DLR LotD 05/23/21

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Sunday, May 23, 2021

"Please drag your bodies away from the walls...a little bit." -- CM, to guests, at the socially distant Haunted Mansion

Broke in a new pair of ears today

DLR LotD 05/15/21

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day

Saturday, May 15, 2021

"I haven't been able to touch anybody for a year, so I'm going to touch all of you all day." -- Cindy, to the rest of the Fab Five, in New Orleans Square

Back in Our Happy Place

Globophobia

This happened on last week's episode of "Supergirl", as Brainy discusses the phantom bringing forth everyone's fears.  I've never felt more in sync with Brainy than I do now.

DLR LotD 05/06/21

 Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Thursday, May 6, 2021

"Did you ask me if I wanted to adopt you?" -- Sherry, to Valerie, at Catal

Yay!!!!!

Ahi Avocado Toast

Jidori Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes,
Sweet Garlic, Charred Carrots, and Cole Slaw

Brussels Sprouts Leaves

Mac and Cheese

Cornbread Madeleines

DLR LotD 04/30/21

Disneyland Resort

Line of the Day

Friday, April 30, 2021 -- Disneyland Reopening Day

"Welcome back!" -- Various cast members, to guests throughout the Park, all day long

How to Meet and Greet with Mickey

A Change Is Gonna Come

The night before the Oscars, I watched "One Night In Miami" on Amazon Prime.  While it was not nominated for Best Picture, it was nominated for multiple awards, and it had been on my watch list for a while.

• Interesting that these 4 men were friends, and I wish I could have seen an actual account of their meetings, not just this really cool imagining of one night.
• Great performances all around by all four gentlemen.  I wish I could have seen more of their individual lives, too, but then the movie would have been really long. Also, it's called "One Night in Miami After Lots of Other Separate Nights".
• I don't know much about Malcolm X, but Kingsley Ben Adir played him the way I thought that he might have been: strong, quiet until he needed to be heard, and driven.  He wanted the men to be leaders of his cause because of their popularity, and he seemed pretty convincing to me.  I can't believe I still haven't watched the Denzel depiction yet.  Must remedy soon.
• I smiled whenever Eli Goree talked and sounded like the Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali I grew up watching.  Some people exaggerate the way he spoke, but not Goree.  It was subtle, if you can say that Ali was subtle at anything at all.
• I'm not much of a football fan, so I'm not familiar with Jim Brown.  I sure as heck don't blame him for wanting to act in movies instead of getting more injuries. 
• Leslie Odom is the biggest reason that I wanted to watch the film.  I don't know anything about Sam Cooke's personality, but I liked Odom's portrayal as he felt like he needed to defend the fame he acquired with music that might not have been black enough for his community.
• I'm glad that Odom got to sing a few times!  It would have been a waste of a movie without it, and he sang everything beautifully.
• I don't understand the scene when Cooke sings at the Copacabana.  Wouldn't the audience be there for the biggest act?  Why would they act like they don't know who he is?  Wouldn't he have had top billing?
• I would like to see more of Malcolm X's photographs.
• "Everybody talks about they wantin' a piece of the pie, well I don't. I want the goddamn recipe."

Great movie, should have been nominated for Best Picture.  I'm glad that Odom was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and I would have been happy for any and all of them had they been nominated, too.

Wonderful, Wonderful Weeds

My last film to watch for Best Picture nominees was "Minari", which I watched on Amazon Prime. 

• "It's not called a penis, it's called a ding dong!"
• Real grandmas bake cookies.
• Anne is such a good big sister.  So much better than I was.
• David is so cute.   I remember watched him get his SAG award and he was adorable when he cried during his acceptance speech because he was so happy. 
• I never thought before about the separating of the female and male chickens, nor of who would have that job.  I also didn't realize that if you dunk the chick's butt in water, you can figure out their sex.  
• As soon as he said the sky was green, I knew it was a tornado.  I don't remember seeing a green sky, though, when I was in Arkansas during a tornado watch.
• Grandma, what does pee taste like?
• "You've never even been to Korea."
• "You're crying again? Because of anchovies?"
• "It's water from the mountains."
• When Grandma was alone and helped out with the trash, I thought of my grandmother, whom broke her hip because she was bringing in the trash barrels.  I miss you, Mama. 

I really enjoyed this film, and watched it again with the Bro's family.  Then Bro immediately went online to find a restaurant nearby for dinner that serves minari.  He was unsuccessful.

Toxic

 Last night, I watched "Promising Young Woman" on Amazon to continue my viewing of the Best Picture nominees for this year's Oscars.

• I was pissed off at the men in the club within the first 5 minutes.  Actually, maybe within 3.  I'm glad the evening turned out to be different from what I was afraid I'd see.
• There were a LOT of hash marks in that notebook!  I guess going out every night for 7 years does that.
• Carey Mulligan is sooo good in this.  Quite deserving of her Oscar nomination.
• Dude, what was up with her parents' house?  The old-fashioned phone made me think I was watching something from the 1950s, but then they were talking about using cell phones, so I knew that was wrong.  Then they showed that fancy living room and I giggled that Cassie still lived there.
• "How many children have you killed?"
• I was kind of upset at Nina's mom.  Why didn't she tell her to get (psychological) help?  Telling someone to just move on is really not that helpful.  I understand she was grieving, too, but, I still didn't like it.
• Loved the scene with Alfred Molina.
• Let me get this straight.  The guys know that women do this fake drunk thing because it happened to their friend, and they still try to take advantage of a drunk woman?  Idiots.
• "Why do you guys have to ruin everything?!"  
• Wait.  Paris Hilton had a song?
• "I'm getting you a bike!"
• OMG, I was sooo upset when I heard her boyfriend's voice on that recording.
• I really liked the scene of her in the dean's office, just chewing on her gum as she talked about the daughter.
• I liked that rendition of "Toxic" while she is approaching the bachelor party.
• I loved the multi-color wig!  If it didn't remind me of her, I'd want one for fun.
• "Can you guess what every woman's worst nightmare is?"
  
• "Enjoy the wedding!"

E.T., Shaun the Sheep Style

Needing some levity after seeing "The Father", I decided to watch "Farmageddon", one of the films nominated for Best Animated Feature.

• I loved all of the little nods to different films and TV shows about aliens, like the theme from "Close Encounters of a Third Kind".
• Sheep eat pizza?  Wouldn't that make their wool really oily?  Or maybe cheesy?
• I want one of those little alien babies!  Or maybe just a replica.  He was just so cute!
• Beings really need to child-proof their spaceships.
• The Hazmats remind me of the guys that respond to a "2319" in Monsters, Inc.
• Heh.  HG Wheels.
• I love that the code to the door is whistling "The X-Files" theme.
• I just learned from imdb that Lu-la's word for Shaun is "tupa", which, in Tagalog, means "sheep"!  Now I want a talking Lu-la saying "tupa".

That was a fun movie.  I wish I could watch "Wolfwalkers", but that's on AppleTV, and I don't have that.

Losing All His Leaves

 Last night, I watched "The Father" on Amazon Prime to continue my Best Picture nomination viewing.

• It did not take a long time for me to be confused.  Maybe 10 minutes.
• It did take me a long time to not be confused.  Maybe a few minutes before the credits began.
• I did realize that we were watching this from his point of view, but I was still confused about the different people with the same / different names.
• It also took me a little bit to get Hannibal Lechter out of my head.  It's not my fault that Anthony Hopkins is so good that he makes his characters unforgettable!
• I still can't figure out who it was that hit him.  Was it Bill?  He never met Paul, right?
• Why would she say that she never said anything about Paris?  This is what confused me the most, I think.
• "They don't even speak English there."
• I was done with the opera music before I got confused.
• I wanted him to be with his mommy, too.  So heartbreaking.

My dad's watching the film in the other room as I write this.  I wonder what kind of questions he'll have for me tomorrow.  I did warn him that I was confused, so at least he was prepared.  I probably won't even be able to answer him!  Oh, well.

Houseless

 The next film on my Oscars watch list was "Nomadland", which I viewed on Hulu.

• The vehicle is named "Vanguard".  You've got my attention.
• "I'm a carnivore."
• The first time I would have needed the bucket would have been the day I'd change my mind about this whole lifestyle.
• That was an interesting conversation with her sister, which made me understand more that this was a choice she made.  Fern had been offered a place to stay at the beginning of the film, but I thought that her pride was holding her back from taking up the offers.  
• "My sailboat is out here in the desert."
• I wanted Fern to end up with Dave, not necessarily in a house, but maybe being nomads together.  But I guess she didn't feel the same way he did about her.
• Really cool that they cast real nomads in the film.  But wait.  Did they think it was a documentary?  I mean, it kind of could be one if not for actors like McDormand and Straithern.
• It would have been nice to see this on the big screen to show off the cinematography.  The landscapes were beautiful.
• See you down the road.

JL: Zack's Way

Back in 2017, I saw "Justice League" twice on opening weekend.  I liked the movie, and when it was announced that director Zack Snyder was going to fulfill his vision of the film with his director's cut, I looked forward to seeing that one, too.  All 4 hours and pennies of it.  I'm glad it was released on HBO Max so that I could pause if needed while I'm at home during the pandemic.  I got myself a blended iced hazelnut coffee from CBTL, and I was ready to go!

Because I was watching from home, and this was a long one, I decided to take notes as I watched, so my points below are in viewing order.  Different points of the film were prefaced by "Part 1..." so I'll include them here, too.  

• The film starts with Superman screaming loud enough for everyone to hear, including underwater in Atlantea.

Part 1: Don't Count On It, Batman

• We see Martha actually selling the farm (kind of a surprise in the cut version).  She and her dog Dusty get into the U-Haul and drive away.  
• "Maybe a man who broods in a cave for a living isn't cut out to be a recruiter, hmmm?" 
• Aw, Lois is wearing the engagement ring Clark was going to give her.
• "WE HAVE NO FEAR!!!" 
• Steppenwolf is much shinier than I remember.

Part 2: The Age of Heroes 

• We actually have a callback to Lex Luthor's warning about barbarians at the gate. 
• Gal looks so awesome in white...also, she doesn't get her clothing smudged at all, even when walking through ancient ruins.  She really is Wonder Woman.
• Ooh...Steppenwolf back story!  Darkseid?  Uh-oh.  I thought Darkseid was the monster in Batman vs. Superman, but I guess not.  Lanterns!

Part 3:  Beloved Mother, Beloved Son

• The closed captioning on my screen said "[imperceptible]" while a dog was barking on screen.  Pretty sure nobody else was talking at the time, but it seemed funny to me that maybe I was going to see a translation of a dog barking, or that most people can usually understand.
• I was wondering what he was going to do with that hot dog.  Fast thinker, that Flash.
• Was that Iris?!?!?!?
• I like the song playing when they meet.
• What happened to his shoes?  Do they always come off when he runs?
• "I start on Monday?"
• Batman: "More or less."  Diana: "More more, or more less?"  Batman: "Probably more less."
• Ah, backstory on Cyborg.  Actually, a lot more on Cyborg throughout, which I enjoyed and now I like him.  I was pretty meh about him with the cut movie.
• I want to ride in that silver Mercedes Batmobile!  I mean, if Bruce drives it, and it has bat wings, isn't it a Batmobile?
• Alfred teaching Diana to make tea!
• A black lasso would be awesome.
• Gotham and Commissioner Gordon!  And now that bat signal appearance makes more sense.

Part 4: Change Machine

• This whole scene of the hostages on Stryker's Island is new.  I remember something about them being in this structure, but I don't remember hostages.  
• "I belong to no one." Yasss, girl.
• "But only a mother box can turn smoke back into a house."  And now Sherry understands how they brought back Superman.  It's a good thing, too, because we are now 2 hours and 15 minutes into the movie and still no Supes.
• Martian Manhunter?!?!?!  YES!!!

Part 5: All the King's Horses

• "She's five thousand years old, Barry.  Every guy's a younger guy."
• Why is there a pregnancy test in Lois' night stand?
• I love how Supes just moves over so Flash runs right past him and crashes into Aquaman.
• I thought Star Labs was in Central City.  So how is it in Metropolis with the Kryptonian ship?  But now I get to see how Lois knew to go to the memorial site.

Part 6: Something Darker

• I take that as a "yes".
• Aww, the voices of his dads!  Not as cool as all of the Jedi voices, but still a nice touch.
• I like Victor's letterman's jacket.
• That was a very different final battle.  Like, no small European town or race between Supes and Flash.

Epilogue

• New suit, Supes?  I like the silver S.
• What is going on with this ending?!?
• OK, so Deathstroke was Robin?  I don't know all of the different Robins.
• Hello, Jared Leto!
• Lois?  What is this news?  ACK! That's why she's the key?
• Nice credit music with piano rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah"...then the singing started and I didn't like it anymore.
• That WAS Iris!  It's helpful to read credits, y'all.

I prefer this version over the other cut version.  Everything made a lot more sense to me, including Steppenwolf's motivation to want to kill everyone on Earth.  I'm looking forward to the Flash movie, hoping something from the Barry/Iris meeting is included in it.

Listening to Stillness

The next Oscar-nominated Best Picture film I watched was "Sound of Metal", which I viewed on Amazon Prime. 

• Scary how rapidly the hearing loss progressed.  You know when someone asks which of the 5 senses you would least like to lose?  Hearing is my choice, mostly because I'm a musician and I know I'd get very depressed if I couldn't hear it the same way anymore.
• I wonder if a lot of people that are not familiar with a neighborhood go to a pharmacist for help when they don't know how to get to a doctor.
• I was, like, "Hey, that's Art3mis from 'Ready Player One'!" I almost didn't recognize her when her eyebrows were blonde, though.
• Riz Ahmed is quite deserving of his Best Actor nomination.  I enjoyed seeing his growth as he learned how to communicate with the rest of the people at the facility, and totally understood why he would want to get his surgery anyway.
• Loved seeing them race to complete the alphabet in ASL, as well as seeing him teach them to play the drums.
• When Joe said, "You sound like an addict", that was exactly what I was thinking.  i really liked Paul Raci's portrayal of Joe.
• I really liked the way the audience was allowed to hear the progression of the sound loss, even though it was scary to me.  After he had the implant surgery and started to hear again, I had tears in my eyes.
• I wish more people could enjoy moments of stillness.  Me included, yes, but also most people I know.

Great film.  If it doesn't get an award for sound, then I don't understand that category at all.

One, Two, Eighteen

 I'm watching a lot of sports this weekend, what with the World Figure Skating Championships (Yes, Nathan Chen!!!) and March Madness to view.  It gives me a chance to pay my Disney Emoji Blitz game.  I love the game not only because it's fun and because of all of the cute emojis, but also because I get to watch ads when I'm waiting for my free spin for power ups.  That's right.  I GET to watch ads.  Because lately, I get to watch Rockapella sell Built Bars.  I even click on links so that my phone knows that I want to see more of them.  There are other Built Bars ads, but I don't click on those.  Today, I've probably watched the Rockapella Built Bars ad at least 10 times.  

I don't ever get to watch the full 90-second ad during these times, but at least I can go to the YouTube channel and watch it there.  I'm also posting it here for your viewing pleasure if you haven't seen it yet, and also for posterity.

My boys have done it again with a catchy tune and all of their humor and cuteness.  I miss them sooooo much!  Bonus:  a vocal percussion solo from demi-god JT!

In case you're wondering, I've tried 3 of the flavors:  Caramel Brownie, Salted Caramel, and Peanut Butter.  My favorite is peanut butter.  If you ever get to come into my house again, you'll probably see that I have a sufficient stock of Built Bars.  You're welcome to have some!  I know where I can get more.  :) 

Credit where Credit is Due

 It's Oscar season!  I've already watched a couple of the films nominated for Best Picture, so once the nominations were announced, I had 7 left to watch before the big night.  First to watch: "Mank".

• I like the way they did this in black and white, like it would have been done in the days of "Citizen Kane".
• Victorville sure looked a lot different back then.
• At first, I was a little bit confused about what was going on because of the jumps in the timeline, but I got used to it quickly.  
• I get that he called his wife "Poor Sara", but why did everyone else call her that?
• I've been to Hearst Castle, but I forgot how huge it was.  Seeing people sitting in the dining room made it seem even bigger somehow, because now we can see the comparison of the room to the people in it.  
• Gary Oldman is very much in his element here, and I like it!  He plays the drunk, issues-filled guy well.
• I also liked Amanda Seyfried in her role as Marion, because she was outspoken in a time when it wasn't very much accepted.  She was apologetic about it, which in these days she wouldn't have to be so much.  I especially liked her final line.
• Interesting to see the politics of that day, and the opinions about Hitler on the rise.
• I realized that I don't know my California history well because all I knew was that Upton Sinclair does not become governor, not who actually won the election.
• Who says "give me the gun", and then is OK with walking away with just the bullets?
• "If I go to the electric chair, I'd like him to be sitting in my lap."
• I need to see "Citizen Kane" soon.  I don't think I've seen more than the last scene.

Good movie, wish I had seen it on the big screen to get the full effect.  I know it was made for Netflix, but I still would like to see San Simeon as huge.

Burden of Proof

 I started to watch "The Little Things" on HBO Max one evening, and the opening scene frightened me, so I turned it off in order to watch it in the daytime instead.  So I watched it during the day and it turns out the scene wasn't actually that scary.  Oh, well.

• I like the way era was set by showing the old phones on the desks at the police station, and all of the older model vehicles, instead of hitting you in the face with a "1990!!!".  
• I kept thinking to myself, "This would have been a lot easier if he could just text Denzel's character to warn him that he was leaving" (the stakeout point).
• Jared Leto is very good at being creepy.
• I mean, that whole thing with them kind of playing cat and mouse on the freeway?  That was creepy.
• I much prefer this cop Denzel over "Training Day" cop Denzel.
• Pretty sure I wasn't the only one who wondered why the heck Rami Malek's character had his back to Jared Leto's character while he was digging and his gun was clearly exposed.  Dude, he's too close to you!  (I'm sensitive to personal space anyway, but even more so due to the pandemic.)
• I miss when the freeways had so few cars on them.
• All three of the main actors in this film had great performances, and I wouldn't expect anything less.
• So he just left all of those photos on the wall of his motel room?

I liked the psychological theme of this movie, highlighting how detectives can become obsessed with cases.  And now I'm thinking (SPOILER!!!)..."Oh, they left me unresolved so that I could be like them!"  Ohhhh, I get it now.

What Have You Become?

 I was hearing good things about "Derk DelGaudio's In & Of Itself" from celebrities on Twitter, and Frank Oz and star Derek DelGaudio were on The Late Show talking about with the film's Executive Producer Stephen Colbert.  So I finally watched it on Sunday morning.  I can't write too much about it because I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll try.  This is the link to the original show's website.

• I wish I could have seen this on Broadway, because it must have been so powerful to be in the audience.  I was in tears while watching it from home.
• I also wonder about how the elephant felt.
• Oh, that WAS who I thought I saw in the audience!
• If DelGaudio was merely playing a character and not himself, he is one hell of an actor.
• I probably would have chosen "Unicorn", if it had been available. 
• I don't know how anything was done, and I'm very much OK with that.

Watch it!  It really had quite an impact on me, and it's so much better not to know what's going to happen if you're not familiar with it.

Armor of Gold

 This pandemic has kept us away from doing so many things, and one of those things has been going to a movie theater.  Thank goodness for HBO Max airing "Wonder Woman 1984" so I could at least watch it at home.  It had been postponed multiple times for multiple reasons.  This is one of the films that I really, really wanted to see on a huge screen, going to a theater wearing my WW denim jacket and other symbols of my fandom, so I've been hesitant to write about it.

• Yay!  More footage of young Diana!
• I knew when she took that shortcut that it would turn into a lesson.  I was wondering how they would keep track of the different stages of the race, and I really liked the different poofs of color.
• I think that I had been in Diana's shoes...first of all, I'd fall down but I'd be wearing FABULOUS shoes...I probably would have made the same wish.  They're so happy when they're together!
• I would have liked to see more of Steve freaking out about all of the '80s stuff.  I mean, this was when I was in high school and it was a formative time of my life.  Ah, the crazy 80s.  Diana's hair needed to be taller.  :)
• I loved the dress that she wore to the gala, and that's the Funko Pop version of her that I chose to purchase.
• I was a bit irritated by Kristen Wiig's character.  I'm not familiar with the comic version of Cheetah, so I don't know if she was that obsessed with Diana, and I get that she just wanted to be *like* Diana, but ugh.  I guess I'm over the whole "insecure woman gets revenge on the confident woman" plot.
• Whoa.  She's using lightning to travel through the sky.
• The invisible jet!!!  Love it.
• I was confused by Max Lord's wish: maybe I wasn't focusing on whatever he was saying?  Maybe I kept thinking of Star Wars because it was Pedro Pascal.  I don't know.
• "Does, does everybody parachute now?"
• That final cameo!  YAY!!!

I'm still hoping to see this on the big screen someday.

The Whole World Is Watching

 I've been wanting to watch "The Trial of the Chicago 7" for a while, but finally watched it tonight on Netflix.

• 10 minutes into the movie, I realized I was probably looking at this with a really different than eye if I had watched it before January 6, 2021.
• This judge is a mess!  Frank Langella's performance reminds me of when he played Nixon in "Frost/Nixon".  Ooh, now I want to watch that again.
• Mark Rylance!  Yay!
• I had tears in my eyes when Bobby Seale was restrained and gagged.  I was also pissed.
• Great cast, and none of them disappointed me. 
• I also love the writing, which is not a surprise, given that I'm a fan of Aaron Sorkin and he's the reason I wanted to watch this in the first place.
• "This is the Academy Awards of protests and as far as I'm concerned it's an honor just to be nominated."
• "If you don't win elections, it doesn't matter what's second. And it is astonishing to me that someone still has to explain that to you."
• "In this country, we do it every four years."

So they were charged with crossing state lines with the intent to incite a riot, or conspire to do so.  This is why I would have seen this with a different eye before 1/6/2021;  a different eye, but sadly, not a surprised one.

Great movie.  So now this is on my list of "courtroom drama must-see movies".  Others on that list:  "The Accused", and "A Few Good Men".  

We're Jazzing

 I watched "Soul" via Disney+ on Christmas Day.

• Loved, loved, LOVED the opening logo with the middle school band class rendition of the Disney theme.
• Jon Baptiste's music was as awesome as I expected.  Love that jazz piano that I've become familiar with during his musical stylings on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
• I was kind of irritated by Joe's attitude, and after talking to a teacher about the movie, I think I understand why: I didn't like the fact that he saw his day job as a last resort.
• "Quiet Coyote"?
• I loved that they showed that anyone's souls, not just those of artists, can transcend to The Zone because of something they love to do. (Aw, the poor Knicks!)
• I also didn't like that Dorothea looked down on him being a middle school teacher before she actually heard him play.
• So funny how Joe (as Mr. Mittens) sits on the subway seat.
• I felt like I was left hanging at the end, but I suppose that was intentional.

I watched the movie again as I wrote this, and I liked it more the second time.