January 2017 Viewing Diary

Conspiracy (2001; d. Frank Pierson)
The definition of “the room where it happens”. The awful room where something vile was decided. The TV movie starring Kenneth Branagh (so excellent) about the Wannsee Conference. It’s superb. Based on the one surviving transcript of the minutes taken during the meeting. All participants were told to destroy the transcript. One person didn’t. That’s why we even know about this damn thing. The movie is CHILLING and very well done. Timely, too. Watching the faces around that table – Nazis, all, but Nazis who assumed that they were still in the business of doing government stuff and enacting policies, however vile – realize the next step that will be asked of them. The implications. The realization of what, actually, it was that they were doing. It’s brutal.

Justified (Season 1-6)
I started Justified late in December and binge-watched it during the wretched – worse every day – month of January. Has 31 days ever felt so endless? Also in December, I found a new apartment and will be moving there tomorrow. The whole thing – looking at apartments, getting approved, signing lease – happened in a 24-hour period. I make almost no money. The stress has been unimaginable. I have considered moving out of the city altogether. Taking a roommate. Move to Memphis. Drastic measures, but things I have considered anyway. It feels like the worst possible time to move, but I have no choice in the matter. I don’t want to move. I don’t want to leave this beautiful apartment, the place where I got my shit together, got diagnosed, started my freelance career for real. My point is: January was a whirlwind and maybe 5% of it included any pleasure. Supernatural is out to lunch. My normal escape hatch has vanished. So the 5% of the entirety of life in January that provided any escape or pleasure was in the Justified binge-watch. I watched the whole thing so quickly that now I need to go back and watch it again, take more time with it. It’s so rich and deep. The dialogue: “Well, Raylan, you’re talking to a man who’s sleeping with his dead brother’s widow and murderess. So if you’re looking for someone to cast stones on this matter, you have picked the wrong sinner.”

Hidden Figures (2016; d. Theodore Melfi)
One of the best films of 2016.

Rashomon (1950; d. Akira Kurosawa)
In this world where some stupid blonde broad refers to “alternate facts” with a straight (albeit rictus leer) face, (not to mention the fact that that stupid broad has any national platform whatsoever), I wanted to re-visit this gorgeous film that digs into the malleability not of truth, not necessarily, but of perception, of narrative. There isn’t only one way to look at things. The only WAY to look at things is from your own viewpoint. You can’t get OUT of your own perspective. Machiko Kyô, for me, is the real stand-out here. Her physical work! I mean, she’s going toe to toe with Toshirô Mifune, and he’s a ferociously physical and gigantic actor. I love the film.

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016; d. Fisher Stevens, Alexis Bloom)
Heartbreaking. I reviewed for Ebert.

America, America (1963; d. Elia Kazan)
A personal project for Kazan, it was one of his declarations of independence from working on other writers’ stories. This was the story of his family, fleeing the Turks in Anatolia, going through amazing hardships to get to America. I would highly recommend seeing this now, especially in the current climate. It’s intensely moving. I agree with what Kazan said, and other critics said, that the lead kid he found is not very good. But the film is filled with classic Kazanian moments. Amazing footage of real-life places and real-life people. Kazan always wanted to film on location. He was an innovator in that regard. And, side note: I’ve seen the film before, of course, but somehow (amazingly, all things considered) it had never occurred to me that:
In my life, I have had romantic entanglements with not one, but TWO, men whose fathers played fairly significant roles in America America. What on earth can this mean? It’s so specific! I swear I did not do it deliberately! It comes from my association with the Actors Studio obviously, but STILL. I should put it on my Dating profile. “Only those whose fathers were in Kazan’s America America need apply. Kthxbai.” Charlie texted me and asked me to go to a movie a couple of weeks ago. I texted him back that the night he suggested didn’t work for me. He texted back: “Tell the truth. It’s because my Pops wasn’t in that Kazan movie, isn’t it.” Thank you JESUS GOD ESPECIALLY NOW for funny people.

Ma (2016; d. Celia Rowlson-Hall)
A really striking first feature from Rowlson-Hall. I reviewed here.

Audition (2012; d. Celia Rowlson-Hall)
Short film directed by (and starring) Celia Rowlson-Hall. Actors will totally understand this film. And women will understand it even more. The whole thing is on YouTube.

Prom Night (2010; d. Celia Rowlson-Hall)
I had watched these short films in preparation for watching Ma, Rowlson-Hall’s first feature. Rowlson-Hall is young and seems to make one short film a month. There’s so much stuff out there. I really admire her!

The Comeback (2005, 2014)
It’s so hard to watch. Why did I put myself through this again? Because she is so brilliant. Uncannily Gena Rowlands level of brilliance in honesty and brilliance in characterization and fearlessness. What is so brilliant is that Valerie Cherish wants so badly to come off as a “good sport.” It’s that desire to be perceived as a “good sport” that infuses everything she does, every reaction, every interaction, every aside. It is her desire to be a “good sport” that makes her look so NUTS. If she could just allow herself to be cranky, a bitch, whatever, she might be a happier person. Intensely moving and intensely TRUE about being an actor.

Kedi (2016; d. Ceyda Torun)
Get ready for this one, peeps. In the current moment of heretofore unimaginable stress, this documentary about the huge population of street cats in Istanbul, works as a powerful healing tonic. I came out of the screening in tears. Opens next week.

Last Tango in Paris (1972; d. Bernardo Bertolucci)
Brando gives one of the most towering performances of his career. A strong giant reduced. Devastated. Devastating. I re-watched this in preparation for a podcast. Jessa Crispin (aka The Book Slut, once upon a time) reached out to me and asked me to be a guest on her new podcast. (I believe it’ll be the first episode!) We have been corresponding about Paul Verhoeven’s Elle, and the controversy around it, as well as the controversy around the treatment of Maria Schneider in Last Tango. We were frustrated by both controversies and she decided to “have me on” to discuss. I haven’t seen Last Tango in years. A couple of weeks ago we got together and recorded the podcast. It hasn’t launched yet. As is so often the case with these things, I now have no memory of what I said. But we had a good time talking.

Millennium (1998, 3rd season)
It’s been a long long time since Keith and I got together to binge-watch Millennium. I have it down as June 2016 in my “viewing diary.” This past year has been so terrible, an annus horibilis (and 2017 will be another annus horibilis), but somehow … art MUST matter still. It is even more important now. I reached out to Keith at the beginning of January. We set a date. I went out to Brooklyn, had a wonderful conversation with Keith and Dan, where we connected and shared our emotions, something I realized was long overdue. I have been almost completely isolated for the entirety of January. Bad. Then Keith and I picked up where we left off: Season 3, Episode 7. We watched about 8 episodes, stopping only to go and get some sandwiches at a nearby deli. We sat in their comfortable main room, with the shutters closed (yes, actual shutters), a dark cave, which was something I also have needed. Quiet viewing with a friend. We made it up to “Sound of Snow,” an intensely moving episode about grief, and dealing with the final moments of his wife. “Collateral Damage” stars an extraordinarily hot young actor named James Marsters. I know “Buffy” fans know him. It took me a second to clock him as the real estate developer – with a signed photo of Donald Trump on his wall – in Supernatural‘s “Shut up, Dr. Phil.” Everyone else probably already knew that.

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015; d. Sam Taylor-Johnson)
I know, I know. I’ve been assigned to review Fifty Shades Darker, so figured I finally needed to check this out. I bought the books back when they came out, because I love dom-sub erotica, but they are so poorly written I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I was interested to watch because Anne V. Coates – the editor who received a Lifetime Achievement Award last year, whose tribute reel – read by Diane Lane – was written by Yours Truly – edited it. Her comment about the film, “I thought it should be more raunchy.” I completely agree. Because I binge-watched “The Fall” last month, Jamie Dornan was very close to the surface of my consciousness, and in this movie he removes the serial-killer psychopathy that he portrayed so brilliantly in The Fall, but kept the chilly need for control. Dakota Johnson was a revelation. Although not really, since she was so good in A Bigger Splash, one of the best films of last year. What really struck me in this ponderous film with zero tension (“will she or will she not sign his contract of consent?? Tune in next week!”) was just how much her sense of humor is clearly irrepressible. Even in THIS material. And THAT is why I think she’s very very good, someone worth watching, someone who is the real deal. There are times when he gets all Thuper Therious about his sexual intentions and she literally bursts into laughter. It’s so REAL. It’s what you would do! I’m very impressed that she was open enough to allow that kind of non-literal very human reaction into her performance (and impressed with the not-very-talented director for realizing these elements would help save his film.) You watch this stuff and think, “Oh my God, people, just get to fucking. It’s not that big a deal. People have been fucking since the beginning of time. Express your kinks, get on the same page, and get on with it.” I look forward to the next installment, mainly so I can study Dakota Johnson.

Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath (2016)
I watched the final episodes. They often brought me to tears. This entire experience has been extraordinary. Especially with my fascination with that cult, well-documented here, a fascination that has led me into some pretty sketchy waters. As someone who has been a critic for almost 20 years now, maybe even more, I cannot believe I have lived to see this day. Leah Remini is one brave woman.

Children of Men (2006; d. Alfonso Cuarón)
I loved it when it first came out. The book is a work of genius, and Cuarón did right by that powerful source material. I haven’t re-watched it since. I now think it is a masterpiece. It hit me really really hard, even more so the second time. I was flattened by it.

The Salesman (2017; d. Asghar Farhadi)
Farhadi has been in the news, as has his lead actress, the marvelous Taraneh Alidoosti, for announcing they would not attend the Oscars (the film is nominated for Best Foreign Film) because of the Muslim Ban. Also, who knows if they would even be “allowed in.” It is my opinion that the Oscars should be canceled in solidarity with this Oscar-winner. They should refuse to go on. A much more powerful statement than celebrities standing onstage ranting about Trump for three hours. I know it won’t be canceled, but I want to go on record saying that that’s what I think should happen. It’s a disgrace. Regardless: Asghar Farhadi is one of my favorite filmmakers working today. If you watch, in order, Fireworks Wednesday, About Elly, A Separation and The Salesman, you will be stunned by the enormity of his accomplishment. I think he leaves most American directors in the dust. And his WRITING. He is the only heir to Henrik Ibsen in our current landscape. Other people TRY to be Henrik Ibsen, and they come off as lecturing sanctimonious superior bores. Farhadi digs into, burrows into, moral and political and ethical and social issues with the devotion of a true humanist. The Salesman is a work of genius. And the final scene. I’m not exaggerating when I say I have not recovered. I almost couldn’t get through it. It opened last week. Please please see it. Especially to show your support of Farhadi. This is a man who understands authoritarian mindsets. His films are not about that so much. He is interested in examining class issues in Iran and how it plays out in all kinds of unforeseen ways. But mainly, he is interested in people. There are no villains. But by the end of each of his films, the characters have been altered forever.

Supernatural, Season 12, Episode 9 “First Blood” (2017, d. Robert Singer)
This whole season has been such a disappointing and disheartening experience. It actually upsets me to watch it now. Especially in the current heartlessness and brutality in our national dialogue. Supernatural was always a series willing to go deep. To embrace complexity and nuance. To sit in the unknowingness. To avoid certainty, or at least QUESTION and INTERROGATE certainty. Now it’s just its surface. It’s become Nothing. I’m actually really upset about it. I sound annoyed but it’s just because I’m upset. It feels like everything beautiful and hopeful is being ruined.

Mr. Gaga (2017; d. Tomer Heymann)
I so recommend this film. It opens today, probably in very limited arthouse release. It’s a documentary about famed Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin. His choreography! Stunning! I was not familiar with his work at all. The opening of the film coincides with the opening of one of his shows here in New York. I’ve been so distracted these days by my move and the state of the world that I only have so much room to take in new things, but I would love to go see his work in person. I reviewed for Ebert, the review will go up today. I’ll provide a link when it’s live.

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18 Responses to January 2017 Viewing Diary

  1. Jessie says:

    Sounds like Justified came looking for you at just the right time.

    Congrats in getting through Jan, Sheila, and thanks as always for your personal and insightful writing. I look forward to reading your Feb viewing diary!

    • sheila says:

      Thanks, Jessie!

      I’m re-watching Justified already – I watched it way too fast the first time. It’s interesting: as a real-time viewer (I’m assuming?) – what was your sense of Arlo BEFORE he appeared and what was your sense of him once he appeared?

      There seems to me to be a slow and subtle reveal of who he is and what that relationship with his son is. I feel like I didn’t “get it” immediately – just how wretched Raylan’s childhood was – there’s so much information in each episode that it was difficult to absorb.

      So I just watched the episode where Arlo first appears – and there’s the scene where Raylan strolls through Stan Perkins’ house with a baseball bat reminiscing about the good times he had there as a child. It’s such a great monologue, and he’s doing so many things there as an actor. But the story he tells – which I am assuming is true – about the haven this house had been – was such a vivid picture of what his life was like when he was a kid – and somehow I just missed the import of it in my first watch. It took me a second or two to figure out who “Aunt Helen” was besides Arlo’s wife – the script isn’t clear up-front (and I love that) – and what role she played in Raylan’s boyhood. and just how much that relationship has soured since those early days.

      I also somehow was charmed by Arlo a little bit in my first watch – he seemed like a cantankerous guy, yet somehow likable too (a deadly combo)- but it made me wonder just how bad Raylan’s childhood could have been (I know! It’s awful!)- and this even with Arlo beating those guys with a baseball bat in the diner!! Having seen the whole thing now – I’m picking up on so much more.

      • Helena says:

        Just …. GRRR, don’t get me started on Arlo.

        • sheila says:

          Please get started, though! Like I said, I watched it my first time through too fast. It’s wonderful to watch it again, slowing it down, so I can absorb the character that I now know so well – I can’t wait to get to Mags’ first episode, for example.

          I love to compare first impressions and later impressions.

      • Jessie says:

        Arlo is a slowly unfolding horror, and he gets worse (for me at least) on every rewatch, because I take him more seriously. I’m the same as you: on original viewing it’s easy enough to get distracted by his charm or just how good the performance is. In comparison to Bo Crowder he seems almost genteel; although we meet him with a baseball bat in his hands, we know that Perkins is a bad guy, and Arlo ends up frail and in hospital.

        Aunt Helen also mitigates his awfulness on first viewing. He basks somehow in her glow, reduced to a bickering old man. The beautiful forceful fact of her tempts you into thinking there has to be something worthwhile about him. It took me a while to believe that the fact of her was because she needed to protect Raylan and Frances from him.

        It was when I mentally shifted him out of “cantankerous old man” and into “ailing petty brute” that I began to, yeah, take him and the effect he had on Raylan’s life/personality seriously. It’s there in TO’s performance but it took me a couple of goes to recognise. The dialogue in Justified often trips by so nonchalantly that it can fool you into thinking that the truths being told are not painful emotional ones. I remember being blindsided by the big betrayals (he was going to shoot Raylan in S1; Tom Bergen, etc), but Raylan never was. It’s those tossed-away stories about his childhood, the murder cabin. That’s what I should have been listening to.

        • Helena says:

          Thank you, Jessie, your thoughts on Arlo are as usual [A+++wildKermitapplause.gif] and the point about Aunt Helen softening and complicating Arlo, at first viewing at least, is a great one and speaks to how one of the effects of this kind of character is to make people complicit in their actions, of which more later.

          My main recollection of seeing this episode for the first time was being taken aback that this oddly spectral figure turned out to be Raylan’s father. However, very quickly, the Arlo-Raylan relationship became the foundation stone of the show for me. There is something about Arlo, what he is, how he operates, the emotional wounds his character alone exposes that make Raylan Givens seem truly vulnerable, which is quite the feat.

          Also very quickly I found myself regarding Arlo as a kind of bogeyman, a figure of horror. Perhaps it has to do with the way Arlo literally enters the show like Death, the thief in the night. Maybe it’s the spectral physicality Barry lends to Arlo that encourages this reading – the gaunt features and beady eyed state, graveyard smile, quavering yet menacing voice, like the Ghost of Shit Dads Past, Present and Future. Allied to his physicality, the thing that for me tips Arlo into actual monstrousness is that Arlo’s ongoing betrayals of his son are not the result of loss of control, fury or illness. For the most part they are pre-meditated, and specifically designed to besmirch his son, to drag him into his dirty work, either as unwitting accomplice, as with the pills, or unwitting henchman, in the immediate aftermath of Aunt Helen’s death. (Like Boyd, he is always trying to erase the notion of difference between them.) And yet these acts seem positively benign if you think Arlo tries to kill Raylan, not once but twice.

          To echo another one of Jessie’s points, the show does such a slow reveal on Arlo that you get fooled by his camouflage, the signs of old age, the storytelling, suggestions of PTSD, Aunt Helen running interference etc. And it’s worth making this point too, that seen from within the world of ‘Justified’ at least, one of the main thing that ‘complicates’ the reading of Arlo is that he is not particularly unusual or exceptional. He is just one toxic parent, and one story, among many. (And Raylan’s story therefore is just one instance of many and its lacunae can be filled in with Ava’s story, with Boyd’s, Johnny’s, Coover’s or Dickie’s, even Loretta’s.)

          Trying to qualify or contextualise Arlo in this way, however, is to fall into the very traps an abuser like Arlo sets for those around him. Furthermore, the reality of Arlo’s abuse is obfuscated in the show by the fact that it has mainly happened in a past that cannot be talked about, and by the the fact that what he’s doing now is directed at a middle-aged man rather than a child, a man who also happens to come in the form of Timothy Olyphant. However it’s still all there, in the violence Arlo still attempts to inflict, in the shaming and denigration of the targets of his violence, the denial of personal responsibility, the claims of provocation and that he is the real victim, in the denial that Raylan ever had anything to complain about in the first place. And notably, and I think this is one effect of the taboo and complicit silence which surrounds domestic violence and how shame attaches to the targets of abuse rather than its perpetrators, it’s Raylan who tends to be regarded, and not just by Arlo, as the one with the problem, the one who is making an impertinent fuss, both childish and unmanly, rather than doing what he’s supposed to do, which presumably is to pretend it never happened. Yet Raylan’s abiding anger is not impertinent, immature or the result of an inability to get over the past, or to just fucking get over himself. It is in fact a normal reaction, arguably a healthy one, since it insists on truth and proper boundaries in the face of someone who refuses to acknowledge either. It is a form of resistance, a refusal to normalise, ever, Arlo’s violence towards his wife and child. Going back to Aunt Helen, her character shows that once you succumb to the abuser’s charm the next step is to cease to resist this truth, and then you are forever forced into complicity with the abuser and become, however reluctantly, their enabler and fellow gaslighter.

          And in conclusion, Your Honour, that’s why I think Arlo Givens is a shitheel, and The Worst, and also gives me The Creeps, and boo sucks to the old reprobate, amen.

          • Helena says:

            gah, dammit, this line should read
            ‘the next step is to cease to resist Arlo’s lies’ (grr, dammit, etc.)

          • Jessie says:

            okay so 1) sorry for delay and secondly) this is *kisses fingers* benissimo. Just a wonderfully compelling and convincing breakdown of what Arlo means socially and textually to Raylan and the show. Pale tiny ghostly Arlo as the spectre of death so well identifies that critical contradiction in him, the godlike shitkicker: he is terrifying, omniscient and able to subject, while simultaneously being petty and cruel, finally sliding into small and frail.

            Arlo, what he is, how he operates, the emotional wounds his character alone exposes…Raylan’s abiding anger is not impertinent
            Can’t give this enough thumbs up. Plenty of people disappoint Raylan, but what Arlo does to him in the present (let alone the past) happens on a level that almost can’t be registered. Once I made that mental shift with Arlo (after he killed Tom Bergen the first go-around, but really 2nd or 3rd rewatch) every one of Raylan’s minor “fuck him” refusals felt like a victory. It never surprises Raylan that Arlo ends up getting shivved in prison and good for him that he subsequently refuses to behave like a Good Son or even, ultimately, ask for an apology (outright, although the deathbed scene, so spare and unfulfilled, sits somewhere between yearning, indifference, and pissed-off resignation). Furthermore it actually felt like a victory for the show itself that it never once compromised on Arlo, right down to “Kiss. My. Ass.”

            Arlo is not particularly unusual or exceptional. He is just one toxic parent
            We can be glad that Ava took matters into her own hands before she had a kid with Bowman (and got out before she bore Boyd’s). The parallel stories of Mothers and Wives With Guns (And/Or Emotional Blackmail) feel so elemental wherever they crop up. The personal, familial, and social authority that many of these women have is huge (for instance Raylan’s Hill People relative) and yet sits on a false or unstable bedrock; often, their power is permitted to them, and limitless until a man decides to limit it (by trumping her authority, by sexual violence, etc). Such interesting stuff.

            Thanks again for your thoughts!

  2. Re Jamie Dornan in The Fall… I had this visceral response to him, which is not like me at all, and which had nothing to do with the 50 Shades nonsense, or with my own personal experiences. I just loathed his character and needed to see the guy destroyed. Of course, the character is really awful, but no worse than lots of other fictional creations. Watching the series was difficult because this response was so unpleasant. I have no idea where this comes from or whether it’s evidence of his skill (or maybe of the character work in the writing). Now I’m wondering if it was just me…

    • sheila says:

      It wasn’t just you at all! I had the same thing! He was so ARROGANT, so smug. I think it was the smug-ness that was so repellent to me. The WAY he looked at Anderson when she was interrogating him. VILE.

      Very unpleasant experience.

  3. Paula says:

    Ugh, the stress of a move on top of other things. Sending good thoughts your way.

    //Leah Remini is one brave woman.// I’m fascinated by this series and how cults work, and how a cult like this could be so mainstream even today. It’s just horribly painful to see the needless choices these people are forced into. You mentioned sketchy waters and I’d love to hear more if you felt like sharing.

    • sheila says:

      My friend Alex Billings and I (she’s the one on Transparent) used to try to get recruited because we were so fascinated. Any time I see one of their tables out on the sidewalk with volunteers, I’ll sit down. Alex used to go to their open brunches every week in LA. we are insane. She whispered to me once, “God, I love the e-meter.” We would give fake names and see how far we could “get in” to the cult without paying money. Because yeah, that’s a valid way to spend your time. She and I took a private tour of the L Ron Hubbard museum in LA. We then had what can be a characterized as a pretty scary experience at the “org” in New York. We went in there to check it out – and then – honest to God – they would not let us leave. They separated us. They interviewed us. It was SIX HOURS when we finally could extricate ourselves. and we kNOW how brainwashing works and the tactics they used. But for once – finally – I got to experience the PRESSURE – which is what I was after (without putting money down) – and even six hours of it was unbelievable. They FOLLOWED us to the door.

      I used to write about my adventures trying to infiltrate Scientology all the time – and then I started getting suspicious looking traffic to my site from Clearwater (their headquarters). This was still when I was afraid of them. I stopped, and took a lot of it down. I did not want them coming after me.

      I’ll see if I can find some links. Alex and I could not stop visiting Scientology buildings there for a while.

      The show really is so painful!! And MIKE RINDER. I cannot tell you how much of an Enemy #1 he has been to those of us watching for decades. and now … LOOK at him. I still can’t get over it.

      I just want the disconnection policy to stop and I want their tax exempt status revoked. Then I’ll stop caring. People can believe what they want to believe, and spend money on e-meter readings if that’s what they want to do. But breaking up families and child labor and forced abortions and not letting people leave … it’s gotta stop.

      I feel like Leah Remini is determined to take this thing down. I can’t believe it’s happening but I am very glad it is!! I admire her so much! I especially admire that she has been willing to admit that she feels responsible for propping the cult up for so many years. She’s honest. This is one of the ways she is trying to make amends.

      • Paula says:

        You and your friend are brave. Disconnection just sickens me to the core.

        Before I went to college, my family’s pastor (at that point I was pulling away from the church) requested a meeting with me and I went with some trepidation, expecting a big pitch to join the church at school. Instead, he sat me down and talked to me at length about how cults target people and he felt I was a good candidate for that. At first, I was offended and said, I’m not idiot, I can see through obvious efforts at recruitment.

        He talked about methods of brainwashing and isolation, and of how they look for those with some knowledge and interest but are unhappy with institutions like the church. He didn’t care if I went to church; he cared that I didn’t get sucked into that life.

        Just knowing what to look for, it saved me from falling in. This show is like that – shine a light on it and show the ugliness so no one else is trapped.

  4. mutecypher says:

    I’m looking forward to your thoughts on the Maria Schneider controversy. I recall Last Tango in Paris as a great film, and I’m a fan of Bertoluci. But…

    I recall how I misunderstood Harvey Keitel’s character in The Congress, and the role he played while Robin Wright’s character was getting sampled – helping her reach the proper emotional pitch. I’m wondering if my sense of ugly manipulation with respect to Maria Schneider is misplaced as well. I’d like to hear what you and Jessa say. You can rediscover what you said!

    I hope the money situation improves for you.

  5. Melissa Sutherland says:

    FYI: director of 50 SHADES is a woman.

  6. Melissa Sutherland says:

    I just re-watched CONSPIRACY. OMG. So good. So sad. So hard to watch. Simply amazing. It must have happened just the way it was portrayed. Yet, was this possible? Yes, it was not only possible. it was inevitable. Just the way they showed it. Thanks for reminding us. It’s on Amazon Prime. Watch it. All of you.

  7. Dan Heaton says:

    I totally agree on Hidden Figures. Moonlight is my favorite movie of 2016, but the more I think about Hidden Figures, the closer I gets. I can’t wait to see it again, and that says a lot about how much it resonated. I’m also a sucker for any movie that’s about the space program. So much fun too! I took my daughter (who’s just shy of 8), and she had a blast.

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