The Whys

Why am I not advertising this blog?
I am not sure. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was an avid blogger at one time and then fell off the radar and don't trust myself too much vis-a-vis this fine art anymore. Maybe because I have read too many bad blog posts by now, whether mine or others, and don't want to think a lot about making this the most definitive web address of the world. Instead, I just want to ramble. Maybe because I don't ever want to be reminded to update (although secretly I do like the attention.) Maybe because some of the readers I truly value are friends who have already stumbled upon it.

Seriously, I have no answer. Except to say, I like the not knowing.

Another Day, Another Movie

The Kenworthy Performance Arts Center of Moscow is a place for all kinds of quality artistic and cinematic experiences. Meaning, that nearly everyone who comes there is either over the age of fifty or a geek in some way or the other. So far I fit into the latter category but twenty more years and I will be both. 

On Friday, I went to the Kenworthy to watch The Last Station, a film starring Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer . As expected, I was the only one in the audience without any serious health issues or disillusionment about life. But on the other hand, it also made for great movie-viewing because unlike other theater experiences, here no one felt the need to be continuously restless or flip out their phone, or answer a text message while the entire universe lit up with the light from the screen of their electronic gadget. 

The Last Station is a movie that demands you to slow down. So if you are going with the mindset of one used to the mind-numbing pace of events in current Hollywood movies, then The Last Station is not for you. It's also not a movie for those easily tired by the old, and would rather spend time looking or talking to toned, young (as opposed to youthful) minds and bodies. But if you have a sense of appreciation for history,  literature and for all those grandparent-like people filled with wisdom, then The Last Station will work quite fine for you. In short, it's a historical drama about the last few months of Leo Tolstoy while he tries to balance the life of privilege he was born into with the life devoid of material things that he aspires for, and the impact of this struggle on his wife of many years, Sofya.    

For those seeking an old-fashioned good movie with some seriously breathtaking acting by Helen Mirren, this one is a good watch. 

In the summer time...

I like to watch movies.
No surprise there for those who know me. I can watch movies everyday, especially for the big screen experience.

Two recent movies I saw--Robin Hood and Letters to Juliet. I went for the first one with sky-high expectations imagining a bloody, tension-ridden, rollercoaster which would make me rediscover my intense love for Russell Crowe. That didn't happen. Actually, none of that happened. I thought making Robin Hood sound like a contemporary politician wasn't the best idea, at no point with any of the action scenes did I feel as if Robin himself was threatened, and despite occasional bursts of genius and awesomeness, I thought Crowe made for a very old, jaded-looking vigilante. Not the best deal when you are seeking to fall in love.

I went for the second movie with zero expectations. And it turned out to be, in spite of its cliches, quite entertaining. I guess anything that has a background of Italian vineyards and historical sites with noisy local men and women working their way through giant hunks of cheese and rich, red wine, is already slated for a grand, visual experience. Which is why, I will actually give Letters to Juliet a bigger thumbs up.

Did I just commit the unthinkable?