after watching
“an inconvenient sequel”
on a hot summer night
in ann arbor
i was left
absolutely chilled.
—
“a man has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct
though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.”
-walter lippmann
“you never really understand a person
until you consider things from his point of view…
until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
― harper lee, to kill a mockingbird
—
57 years ago this month, in july, 1960,
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ was first published.
one of my favorite books.
—
credits: universal pictures, j.b. lippincott & co., harper lee
saw this beautiful film yesterday
very moving and mesmerizing
drawn in mostly soft colors
it captures the subtleties of
nature, man, balance, human connections, family,
impermanence, the circles that life takes
very simple lines and images
bamboo, trees, water, sky, people, animals, land
created by three studios in three countries
japan, england, belgium
does not require any translation
as there is no dialogue
except for one word
only lovely music
to take you through this
fairy tale, fantasy, fable, legend
when you get to the end
the quietly powerful and touching final scenes
will draw you in
it was 81 minutes of
pure perfection in every frame.
—
“this film was simple and and elemental.
like a picture book that needs no words.”
– a.o. scott – new york times
—
‘the red turtle’ premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2016 cannes film festival, where it won a grand jury award. the film was also nominated for the best animated feature film for the 89th academy awards.
—
credits: studio ghibli, wild bunch studio, toho studio, sony pictures classics
so, i actually cried while watching “the smurfs”
luckily there was some magic involved
that turned things around
as the universe tends to do
in its own strange way
unexpectedly
with no explanation
and all at once
everything was right with world again.
—
“if it makes you cry, it goes in the show.”
-annie leibovitz
—
image credit: sony pictures
we were an audience of six
(including the organ player)
at the beautiful michigan theatre
where we saw some amazing short films
thus proving once again that
sometimes less is more.
“if you have the audience, that is good, that gives you a good motivation!
if you don’t have the audience, that is good, that gives you a good motivation to try to have some!”
― mehmet murat ildan
i’ve now seen this movie 3 times
couldn’t get the grandies viewing schedules to mesh
so we went in groups
it was colorful, happy, and musical
all felt and sparkles and big hair and eccentric characters
and i have to say
it is a totally fun and trippy, dreamy movie
that asks and answers the question:
“what is the nature of happiness?”
and really, it is quite impossible
not to be happy when you watch this film.
—
“it is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.”
-charles spurgeon
—
credits: dreamworks animation, 20th century fox
freda kelly was just a shy teenager from liverpool who left school at 16 to make her way in the world. in this documentary, freda tells her story for the first time after 50 years, for very personal reasons all her own. it is the story of a young girl, who, through fate and circumstance, found herself working for a local band, the beatles, hoping to make it big. while none of them had any concept of how far they would go, it was her undying loyalty and dedication that kept her in their inner circle, a rare thing among the many who came and went from their universe.
at only 16, she became their devoted personal secretary and fan club president, and she understood the young girls’ frenzy them as they grew in fame, as she was herself just a young girl, as well as a fan. she was fiercely protective of each of them and never was swayed by the fame and fortune that came along. Freda saw it all, and became a sister and friend to them, and a daughter to their families.
she witnessed their evolution to international fame and watched history unfold before her eyes, taking it all in with amazement and pride.
it was her dream job, and she was there at the beginning, and there at the end. and as was said, ‘they were together for 10 years, and she worked for them for 11 years.’ the archival footage in this film is amazing, and if you are a fan of the beatles, music history, or just of the pure and sweet side of human nature, you will fall in love with freda and with this movie.
freda today, as she tells her story, with a few tears and a lot of laughter.
You learn from a conglomeration of the incredible past –
whatever experience gotten in any way whatsoever.
Bob Dylan
—-
image credits: magnolia pictures, the guardian.com,dailymail.co.uk,scope features,sxsw film festival
