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Time for another blog post. Been keeping busy moving and it's finally done. Our couch is a skosh too big for our living room, and we're trying to juggle wallspace for a projector I got for Christmas as well as a TV. The projector is pretty cheap. It's fun as a novelty and a MUCH larger display, but I can't imagine it as a “daily driver” for film and television so ideally I'd like both it and my TV accessible. So finding a solution for that that also accommodates our just a bit too large couch is proving to be a challenge. Whatever we figure out though I'm sure will work out. Other than that, I've got my room pretty much 100% together (barring hanging decor), and I'm REALLY digging the look of my retro media nook under my lofted bed. My books are all up on the shelf and nicely accessible, and my clothes are all organized in my closet. A place for everything and everything in it's place hopfully I'll be able to mantain that
Also managed to get out to see a few movies over the past month. Finally managed to see The Monkey: excellent horror comedy. It derives most of its humor from over the top and supernaturally unlikely deaths (à la Final Destination), but doesn't rely exclusively on sudden comic gore. It actually has a surprising amount of thematic depth surrounding absent and estranged fathers, and family secrets. This is well trod thematic ground for writer/director Osgood Perkins, and he executes with characteristic deft style. What feels new for Osgood (at least from my perspective having only seen Longlegs) is an entertainingly casual but not quite flippant attitude toward death. Deaths in the film are tragedies to be mourned but not exceptional (even when unlikely). The movie takes the stance that everyone dies sometime, and that, while it's life-changing for those around the deceased, it's both inevitable and mundane. This attitude, juxtaposed against the unlikely over elaborate deaths, generates a singular comic tone that underscores the idea that life is chaotic and unpredictable, and any attempt to control it will backfire spectacularly.
On an opposite side of the comic spectrum I also saw Looney Tunes: The Day The Earth Blew Up. I went into detail on the podcast Armchair Cinema, but here's the short version. It's a 1.5 hour Looney Tunes short that manages to not overstay its welcome. Obviously the Looney Tunes characters were not built for feature length projects; this is probably why there hasn't been a feature length fully animated Looney Tunes theatrical release up until now. It seems like an almost impossible task, but The Day The Earth Blew Up makes it look easy. The hour and a half flew effortlessly by, and I left satisfied but disappointed that there probably won't be a sequel.
So that's all that's been going on really. Now that moving's finished; its time to setup decor and maybe have some friends and family over to check out the new place.