’s I’ll See You in My Dreams with talent doing QnAs. On the weekend, the theater has special screenings of the dance film The Red Shoes (1948) on Saturday with an introduction by Jillian McManemin – I honestly have no idea who that is. On Saturday, the Academy is back with its monthly series, this month showing Milos Forman’s 1979 musical Hair with actor Treat Williams and Annie Golden in person. On Sunday, there’s a similarly special screening of Martin Scorsese’s 1990 crime classic Goodfellas with producer Irwin Winkler and screenwriter Nick Pileggi -- $35 tickets, a little pricey for me. You also have just two more days (today and tomorrow) to see Satoshi Kon’s Millennium Actress on the big screen.

This weekend’s Welcome To Metrograph: Redux offering is Jean Vigo’s 1934 film L’Atalante, Late Nites at Metrograph is showing Fantastic Planet(again) and the Japanese horror film Hausu (1977). This weekend’s Playtime: Family Matinees is Alfonso Cuaron’s fantasy A Little Princess (1995)

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

The Alamo is also celebrating “Arthouse Theater Day” on Wednesday with Robert Downey Sr.’s Putney Swope. They’re also doing a “Rambo Marathon” on Sunday to tie-in with Stallone’s latest Rambo movie -- $35 for all five Rambo movies. Now THAT is a great deal, and there are a few tickets left. On Saturday afternoon, the Alamo is showing Almodovar’s 2000 classic All About My Mother to celebrate the Spanish filmmaker before the release of his newest film Pain and Glory. Monday’s “Out of Tune” is Lars von Trier’s 2000 film Dancer in the Dark, starring Bjork. Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is the amazing Vera Farmiga thriller Orphan from 2009, and the Alamo is also playing Almodovar’s Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown from 1988. Next week’s “Weird Wednesday” is 1995’s Tank Girl, starring Lori Petty.

AERO (LA):

Wednesday is (or rather, was) a screening of the 1969 film Putney Swope as part of Art House Theater Day 2019, Thursday is a screening of the 1984 adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s 2010: The Year We Made Contact. In honor of Downton Abbey (I guess?), the Aero is beginning a series called “Upstairs, Downstairs,” beginning Friday with a 70mm print of 1993’s The Remains of the Day, starring Anthony Hopkins an Emma Thompson, then Saturday is a double feature of Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940) and Carol Reed’s The Fallen Idol (1948), and then on Sunday is a double feature of Ruggles of Red Cap (1935) and By Candlelight (1933), as well as a separate free member screening of Downton Abbey with some of the cast in person.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Robert Altman’s classic 1975 film Nashville will screen as a new 4k restoration for the next week with screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury appearing on Saturday night. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr.” is Howard Hawk’s 1940 movie His Girl Friday, starring Cary Grant. Joseph Losey’s Holocaust drama Mr. Klein ends on Thursday.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

The Quad is back with another great series called “Laws of Desire: The Films of Antonio Banderas” beginning Wednesday, showing so many films starring the Spanish actor who is likely to get nominated for his first Oscar for Almodovar’s Pain and Glory. It will even show Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming The Laundromat, which premieres on Netflix next week. Instead of going through all 13 of the movies, click on the link above and get ready to be Banderasized!

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Tony Scott’s vampire flick The Hunger (1983), chosen by “Todd,” Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is the anime classic Akira, chosen by “Katie,” and Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 is Satoshi Kon’s Paprika(again?)

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

This weekend begins a “See It Big! Ghost Stories” series with the Japanese horror Ugetsu from 1953, then Saturday is The Phantom Carriage (1921) – this is with live piano accompaniment! --The Ghost and Mrs. Muir(1947), and then Sunday they’re screening Olivier Assayas’ more recent Personal Shopper (2006) with Kristen Stewart.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Although Lincoln Center is preparing for next week’s New York Film Festival, this weekend it’s holding special screenings of two Gershwin films, Otto Preminger’s 1959 musical Porgy and Bess on Thursday (with panel) and then Vincente Minelli’s An American in Paris on Friday.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

“The Purpose and Passion: the Cinema of John Singleton” ends on Friday, but there are screenings of his 2000 Shaft movie, starring Samuel L. Jackson, and another screening of Boyz n the Hood before then.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Thursday night is a screening of David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), but the rest of the weekend is the “Guadalajara Film Festival.”

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday night’s midnight offering is John Waters’ 2004 movie A Dirty Shame, starring Tracey Ullman, Johnny Knoxville and Selma Blair.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

The New Bev continues its “time out” at the bottom of this section as long as Tarantino uses his repertory theater to show Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, and currently it’s booked through the end of September. Since this week’s column is late, you already missed the 1952 film The Narrow Marginas the Weds. matinee, the New Bev will also show the Hanna/Barbera animated feature Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear (1964) as this weekend’s “Kiddee Matinee.” Tarantino’s Jackie Brown is the Saturday night midnight movie, and then on Monday, the theater will show David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2000) in two matinees (the 2pm is already sold out).

A quieter week with only one wide release, the Universal/DreamWorks animation fantasy-adventure Abominable.

#WhatToWatchThisWeekend Movies Reviews Villains Bloodline Downton Abbey AlwaysInSeason

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violetsystems · 4 years

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#personal

As of five pm today, everything is pretty much under lockdown of some sort. They keep calling it shelter in place but I’ve been that’s always been reserved for active shooter. I’ve been through enough drills at work sitting underneath my desk with the lights off to know. This for me doesn’t actually change much from my normal routine. Everybody knows I’ve been distant socially for quite some time. Some might even say I’ve been begging for it. The slow halt of not dealing with stolen packages or neighbors complaining about the heat is relaxing. I spent most of the week filling up my messenger bag like I always do. Just like a scavenger. I don’t own a car. It was pretty much stolen from me by my ex. I don’t look back on any of it. I just know where I am now. I spent my day off arranging my office space in my kitchen to be as neutral as possible. So my laptop camera faces my windows overlooking the train. Which is also still running and always has been my main form of transportation. I walk a lot. I’d ride my bike but my front tire is now flat. I still run. Somebody posted some snarky picture of people still running in Central Park out in New York. It is okay to be outside by yourself. I think there’s a lot of disinformation from all sides about what is to be done. America is a shit show like that but a large reason why we enjoy so much freedom. How I deal with loneliness during this period is a whole other level. I see people getting on camera, almost like Tom Hanks on that island. I’ve been there. I found writing to be the most satisfying catharsis during times of extreme loneliness. Physical connections haven’t always been so rewarding. People can only impress you as much as they’re capable of understanding your expectations. I don’t have many expectations for society lately. Which is why my own private space is a bit more rewarding during times like these. I’ve organized my vinyl. I exercise in the back room. Nike Training Club premium is free for the time being so there’s a lot of new workouts to explore. My cat is a god send. She’s very smart and has a lot of personality. I spent a few months understanding how and when she eats. What she likes to eat. I subscribed for delivery for all that dodging thieves trying to interrupt my own personal supply chain. I’m not a business to disrupt. I am, how you say, human being. And through a lot of toil and trouble I’ve learned a lot of ways to deal with the small crisis here and there. This is different and largely catastrophic. I sit here and think how it impacts most people more than myself. And I don’t know what to say. I’ve spent years defending my right to be. And here I am alone on the internet like I always am. A little less depressing for the record. A little more in line with the times than most. A darker future than I expected. But one that isn’t very hard for me to soldier through physically alone. Sans my cat and the nighthawk router that looks on track for arrival despite the lockdown officially hits at five.

I don’t think anybody needs anything deep from me right now. I am ok. I was at work all last week. Some of my friends work for the messenger industry so they’re all in right now. I work in IT. I told someone that this kind of thing is my bread and butter. We’ve had remote employees stationed in the ether for years. I’ve been supporting remote and distance learning for a couple of years as well. My initial freakout was that people wouldn’t understand this kind of closure. But people in Chicago have really pulled together to be creative in dealing with these problems. I just have to be supportive. I am inexplicably a more front facing person than virtual. I stopped making these videos of me talking about shoes. I was only making those to show people I was still alive and had a decent headshot. Not that I’m an actor. I think after February I became convinced it’s not about that. It was subtle just like everything in my life. When crisis hits and you are just sitting there like you usually do it’s a bit of a shock. I can’t say that I am in shock. I can say that I am simply existing. I have no emotions towards much of anything right now outside of what feels intimate to me. People are much more afraid than I would be. Maybe I have reason to be afraid but I don’t have the luxury like many other people. I still see people riding the train to work. Arranging expensive salads for people with money shuttered in their condo. I worry about people not having enough to fulfill basic needs. The real truth is people have been not having enough even before the plague hit. You can see it plain as day on the streets of Chicago right now. Downtown is filled with the homeless. It has always been filled with the homeless. One thousand dollar checks are appearing out of nowhere for every American. I just gave ten dollars to the blind man huddled by the ATM the other day. Meanwhile people are organizing Bon Jovi sing a longs with their neighbors. It’s a fucked up thing to see without blinders. My political filter has all but diminished over the last few years. I don’t really side with any political party. Every politician I know got there on a safe padding of millions of dollars. The message is pretty simple. Money can change the world and often does. And the world still finds a way to fuck you over. This time it’s viral. And it is a scary reality to think about and have to face. Many of us have not faced this kind of crisis of mortality on such a large scale. China already has. Things do go back to normal once the curve is flattened. The truth is for the next two weeks my life is a little less stressful in a lot of respects. Nobody wants to be following me around. Everybody wants six feet between them at all times. I’ve been asking that for years. Now my wish is granted. Thank you Wishmaster. I think.

I think being alone is a great gift. They say you are born alone and die alone. I don’t know if I’m that goth to believe that totally. But being alone is kind of like being at neutral. If you work on yourself enough, being alone can be much more satisfying than being around people with lower standards for themselves. I distanced myself three years ago when I quit drinking. I can’t find toilet paper to save my life but the liquor section at the grocery store is fully stocked. That doesn’t really help my ass. I used to drink alone often. It is such a horror show to reflect on. I couldn’t be comfortable with my own thoughts. I know in retrospect it wasn’t my thoughts. It was my inner self desperately trying to motivate me to be something better. My inner self spent a lot of time after getting to a balanced state lashing out at the rest of the world. The last three months I’ve been so full of hate and vitriol at what the world has already put me through. Was it all just some big test? If it was it feels like I passed. And yet the reality is still out there. How much longer will this go on? For us two weeks. For the school systems through the 20th of April. For my jury summons on April sixth we will see. I’ve been all over the world at this point. Korea, Japan, China, New Zealand, New York and what have you. After all this it is nice to say that when the world breaks, I can still play it safe in my kitchen. My house is empty but spacious. It’s the first time in awhile where every room is being utilized. I’ve organized my things over the last two years that it breathes. Between plumes of smoke outside of office hours. It’s kind of a mind fuck to have to work from it officially when I’ve been on call the entire year. Answering emergency calls from my kitchen while I cook dinner. That part I’m not really worried about. Not having to commute twenty minutes for a couple of weeks isn’t rough. I’ve worked out my own supply chains despite subterfuge and targeting. Emerging from this for me won’t be much of anything at all. And the thought does haunt me that everything will turn back to normal and I will be forgotten once again. For the record I don’t feel that way right now. I feel relived that I can finally be in my own element. My sanity is online one hundred percent. So is my Diablo 3 Season Twenty character. My love for that is eternal. My love for you still burns. Not virally. You already know who I practice my social distance for. If you don’t maybe mind your own. I promise it’s worth your time. It turned out pretty ok for me. Until next time. Wash your fucking hands. <3

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