Music Monday - Hey Jude - The Beatles

 

I was watching some clips on you tube at the weekend and saw this one, which I had never seen before.  I love the simplicity of it, and always end up singing along when it comes on.

Near The Exit - Lori Erickson

I read this small book sitting in the library on a cold winter afternoon.  Lori Erickson talks about her experiences of losing her brother, and moving her mother to a local dementia care unit, while exploring her experiences with death and dying in different cultures and in her experiences as a pastor.  I was especially moved by the small chapter on dealing with a Maori spiritual leader on a trip to New Zealand.  3/5
 

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - The Good Liar

 The good liar is a spin on the old con man story starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellan.   I had seen the trailers but missed it at the cinema, and wish I had seen it there.  Sometimes I am somewhat distracted by the phone and laptop while watching a movie, and tonight was one such night.  So he plays the con man, searching out older women and trying to fleece them out of their funds, however he has met his match, and is of course outsmarted.  No big surprises, and in doing the maths I think this movie must have meant to be set in the late 90s not in 2020.  Still I enjoyed seeing the match of these two greats on the screen, and think that they were both perfect in their roles, and how long they had to wait to work together.  4/5

Music Monday - Message To My Girl - Neil Finn

 

 I just felt like a bit of lightness tonight, and I haven't heard this one for a while.  Such beauty and so underrated.  Neil Finn is one of my favorites and to stand in the audience and hear him sing this is such a magical feeling. 

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Charlie's Angels

 Well this middle aged lady is old enough to remember the original Charlies Angels on the tv in the 1970s, but as a kid it left little impression upon me except that the girls must have got through a huge amount of hairspray at the time.  I wasn't holding out for this remake to be anything ground breaking, but it was ok.   It is nice to see some ladies being the ones racing around, with the big guns without the sexist comments and put downs, or being left in just the love interest roll.  In a world where it is often only the boys being allowed to have fun or adventure in movieland, movie makers are beginning to respond and evolve.  Harmless fun.  3/5

Music Monday - Days Like This - Van Morrison

 

I felt like a little bit of old school music tonight while washing dishes.  The wind is blowing through the trees tonight, bringing in a couple of days of forecast day, just to remind us on the first day of spring that winter has not quite slipped away.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - A Hidden Life

 Based on the true story of an devout Catholic Austrian farmer, who refuses to fight in the German Army.  Directed by Terence Malick it is truly beautiful with blue grey mountains, and mountains of rich green fields.  There is not a lot of dialogue and it felt monstrously long at almost 3 hours,  I felt it was a bit self indulgent with drawn out scenes where nothing happens, where 3 minutes of picking leaves or scything fields, deep drawn out looks and staring at the sky , all just became a bit much and it felt like it could have done with being edited down.  2.5/5

Coming Soon

 

Luckily our cinemas are open, although there is a little social distancing with seats between customers.  So fingers crossed these may be out sometime soon?

Music Monday - Halfway - James Blunt

 

I like this simple tune, and am mesmerized by the matching  simple video.   James Blunt was meant to be touring this year, and we had tickets and will miss him.

Middle Aged Lady Movie Night - Double Feature - The Booksellers & 23 Walks

After a bit of mucking around and some housekeeping on Saturday, I set aside Sunday for doing some fun things.  I had seen clips of these at the last movie I went to see and even though all the besties were busy, I thought it would be nice to support the local cinemas and booked my tickets for Sunday movies.

  The Bookesellers is a documentary about the rare book trade in New York.  It was interesting, a window into a dying trade and I am sure that by capturing the people who work the book fair, and run the cluttered book shops, it will be a final glimpse of a soon to be forgotten industry.  I did spend a long time thinking of how all of these people collecting these books, wondering if they ever actually ever read them, or just liked owning them, and how their families must despair at the thought of having to have to clean out their shelves when they die.   3.5/5                                                                                                                                                 

    

                                    

It is rare for me to sit in a cinema and feel that I am the youngest one there.  Everyone else may have been clutching their gold card, but I did enjoy this movie, and know that it will be successful in the senior cinema goers, who fill the arthouse cinemas during the day.  Dave and Fern meet out in the park walking their dogs, and a simple premise as described in the title, this is the story of their 23 walks.  Filled out with glimpses of their outside lives, it is sweet and charming and I like this type of realistic cinema, that had the right balance of tears and laughs and it made me want to get a dog.  4.5/5