Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.
Poem by the Intellectual Shaman:
We get ambitious
until we can’t give things up
even though we realize
they aren’t for us.
We have a brain that cries
“I need this…I want that”
But if we stay
in the emptiness
and wait… (read more).
You Tube Video presentation by Netflix is a Joke:
Paul Rudd sat down with Zach Galifianakis to discuss the Me Too Movement, having looks with no talent, and being in Marvel movies vs movies no one has ever heard of.
(Watch full episode)
Article by Rotten Tomatoes:
As we head into Hispanic Heritage month, Monica Castillo and Rotten Tomatoes bring together the best Spanish-language movies, from recent instant classics like Roma and The Heiresses to Tristana and Sin Nombre.
Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States, and the recent boom in streaming services has made it easier than ever for audiences looking for Spanish-language movies to find them. Earlier this year, Alfonso Cuarón’s landmark film Roma earned an impressive 10 Oscar nominations, and the director took home three statuettess for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Foreign Language Film.… (Read More).
Article by Richard Williams at thebluemoment.com:
Upstream, a new half-hour television film written by Robert Macfarlane and directed by Rob Petit, puts the viewer in the realm of that very different perception of time. It’s the result of half a dozen trips over three years to the Cairngorms, where Petit guided a camera-bearing drone over the River Dee from its floodplain to its source high in the mountains. Macfarlane, our greatest contemporary observer of landscape, contributes an accompanying prose-poem, its spare, evocative lines murmured by the Scottish singer Julie Fowlis. (Read All)
Article by Bruce Goodman at Weave a Web:
This is the third time we’ve dropped grandma deep in the forest and the third time she’s found her way home. Goodness knows how she does that. She’s a bit of a Houdini. Last time we tied an oily rag from the trunk of the car around her mouth so no one would hear the screams, then we tied her to the tree with a tow rope. (Read More)
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Thanks for the promotion, Matthew, Greatly appreciated!
My readership is very small Bruce, but at least I keep a record so I can revisit some of my favourite stories from you. I’m more indebted for your great storytelling.
Bailey and I just watched the Zach Galifianakis and Paul Rudd episode…loved it.
Yeh, that guy whose movie I can’t remember having seen. Lol. It’s one of my favourite ‘between two ferns’. I’m glad you two gents enjoyed it.
Bailey knows him from the Marvel movies…he is funny I will say.
I think the only movie I remember seeing him in which I liked was ‘The 40 year old virgin’. Marvel movies don’t do it for me like it does for the younger generation.
Me either. I’ve watched a few to see the special effects but that is all. I’ve seen Joker…that is a different matter. It is a good movie.
Yeh, I saw the Joker. I thought it was pretty good. The music and Joaquin were great. Connie absolutely loved it. I was amazed how much the movie lended from Taxi Driver and especially Scorsese’s much underrated other classic film ‘The king of comedy’.
The only thing that is confusing is…what is real and what is not. I liked the gritty feel of it…and yes I saw both of the other films in it heavily.
I thought it became apparent what was real and what wasn’t. My major criticism is it lacked nuance and wasn’t clear as to what type of movie it wanted to be. At least it tried to be gritty and original as far as DC movies go so I give it kudos for that.
I probably read too much into it but I watched it twice and wondered about some of it.
The Joker angle was just a backdrop and a story for the movie to me anyway. It could have been about John Doe.
I couldn’t agree more about the John Doe aspect. The movie didn’t stay with me very long after I left the cinema. But I can understand the public’s praise of it.
I love Paul Rudd and am fond of Zach but didn’t see the video yet.
Did read the 45-year-old grandma story, which was hilarious. The math doesn’t add up, but… it’s an alternate Earth, I guess, so who cares? Old folks homes could be viewed as a tree in the woods where grandma and grandpa are chained, right?
I’ve hardly seen Paul Rudd on screen. But I liked him in the 40 year old virgin. I thought this between two ferns interview was hilarious and that’s why I posted it.
I’m glad you liked the grandma story. I simply viewed it as a tongue in cheek take on a Dystopian future. Bruce Goodman is a very talented writer of fables amongst other things. I regularly retell his stories to my eldest boy. He loves them.
Ah, your oldest boy will be very well-rounded, hearing tales like that!
Saw the video with Paul and Zach. LOL. Loved it. That looks like a funny little show, or whatever it is he’s doing, Zach, between two ferns. I love sarcasm and uncomfortable silences that are done well, ha ha.
Also went through the list of 100 most essential Spanish movies. God, if I had more time, I’d probably see them all–or 99% of them. But at least I have seen a few! Like Water for Chocolate and Pan’s Labyrinth were very popular but we never see movies for that reason. I forgot what drew us to L.W.F.C, but of course the director drew us to Pan’s Labyrinth. I’ve seen Women on the Edge of Nervous Breakdown and El Norte.
The ones that stood out the most that I’d like to see: Japon, Juan of the Dead, El Topo, El Aura, Neruda and Zama.
So much out there………………….!
Can you believe I haven’t seen those two movies you mentioned although of course I’ve heard of them. Which of those would you recommend more? Their are a mountain of movies on that list I would like to see too if I ever got the time. My favourite Spanish speaking film is ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’ (Argentina) which won best foreign film at the Oscars a few years ago. I recommend that film more than any other. My movie review post on it comes out this Friday. My God, I love that film. I recently saw ‘Pain and Glory’ (Spain) in the cine with Antonio Banderas which he won best actor at Cannes this year. I think you’d like that film too.
Antonio Banderas has always been one of my all-time favorites. I’m so glad he won at Cannes! Go, Antonio!
Well, looking forward to this review of The Secret in Their Eyes now.
As for the two popular ones, it would be hard to say because they’re so different.
L.W.F.C. is mostly a drama, if I recall (it was a while ago!) but there might be a little magic in it? But it was well done and enjoyable. Pan’s Labyrinth goes in a whole other direction of otherworldliness based in the cruel reality of national fascism and dictatorship. But I think it’s a lot weirder and creepier and a tad bit more interesting than the first one….
I hadn’t really seen Antonio in any serious roles until ‘Pain and Glory’ and I was really impressed by his performance.
Thanks for the breakdown of those two movies. I’ll put Pan’s Labyrinth on my list. I hope my review wets your appetite enough to see ‘Secret in their eyes’.
Cheers Stacey.
🙂