Monday, August 13, 2018

Starry, Starry Night

Started off a gloomy, rainy day with work. It was coming down pretty hard when I headed out; was a little wet when I arrived. It rained once more later in the morning before clearing in the afternoon. While I did do carts when I got in, I spent most of the day doing a cart and a half of returns. I also gathered inside and outside trash, took a look at the bathrooms (they just needed toilet paper and soap refilled), and gathered baskets. It had been fairly quiet before 1:30; picked up a bit after that. I got stuck in the registers briefly a few times when the lines got long.

Since the sun was out by the time I finished, I took the long way home down Nicholson Road and onto Atlantic Avenue. The train bridge into Audubon was finally finished a few weeks ago, which means the cars are now running both ways on Nicholson and it's busy down there again. I also ended up avoiding the other half of Manor, which is getting the same repairs that the side I live on got a few months ago. (Part of Kendall is also getting re-paved, from what I could see.)

(And darn, I realize that I left my rain coat at work. I didn't need it later. I'll go back for it tomorrow.)

Worked on writing for a while after I got in. They arrive at an air field just outside of Bespin, where they're met by Laurence's friend Nievo. They're all going to LA in the Silver Falcon. Yoda will talk to Dr. Mothma at UCLA and get the expedition organized, while the others go on to Mrs. Yasmin Hutt's notorious Hollywood nightclub to find Harry.

Broke for dinner at 6. Had a scrambled egg and turkey bacon wrap with cucumber-tomato salad for dinner. Watched an episode of Tales of the Gold Monkey that involves gambling and a glamorous casino while I ate. A "High Stakes Lady" wants Jake to deliver her to a poker game with several big-shots, including a Japanese businessman, a slightly smarmy Texan, and the infamous Princess Koji. But this lady isn't what she seems, and the game turns out to be about a lot more than money when Jake discovers what the lady is really after.

Finished the night after a shower with Loving Vincent. This unique take on the final days of artist Vincent Van Gogh is the first animated film to be done entirely in oil paints. The son of a postman (Douglas Booth) is asked to deliver Van Gogh's final letter to his brother. The more the young man hears about Van Gogh, the more he considers his death to be suspicious. He follows the trail of his final days, from a doctor who cared for him after he left an asylum (Jerome Flynn), to the innkeeper who befriended him (Eleanor Tomlinson), to the doctor's sweet daughter (Saiorse Ronan), who defends the local boy accused of killing him. In the end, the doctor delivers the letter to Van Gogh's late brother's widow and gives him as close to an account of what happened on Van Gogh's last night as we're likely to get at this point.

This movie is absolutely gorgeous to look at. The oil paintings were done to closely resemble Van Gogh's actual work. It's incredible how much went into this, how vibrant the colors and brushstrokes are. I found the actual story to be a bit dull on occasion, and rather talky. It might mean more to fans of Van Gogh or fine art.

The plot may not be the most exciting, but the achievement is still a worthy one. This was a deserved nominee for Best Animated Film at the Oscars and has won or been nominated for many awards elsewhere. If you're a fan of visual arts or Van Gogh, you might actually get a little more out of this one than I did.

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