With 4 of the last 5 nights being clear and excellent for observing, things have grown slack around the Homestead. No piano practice, very little reading. The exercise program is keeping up, however, and my astronomy notes are done. But I am only half done my Ozark trip blog, which will take precedence (along with piano practice) until clear skies return. Very few movies have been watched, too. We've also had a bunch of errands to take care of, such as doing our 2023 taxes (on Easter Sunday), getting Lois' taxes into the tax person, medical appointments for Deb, a new computer for Deb, etc. On top of everything, the weather suddenly turned into June this week, with highs above 80 on some days. It's still very warm, and will be until Sunday.
In film news, there are a few to report. We watched the original Ghost In The Shell, the influential anime from 1995. We might have seen it before, but neither of us remembered having seeing it. The visual backgrounds are great, heavily inspired by the film version of Blade Runner. A newer Ghost is in the queue for next week! It was enjoyable, well paced, and with decent music, too.
My leaving choice was El Dorado XXI from 2016, an unusual documentary about a large community of miners, male and female, searching for gold while living in the Andes at 18,000'. It is the world's highest permanent community. One shot near the beginning lasts nearly an hour, as we watch miners come and go on a hilly street, dusk turning slowly into night. Needless to say, this is a very slow moving film, even after the hour is up. Not for everyone, but I feel as if I have been there (and don't wish to return). It looks like the ultimate in dreary living, especially as the gold ran out long ago. But still they come.
Deb's choice (still finishing up her end of March festival pics) included a Douglas Sirk melodrama from 1957 called The Tarnished Angels. Starring Rock Hudson and Dorothy Malone, you get what you pay for; B & W Cinemascope based on William Faulkner's novel "Pylon," and we see some great stunt flying races mixed in with the human drama. Robert Stack is the pilot, Dorothy is his wife (whom he all but ignores), and Hudson is the man who falls in love with Dorothy. Stack finally falls in love with his wife (and young boy), but alas, that last air race proves too much for the old jalopy he was using. Too late, too late. A decent enough film, with some good acting. Faulkner reportedly liked it a lot.
Claire Denis is a director whom we both have come to like, but Deb walked out on The Intruder, a film from 2005. Then she came back and stayed till the end. This is not really a bad film; it is a terrible film. It's about a lonely man (for good reason--he is a total creep) who needs a new heart (in more ways than one), and is in search of his long lost son. Only it takes most of the movie to figure out that much. Awful story telling, it feels as if this film was made day by day, under the influence of having no good ideas to present, and nothing important to say. I kept watching, hoping for some kind of revelation or importance or thoughtful idea. But there is nothing but emptiness in all directions, along with really bad story telling. And a central character who is quite revolting. Who could ask for more from a film?
That's all for now, until I get my trip blog done. I am hoping to get Part 3 up sometime this weekend.
Mapman Mike
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