Summer Breeze

Summer doesn’t last forever so we soak up the remaining sunshine while we can. Ideally with no pressure and no major plans.

My appetite for movies is like my appetite for food – a little bit of this; a little bit of that but with variety. This summer I’ve watched more movies in theatres than any other I can remember in recent history. All the films I’ve seen were good for different reasons.  However they all have one thing in common; they’re all about impossible missions achieved by an action hero and a supporting team.

Mission Impossible (part one) for sheer edge of your seat action entertainment, special effects and because Tom Cruise is so good in it.  I like his message at the start of the film.  He appears genuine in wanting to get people back to big screen movie houses. I can see why.  This one is definitely meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible.  

Sound of Freedom, based on a true story, is an excellent film with a powerful message. It’s been sweeping the box office.  It’s unfortunately a real life under the radar drama about ruthless child traffickers and a dangerous mission to save a child in the Colombian jungle with time running out.  It is not without controversy but then again; what movie isn’t these days? If Barbie has endured some controversy, you can only imagine what this can mean.  Anyway, this film sheds a light on a delicate subject most of us don’t give much or any thought to.

An interesting fact is that this film was finished in early 2018, was bought by Fox,  but then when Disney acquired Fox it immediately shelved the film. Right away, that gave the movie a kind of forbidden, subversive appeal. Eventually, the distribution rights were sold to Angel Studios, a company in Utah that produced the historical drama The Chosen.  Since Sound of Freedom started showing in theaters, some viewers have alleged instances of sabotage intended to prevent them from seeing the film. Good luck with that! Before the end of this month Sound of Freedom broke $100 million in revenue.  It’s not as graphic as one might think given the story line as the film maker took careful precaution so as not to incite pedophiles – thank goodness for that.  We got the gist of it anyway and it’s not a feel-good movie but it brings awareness to what went on and what’s been going on behind closed doors and open borders for a long time.  It’s nothing new but this movie brings attention to an uncomfortable matter. 

The real Mission Impossible was to get the atom bomb before the Germans did. My only complaint about Oppenheimer is that it could have been shorter in length.  I didn’t expect to like this historical movie as much as I did; but I did – especially in 70mm.  It’s not so much about the making of the atom bomb as it is about the man behind the movie title himself. Everything about this film is well executed; the story (the book was about 800 pages long – no wonder the movie is 3 hours!), the directing, the acting, the cinematography, sound and editing.  I think it covered all Oscar worthy bases.  I suspect it will win at least one award.  

Last but not least (okay, maybe least) is Barbie.  No; I was not going to miss this movie especially after seeing the trailer. Of course I went with a few like-minded ex Barbie playing women friends and not all of us were wearing pink and yes; it was all women in the audience. There might’ve been a few Kens but if so I didn’t notice any.  All I can say is that it was just sheer guilty-pleasure entertaining fun. I think the casting was spot-on – I mean how can you go wrong with Margot Robbie playing Barbie and Ryan Gosling (with a six-pack that didn’t go unnoticed) playing Ken. I’m over everyone making such a big deal about this movie and the messages it represents.  Take it for what it is everyone – just a very cute movie with awesome sets and a message that by now should not be something new.  Yawn!

As for the rest of the summer,  I’m off to Montreal for a family wedding (more on that later)  and for my siblings and me – somewhat of a family/friends reunion.  It will be a bittersweet trip as the last time we were all there was along with my late husband to celebrate our auntie Ada (our mom’s only sister) with a surprise 80th on a Tiki boat in the Laurentians.  She’s since passed as has our uncle Chuck (our mom’s only brother) from a shockingly unexpected heart attack last year.  His wife will join us.  Instead of being told we should “move on” after a tragedy or death, I prefer to instead move forward because moving on just doesn’t seem appropriate.

Other things I’ve started this summer was a book club over breakfast with a close friend (we’re starting our second book),  getting another dog and heading up a monthly cocktail club to explore some new and old Vancouver establishments. Simple pleasures at this time is what I like best. No apologies.

How about you? I hope your summer is going well and I’ll be back here sometime soon.  Enjoy! XO