Bombs away

I planned to see Megalopolis last night but backed out thanks to remnants of covid and flu vaccines. And it sounds like I dodged a bullet.

“Megalopolis” played in nearly 2,000 theaters in the United States and Canada. As of Saturday evening, it was on pace to place sixth in the weekend box office derby, behind even “Devara Part 1,” a poorly reviewed, three-hour, Telugu-language action drama that was available in around 1,000 theaters."

It is rare to see an acclaimed director bomb this hard but I am confident his legacy will remain intact. Also, Mr. Coppola is now on Letterboxd and has one list so far, charmingly titled 'Movies That I Highly Recommend'.

Besides the new episode of British Bake Off, I spent most of the week watching True Blood for the second time. I cannot explain why I'm doing this. It's not good. In fact, it's pretty damn bad. Anna Paquin, bless her, should have been fined for her acting in this. Alexandar Saarsgaaaaard is super hot so maybe that's why I'm doing it? I don't know. I need help. Someone stop me.

🎥 Strangers on a Train (Tubi)
In a break from the usual third-act twists he throws in, Hitchcock lays out what's going to go down in the very first scene. What follows is a story with "plot holes you could fit Mount Rushmore in," as one reviewer put it. The cops make a number of bewildering decisions, but my favorite is when they let an old carny risk decapitation to stop an out-of-control carousel. That whole scene is epic. An unrelated but legitimate question raised by this movie: why were magazines the size of doorways back then?   

📺 English Teacher
I read some article yesterday that said, TV is back! and thought, when did it leave? It cited this show as one reason and, while I enjoy watching it and laugh about twice an episode, do not think it merits the heralding of a new era. It's a fun way to spend 30 minutes. It is set in Austin but filmed in Atlanta and very clearly produced by people who do not know the differences between the two. The latest episode had them going on a camping trip 90 minutes outside of town and referenced black bears. Do your homework people.

🖥️ The office before the internet
One of those posts in which I could read every single comment. I am old enough that my first couple of office jobs didn't have computers and recall that much of my time was spent talking on the phone and writing things down for other people based on those conversations. I really related to this comment:

"Our time was taken up by leaving messages, checking messages, and returning messages. There was lots of carbon paper, white out, and trying to line up the damn printer paper holes. The ordering and purchasing of office supplies (and toner) seemed to be super important."

Maybe this week I will finish one of the 5 damn books I'm reading and can tell you about it. Stay fierce, friends.

xoxo
Carla