Four movie weekend.

Not that I really have time for any of this, but this weekend I saw four movies. Four, America! It's a down payment on the movies I've missed for all sorts of reasons.

A few notes:

1. When you see a load of movies in a short period of time, it's possible that they might not all be works of art. As you will see.
2. You have to basically count of the fact that you will be sitting on your butt in the dark for hours on end. If that's, you know, a problem for you at all.
3. Popcorn? Sure! Well, possibly. Possibly too much. Okay, probably.
4. The cast of characters--as in, your movie going partners--may be various.

Herewith, the movies:

Movie (1), Day (1): Burnt.

Me: What movie do you want to see tonight?

Both of us: (dive into the newspaper/internet)

Me: Our options are Suffragette. Truth.  Which I feel is probably self-satisfied (and all that that implies.) [I mention other movies that are not really options, because they sound like too much work. It's been a rough day/week/semester.]

Historian: I want to see Suffragette. I saw a thing about it. I definitely want to see that at some point.

Me: Me, too. [pause] Also, there's Burnt.

Historian: Which one is that?

Me: That Bradley Cooper one? About the cooking?

Historian: [pause] Maybe we should see that one?

Me: [seizing upon the movie star opportunity]: Let's see Burnt tonight and Suffragette tomorrow night.

And that is precisely what we did. We ate at our new hole-in-the-wall west side Mexican restaurant (awesome), then hightailed it downtown to see Burnt, which is glossy and formulaic and laden with a movie star with glowing blue eyes and also he can speak French IRL (In Real Life), which came in handy when he had to speak it in a HMS (Hollywood Movie Situation). The food looked pretty. The bad boy was redeemed. Reprobate drug dealers coming to collect their debts were paid off. All was well and all manner of thing was all right by the end of this movie, which (you can predict this) I was not sorry I saw, not one bit. But I don't recommend it, really.

Movies (2) (3) (4), Day (2): Spectre, Suffragette, Miss You Already.

A three (3) movie day, America. Ordinarily, this would not be a thing I would do: even I, movie-lover that I am, have limits. And the limit is three (3) movies in one day.

Spectre I saw with my darling auntie. We had popcorn and the mix-it-yourself drinks of your better megaplexes (which, it must be said, are so choice, soda-wise, it canNOT be denied!). It was a celebration of my aunt's birthday, somewhat delayed because evidently I'm like that these days, not able to keep track of birthdays. Daniel Craig was perfect, as he generally is. Lea Seydoux was lovely. Christoph Walz was an excellent and terrible villain. Ralph Fiennes was a fine M, although we all missed Judi Dench very much. In conclusion, a two hour and twenty-something minute action film is probably twenty minutes too long (HOLLYWOOD make a note of it!), and there were explosions a-plenty, and that's that. Your basic James Bond movie, made more deluxe by Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig.

Suffragette the historian and I saw together. It was very good. It was not the most inventive storytelling, but it was in any case a powerful story. Great performances, and a great reminder that some things, like the vote, were hard won and long fought for, and that the actors of that history are not all remembered by name. Sobering and very well-told.

Miss You Already is a Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette vehicle. It's not a great movie, but here's what I loved about it anyway: I saw it with my daughter at a 10:15 p.m. show. It's a movie that has as its center a long, essential female friendship. It's a melodrama, and I cried just like they wanted me too, but I loved so many scenes in the film--so much about human need, selfishness, and love--that I was glad I saw it.

The night ended with me driving home after midnight. It only takes twenty minutes to drive almost anywhere in this valley when there's no one else on the road, just fyi. The moral of the story being, you don't need to be in bed before 1 a.m., really, do you? Just see the third movie. Just do it.