Merry Christmas Eve!

[cleolinda]

So we're hugely busy over here--I got my wrapping done, but my mother got started too late (due to having to do everything else), so she's all in a panic. See, here's the thing: we're not a physically demonstrative family. We don't really hug, unless one of us is leaving to go somewhere. Like, for a relatively long time--I got more hugs going back to college every other weekend or so than I think I'd gotten in my entire life previous to that. (Well, and I hug my grandmother, and before he died, my grandfather, every time I see her both coming and going--it's one of those knowing you might not have many years left kind of things.) We're not verbally demonstrative, either--God knows we never shut up, and we psychoanalyze everything to death, but we never say "I love you." Now, we do go out of our way to try to do things for each other, and I think we know consciously that that's what we do, but above all, we really love each other with merchandise and food. This is why my mother (and, now, my sister) is always baking for people, and why she's always turning up with this or that little thing she bought for me while she was out doing something--and this is why Christmas is SO IMPORTANT to her. I mean, besides the totally awesome decorating aspect, which she also loves. So she spent today trying to get most of the food ready for tomorrow--my aunt brought over her and my grandmother's contributions early, so we'd have all our ducks in a row, so speak (although we're not eating duck, rather ham and turkey and, I believe, a chocolate roulage?). I've mostly been recovering from Saturday--again, not from drinking, of which I didn't do much at all, but of having a day that went from eight in one morning to four-thirty the next. Sister Girl had a similar day--a long shift at work, and then out to see I Am Legend, which freaked her out so bad she came home super-hyper--but she's far more accustomed to keeping outrageous hours (due to the insane shifts she's worked at Panera for about two years now, often taking classes at the same time) than I am. I'm weaksauce, is what I'm saying. But I can write 4000 words in one sitting, so--uh--there. Or something.

I tried to spend as much of the month just thinking about Christmas as I could, so I'd feel like I'd made the most of it, but somehow, it always seems to have gone by too fast. I probably won't be satisfied until I spend an entire month ODing on Christmas music and movies, although if I did that, I'd probably be sick of it after three days. (Although I do feel that it would be fantastic to work up a list of tangentially related Christmas movies--Batman Returns! The Lion in Winter! Little Women! The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe! Anything Harry Potter!--as opposed to movies that are Meaningful and Deep about the Deep Meaningfulness of Christmas.) Still, I'm currently working on a giant Cadbury Dairy Milk with whole hazelnuts ("More to share!" AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA) that'll probably take me three days to eat, and birthday presents have been trickling in for two whole weeks. Life is good.

Also, somewhat hilariously, I keep going around humming bits from Sweeney Todd, which is almost as fantastic a juxtaposition as that time they released Hannibal on Valentine's Day weekend. I have most of the soundtrack, although, really, listening to it isn't quite as good as watching it. You have to actually see Helena Bonham Carter smacking roaches with her rolling pin throughout "The Worst Pies in London" to really appreciate the movie version, I think, and "By the Sea" is totally owned by the character who only says three words through the entire song. Which reminds me--you can see a good number of clips on the Coming Soon.net page (hunt down all three "Little Priest" snippets, if you want to know why you should go see this movie, in a nutshell), and the interviews are interesting as well. Stephen Sondheim even declares that this is (in his opinion) perhaps the first and only movie musical that is a movie rather than a filmed musical. They've cut down the songs (or cut out songs entirely) to fit the movie rather than just filmed them and set them out there--something that works so well (for me, anyway) that I didn't even notice it until I watched the interview, but it really is the first movie musical I can remember where I didn't get restless through the umpteenth chorus of whichever song. So many movies, it feels like they just perform entire songs because... well, they're there, regardless of how restless the audience might get. It seems like some of the fans of the musical--the people who would know better, in other words, as I wasn't familiar with the original--found this awkward or disappointing at times, but it worked for me. It's actually a shade under two hours, a very swift and compact thing where they use exactly as much of the song as fits and no more. I'd actually really like to see the full show--but I think it worked, cut-down, as a movie in this case.

Ooh, dinner's ready. And it smells Italian.


(P.S. Thank you, discord26!)


ETA: A Very Lolcat Christmas.

Comments

[kookaburra1701.livejournal.com]

Ok, you've got me. I REALLY want to see Sweeney Todd now. (Normally I'm not into tragedy, but if there's some black humor in there, I'm OK) How gory was it? I mean, I don't get really freaked out by over the top blood, but what's the goriest it gets? I like to be prepared before I go in. :)

[theatre-angel.livejournal.com]

I think Sweeney's been the best stage-to-screen adaptation in years, because it really did become a movie and not something that could just as well have been a filmed version of the stage production. Though a good portion of the audience kind of went WHAT?! when Antony started singing "No Place Like London", but I thought it was kind of clever that Burton never actively came out and said, oh hey it's a musical. In a sneaky sort of way. I hope you're having a good Christmas Eve, the food sounds great. ;-)

[viorica8957.livejournal.com]

A montage of blood spraying out of slit throats.

[viorica8957.livejournal.com]

My dad turned to me when Anthony started singing, and went "Wait, this is a musical?" He wasn't too pleased.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

The blood's a very cartoony, opaque tomato red, which helps a bit, but the bloodiest part is a montage of Sweeney killing customers (slashing throats, of course) and dumping them down a shoot head first (crunch!) into the cellar. It's basically five or six minutes of arterial spray set to music. (Oh, and possibly the opening credits--imagine the opening of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, only blood running through streets and buildings to the sewer instead of chocolate on a conveyor belt.) The blood's very fake, but the spurting wounds are in full view, a razor sticks out of someone's neck while they struggle, that kind of thing. The most disturbing part, though, is someone being burned alive, I'd say. Honestly, the worst part is waiting for him to kill this or that character and thinking it's going to be any minute now; at least once the montage starts up, you know it's time to start covering your eyes if you want. There's tons of black humor, though--anything involving Mrs. Lovett and the pies is hilarious, and I love, love, love "By the Sea." I hate that there's not a clip of it online (that I can find), because I'm pretty sure that would also sell people on the movie.

[viorica8957.livejournal.com]

I saw Sweeny this afternoon with my dad (who hadn't realized it was a musical beforehand, but did comment that all the red was Christmassy). My thoughts on the movie (http://viorica8957.livejournal.com/13151.html) are long and spoilery, but my final thoughts? Meh.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

How'd he like it when it was all said and done?

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty certain that the definition of "black humor" is singing a happy little pun-filled song about cannibalism...while waltzing. ("A Little Priest")

[viorica8957.livejournal.com]

He said it was okay, but he doesn't like musicals in general. He laughed a few times, though.

[cheapblackpens.livejournal.com]

I could not fall asleep last night because of I Am Legend. I really should never watch movies that are even remotely scary.

Also, my boyfriend's house (of thirteen - yes, thirteen - guys) firmly believes that Die Hard is a "Christmas movie." So there you go.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Dude, Die Hard TOTALLY counts.

[ponygirl118.livejournal.com]

Think Kill Bill: he Music.

[iczer6.livejournal.com]

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

almost as fantastic a juxtaposition as that time they released Hannibal on Valentine's Day weekend

Even better: The Silence of the Lambs was released on a Tuesday, specifically so it would open on Valentine's Day (Tuesday, Feb. 14th, 1991). Can you say "perverse"? I can, and I do.

[pygmymetal.livejournal.com]

Merry Christmas, Cleo. Thank you for sharing your days with us.

[bakednudel.livejournal.com]

Die Hard is one of my favorite Christmas Movies! (I am female)

[pygmymetal.livejournal.com]

Oh lordie, I cannot take kidlet to that!!!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, dude, that's fantastic. I actually remember now, they were releasing Hannibal as close to ten years later exactly as they could get. But I love that even then, ten years earlier, they knew it was perversely appropriate, when it was more subtext than anything.

[xander77.livejournal.com]

Had to point out that that icon totally OWNS. May I steal for special occasions?

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

'go bed

santa be here soon'

*cutesplosion*

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

It was made by someone on baaaaabyanimals but I can't remember whom. I'm bad with that.

[xander77.livejournal.com]

Now I kinda want to see the movie, even though I had no such plans previously.

I really didn't like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which seems to be the most used comparison), does that mean something in regards to liking/disliking ST?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, it's actually rated R. Definitely not.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I KNOW! I was like, "There must be an ETA JUST FOR THAT."

[robyn-ma.livejournal.com]

When Silence came out I was working at the campus newspaper. Movie studios still sent out press kits and other fun stuff, so they sent three Silence miniposters and a note from Hannibal, on 'H.L.' stationery:

Dear Friend,

I've been called monstrous, unspeakable, insane...a cannibal. Ah, such nasty rumors! Well, don't be afraid. Don't ever be afraid. I won't bite you...just yet. I simply want to remind all my delectable young fans to look for me in the electrifying new thriller "The Silence of the Lambs" which opens, quite appropriately, on February 14th. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the enclosed movie poster — it's a small token of my great affection for you, along with the wish that, this Valentine's Day, I can be close to your...heart.

Tastefully yours,

Hannibal "The Cannibal" Lecter

Kind of corny, but cool. I still have it. :)