Bye Bye, Birthday

So ends another era. Oh, it's not significant in the grand or even minor scheme of things, but it was indeed a personal time for me, a tradition I kept for 28 straight years.

What I refer to is that every birthday, I would go to the cinema and (hopefully) enjoy a celebratory movie of choice. Sometimes this would be so important to me that I would pick a movie months in advance so we were living in the era of announced release dates for major films as though they were national holidays. Such is the modern day world of movies.

This ritual of mine, almost OCD in nature, began with special Christmas movie, something to cap off the end of a long holiday, the best of these being THE GODFATHER PART II and THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING in successive years. That practice began to be more difficult to maintain over time since I usually attended with a friend and, considering it was bloody damn Xmas, I began losing movie companions. Going to a movie by myself that night seemed to be a lonely and kinda creepy experience. Not that I had any qualms about flying solo any other time, my go-to modus operandi (my rationale was that I knew I wasn't going to talk during the movie). But Christmas night...I passed. I thought I'd feel like an outcast elf. 

Years passed and I finally decided to make it a birthday thang, beginning in 1993 with a perfect choice for me -Joe Dante's MATINEE, a sensational tribute to the films of William Castle set smack dab in the middle of the Cuban missile crisis. And yes, I went alone. 

This became like a special gift I could give to myself, something to give myself a break, pat on the back and reward myself for making it though another year. It allowed me to head into the next 363 days on a more or less positive note. Thus, this annual celebration of me was off and running.

Over time, my failing memory has caused me to momentarily (I hope) forget several films I've seen over the years, an unfortunately side effect of the passing of time. But I remember most of them and my track record for excellent film choices was pretty stinkin' good if I do say so myself (and I can because I have this blog) They are:

The aforementioned MATINEE, FROM DUSK TO DAWN, THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY (one right after the other), LA LA LAND, AVATAR, THE SHAPE OF WATER, PAN'S LABRYRINTH (all hail Guillermo!), BIRDMAN, STAN AND OLLIE, THE ARTIST, DJANGO UNCHAINED and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN. A couple of times, I'd up the ante with two movies on consecutive days as with NEBRASKA/THE WOLF OF WALL STREET and BLACK SWAN/TRUE GRIT.

Not a bad list, but there were a few clunkers like Peter Jackson's remake of KING KONG and THE FORCE AWAKENS, but they weren't crappy enough to ruin my day, just my taste buds. (See previous blogs; KONG-FOUNDED and THE FORCE WAKES UP AGAIN)

In 2020, I caught Sam Mendes' 1917, the last time I've set foot in a movie theater. While it wasn't the best of the bunch by any means, not even anywhere near my top ten, I was grateful to be able to have seen it on one the biggest screens in the area, a fine presentation that I certainly appreciated.

This year, it all came to an end. On January 29 (my birthday in case you want to get a head start on next year with the gift-giving), our illustrious governor Kate Brown of Oregon lifted the restrictions on movie theaters, allowing them to re-open with a ridiculous caveat. The theater capacity could be no more than 6 people. Well, isn't that just ducky. It would be unless you were a theater owner. Now it wouldn't matter to me really since I don't mind an empty auditorium all to myself. But in support of movie theaters in general, I say thee nay. Besides I ain't that comfortable eating in a restaurant, let alone sitting in the dark with a bunch of strangers. Not yet anyway, no matter how much I miss it.

So this year I still saw a new movie,  a very good thriller called THE LITTLE THINGS directed by John Lee Hancock and starring Denzel Washington, released simultaneously in theaters (somewhere) and HBO MAX. Another new normal that they assure is only temporary, but try getting that genie back in the bottle even at gunpoint.

The movie theater, as we once knew it, is fading away, another casualty of this life and time and another one to place in the loss column. 

Happy birthday to me.

Monday Morning Oscar Quaterback

Some thoughts from this year's Oscarcast:

*Neil Patrick Harris is the best host since Hugh Jackman. I ate every single word of what I wrote on my last blog.

*The show itself is always going to be a bloated, lumbering spectacle, but this time around, the formula worked more often than not. Some things could have been cut: Harris' "magic" trick, Jennifer Hudson's song-while beautifully performed-was meh.

*The "In Memoriam" segment-AKA The Death Parade-should have included Eddie Murphy's inability to make anyone laugh ever again.

*I love the fact that whatever political statements that were added to acceptance speeches is really frying the Up-Tighty Righties out there who were predisposed to hate the entire affair in the first place due to their hatred of the Hollywood crowd as a whole. And yet, they'll be watching it again next year.

*But hey, Hollyweirdos, you guys really are setting yourselves up to easy targets, ain't ya?

*During Patricia Arquette's call for equal pay, they immediately cut to Meryl Streep for validation. She didn't disappoint.

*Nothing would have been awesome if THE LEGO MOVIE won for Best Song

* Following John Legend and Common's performance of "Glory" from SELMA, bringing the audience to their feet with cheers and tears (White Liberal Guilt at its finest!) and their subsequent win, came the tribute of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the WHITEST piece of entertainment in the whole wide world Good timing, people.

*However...Lady Gaga took another step closer to Heaven with her performance.

*Julie Andrews' entrance following Gaga even brought a tear to this SOUND OF MUSIC hater's eye.

*Oprah actually she believes she's the heir apparent to the late Maya Angelou. Who in Hollywood is going to tell her otherwise? Since I'm not there, I will. She ain't.

*No problem with any of the awards given this this year. My predictions meant absolutely zilch to me. (I went 3 for 7. Piss poor but who cares?) I'm as pleased as punch that my birthday movie from this year, BIRDMAN, picked up the grand prize. I wanted my man Keaton to pick up Best Actor, but the movie itself is his trophy. Besides, they decided to go the MY LEFT FOOT route with Eddie Redmayne. Julianne Moore, a favorite for Lead Actress since the day she was cast in in STILL ALICE, was the night's only legitimate lock. Why didn't the film itself get some kind of nod? Glad to see GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL and WHIPLASH get some love too.

*Sean Penn's quip about Alejandro Inarritu's green card was so inappropriate that I loved it.

*The ratings were down for this year, many blaming the grandstanding, but there were more obvious factors to consider. The Oscars, at the tale end of the season, have lost their lustre in recent years due to the glut of broadcast awards show (i,e. Golden Globers, SAG, People's Choice, Critic's Choice, Taster's Choice, etc.) The studios backload all their prestigious films to the end of the year in hopes of award glory, making an already cynical public suspicious of the process. It ball boils down to oversaturated fat and overkill. There's really only so much glad-handing the public can take.

*Most of the recipients honored their families in more ways than one. J.K. Simmons thanking his wife, above-average children and his parents prompted him to tell us to call our own folks. Others made a point of mentioning family members, alive and dead (as in the director of IDA's case). Amazing, with all this standing on the soap box known as the worldwide broadcast of the Academy Awards, these people have, what do Conservatives call it, FAMILY VALUES. 

Son of a gun.

Hooray for Hollywood for a change.