#not sure what's up but she has a vet apt for Friday

[fbwzoo]

I was busy after work yesterday until 8pm, doing various critter things - feeding Ed, then the cats, stapled carpet to new cat shelf, then went to feed the crabs and discovered moths in the tank. Cleaned the tank out, fed crabs, fed me, fed the dogs... then made new gel food for Ed, and a dry powder mix to add baby food to for a sick rat.

I meant for today to be lighter, but I failed at that. 🤦 Arte & I went to Sprouts, and I got fresh greens for Ed & some new snacks for the rodents. Came home & fed Ed, then made a batch of Chop for the rodents with the extra greens + some other things!

I swear, I'm actually not doing anything after work tomorrow. 😂

[stuckonstarker]

Getting the rogue Avengers pardoned was a hassle and a half but Tony is nothing if not a miracle worker. According to the UN, the only hope the Avengers have of coming back is if they stay under limited surveillance in the Stark Tower.

Which is unfortunate considering that Tony would much prefer staying as far away from him and Peter as possible.

It’s a total sham if you ask Tony.

But the world needs to be protected and if this is the way it must be done then so be it.

The old Avengers floor is still in place from when they were a team. Those days feel like an eternity ago to Tony. Most of the Avengers’ stuff sat there collecting dust as the original drama with the Accords unfolded.

Though, once Tony had been notified of the Avenger’s return he prepared everything in advance. The Avengers floor has rooms for each member, its own kitchen, living space, and several bathrooms. Along with numerous other rooms designated solely for more leisurely activities.

Basically, Tony had tried to give everything the ex-rogues could ever want so that they’d bother him as little as possible.

There’s a separate building for Wanda. It was vetted by the Avengers themselves along with Tony. Though, none of the other Avengers seem partial to Tony’s opinion at the moment.

She is being kept elsewhere due to the damage she was responsible for and her powers that seem to have a mind of their own. The general populace reported extreme discomfort with her. It was negotiated that, instead of a high-security prison, she’d be in a secluded area designated for training and therapy away from the daily stressors of life.

The Avengers are allowed to visit her whenever they please and Vision, with permission from the UN, decided to reside with her permanently. Tony gets updates on Wanda from Vision. Wanda doesn’t want to speak to Tony and Tony shares the sentiment.

Tony says, “Your rooms all should be just down that hallway. They have nameplates and everything so it’s impossible to miss. The training floor is still right beneath this one and all your equipment has been set up for you should you need it. If you need anything then Friday can help.”

He turns to make sure the rest of the Avengers are listening to him - because that seems to be something that they have difficulty with. But, to his great surprise, he’s suddenly subject to the watchful eyes of Steve, Bucky, Sam, Nat, and Clint.

He freezes for a moment and a sudden chill races through him.

He regains composure just as quickly, though, and resumes, “There’s also a room for Wanda and Vision should they ever need it.”

He shudders at the thought. Preferably, he and Wanda wouldn’t even be within the same state. Nevermind, the same building.

He considers that he could just move. He wasn’t placed under house arrest. He could very well just move to Miami or something.

There’s an awkward pause.

Tony says, “I’m glad you guys are back.”

“Yeah,” Steve nods with what might pass as a smile.

Tony asks, “So, are you guys set?”

Steve looks at his group for confirmation and they all seem varying shades of apathetic. Steve nods and Tony takes it as the unanimous answer.

He races his way to the elevator. There’s a vague, familiar feeling that starts clawing its way up his ribcage and into his heart. The same animalistic instinct that’s telling him he needs to survive above all else. It’s irrational and illogical, but it's real and raw and refuses to let up.

The elevator rises steadily to his home.

Tony’s heartbeat similarly upticks and then continues beating at a rapid rate.

It’s an unstoppable force that just pushes Tony over and washes away all reason.

Peter had compared it to a tidal wave once. Tony had found the comparison apt and charming, in a way.

He smiles and laughs a little breathlessly while he braces against the cold walls of the elevator.

He flinches just the tiniest bit when the elevator alerts him of his arrival on the penthouse floor. He strains to gain his poise as he forces himself to look calm and collected as he walks into the living space.

Peter is sitting on the couch.

He turns and his concern is prevalent in his face and voice as he asks, “What happened?”

“Nothing special,” Tony answers as if his entire chest isn’t tightening into a near unbearable knot.

Peter echoes, raising an eyebrow in disbelief, “Nothing special?”

“Nope,” Tony shakes his head and leans all of his weight on the wall.

If he had been more inexperienced he might’ve been more worried. At one point he may have assumed he was having a heart attack.

This is not a heart attack, Tony knows now, it is arguably worse.

His body racks with shivers and a heavy shadow starts to loom over him. He feels so cold so suddenly. And, God, breathing feels impossible.

“Tony,” Peter says, “I’m right here.”

Tony nods.

Peter asks, “Can I hold your hand?”

It cuts right through the static.

“Yes,” Tony says. 

He registers Peter taking his hand into his own. Peter’s skin is soft and warm to the touch. It sends pleasant flutters going through Tony’s fingertips. It feels rather nice, admittedly.

Peter says, “You’re doing great, Tones, just focus on us right now.”

Tony nods and tightens his grip on Peter.

Peter pulls Tony closer into somewhat of a half-hug and begins rubbing small, comforting circles into the small of Tony’s back.

“You’re okay, you’re okay,” Peter whispers, “nothing is going to hurt us, Tones. I love you. You’re here with me in the penthouse.”

Tony nods and rests his head against Peter’s shoulder.

A weight drops from Tony’s chest and, suddenly, he can breathe again.

“Peter,” he whispers.

Peter says, “I’m right here.”

“Peter,” Tony breathes and it feels easy again.

Peter presses a gentle kiss to Tony’s forehead, “I love you, Tony.”

“I love you too,” Tony says. It’s soft and raw and vulnerable.

Peter runs his fingers through Tony’s graying hair. Something electric sparks within Tony and he almost moans in response.

Peter says, “I’ve made you some lunch.”

Tony nods and laughs, “That would be nice.”

[alyhollywood]

Confessions of Binx’s Medical Emergency

Friday night we went to bed and I woke to a horrific scene where vomit puddles everywhere and a very scared cat unable to pee despite continual non stop tries on l’y resulting in one foam puddle and lots of little droplets everywhere. My fur baby of 11 years was in

meidical crisis that was if left untreated more hours would be fatal.

The first place was now in reflection all about greed to get as much of your money as possible without best interest of animals in mind. Before anything they drugged him up to relieve pain and my cat came back into me unresponsive and rag doll limp appearing dead I totally lost it as I held him and knowing I had to leave him to possibly never wake from anesthesia.

So after overdose of medicine for profit and doing anesthesia when I later learned could of just sedated to place catheter, also tried to force me to fix him. He is 11 years old and I made a decision not to after lots of reasearch years ago. I hate how they can never respect that when I take him in for any vaccinations or care. The vet called me and for 15 min. I had to tell her no do not fix him while he is already under for the catheter. How cruel to ever consider doing such a thing when it is the same region he was already having critical problems with. Then the vet called again starting with “ Binx is okay...” only for her to then tell me he needs surgery and it would be $6000 for just that or I have to decide to kill him and had an hour to decide and call back. I went full on hysterical. How dare I have to be told kill an otherwise totally healthy animal because I don’t have that kind of money. I had already made sure with bloodwork his kidneys were healthy and it was solely the bladder only involved. As I applied for credit pet care and denied on all due to no credit history I called my parents to help me find a solution.

My mother then called and basically said we don’t have that and we will not put him down. We figured get through weekend having him stay at the hospital monitored and take him to his usual vet on Monday.... the vet then in a bitch remark mentioned another location I could try to call for a better price. So we called over and they gave me an estimate of $1300. Mind you I had already signed over $1800 to the first ER who has given me a hellish time to refund some of that since he did not stay in their care the full 24hrs i paid for.

The second place isn’t an ER but was open on a Sunday amazingly. I asked if they had any appointments and after telling the situation they squeezed me in at opening 8am and a surgery for later in the day.

Got him that next morning. The poor baby was barely alert or moving. My cat I have had since there was still baby teeth in his skull was silent for the first time ever in his life and barely breathing or opening eyes. They did the surgery successfully. In there found the bladder full of stones and blood clots and it clear the bladder lining extreme thickening which means it was going on for a long time. They did confirm with X-ray that they got them all and now it’s all a wait and pray to recover.

He had a low temperature that was not raising and was not alert and responsive as they had expected. It was enough to have then put in for a transfer to the place they had a agreement with to watch pets who need monitored overnight during the hours the place is closed. So I had to go get my cat take him to another city and then return to get him before 9am the next day to take him back. Mind you I don’t drive so this only makes this all the more complicated. He was breathing so faint I only could tell from a hand on his body. His head tilted up in the back corner facing away the whole ride over to the night monitor location was deeply troubling. I told him he has to fight to recover and cannot give up and leave me alone. We aren’t quitters so don’t he dare we are survivors and he will get through this we have faced so much worse and wound up okay.

He finally was alert this morning when I got him. Stood up even in this box and was checked back into the place of surgery. He was much more aware but still blood in urine. Got to go before they closed up for the night to visit. Standing on my toes reaching to the back of these cages my arms barely able to reach let alone to avoid bowls of water and food to do so when the bottom of cage is at my eye level. He finally let out a meow when I first was there which he hadn’t made a sound since the day before on Friday when he had fallen asleep as always in my arms.

My apt is eerily quiet to where silence is deafening and without him I can’t begin to fall asleep despite the fact I last slept was that Friday late evening. They will probably keep him until his catheter does not have blood in urine and remove it. Then monitor another day before sending him home with medication and a new diet to follow for the remainder of his life that will be more expensive of course. I inquired I am looking at three liquid medications and one pill to be administered once he is back home.

They have him on fluids so he is all swelled up from them but he is coming around slowly. His fiesty self is back and was told at the clinic he anytime out on the table waves the paw with the iv on at them to try to get them to take it out hah. I literally lost my female when she was just 23 days into her 10th year. So I held my breath this whole 10th year with him terrified and had only just relaxed a bit in January as he turned 11 to then be hit with this out of nowhere. He had no signs up until last week and then Saturday unable to urinate at all trying nonstop without success.

This has been emotionally exhausting and quite stressful. Not to mention I’m now more broke then ever using the last of money from a small settlement that took over 5 years to obtain from being run over walking in a crosswalk at 16 the first night of summer prior to my senior high school year. Guess that brain damage was worth it to have ability to save him... hah.

He literally is the last piece of happy memories I have to countless friends I have buried in the past 6 years. He has given me a reason to stay alive and got through so much together. Truly this cat tried to even stop me from being robbed. He is my protector well he tries anyways. My date when I get ghosted. My wake up call. My chatterbox to always tell me what is on his mind and give me a piece of it. Demanding yet sometimes in my best interest like when I really need to go to bed and he demands we do so. My cuddle bug that took place of my childhood stuffed bear in my arms at night to sleep. My little fashionista strutting around in his little shirts he adores wearing. I cannot imagine losing him right now and not when it was not doomed to reoccurrence let alone fully healthy otherwise.

If you pray please keep him in your prayers. He is not out of the woods and it’s going to be a long week. Pray I have the strength to keep going and hold my emotional basket case self together for him to give the best care possible. If you want to donate to help me out on covering this insane now close to $5000 and counting unforeseen costs my cash app is $AlyHollywood because like I said he will be on lots of medication at first for probably 10 weeks or so once back home in my arms. Which is going to truly be hard to cover. If you know a bit of my story from last year you are aware I had my own near death very costly medical crisis that has kept me from being allowed to work or school and even exercising up until last month when I got clearance from cardio and pulmonary; I still have a handful of doctors to clear me for full return to my so called life and plans. His condition finally being Unconcealable could not be worse timing for me honestly. Welcoming all positive vibes our way because gonna need it for Sertain.

He came into my life when I was trying to relearn how to do everything and have coping skills because my brain was no longer able to work how it did prior to the accident. He came when I was so alone and no one asked me to my senior formal dances and let me cry until he was fur soaked tears. He makes every day one that I get to smile and this apartment be full as if there was more then one human. Truly this main man of my house just happens to walk on all fours that left pawprints on my soul that is priceless enough to put all I had into his best interest of care. I love my Binx he deserves to live when he is still so much alive and has so much more love to extend

Anyways once I know more I shall update. I’m praying 🙏🏻

Update : 8am got a call he was not doing great still more blood then they would of expected in urine and was an unhappy kitty who would bat at the vet techs and not let anyone pet him. Not eating or drinking enough and probably going to need to stay a day or more longer in the Hospital then expected. He is very much attatched so I made the trip to go visit him this time I asked for a stool to stand on to not need to stand on my toes to reach him in the back of this high row of cages.

My visit apparently made a world of difference and he was more his old self even got some meows out of him! I was so happy to see him more himself and he even by the time I left after spending close to two or more hours visiting had less blood in his urine. See next post for more about my visit and a video clip too !

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND September 27, 2019  - ABOMINABLE, FIRST LOVE, JUDY, THE LAUNDROMAT

There’s only one movie in wide release this week, and it’s the second DreamWorks Animation/Universal animated movie of the year, ABOMINABLE, which is also the third animated movie involving some sort of Bigfoot, Sasquatch or Yeti (if you don’t include Monsters Inc. and Monsters University). 

I actually really enjoyed this movie quite immensely, even though I’m not sure I’m up for a full review. It features the voice of Chloe Bennet (from Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Yi, a young Chinese girl who finds a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building and goes on a magical adventure to bring the beast (she dubs “Everest”) back to his home (on Mount Everest) along with her two friends, one voiced by Albert Tsai from Fresh Off the Boat. DreamWorks has been somewhat erratic in my book as far as their recent animated films, but Abominable really offered a lot to enjoy, from some of the sillier humor to the magical fantasy elements. There’s also a lot of really touching and even moving moments that really hit me in the feels, partially thanks to the score by Rupert Gregson-Williams. (How this guy has not been nominated for an Oscar is beyond me.) So yeah, this is the third animated movie of the last year involving a Yeti, but I think DreamWorks and director Jill Culton really nailed the storytelling and visuals in a way that was lacking, at least in The Missing Link earlier this year.

You can read my interview with Chloe Bennet over at The Beat later today.

The movie that people should definitely try to find is Takashi Miike’s latest crime thriller, FIRST LOVE (Hatsukoi), released by Well GO USA in New York (at the Angelika) and L.A. (at the Laemmle Nuart) on Friday then expanding on October 2.

Besides returning Miike to his crime roots, being a movie that involves the Yakuza, it also is as much a love story as Ichi the Killer only without all the genre weirdness that made that one (and many of Miike’s other movies) such a hard sell to mainstream audiences. First Love still has a lot of fun and a tiny bit of weirdness, but it’s also something more akin to the work of Tarantino, at least with Kill Bill.

It stars Masataka Kubota as a young boxer named Leo, who learns he has a tumor and little time to live when he encounters a call girl named Yuri who being forced into paying off a debt to the Yakuza (played by Sakurako Konishi). They meet under the strangest circumstances, as the two go on the run, her trying to escape from being used by a rival faction as a scapegoat in a planned drug heist.

Despite the title, this isn’t a romance film although it definitely has romantic elements between the two characters. The film sets up an intricate cast of characters around them with various factions and double-dealings that unfold over the course of the movie. That’s partially what makes True Love such a breakthrough for Miike, who has been doing so much Manga-derived work in recent years. He manages to take the incredible ensemble of actors and give all of them some good screen time as we follow Leo and Yuri trying to evadde those various factions, most of whom want them dead. It culminates in one of the most amazing action-packed last acts that’s up there with anything in 13 Assassins and Blade of the Immortal, two of Miike’s fairly recent Edo-period films.

As someone who has seen a LOT, if not most of Miike’s films over the last 20 years – we’re talking almost fifty films, here – First Love is his best movie since Audition, and having seen that again recently, I think it’s even better than that. It’s just a brilliant action-thriller from the filmmaking vet that I hope people will look for, even if they’re not a fan of Miike’s work before this.

RATING: 8.5/10

The other movie worthy of note is the biopic JUDY (LD Entertainment/Roadside Attractions) starring Renée Zellwegger as Judy Garland, directed by British theater director Rupert Goold (True Story). I have to be honest that I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie, because I was never a really big Judy Garland fan—I’m not even sure I’ve seen many of her movies besides The Wizard of Oz– and I can’t say I’m really a fan of Zellwegger either.

Although Judy has a few traditional biopic elements as it flashes back to Judy’s dealings with Louis B. Mayer (one of the M’s in MGM) lording over Judy as a teenager around the time of “Wizard,” it mostly takes place in the mid-to-late 60s as she’s fighting for custody of her two kids with her ex Sid, falling for a young piano-playing entrepreneur played by Finn Wittrock and trying to maintain a comeback at a London residency that’s plagued by her bouts with drugs and alcohol.

In some ways, the movie reminded me a little of last year’s Stan and Ollie, another great film about screen stars of yesteryear in their later years based around a solid script. In this case, the script is by someone named Tom Edge (The Crown) who clearly did enough research that as you’re watching the movie, you’re likely to wonder “Did that really happen?”

One of those moment is when Judy meets two elderly gay fans and ends up spending the night hanging with them at their home, a moment that will play a pivotal part later. I also liked some of the rest of the cast around her including Jessie Buckley (who was amazing in Wild Rose) and Finn Witrock, as Judy’s closest confidante.

More than anything, it’s about how Zellwegger embodies Judy Garland, and it’s more than just an impression, as she pulls out some amazing emotions as she struggles with life without her kids, but as soon as she steps on stage in front of an audience, she goes through an amazing transformation.

Again, Judy really surprised me in how much I enjoyed it, but I won’t be even remotely surprised if Zellwegger wins her second Oscar

RATING: 8/10

LOCAL FESTIVALS

Before we get to the rest of this week’s limited releases, I need to talk about two great film festivals, one on each coast. Of course, I have to talk about Film at Lincoln Center’s New York Film Festival first, since I’ve been attending it now for almost sixteen years, and it’s another banner year beginning this Friday with the WORLD PREMIERE of Martin Scorsese’s long-anticipated return to crime and reunion with Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel with The Irishman, which also brings Al Pacino into the fold as Jimmy Hoffa. (I’ll be seeing this Friday morning and reviewing for The Beatsometime over the weekend.) The closing night film is Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn, a crime novel that he’s been trying to get made for nearly a decade or more, but this one also has a significantly incredible cast around him, including Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Willem Dafoe and many more. I’ll also review it for The Beat.

Beyond that, NYFF includes a lot of upcoming releases that I’ve missed by not going to many other festivals this year, including Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story (the Centerpiece) and a bunch of other movies that have played Cannes, TIFF and other festivals. There’s also a few docs in there that I’m looking forward to, including Michael Apted’s 63-Up, the latest in his ongoing series that began way back in the 60s with a television special about a group of schoolkids who the filmmaker followed over the course of their lives, revisiting every seven years without fail. It’s a pretty amazing achievement, and I’m definitely in until the filmmaker decides to stop (or more likely and sadly, dies). I hope to write more about the New York Film Festival both here and over at The Beatover the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Over in Los Angeles, the 2019 Beyond Fest will be taking over the Hulu Theater at the American Cinemateque’s Egyptian starting Weds. and for the next few weeks, kicking off with the West Coast Premieres of Richard Stanley’s Color Out of Space in a double feature with Daniel isn’t Real, two movies from Elijah Wood’s excellent horror production company SpectreVision. The festival will also screen Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit and Bong Joon-wo’s Parasite, two movies I still haven’t had a chance to see, probably making me the last person on earth to see both of them. (They both open in October, so I expect that to change soon.) Other movies playing Beyond Fest include The Lodge, Little Monsters (which is a lot of fun) and a few repertory screenings that I’ll mention in the appropriate section below.

LIMITED RELEASES

A few weeks back, I was a little remiss by forgetting to include the Bulgarian drama ÁGA (Big World Pictures) in my column when it played at New York’s Film Forum. I want to make up for it this weekend, as it opens at the Laemmle Royal in L.A. Milko Lazarov’s film is set in a yurt in the furthest regions of Siberia, and honestly, I thought I was watching a documentary at first, since it’s filmed in such a cinema verité way where you think you’re watching real people, but nope, it’s a scripted film with local actors. It revolves around a couple, Sedna and Nannok, living in that yurt, whose only connection to the outside world is their son Chena, who tells him that he’s found their daughter Ága after a family argument that made her leave home.  I won’t say much more but the way that the story is told and shot really takes advantage of the locale, and I was glad to hear that Bulgaria selected it for the Oscars’ newly-titled “International Film” category.

Another fun movie worth seeking out is Daniel Schneiber’s dark comedy THE DEATH OF DICK LONG (A24), the first solo feature from one half ofSwiss Army Mandirectors, “The Daniels.” Schneiber also plays the title character, essentially a corpse – I’m seeing a trend here –as the film involves two friends who are involved with the accidental death of another man, actually the drummer in their band. We won’t find out for quite some time how “Dick Long” died, and I’m not going to spoil it, because it’s the film’s oddest turn – maybe one where it will lose a few people—but I think it’s another creative film with a great cast, mostly of lesser known actors but ones that really deliver a fun experience. I’m not sure where this is all playing, but I do know that one of the places is the Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn on Friday night.

Similarly opening at the Metrograph this weekend for one screening only on Saturday -- but one where star Timothy Blake Nelson will be present for a QnA – is Chris Poché’s The True Don Quixote, which also stars Jacob Batalon from Spider-Man: Far from Home. It’s a new take on Cervantes’ classic tale that shifts it into Louisiana with Nelson’s Danny Kehoe accompanied by Batalon’s Sancho. It’s odd this is coming out the same year as Terry Gilliam’s long-in-development-hell The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, but I’m checking it out on Saturday for sure.

I won’t be seeing Stephen Soderbergh’s THE LAUNDROMAT (Netflix) until after this column posts, but I know a little bit about it. Like I know that it stars Meryl Streep, who plays a widow who is investigating insurance fraud and finding two law partners in Panama City (Antonio Banderas, Gary Oldman) who are exploiting the world’s financial system. Soderbergh’s cast also includes Will Forte, Jeffrey Wright, David Schwimmer and Sharon Stone, and it’s probably his The Big Short. It won’t be on Netflix until October 18, so if you want to see it, you’ll have to find one of the select cities where it’s playing, including New York’s IFC Center where it opens Friday.

Mini-Review: Let’s just get this out of the way, because I wrote the above before actually seeing the movie, but yes, The Laundromat is indeed Soderbergh’s attempt at making a Big Short-like examination of the world of finance and shell corporations and how the rich exploit the poor or “the meek”… and he has a cast full of well-known actors, many in a higher tax bracket, to tell what ends up being something that is probably more apropos for a documentary than an attempted comedy.

There is little question that The Laundromat is intended to be a comedy, beginning with the “wacky accents” sported by Oldman and Banderas as lawyers Jürgen Mosseck and Ramón Fonseca who begin to explain how the world of finance works. Before that, we meet Meryl Streep’s Ellen Martin and her husband Joe (James Cromwell) on a romantic anniversary get-away where their tour boat topsizes, drowning 21 people, including Joe. She then learns that she can’t collect from the boat company’s insurance due to a series of shell companies that she traces back to Mosseck and Fonseca in Panama. Before that, we see Jeffrey Wright appear as someone else involved in a way that is never quite understandable…. And that’s while the entire time, Mosseck and Fonseca break the fourth wall to try to make what’s happening EASIER to understand.

Frequent Soderbergh collaborator Scott Z. Burns is a fantastic writer – his screenplay for The Report, which he also directed, is proof-positive – but something about this one gets lost in translation. There’s clearly a desire to

The oddest decision is to cast two GENUINELY funny actors like Will Forte and Chris Parnell, and literally have them in one scene before killing them off. That’s just one of the many tangents that seem to come from out of nowhere and have very little to do with the overall “story” – and I use that term loosely. If I were watching this on Netflix, the first major tangent into the dalliances of a wealthy African businessman (Nonso Anozie) trying to buy his daughter’s silence about his affair was me sitting on the remote and actually switching to another movie. The second tangent to China – a complete waste of Rosalin Chao -- is even worse.

And yet, that’s still better than all of the shenanigans and silliness we’re forced to watch great actors like Oldman and Banderas (who is AMAZING in Almodovar’s new film Pain and Glory) get up to – it’s actually painful. Most people already know how little I care for Streep but to play what seems like a kindly widow trying to get through her grief only to have that not being entirely the case. (I won’t spoil it, but if you can’t figure out that it’s Streep under the make-up playing ANOTHER character, then you’re probably not going to get the attempted intricacies of the world of finance being explored.)

Despite being only ninety minutes long, this was a chore to sit through, partially due to the confusing tangents, but also due to some of the questionable filmmaking decisions which would seem below a filmmaker of Soderbergh’s caliber.

It feels like everyone involved with Soderbergh’s latest has grown tired of the Oscars on their mantle and decided to make a concentrated effort to go for a few Razzies. They might get their wish.

Rating: 4.5/10

One of the ACTUAL docs I’ve seen this weekend is Bill Haney’s new doc Jim Allison: Breakthrough (DADA Films), which follows the career of Jim Allison, an amazing geneticist who specializes in immunology, making huge breakthroughs into curing cancer by discovering that antibodies have a special nodes that help them fight against illness and disease and how cancer tumors shut them off. Allison won the Nobel Prize in Medicine last December. It’s a fairly brainy and scientific doc that at times seems more like an advertising for the pharmaceutical company who mass-produced the drug that came out of Allison’s research, but there’s a great case study of a woman who is diagnosed with myeloma and given only a few years to live. The doc is opening at a couple theaters in New York, including the Quad Cinema, and a couple in L.A., and then it expands to other cities next Friday. Oh, and it’s narrated by Woody Harrelson!

I’m a little more mixed on the doc Anthropocene: The Human Epoch (Kino Lorber), a combined effort by Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier  and Edward Burtynsky, which also opens at the IFC Center. I’m not even sure I can properly describe this world-spanning environmental doc… so I won’t try. It’s beautifully shot but not quite so obvious what the filmmakers were going for.

I haven’t had a chance to watch Chris Morris’ The Day Shall Come (IFC Films), which stars Anna Kendrick as an FBI agent who must go to great lengths to catch Moses Al Shabaz (Marchánt Davis), a Miami street preacher who wants to overthrow the US government who gets the backing of a Middle Eastern terrorist organization. And apparently, it’s a comedy? Okay, then.s

The last vestiges of MoviePass is their sole movie production, Bryan A. Miller’s 10 Minutes Gone (Lionsgate), an action-thriller starring Bruce Willis as crime-boss Rex, who hires Michael Chiklis’s Frank to lead a crew on as jewel heist, but when things go wrong and Frank wakes up with no memory of what happened (and no jewels), he must solve that before Rex has him killed. It will open in select cities but probably will be seen by most on Video On Demand.

I was kind of hoping I’d have a chance to see Fatih Akin’s new film The Golden Glove (Strand Releasing) as I’ve been a fan of the filmmaker for some time, but no such luck. This tells the story of notorious German serial killer Fritz Honka who terrorized Hamburg’s red light district – I’ve actually been there!!! – in the ‘70s, frequenting the “Golden Glove” bar and chasing after lonely women… and presumably killing them… cause he’s a serial killer. It’s opening at the IFC Center and presumably somewhere in L.A. as well?

Gilles Lelouch’s French comedy Sink or Swim (Level Film) stars Mathieu Amalric as one of a group of 40-something men who decide to form their pool’s first-ever all-male synchronized swimming team.

Samantha Buck & Marie Schlingmann’s Sister Aimee (1091/Obscured Pictures) stars Anna Margaret Hollyman as the title character, America’s most famous evangelist who is fed up with her success, so she goes on a wild trip to the Mexican border with her lover.  It opens in select theaters Friday and will On Demand next Tuesday.

Other films out this week in select cities (and On Demand) include Matthew Currie Ross’ The Curse of Buckout Road (Vertical/TriMuse Entertaiinment), starring Evan Ross, Henry Czerny and more. It takes place on New York State’s “most haunted road.” It should not be confuse with the Venezuelan thriller The Vampire of the Lake (Uncork’d Pictures/Dark Star Pictures), which only opens at L.A.’s Laemmle Glendale on Friday.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

This weekend, the Metrograph will begin screening a restored 35mm print of Alain Corneau’s 1979 film Série Noir, which adapts a Jim Thompson novel for the screen. Welcome To Metrograph: Redux will screen Antonioni’s Le Amiche (1955) a few times over the weekend and Pierre Schoendoerff’s documentary The Anderson Platoon (1967), neither which I’ve seen or know much about. The series will also screen the 1955 film Artists and Models, starring Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, s and Fassbinder’s 1974 film Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, two movies which I ALSO have never seen. (I’m more likely to see the former.) Late Nites at Metrograph  will show David Lynch’s 2001 film Mulholland Drive, which is actually a rather boring choice for the usually innovative series. (Heck, I can go see that at the New Beverly one the one day they’re not showing Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood if I lived in L.A..) On the other hand, my favorite ongoing Metrograph series Playtime: Family Matinees will screen the 1979 film The Black Stallion this weekend, and that’s another movie I have never seen.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Since I’m sort of back on schedule, although tonight’s “Weird Wednesday” Tank Girlis already sold out. You can still get tickets for the weekend screenings of Joel Schumacher’s 1987 film The Lost Boys on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Claude Chabrol’s The Cérémonie from 1995 will screen on Saturday as part of “Cutting Class: Films Inspired by Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite” – wait, shouldn’t that be the other way around? Oh, I guess maybe the programming was inspired by seeing Parasite, which I haven’t seen yet. Buster Keaton’s 1923 film Our Hospitality will screen on Sunday with “live theater organ accompaniment” – what is this? The Film Forum?  Kidding… Monday night screenings include Mark Wahlberg’s 1996 film Fear and (separately Millennium Actress (2002), the latter part of the “Anime-Zing” series. Next week’s “Terror Tuesday” is Tony Scott’s The Hunger from 1983, but earlier is a 4k restoration of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Joseph Losey’s The Servant from 1963 will also play that night, as a movie that inspired Bong Joon-ho vs. the other way around. Next week’s Weird Wednesday is Hulk Hogan’s 1989 movie No Holds Barred, which is not sold out… yet.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Although Robert Altman’s Nashville will end on Thursday, the Film Forum will begin a week-long run of a 4k restoration of Fritz Lang’s Indian epic with the two parts, The Tiger of Eschnapor and The Indian Tomb, both from 1959 shown with separate admission fees rather than as a double feature. (Sad trombone.) The movie was originally shown in the U.S. in an edited (almost cut in half) version, so this is a rare chance to see the full movie on the big screen starting Friday. This weekend’s Film Forum Jr. is appropriately Jim Henson and Frank Oz’s beloved 1982 fantasy film The Dark Crystal.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Although the Hulu(ween) Theater is being taken over by Beyond Fest (see above) much of this week and next, there’s a few repertory screenings including a 30th Anniversary screenings of Killer Crocodile and Luigi Cozzi’s 1989 film Paganini Horror on Friday and a 10th anniversary screening of Karyn Kusama’s Jennifer’s Body (with Kusama AND Megan Fox in person!) on Sunday. They’re also showing a screening of Al Adamson’s 1971 film Dracula Vs Frankenstein on Sunday.

AERO  (LA):

A bunch of non-rep stuff going on this week but on Saturday, they’ll screen a new 35mm print of Joan Tewkesbury’s 1979 directorial debutOld Boyfriends with Tewkesbury, stars Talia Shire and Keith Carradine in person! Sunday is the monthly “The Style of Sin: Pre-Code Film” series with a Marlene Dietrich double feature of 1930’s Morocco and the 1932 film Shanghai Express, both directed by her frequent collaborator Josef Von Sternberg. On Sunday night is a screening of Easy Rider (1969) in tribute to the late Peter Fonda. On Tuesday is a matinee screening of Fritz Lang’s 1931 film M, starring Peter Lorre, as part of “Tuesdays with Lorre,” free to Cinematheque members.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

FilmLinc is probably going to be pretty busy this week with the New York Film Festival starting Friday (see above), but it includes a few repertory screenings that I’ll try to mention. This weekend, they’re premiering a new restoration of Luis Buñuel’s 1930 film L’age d’or on Sunday as well as a new restoration of his 1950 film Los Olvidados. Béla Tarr’s 1994 film Sátántángo will also premiere in a new restoration on Sunday. On Tuesday, there’s a new restoration of Valerio Zurlini’s Le Professeur, while on Monday will screen new restorations of Three Short Films by Sergei Parajanov.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book (2006), starring Carice van Houten from Game of Thrones, picked by “Carlos” in a rare 35mm print! Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), a great choice by “Tashika.” Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 ends with something new that hasn’t been shown all summer… the 1986 film Critters, chosen by “Shane”!

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

“See It Big! Ghost Stories” continues this weekend with The Innocents (1961), which inspired Alejandro Amenabar’s 2001 film The Others, and the Japanese thriller Empire of Passion (1978).Also starting Friday is “Five by Forsyth,” as in Bill Forsyth, showing five movies including his 1979 debut That Sinking Feeling, as well as Comfort and Joy (’84), Breaking In (’89), Local Hero(’83) and Housekeeping (’87). On Saturday night, MOMI is also screening William Peter Blatty’s 1980 debut The Ninth Configurationas part of its ongong “Disreputable Cinema” series.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

Sadly, “Laws of Desire: The Films of Antonio Banderas” ends on Thursday, but it will end with a screening of Steven Soderbergh’s new movie, The Laundromat as it opens theatrically… at the IFC Center further downtown. (Waugh Waugh….)

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

Friday night’s midnight offering is the ever-popular Anime Vampire Hunter Dfrom 1985.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

On Wednesday night, there’s a special screening of the doc The Blank Generation (1976) about the New York new wave/pun scene with director Amos Poe doing a QnA afterwards. (The movie is also screening on Saturday sans QnA.) On Friday, they’re screening Susan Seidelman’s 1983 punk movie Smithereens. Otherwise, it’s all Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood. What the holy fuck?

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Still showing Once Upon a Time …  in Hollywood most of the time so still relegated to the bottom of the repertory section ‘cause IT ISN’T REPERTORY! But at least October is looking more promising for the New Bev to get back on track. We’ll see. The New Bev is showing the 1949 Burt Lancast film Criss Crossas a Wednesday matinee and one of my most beloved Disney movies ever That Darn Cat! (1965) over the weekend as its “Kiddee Matinee” but otherwise, it’s all Tarantino all the time. (Kill Bill: Volume 1 is the Saturday midnight offering.)

STREAMING AND CABLE

Pretty excited to hear that Jim Mickle, who directed Stakeland and Cold in July has a new movie on Netflix called IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON – part of Netflix’s “Netflix and Chills” series (har har). This one stars Boyd Holbrook from Logan as Philadelphia police officer Thomas Lockhart, who begins tracking a serial killer who keeps reappearing every nine years, his murders defying any scientific explanation. I haven’t seen it yet, but it also stars Michael C. Hall from Dexter and Cleopatra Coleman.

Apparently, Gwyneth Paltrow is in a new series called The Politician, but I know nothing about it, except that it’s Ryan Murphy’s first series for Netflix. Sorry!

I don’t have Shudder, so I can’t really say much about its programming, although this week, it will debut its new anthology series based on the George Romero anthology movie Creepshow, which might be a reason for me to subscribe. We’ll see.

Next week, it’s Joaquin Phoenix as Joker, a movie I’ve yet to be invited to see, as of this writing. Sad clown face…

[ms-m-astrologer]

Transiting Vesta Stations Direct

Timetable (current events in bold): Vesta enters retrograde zone: Friday, September 16, 2016, 20:07 Cancer Vesta into Leo: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Vesta retrograde: Thursday, December 1, 2016, 5:42 Leo Vesta retrograde back into Cancer: Tuesday, January 10, 2017 Vesta direct: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 Vesta into Leo again: Tuesday, May 2, 2017 Vesta out of retrograde zone: Friday, May 19, 2017

In all the gas-giant/ice-giant/TNO Cardinal Sign Capital-D Drama over the past several months, with Ceres (Lady Asteroid) and Eris (big bad TNO) chipping in, something as quiet and, well, as private as Vesta retrograde is apt to be overlooked. This is par for Vesta’s course. She isn’t flashy or extreme, and prefers to stick close to hearth and home. Nevertheless, as she has approached her station-direct, she turned the “mere” cardinal t-square (Jupiter/Libra opposite Uranus-Eris/Aries, all squared by Pluto/Capricorn) into a bona fide cardinal grand cross. What’s up with that?

As a refresher, let’s see, first of all, what Martin Bulgerin (website link) writes about Vesta retrograde:

“Vesta rules over a core sense of identity and independence, a kind of faithfulness to yourself that allows no compromise or selling out. You are focused or centered in yourself, able to tap into the great powers of the self when you act out of truthfulness and integrity. When Vesta is in reverse, this fidelity to yourself is tested. Situations come up that force you to decide how much integrity really means to you and how much you'd rather ‘slide through life.’ She teaches us to be beholden to nobody, to stand up and be responsible for ourselves, to demand the best of every experience.”

Of course, during this entire Rx period we’ve seen the opposite of “truthfulness and integrity.” We have seen and heard people who really would rather “slide through life” team with an antiquated and unfair Electoral College to give us President Untruthful Corruption Petites-Mains. But in a sense, weren’t these vicious, malevolent people being true to themselves, too? Add the negative characteristics of Leo (pride, bombast, arrogance, egomania) to those of Cancer (insecurity, clannishness, timidity), and we get 2016.

Vesta has another association: sanctuary. In the wake of Bannon/Dolt 45’s assaults on everyone who isn’t a straight white Christofascist wealthy guy, the concept of sanctuary will increase in importance.

But, let’s focus on the first part of Vesta retracing her steps in Cancer for now. What can we do to redirect the insecure, clannish, timid, stuck in the past energy?  Considering that the antonyms of “insecurity, clannishness, and timidity” are the Leo traits of “confidence, friendliness, and bravery,” it won’t be enough (or appropriate, yet) to just do the opposite. We can do that after Vesta goes back into Leo.

With Vesta in Cancer, we’re going to focus on nurturing and comforting ourselves and each other. We have to create the “safe space” for the upcoming Vesta/Leo dramatics. There can be no exclusion, none - if Dolt 45 shows up on your doorstep wounded, you do the first aid! If we’re too focused on preserving what we have to give, for our own use, we’ll never stop worrying about having “enough.”

In Thomas Cahill’s words (from How the Irish Saved Civilization), “Perhaps history is always divided into Romans and Catholics - or better, catholics. The Romans are the rich and powerful who run things their way and must always accrue more because they instinctively believe that there will never be enough to go around; the catholics, as their name implies, are universalists who instinctively believe that all humanity makes one family, that every human being is an equal child of God, and that God will provide.”

Toward the end of Venus’ retrograde, she gets close to a trine to Vesta - but although the trine gets within one degree, it’s never exact. They WERE exactly trine back on January 28, at 25+ Pisces/Cancer. This was the day after Dolt 45 restricted travel and immigration from citizens of oil-rich countries with whom he and the Russians don’t have business ties. Sanctuary, remember? If we want to find it, we need to provide it to others.

Wednesday, March 8, Mercury/Pisces trine Vesta/Cancer, 20:07; Friday, March 10, Sun/Pisces trine Vesta/Cancer, 20:09

We certainly start Vesta’s direct motion with the best of intentions! High-minded and spiritually elevated, we want to understand (Merc) and embody (Sun) the notion that there is but one human family - walking it like we talk it, if you will. Whether or not our inner flame can continue to give light and warmth will be seen, as Vesta proceeds slowly to interact with most of the other cardinal grand cross planets (Pluto excepted).

Planets/Points affected lie between 19:07 and 21:09 of the yin signs Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Sunday, March 19, Jupiter/Libra square Vesta/Cancer, 20:38

We need to reconcile our own self-focus and self-dedication with what “society” tells us we ought to do. Ms M wonders if most of us aren’t going to run headfirst into a brick wall called “Intersectionality,” because this sure as hell looks like it to her. We don’t have all the answers, and what “works” for us isn’t necessarily valid for somebody else! Give people the courtesy of their own experience.

Planets/Points affected lie between 19:38 and 21:38 of the cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn; and between 4:38 and 6:38 of the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

Friday, March 24, Mercury/Aries square Vesta/Cancer, 21:15

First of three, with #3 occurring after both Mercury and Vesta have moved into the next sign. Mercury and Vesta have a lot in common (or maybe I just have them conjunct in my own chart), so this is almost certainly some kind of problem with communication &/or mental attitude. We don’t stop to think before we speak, and blurt out some nonsense that we don’t honestly ascribe to, anymore. We may also become aware of the need to get around, or overhaul, some habitual thought patterns.

Planets/Points affected lie between 20:15 and 22:15 of the cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn; and between 5:15 and 7:15 of the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

Wednesday, April 5, Eris/Aries square Vesta/Cancer, 23:06

We’re called to put our money where our mouth is, with this square. If humanity is truly one big happy family, that includes Dolt 45 and Steve Bannon, right? It includes that homeless vet who doesn’t smell very “nice” and keeps muttering to herself, right? And the kid with Trisomy 18, the octogenarian with Alzheimer’s, the insurance salesperson who chose the “safe” path, the family who goes to Bible study three times a week. This square challenges you to own up to your less-than-savory “relatives.”

Planets/Points affected lie between 22:06 and 24:06 of the cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn; and between 7:06 and 9:06 of the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

Tuesday, April 11, Uranus/Aries square Vesta/Cancer, 24:19

More challenges, with the emphasis on motivation. Do you really believe what you profess, or are you just trying to appear glamorous? Demetra George put it beautifully: “The resolution of these challenges lies in committing and dedicating oneself to a type of innovation and reform that promotes constructive and healing changes in the old order, or building functional structures of a new order.” The Moon in Libra might exacerbate “things” and make us wish for a balance when we can’t have one.

Planets/Points affected lie between 23:19 and 25:19 of the cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn; and between 8:19 and 10:19 of the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

Thursday, April 13, Mars/Taurus sextile Vesta/Cancer, 24:50

Finally, something that isn’t challenging!! Yay! We are STRONGLY focused today and have tremendous amounts of practical energy at our disposal. It’s also pretty sexy - take care of your partner, and your partner will take care of you. Also a good omen for working in the yard/garden, which is (now that I think of it) the same principle as sex.

Planets/Points affected lie between 23:50 and 25:50 of the yin signs Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Friday, April 14, Sun/Aries square Vesta/Cancer, 25:01

This can make us overly self-absorbed, directionless, and alienated. As Mufasa told Simba, “Remember who you are!” We’re challenged to keep on the “right” path for us, no matter how lonely it makes us, and no matter if we can’t see where we’ll end up. Create a purposeful vision of yourself, and align your energies with it.

Planets/Points affected lie between 24:01 and 26:01 of the cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn; and between 9:01 and 11:01 of the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

Friday, April 21, Ceres/Taurus sextile Vesta/Cancer, 26:42; Saturday, April 22, Chiron/Pisces trine Vesta/Cancer, 26:52

Keep in mind that Venus/Pisces is “in there,” too, although her trine to Vesta never becomes exactly exact. April 22 is Earth Day. This whole setup screams “Get out in the garden” - at least get outside and as much into Mother Nature as you can manage. It’s therapeutic as hell, this weekend. Pick up trash as you walk; leave the earbuds at home and listen to the birds; absorb what’s going on with Mother Earth (unless there’s lightning). As it’s known in these premises, “ground and center.”

Planets/Points affected lie between 25:42 and 27:52 of the yin signs Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces.

Monday, April 24, Mercury Rx/Aries square Vesta/Cancer, 27:29

Second of three. If you spent Earth Weekend grounding and centering like I told you to, you’ll have an easier time finding all the mental traps and habitual patterns of thought that hold you back. At this point Mercury is “Promethean Retrograde,” and its being in Aries, is a double emphasis on finding new ways to learn, think, reason, and communicate.

Planets/Points affected lie between 26:29 and 28:29 of the cardinal signs Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn; and between 11:29 and 13:29 of the mutable signs Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces.