29
Jan
Eventually I’ll see another film with a really strong story to tell but in the meantime I’ll keep going to see gorgeously shot films with something missing. That is, films like Roma. Is it beautiful? Yes, it’s beautiful. And, yes, I was immersed in a world I knew nothing of – that of a well-off
27
Jan
If you’ve been following this blog you may be thinking, “Wait a second. Wasn’t your last beach number 54 Newport?” And if you are thinking that – well spotted. Number 55 is North Cronulla. In a couple of weeks, I’m attending a 1st birthday party near Cronulla. That party is on a Sunday and I
26
Jan
I’m giving Mary, Queen of Scots 3 out of 5 stars. It’s my 5th film in the cinema for 2019 and the 2nd directed by a woman – Josie Rourke, a theatre director making her film debut. The film is beautifully shot. Margot Robbie is magnificent. The costuming and makeup are excellent. But I think the
23
Jan
I’m trying to get back into seeing the free films at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The Gallery has a large, beautiful theater where they screen films related to current exhibitions. Now they are screening a series called Cosmic Futures: Visionary Russian Cinema in relation to the show Masters of Modern Art from The Hermitage. This
13
Jan
I wake to another grey Sunday but when I leave for Newport Beach, the sky has mostly cleared. The #423 bus takes me from King Street (Newtown) to Martin Place. I walk to Wynyard and catch the #B1 bus to the end of that line in Mona Vale. There, I use my 15-minute
11
Jan
3.75/5 My 2018 mission of seeing all the female directed films continues into 2019 with Kusama – Infinity. This is a documentary about artist Yayoi Kusama by Heather Lenz. I like seeing documentaries about people I really don’t know much about. I’d heard of Yayoi Kusama – but what I knew was: Japanese, dots, lives
09
Jan
4.25/5 Some trailers tell you too much about the film, others skip right over major plot points – the trailer for The Favourite falls soundly in the latter category. I had read nothing, but seen the trailer several times and had heard good things. It was good, very good, while also not being what I expected.
07
Jan
4 out of 5 This is a brutal, and at times hilarious, bio pic about Dick Cheney. Christian Bale disappears into the role. Steve Carell is both uber Steve Carell and totally Donald Rumsfeld. Amy Adams is utterly Machiavellian as Lynne Cheney. I laughed out loud and uproariously several times between moments of feeling quite
06
Jan
On the first Sunday of the year I decided that, regardless of the weather, I would go to Narrabeen Beach – the next beach in my alphabetical list. And that, in going to Narrabeen on the first Sunday of the year, I would set myself up to go to the beach every Sunday for the
03
Dec
For me, watching baseball is an act of simple mindfulness. It consumes my attention, lightly but fully. I’m not thinking of statistics or how likely match ups will play out – I’m just watching. And I love that about it. I love the uncertainty and that the uncertainty lasts until the final out. I also