Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

After recently chatting with an old friend, I realized how much a list from 2018 needed to be updated!  When you consider over 100 years of filmmaking, a list of 100 is pretty tough!  So this list is mainly based on rewatchability .  In other words, I may have watched a movie, loved it, but also realized I probably didn't need to see it again.  Or there may have been a movie that was a favorite at one time that I have since outgrown, didn't age well or the emotionality of it has just become too much.   In other words, these seem to be the movies I've never managed to outgrow. (not actual) Reader Question: May I just say for the record that I'm not sure how this blog has never posted a list of favorite movies?  I mean, you've posted favorite books and bands and even songs  but not movies?  What the hey? (actual) Blogger Response:  You're exactly right, fictional reader!  It's gonna be a task for sure....not just the listing, but...

 As the summer rolls to nearly a close, I continue to add to my ambitions.   I know everyone does different things on their whiteboards, but I like to add my plans for reading and watching.  Something catches my attention, I go down a rabbit hole, decide I need to learn more and it gets added.  I can't speak for folks trying to solve equations or crimes though. And I also can't quite explain how Drugstore Cowboy showing up on my Tubi got me to researching the indie film Paris, Texas or how Amy Irving got me to The Roches which lead me to discovering Laura Nyro and Judie Tzukie and how I think I've heard their names mentioned in other songs like maybe the awesome local band Pullover and realizing I need to update my kid's playlists so he doesn't get burnt out on the same Yacht Rock and how could I have never watched Helter Skelter and did all of the Manson family members die in prison yet?????

 After hearing several people, including my boss, talk about how awesome this show is....I finally had to give it shot.  And I was hooked. Within minutes.  I think I didn't expect to like it because I wasn't really a fan of Yellowstone, another well-known Taylor Sheridan joint.  But dare I say, this show has more heart?  It's more relatable?  The characters are move endearing?  I mean.....honestly.....that's all mostly true.  In Yellowstone, I really didn't think I had anyone to root for.  Well, besides Kayce of course.   It was also all the hub-bub of Sam Elliott's speech about aging and the breakdown of the body.  I kept hearing about it again and again so I had to look that up first.  After that short snippet, like any good first-time user I needed a bigger hit.  So I downloaded the entire first season. I did not realize this show has very nearly every goddamm thing I love about life: strong family ties, gorgeous a...

I really dug his first book with James Patterson , and I like this one pretty good too.  The only problem with this one is that I'm listening to it as an audiobook, and I don't dig all the voices.  A real first-world problem, I know.  And it's always kind of interesting to see how Bill is kind of spelling out how he sees himself in the world, or rather, how he wants to be seen.   This book by Rax King, on the other hand, makes it quite a joy to listen to her lovely voice as she reads her own, sometimes boring sometimes scary, escapades as a teenager and young adult.  Her full chapter on Creed makes the entire book with the read. For television viewing, I did enjoy the History Channel series of Thomas Jefferson, but got a little bored by the FDR episodes.  And that shocked me as I love FDR!  Something about the presentation and the actor portraying him looking a little too much like Kevin Spacey methinks. And even though I didn't see ANY of his mov...

 Mary in Charlotte was a revelation! So much girl power.  So much singing.  So much estrogen in one big, big room.   And grown women energy too.  I felt it.  And yes, there's a difference.  I didn't realize how much I needed to be surrounded by women my own age until I was right in the middle of them.  There's something about women who understand each other.  It only takes a look, a few words.  We know.   Even the symbolism of the crown behind Mary was not lost on me.  The empowerment.  The realization of what we had come through.  I was turning 50 in a week.  What Mary said to me when I was 20 didn't hit as hard.  But lord jesus, I felt it now.   Days after the show, I felt like I was still processing it all.  Mary's voice, her stories, the glossy Broadway feel of it all, the beautiful women in their boots and sequins all around us, the memories, the tears.   After the sho...

 Talk to 'em like you 'sposed to, Mary...... I know I can go and look online, but I'd rather post my dream playlist for the MJB show in Charlotte tonight and just dream:  Amazing You Ain't the Only One Just Fine Not Today Never Give Up on Me Come See About Me You Remind Me Keep Your Head Can't Wait For You Thick of It Don't Go Someone to Love Me (Even in the wake of the Diddy crisis.  Yes, I want it.) Good Morning Gorgeous Not Gon' Cry (And yes, I'm gonna while we sing this together, Mary.) Real Love Need Love Stay Down  The One Not Today Family Affair (I might lose my mind but I'm going with it.) Stay tuned for full review....but it might take me a day or two to recover from what I expect to be fun, beautiful, cathartic and AMAZING!

 Winter is the perfect time to snuggle in with some entertainment.  Even though I haven't been reading much lately, I have managed to binge some good shows and catch a few new films.  What are your thoughts on my hot takes? I saw "Wicked" the week it came out and I was in love!  Being a lover of the novel from way back, I was intrigued to see how this was adapted from the book to stage to theater and all of it is wonderful!  The songs are lovely and fun and even though the film is long, I never wanted it to end.   I caught "The Greatest Showman" at home on a streaming service and loved it too.  Just like Wicked, the songs and overarching story guide a principle of love and acceptance and in the creation of a world inhabited by creativity and brilliance.  And there's Zendaya!   I wish I could say I loved "Juror #2" but I just didn't.  The cast was wonderful, but the story felt plodding and ham-fisted.  And was I the only on...

 

 I started writing when I was a young girl.  In elementary school I wrote poems and stories and some of them were even published locally.  I had a wild imagination, but in my heart I wanted to be a reporter some day. I blame Kurt Vonnegut. When I was about 15 I read my first Vonnegut book, Slaughterhouse-Five.  And it's wild and brilliant and insane and we all know it's a classic.  But the thing I remember most was what Uncle Kurt said about the female reporters during WWII.  He said they were the best.  Relentless.  That they worked way harder than the men and were way better.   That's what I wanted to be.  I wanted to go to NYU and study journalism.  I wanted to be Christiane Amanpour, Barbara Walters, Lois Lane!  I wanted to know all the things before anyone else knew.  I wanted a sign-off on the nightly news like Walter Cronkite......"and that's the way it is." Well......needless to say......all that did not happe...

 George Michael.  Oh, George Michael.  His name incites something.  It stirs something.  It makes you feel some kind of way.  I know his name for sure does something for me.  It did back in the 80's and it still does now.   When I was a girl waaaay back in the 80's, I loved George with Wham!  He was sexy and fun and mysterious in a way I couldn't even explain or understand.  It was a time period in which we were all still grappling with how we felt about gay and straight, what it all meant and how it did or didn't affect us personally.  Like most girls, I was bummed when I found out George was gay.  Not because I cared or thought it was wrong, but because it meant I (a girl light years away and twelve years younger) would never have a chance with him.  Disappointment! His solo record, Faith, came out in October 1987.  I was twelve and I got it for Christmas on cassette that year.  I could have watched that s...

 Sometimes it's hard to know how we came to love the the things we love.  And other times it's really clear. I knew I loved the movie "The Age of Innocence" from the first time I saw it as a teenager.  Maybe it was DDL , maybe the gorgeous costumes or that phenomenal Scorsese snap that the film seems to have.  (The close-ups of handwritten notes.....the scenes through gauzy lace.....when Newland SMELLS the handle of her umbrella and KISSES her shoe!!!!) But I digress. And sure, sure.....I loved the 1997 version of Titanic with Leo and Kate.  (And no, y'all, she COULD NOT HAVE moved over.) And though I was late, I jumped right into Downton Abbey as well.  Now I watch HBO's The Gilded Age.....because well.....I think I signed a waiver or something along the way.  (Kidding.  Or am I????) But truthfully, it was all loooooong before all of this media.  And I think it has a little something to do with being a North Carolina girl. As any true Gilded...

 I will readily admit that I have really gone back and forth on my feelings about the S&TC reboot, "And Just Like That".  I absolutely HATED the first season.  I was so shocked when Big died, that I honestly cried out "goddamm!" And at first, I was really mad about this unexpected plot twist.  Until I remembered what Carrie is all about.  Carrie is about chasing love and finding herself.  Carrie is about self-reflection.  Carrie, like the infamous Don Draper, is about ennui.   (Quick aside, do you think Don Draper is a little bit like Mr. Big?  Discuss.  Then imagine Carrie with Don.  It's not a tough leap if you think about it.) But on with our story here.  Carrie is a thinker.  She's always up in her head.  If she's happily married, that's hard to do.  What kind of content do you have to play with?  Carrie chasing after something she can't have is all we know.  Even in the S&TC movies....

 I thought Bama Rush was going to be an insipid, brain-dead watch for me to wind down my week with.  It may even give me a laugh as I recalled my own short-lived sorority days. I was so wrong.  This documentary is quite insightful and lovely.   And scary.  And sad.  And painful. First off, some background of many things I had no idea about: *Rushing today is nothing like it was in the 90's when I was in school.  Young ladies sometimes actually choose their colleges based on sorority options. *University of Alabama's rushing activities have become very popular on TikTok in the last few years with the hashtag #bamarush.  Apparently all kinds of people (except me) have been following this with devotion. *There are consultants available to help young PNM's (Potential New Members) achieve a bid from their preferred house. *The use of iPhones has dramatically changed everything we once knew about college life, Greek life....and well.....life in gen...

(Here at the end of the month of April, Autism Awareness Month, I'm resharing a post from way back in 2019.  So much has changed.  My son and I have both grown and changed so much.  But the sentiment is of differences and acceptance still rings true.) Having a kid with special needs made me learn early on how to choose my battles.  It also taught me a lot about defining a "new normal".  What made sense for other parents and their kids might not work for us.  It took me a while, but over time I got okay with that. I also began coming to terms with what kind of mom I was, and even better, what kind of mom I was not.  Not everybody gets us kid, but we've got each other. In the beginning, I was all over all of the events having to do with autism.  The walks, the fundraisers, the awareness events.  And then I began realizing that my kid didn't enjoy them and neither did I.  As a matter of fact, I felt worse after trying to do them....