Oscar Weekend Recap

 Amsterdam, entertainment, Traditions  2 Responses »
Feb 262013
 

This last weekend was our 5th annual Parool Oscar Weekend.  You know, where you go to the Pathe de Munt movie theater at Muntplein in Amsterdam and sit for 2 full days watching back to back Oscar nominated movies.  I love it.

If you haven’t noticed, on the right side of this blog page I am now posting my Twitter feed.  During this weekend event I sent out tweets summarizing my movie review and giving each movie a score out of 10.  I’ll just expand on that a little bit here.  Warning, it’s full of spoiler alerts.  But then, you should already know how Lincoln and Argo end.

Saturday we started at 10:30am with Lincoln.  This is the movie that starred Daniel Day-Lewis, who won his 3rd Oscar as Best Actor.  I really enjoyed this movie.  It helps if you are raised in the U.S. and know a bit of the history and can relate to the story and the times.  It also helps if you are a native English speaker.  The language in the movie is not simple or easy but it is beautiful and thoughtful and lovely to listen to.  As a language lover, I really appreciated the care they used in recreating the sound of the times.  It is also so interesting to contrast politics of that era with politics of today.  In both cases it’s a dirty business.  But in both cases there is one party that is ignorant and wishes the country to remain ignorant.  What’s interesting is that those parties have switched titles over these 160-odd years.  I highly recommend the film and gave it a 9/10.

Next, with a 30 minute break in between we saw Beasts of the Southern Wild.  I really didn’t know what to expect of this movie.  The main character is a 6 or 7 year old girl who lives with her father and a few scrappy characters in a swampy island that has been abandoned by the government and society.  They are all a bit wacko.  When a big storm comes most of them leave but not the most crazy ones and this girl must stay with her father.  They end up at the end in a shelter, but then escape, and go back to the swamp where he father dies of some disease.  Some parts of the movie were touching.  Some parts were just more of the same.  It wasn’t my kind of movie really.  It went no where and didn’t seem to have a place it should go.  I gave it a 6/10.

Finally Saturday we saw Argo, yet another historical fact/fiction movie about getting Iran hostages out of Iran.  This movie was so suspenseful, even though you know how it’s going to end, that it had my stomach in knots.  The acting was good and I have to say that Ben Affleck really outdid himself as actor and director both.  And he doesn’t look half bad in a beard.  It did remind me of All the President’s Men in look and feel, which is not a bad thing.  I can see how it won best picture as everything was so real you lost sight of which parts were historical film reels and which was recent movie making.  I gave it 8/10.  It’s as well made as Lincoln, but there was something beautiful about Lincoln that got it the extra point for me.

And that’s all we saw Saturday.  We had a concert to go to in Paradiso that night so cut it short at 6pm and only 3 movies seen.  But we were back at it Sunday morning at 10:30 again!

We started Sunday morning with The Master.  After reading the synopsis I was looking forward to seeing this movie.  The first 30 minutes had me sucked in and I was really intrigued.  And then it just droned on and on and on making the same points over and over and over again.  Finally we end up in England for no apparent reason.  The movie should have been 20 minutes shorter, or found something else unique to say.  Having said all that, Joaquin Phoenix was exceptional in the lead role.  Now this is acting folks, every bit as good as Daniel Day-Lewis.  Too bad the movie was such a let down.  I gave it a 6/10.

Next up: Prometheus.  Seriously?  Yes, seriously.  And seriously bad.  This is the pre-quel to Alien and poor Ridley Scott just can’t let it go.  This movie was nominated for visual effects and that, folks, is ALL it had going for it.  Laughable science, deadly predictable script.  The very best part was the very last scene, which ties this movie to Alien.  That’s it.  About 20 seconds.  5/10.

Movie 3 on Sunday was Django Unchained.  Some people don’t appreciate Quentin Tarantino’s movies or his point of view or his humor, but I’m a fan.  Maybe you have to be a fan to be excited about seeing this movie.  I think it’s his best in years.  It was clever, funny, punchy, bloody, and never ever dull.  Jamie Foxx is perfect in the lead and Christofer Waltz won best supporting actor as the German bounty hunter.  If you like dark humor you have to go see this movie.  8/10.  Oh, one thing, here’s a tip Quentin: don’t act in your own movies.  It ain’t your forte son.

Finally, the last film for Sunday was Silver Linings Playbook.  It’s your typical dysfunctional feel good movie.  Screwed up boy meets screwed up girl, lots of screwed up stuff happens and finally they get together.  That’s the plot.  That’s it.  What makes it so entertaining are the actors and the stuff that is just crazy enough to be real and just real enough to be crazy.  You can see these people living next door to you.  You feel for them.  You root for them.  You want them to be happy.  When such a simple plot can do that to you then it’s a highly successful movie.  8/10.  Go see it.  Everyone should laugh and smile at the movies now and then.

And that’s it!  Last year we saw NINE movies, this year only 7.  Next year I’m aiming for 9 again.  I can’t wait.

Rembrandt in His Square

 Amsterdam, News, Traditions  1 Response »
Jan 282013
 

I went to Amsterdam this evening to have dinner with my friend J. and before I got to the restaurant I took this photo at Rembrandtplein. The statues are back!

These are life sized statues of the famous Night Watch painting figures. 4 1/2 years ago when my mom came to visit they were also here and I took a photo of my mom standing next to them. Then at some point a couple of years ago they were taken away. The Square was remodeled and now they are back. It’s good to have the statues there. I like them. I hope you can kind of see them with this dark photo taken with an iPhone.

Today Queen Beatrix announced that at the end of April she will step down and her son and daughter-in-law will become King and Queen. This is not a surprise but it is big news. The national holiday of Queen’s Day will, in 2014, become King’s Day and will move from 30 April to 27 April. This year, on Queen’s Day, there will be a ceremony and I’m guessing an even bigger party all over the country. If you’re planning to visit at that time, come with plenty of orange clothes.

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New Year – New Knitting

 Knitting Related, Traditions  2 Responses »
Jan 012013
 

I hope you all had a safe and fun New Year’s Eve last night.  We had dinner at home with an amazing bottle of wine from the winery we visited in June.  Later in the evening we walked (in the RAIN) to a friend’s house and had bubbly, oliebollen and watched what fireworks we could see through the rain.  The weather won’t stop people from setting off their hundreds and thousands of euros worth of fireworks.  Thanks, all you fireworks fans, for spending your money and letting us enjoy it with you!

Now that it’s January 1, I can cast on a couple of new projects.  Yay!  First up is the sock, in the photo above.  It’s my own design and will match my Mandy’s Heart Sweater.  The yarn is Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in color Tart.  This is, hands down, the most beautiful and amazing yarn color I’ve ever seen.  It’s about impossible to photograph.  I managed to get this photo, after trying different locations and camera settings, but it still doesn’t capture the depth and glow of the yarn.  It’s like I’m knitting rubies.

These socks are part of The Yarniacs “self indulgent KAL” that started today and ends mid-March.  The Yarniacs (two women in Santa Cruz California) put out a podcast, have a web site, and a Ravelry group.  I became a regular listener to the podcast immediately.  I like their format and I like their totally genuine and friendly manner.  I’m planning to write a blog post about knitting podcasts in the next few days so I won’t go on about it here.  You should definitely give them a listen.

The socks are serving double duty as the pattern will be written up and released about the same time that the matching sweater pattern will be released (mid-Feb).  I’ll keep showing you photos as I knit them so you won’t be able to resist their loveliness. Ha!

I’ve also cast on a present for a special person.  I’m not showing any photos of that yet, and might not at all before the present is given.  But just so you know, I’ve cast on two new projects and I’m super excited about them.  Starting new projects is almost as much fun as finishing them.

 

Merry Christmas Dinner

 food, Haarlem, Home and Garden, Traditions  No Responses »
Dec 262012
 

Yesterday, Christmas day, we had 10 friends over for dinner.  It’s not often we have people over. I don’t know why.  I guess everyone seems so busy and most of our friends live in Amsterdam (and we in Haarlem).  Sorry excuses I know!  After having such a good time yesterday I think we really need to do this more often!

I started Monday with Christmas cookies.  They were simple flour/sugar/butter cookies, decorated with red marzipan, white cream cheese frosting and green colored butter frosting.

P & K brought the first course for dinner – bright red cold soup!  It was delicious.

For the main course we had cheese fondue, raclette, beef stew, and a couple of salads.  I think everyone liked the food.  It’s not your traditional Christmas dinner, but I thought it would be a fun change.

Here’s a sweet photo of Z. and M. decorating one of the cakes we had for dessert.

Here’s to friends and special dinners.  Let’s do it again soon!

Sinterklaas in de house

 Traditions  3 Responses »
Dec 042012
 

Sunday was the family Sinterklaas party.  The Sint himself showed up, along with 2 full sized Piets and 1 Mini-Piet (or Piet in training).  It was good fun, as always and the kids really loved it.  Unfortunately for us all, time does march on, and not all the “kids” believe anymore and are not included in the presents or fun of standing in front of the Sint to discuss the events of the past year.  I don’t know what will happen in 5 years time when none of them believe it anymore.  I guess we’ll have to wait until that generation starts having kids and then the cycle will begin again.

After Sinterklaas and the Piets left, we piled out presents into the center of the room and played the roll the dice game.  Inge is in charge of the rules and this year they were a little different again.  Change keeps thing interesting.  Everyone comes with 2 presents each (1 “from the attic” and 1 newly purchased).  DB and both left there with only 1 present each.  Everyone HAS to leave with something so we were lucky to get away with just 1 each.  I got a box with 2 of these plastic dryer things that are supposed to make your clothes wrinkle free.  DB got a wooden tray to carry me coffee up to bed on weekends. :-)

Here are some photos, and at the end a little movie of the song we sing every year.  Tot de volgende jaar Sinterklaas!

(More photos here.  Info about the traditions of Sinterklaas here.)

Music on the Weekend

 Haarlem, music, Traditions  1 Response »
May 062012
 

May 4th is Remembrance Day, commemorating fallen soldiers and civilians since WWII.  May 5th is Liberation Day (Bevrijdingsdag) celebrating freedom from German occupation.  On the 4th ceremonies take place all over the country.  On the 5th it’s party time.  Haarlem is famous for “Bevrijdingspop” (Liberation Pop), a free music festival that takes place all day.

On the 4th we went to North End music store where Dry the River played a set.  This is an English band that’s touring at the moment.  I took a video of one of their songs, which you can see here.  Here are a couple of photos.

Their music is folky and easy and their harmonies are fantastic.  Maybe the style gets a little monotonous but that could also be because it was completely unplugged.  Maybe they do more with a larger venue.  No matter.  It’s great to see bands playing in a record store – up close and personal!

On the 5th we headed to Bevrijdingspop.  The weather was luckily dry, but cloudy and cold.  Really.  Cold.  We didn’t stay as long as we had planned, mainly due to the cold and also because there weren’t many places to sit and hang out.  In the cold.  Here’s what we did see:

The main stage area – Spin Vis playing

The park area left of the main stage

The Juliper stage – Bombay Show Pig playing

Bombay Show Pig – amazing how much great sound can come from just two people

The worst hair all day – yes, he did that on purpose – it’s not the wind

The loveliest street in Haarlem – full of green and flowers

Happy Birthday Bea

 Haarlem, Traditions  No Responses »
May 012012
 

Yesterday was Queen’s Day (Koninginnedag) and the world around me was orange.

Our Queen is very powerful indeed.  For the past 2 weeks we had rain and grey skies.  This morning I woke up to thunder, lightening and rain.  You see the weather in the photos here?  Queen’s Day was sunny warm and beautiful.  How did she do that?  Amazing.

We went into Haarlem fairly early (10-ish) and the bands were just getting set up.  Music started around 12:00 all over the city.  Before that, starting much earlier, the “garage sale” began.

We walked up and down streets full of sellers and browsers and a few buyers.  I’ve never seen so many kids clothes in one day!  If you want second hand clothes for your kids just bring a big shopping bag and load up once a year here.  You’ll save a fortune.

Streets quickly became super crowded.  I took this photo and then we bailed out of this area.

We hung out at Nieuwe Kerkplein for a while and listened to this band, Kilimanjaro.  Don’t give up your day jobs yet boys!

After several hours, and lots of schlepping around, we had had enough and headed home.  The partying went on into the night.  I guess we’re getting old.

The rest of the afternoon I spent sitting outside in the back garden, listening to a podcast and knitting.  It was wonderful.  Long live Bea and her powers over the weather.

Movie Marathon

 Amsterdam, Traditions  1 Response »
Feb 282012
 

Watching 9 movies in 2 days is hard work!  Once again this year we took part in the Parool Oscar Weekend in Amsterdam, both Saturday and Sunday.  I think this is our 5th year in a row and I feel like such a “regular” at this event.  We know all the ins and outs, how to get good seats, what food to bring, even what coats to wear (light jackets easy to keep on your lap).  We had a schedule and stuck to it.

After every movie both DB and I sent out a tweet with our ratings.  Most years we agree on a movie’s rating.  This year we disagreed a lot about the rating, but we agreed easily on which movies we wanted to see.  Below is a recap by way of the previously sent out tweets (via @underdutchskies):

Movie 1 – Drive
My rating – 5/10
1st movie  was . DB gives it 9, me a 5. It was too much a style mash up. Just couldn’t buy into it.

It’s bloody and violent, but that’s not what got it a 5 rating from me.  To me the whole movie felt like someone’s film school graduation project.  Let’s throw in some James Dean references, add some 80′s style music, and some Tarantino gore.  That should make for an interesting movie, right? Wrong. It makes for a mashup that yearns for attention – just like a film school graduate.

Movie 2 – Iron Lady
My rating 6/10
2nd  movie Iron Lady gets a 6 only because of the amazing MS. Otherwise, boring history lesson.

It’s as if the film maker couldn’t decide if this was a love story about a couple growing old and dealing with dementia, or a story about a politician.  They should have stayed with the love story.  Jumping around from event to disconnected event, without any context or background was just bad story telling. What was the point of any of it?  It was just a vehicle for Streep’s accents and facial tics.  Sure, she was amazing, but she wasn’t enough to carry the movie.

Movie 3 – Beginners
My rating 8/10
3rd  movie: Beginners gets 8. Beautiful, sad, funny, thoughtful, really worth seeing. And EMcG is also lovely. :-)

I don’t need to add more than that.  Go see it.  Try not to cry.

Movie 4 – Hugo
My rating 7/10
movie #4: Hugo, gets a 7 from me. Cute movie with gorgeous sets and decent 3D. Acting just ok though.

Looking back, I probably should have given this a 6.5.  Pretty sets should get you just so far.  I’m a sucker for gorgeous sets and technology.  I had the same problem with Avatar.  I was so wowed by the 3D and color that I forgot for a moment what a crap story it was.  While Hugo is a sweet story, it’s not amazing and the acting was just so-so.

Movie 5 – Moneyball
My rating 7/10
movie #5: Moneyball gets a 7/10. If I was more of a baseball fan it’d probably be an 8. Better-than-Costner-baseball-movie.

Fun movie, good acting, and Pitt is still good eye-candy.  The big kid steals the show though.  It’s nice he was nominated for an Oscar even though he was a long shot to win.  This is a movie to rent on a Friday night.  Goes great with beer and pizza.

Movie 6 – The Artist
My rating 8.5/10
6th movie The Artist gets 8.5. Here’s a genre movie that works! Little slow at the end, but overall super.

I think this movie won Best Picture not only because it was just plain excellent, but also because it was unusual.  It kept me interested throughout, laughing in parts and charmed in other parts.  It was just corn-ball enough for the type of movie it is, but was never sappy.  It was just fun, and how many movies are really fun anymore?

Movie 7 – Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
My rating – 9/10
movie Tinker, Tailor etc gets 9!! Great movie. Managed a complex story with style & great acting. Captured the time so well.

I really loved this movie.  I had read the book, but back when it first came out and I was just a teenager.  I only remembered that it was a complex story with lots of subtle cloak and dagger stuff going on.  The acting was wonderful.  The pace and color was just right.  Ah, remember the good old days of the Cold War when you knew who the enemy was and could just trade spy for spy?  The movie does beg the question though – are all Englishmen gay?

Movie 8 – The Help
My rating – 8/10
8th  movie The Help gets an 8. Can’t find fault, but yet didn’t make me go WOW. Striking how it was only 50 yrs ago.

DB said several times “It was only a generation ago!” Yes, it was only 50 years ago that people were so openly racist and ignorant.  Now we have a Black president and still people are racist and ignorant.  Ah well.  I think we’ve made a little progress anyway.  This movie had humor and grace and a happy (as happy as could be hoped for) ending.  Lovely movie for the whole family.

Movie 9 – The Descendants
My rating 8/10
movie no9 Descendants gets an 8. Funny, sad, well acted. Even Clooney played someone besides himself. And Hawaii is beautiful.

It’s not a complicated story, but it’s very well played especially by the daughter Shailene Woodley.  A friend of mine said that she thought Clooney was miscast, and that they should have used someone who could play more down-and-out or weaker character.  I disagree.  I liked Clooney in this and I think he actually acted for a change instead of playing himself or just being a caricature (like in O Brother, Where Art Thou?).  I don’t know why the movie is set in Hawaii, and I don’t care.  It was so nice on that winter day to see warm weather and people in sandals.  At least I know it’s beautiful and warm somewhere in the world.

And that’s my weekend in a nutshell.  I can’t wait for next year!

Holiday Videos

 Haarlem, Traditions  1 Response »
Jan 042012
 

I haven’t wished you a Happy New Year yet.  Happy New Year!  The days are already flying past.

I took a couple of little videos during the holidays.  One was taken at the Christmas market in Cologne.  It’s the Old Town market, which was the best in our opinion.  The second video is from New Year’s Eve in Haarlem.  We were at a friend’s house and the neighbors were busy lighting fireworks.  If you can imagine this kind of fireworks being set off at the same time, at about every 5th house on every street, you get the idea of what it’s like here at midnight on 31 December.  It’s goes on non-stop for an hour.  Really.

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