Normally this would occur around the Easter and Christmas holidays, time when we spend the majority of our days going out and about, so it would be a nice change of pace to stay home and do nothing but watch movies. However, Covid-19 has made staying in the only option for families this Easter time so it might seem that our planned film day isn't as unusual as it has previously sounded to others. But, it's our tradition, so lockdown or no lockdown, it's going ahead.
Our family film day has a process. For one, we start to narrow down our options weeks in advance. This isn't because we are particularly organised, but more for the fact that there are so many films we want to watch, and we are notorious for spending an unnecessarily stupid amount of time trying to agree, that if it doesn't get decided on before the day, it isn't happening.
Luckily, we had made most of the decisions beforehand as, let's face it, there was nothing else better to do anyway.
We started just before 10am with our blockbuster of the day, Aquaman. Yes, I know. As a family of geeks, it is almost shameful to admit that we had still not seen it, even after Sophie got to cuddle up to Mr Momoa at our most recent Comic-Con outing. But, that was the past as at 9.45(ish)am yesterday, we finally watched it.
Now this blog-post isn't a review; most of the films we watch are ones which managed to pass us by at the cinema for some inexplicable reason, so I won't be running through my usual thoughts and opinions on each flick. However, it was a pretty decent start to film day, my only gripe being who on earth thought that soundtrack was a good idea?
Second up, The Last Samurai. Hubby and myself had watched this together some years ago, but we haven't revisited it since, which is bizarre when you consider my love for all things Japanese, especially historically. But, this seemed as good a time as any for a second viewing and also a good time to introduce it to our daughter.
I forgot how much I loved the film. Good story, great actors, and some of the visuals could be ripped right off the screen and stuck in an art gallery; stunning.
One thing I did have to do was shut up while we watched. You see, in the time between our previous and recent viewing, I had read a lot about Samurai history, including about the man labelled as the actual last samurai, Saigo Takamori. I have become fascinated with him as a person, including planning to have him inked onto my left arm. So, it was for the love of my family that I was forced to stop commenting on how 'it was never like that' and just enjoy the film, which I did.
Third film of the day was Reservoir Dogs. There was a lot riding on this one. My poor 14 year old daughter has been bombarded, over time, with my love of Tarantino. Every time a new film is released, I go into fan girl mode. Another significant fact is that I first saw Reservoir Dogs at the age of 14, when I made myself up and walked into the cinema (with a much older boyfriend at the time) having no clue how this small film would change my view on movies. So, with my child being of that age (but thankfully with a better sense of relationships than her mother), it seemed a good time to share.
And, 98 minutes later, I looked expectantly at my child to gauge her reaction to this magnificent film. She looked me in the eyes and said "Meh."
😲
It's OK, my heart is not really broken. I never really watched all the films that Sophie has done up until this point so compared to some of the things she has seen, it must have seemed quite dull. Hubby thinks she'll perk up a bit with Pulp Fiction, but maybe I'm just going to have to face facts, not everyone loves Tarantino (even if they do have half of my genetics).
It seemed a little unfair for Sophie to suffer through a film she didn't like, so choice number 4 was hers, and what a choice; Avengement. Scott Adkins as a man out for revenge 👍
Some proper dodgy EastEnd accents and some violent set pieces; Sophie loved it. Little fact, hubby and I went to see this movie at the cinema. It was a one off showing in Stratford that had the man himself, Mr Adkins in attendance. I was also sitting only a few metres away from Mr Jean-Paul Ly but that's another story.
And for the last film of the night (after a quick dinner break) we decided to watch See No Evil, Hear No Evil (we always like to put on a comedy as part of our film days). I haven't seen this film in years. Has it stood the test of decades? Mostly. There were a couple of times that I cringed inwardly but nothing that completely spoiled it for me. And Sophie found it extremely entertaining (hubby loves this movie anyway so it was always going to be a winner for him) so I was happy that we managed to end the evening on a good note.
Thus, at 8.30(ish)pm, film day was over and done with.
And what was the point of this post. There are no reviews to speak of, and there is no lesson to learn in all this. The only thing I wish to share is that days like these make me extremely happy. Sharing films with the hubby, both old and new, as well as introducing Sophie to new motion picture experiences, that's my jam. The husband wishes to make the next film day themed, picking a certain actor or genre to stick to, but I like the chaos and randomness that we sometimes achieve through our film choices. Who will get their way? I guess we'll find out at Christmas.
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