End-of-Year Movie Roundup

Last year on December 30, I said to you all, "I will be very glad to put this year behind us!" Little did I know. At that time, what felt like the last straw in a bad year of medical stuff in the family was when Andy's retina detached on Christmas Eve. So at least I'm glad to say that we are all healthy around here (knock wood). Andy's vision is better than it was a year ago but nowhere near as good as it was a year plus a week ago, and that's just how it's going to be. He's back to doing his beloved jigsaw puzzles, though, so that's a good thing.

I remain in full quarantine mode—I think I could count on two hands the number of public places I've been for more than 30 seconds since March (a mammogram, a visit to CVS to pick up a prescription that was supposed to have been shipped home, etc.). The "30 seconds" refers to picking up takeout food, which we've done a lot of—with extravagant tips. But other than that, I've been home. I have all my groceries delivered, and I can definitely see myself continuing with that even once this godforsaken pandemic is over. I very much look forward to choosing my own fresh produce and meat and such, but for regular stuff I'm very happy to just click through a list on my computer and then have everything magically appear at my door the next day. You know what I miss? The salad bar and prepared hot food bar at Whole Foods. I used to get lunch there once or twice a week. I wonder if self-serve food is now a thing of the past.

As I've mentioned, I've been able to keep working full-time through all this; I've always worked from home and all the publishers I work for have continued to keep me busy. There hasn't been any lull in the action, at least from my point of view (although there have been some unavoidable delays with cookbook photos shoots, for instance). Some of you might recall that I used to go into Andy's office once a week or so to do the bookkeeping; since March he and I have been going in on Saturdays instead, which sucks for him but keeps me from having to go in when everyone else is there too. So I've managed to hold on to both my jobs, which is a lot more than can be said for lots and lots of other people this year. I'm very lucky and very grateful.

Frankly, there isn't a lot I'd be doing if it weren't for the pandemic! I do miss hugging my friends and extended family, and I miss not worrying every day that they're all going to catch this thing and die. I'm very content at home with my family, watching movies, cooking and eating, playing chess, reading, playing games and doing puzzles, going for walks. 

Movies, you say? Why yes:

I forgot to tell you a while back that we watched Uncut Gems, in which Adam Sandler plays the polar opposite type of character we associate with him. He's Howard Ratner, a seedy, shady, thoroughly unlikable jeweler in NYC's diamond district—and also a gambler who doesn't know when to quit. Sandler was really fantastic, but it was most definitely not a feel-good movie.

We recently watched Ava for an unlikely reason: It was shot last year in Boston, and the crew asked Andy if they could shoot a scene outside his office! I can't imagine why it had to be that building—especially since they had to change things around in order to make it look like the door to a nightclub in Prague! The whole scene is maybe 5 seconds long, and I'd never have known that was his building if I hadn't been looking for it. Anyhow, this is a thriller starring Jessica Chastain as a hit man (do we say "hit woman"? "hit person"?), with John Malkovich as her boss/mentor. It was nothing great, but Andy had fun watching them set up and shoot it, so we watched. I can't say I recommend it.

Then, to continue with the Jessica Chastain oeuvre, we watched Molly's Game, in which she plays Molly Bloom, a real-life Olympic skiing hopeful who has an accident and ends up running an ultra-high-end poker game for the rich and famous in LA and NYC, and gets in over her head. Her lawyer is played by the always-wonderful Idris Elba. It was very interesting and entertaining. (Psst: The character called "Player X" was Tobey Maguire in real life.)

Next up was 1917, which is a remarkable WWI movie that takes place in France. One thing that makes the film extraordinary is that the entire thing, with only one break, takes place in real time. That is, the first hour is actually an hour in the characters' lives, then there is a break, then the remaining hour is again an actual hour. It's the story of two British soldiers who are racing to deliver a message to another unit that will prevent them from being ambushed by the Germans. It was not in the least bit sugar-coated, and really well done all around. I really liked the actor George MacKay.

And finally, we watched Tenet, which prompted this tweet from me:

When I was in high school, they kept rearranging the science curriculum, and I ended up never taking physics. Which I regret today, because I just watched “Tenet” and have A LOT of questions.

— Karen Wise (@wisekaren) December 25, 2020

Without giving anything away, it's the story of a guy (played by John David Washington, who was good but didn't wow me) who has somehow been recruited to save the world from a maniac who has figured out how to manipulate the flow of time. No problem! Even though I couldn't quite grasp the time-space continuum business, I found it very entertaining and exciting. You know who was a pleasant surprise? Robert Pattinson. I'm not sure I've ever seen him in anything, but I found him very believable and appealing in this.

And that is all from here. I wish everyone the best—and look forward to hugging every one of you at some point in 2021.

Comments

[Kristi Hein]

You play chess? I trust that you have seen The Queen's Gambit on Netflix. Casey read the book (by the author of The Hustler and The Color of Money) and it's now awaiting me on my tablet. 1917 and Molly's Game sound intriguing. Thanks!

[Karen]

Neither Andy nor I had played chess in about 50 years, but the kids have gotten into it, so we started again. I explained to the kids that when I was growing up, every kid knew how to play all these games. I was never any good, but it's still fun! I haven't beaten anyone in the house yet, but then again the kids play a lot on Chess.com, so they have learned a lot of strategic moves. Andy and I have so far watched two episodes of "The Queen's Gambit"; the kids have already watched the whole season.

[Margaret]

Tenet sounds intriguing. I like time bending tales, both in writing and films. I've only seen John David Washington in BlackkKlansman and he was incredible in that.

[Karen]

I haven’t seen BlacKkKlansman!

[Elena]

Regarding Robert Pattinson, I take it you're not a Twilight fan (which would not surprise me). :) Of course, with my son who is a walking Harry Potter encyclopedia, we remember him from those days as well.

[Karen]

I know OF him from Twilight but, you're right, I never saw it.