May 2014 Recap (sort of)

Not really a full blown recap this time around, since I only managed to watch one, non-BOOK movie in the entire month of May. But I did want to touch base, talk about that one movie and mention a few other things. So consider this a recap/notes post....

FROM THE INBOX

Hey Andrew,

How's it going? Hope you've had a great weekend.

I've been a long-time lurker at 1001 Movies I (Apparently) Must See Before I Die, but this is the first time I've actually reached out. Love the great work that you do and wanted to send you something on a musical note that might be right up your alley - I'm a musician who's just released a new double A-side single but I've not yet shared the link out en masse. In the spirit of exclusivity, I'd be honoured if you were one of the first to check out the new tracks; you can hear them for free here (they're the top two). I'd love to hear your opinion on the new material, even if you've never heard of me before.

In addition, 30% of the sales from Winterheart are going towards the Depression Alliance charity*, so any help in spreading the word - be it a blog post, facebook share, tweet, whatever - would place me forever in your debt. Of course, I'd be willing to do anything it takes to repay the favour, so do hit me back.

Here's a bit more info on me, but if you have any queries or want to do a Q&A/interview for the site, I'll get straight back to you! 

Very best,

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I emailed the guy back and he responded, which usually signals that the email is legitimate. I actually get a lot of emails like this, but 99% of the time, they don't respond back if I email them to check up. So anyway, I don't know how much help I can be, but here ya go. Hope I can help!

CONGRATULATIONS!

I want to recognize my friend and frequent commenter Ray Milner for conquering the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die and not just one edition, but every film that's ever appeared in ANY of the the editions. I hope Ray feels how I imagine I'll feel when I finally finish. Ray's a smart man when it comes to everything, but film especially and this only cements that this is one guy you want to talk to if you have a movie related question. If you want to follow Ray via iCheckMovies, click here. CONGRATULATIONS RAY!!!

NON-1001 Movies I Must See Before You Die - As seen in May 2014
1) Blue Jasmine (2013 - Woody Allen) 7/10 - Being a humongous fan of Woody Allen, I figured it was about time I pick up a copy of Blue Jasmine and see what all the hubbub was about. I (as I usually am) was left out in the cold around Oscar time when all the awards shows were handing Cate Blanchett little gold statues. I have to admit, I was skeptical of all the praise. The last time a Woody Allen film got this much praise it was Midnight in Paris, a movie I later saw and didn't care for. However, I quickly realized that the praise, especially that which was showered upon Cate Blanchett for her performance, was well deserved.

I guess I won't be the first to compare the overall story as well as Blanchett's character to A Streetcar Named Desire and the Blanche DuBois character, as a woman who tends to live in the past and is losing her grip on reality in the present. The film revolves around Jeanette a.k.a. Jasmine French (Blanchett), who, after finding out her wealthy husband has been cheating on her and that he's been committing fraud in his companies, has a nervous breakdown as she falls from her socialite, bourgeoisie status. After recouping, Jasmine heads west to San Francisco where she plans to shack up with her less classy sister (I'm telling, you just think A Streetcar Named Desire here), as she tries to regain her footing on life.

I have to say, it was one of the more down Woody Allen movies, but I was totally okay with that. What I liked, is that Woody seemed to bring all of his cards to the table, combining a mix of light heartedness with his recently normal serious side. The appearance of cheating husbands & girlfriends mixed with scenes like the one where Ginger's boyfriend comes to her job at the grocery store, crying and asking for her to return to him, bring to mind the Woody Allen of the 90s. While scenes with Blanchett clearly straddling the edge of sanity and insanity bring to mind the perilous ways of Woody's more recent work.

All in all, I was pleased with the movie and being someone who watches the Woody Allen movies over and over again, I can say I'll be happy to revisit this one many more times. As usual, you have a great cast, the comedy is kept on a very tight leash and almost doesn't exist and the story, with it's use of flashbacks, is inventive and fairly fresh, despite it's obvious resembelance to A Streetcar Named Desire. Here's hoping Allen's 45th - Magic in the Moonlight - is knocks it out of the park again!

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I'll be trekking off to Ohio tomorrow for five days to visit my mother-in-law and have a general (hopefully) relaxing vacation. I'll return on Sunday and then return to work on June 28th, so my goal is to TRY...TRY to get back on here in those six days after vacation and before returning to work. It will probably be a slow start, since I haven't been on the blog in like two months, but even if I just slip in a SINS OF OMISSION post or two, at least that'll be a start. Anyway, until then...keep cool my babies!

June 16, 2014  6:50pm