So That Was Christmas!
A Boxing Day newsletter
Hi all,
Firstly, apologies for no newsletter yesterday. It was our designated day. But it was also Christmas Day. So I think that’s a mighty fine excuse. I was going to sneak away and write something, but I figured very few would read it - and also it just seemed a bit tragic. I remember, not so long back but it already feels like ages ago, when I was a social media fanatic/lunatic, I’d post about Xmas and people would end up putting in the comments, “why aren’t you hanging out with your family?” And even though I was, they also still had a point…
So, yeah, I spent yesterday with my family. Me and Katy and Oscar. And we’re in Hawke’s Bay with my parents - and my brother and his wife and two kids. We had an aunty and uncle around for Christmas Eve drinks and dinner, and another aunty and her family around for Christmas Day evening meal. It was a low-key day. Which is what we’ve always craved.
I haven’t watched any TV or movies since I’ve been here - apart from a bit of Boxing Day test earlier today, and some T20 cricket too. So I wouldn’t really have had anything to write about yesterday if I’d tried to, er, play a straight bat and hit you with a Movies/TV post.
We did watch Maestro just before leaving Wellington for Hawke’s Bay. And it was….okay? Bradley Cooper was superb as Leonard Bernstein, Carey Mulligan (always fantastic) was even more impressive as his long-suffering wife. But the story…just…happened. It didn’t feel like enough, whilst simultaneously screaming from the very front of the orchestra pit that it wanted several Oscars. Bradley Cooper’s direction was partly to blame perhaps. Going a bit too La La Land in the first half, then trying to lay back into Mr Holland’s Opus for a finale that seemed to be missing a true final section. But there’s a lot worse you could be watching. I kinda still dug it for the performances alone.
We also watched Saltburn at the cinema (it’s now on AmazonPrime). This film blew me away! I loved Emerald Fennell’s first movie (Promising Young Woman) which deservedly won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. I’d like to think that Saltburn should win similar. Not that the awards really mean anything much about the quality of a film. Saltburn is that wonderful thing where it’s clearly very divisive - I could feel the cinema parting down the middle as the screening was taking place; taking sides on whether it was a ‘good’ movie, or merely a ‘bonkers’ one. I thought it was both. And fucking terrific. Best thing I’ve seen in ages.
It was a good year for cinema experiences - I enjoyed seeing Barbie as a spectacle, but didn’t flat out love it. It was solid fun though. And I adored Killers of The Flower Moon. I also enjoyed going to some retro screenings at The Roxy. A highlight every year. And I thought the horror film, Thanksgiving, was super-good fun. So well done.
I’m currently weighing up whether I should bother seeing Wonka on the big screen. Many of our crew went to the Aquaman sequel today. And hated it. I stayed home and read a bit more of the Vince McMahon biography (which is brilliant) and watched some cricket. Wonka doesn’t feel like the right final film of 2023 for some reason…
I was very lucky this year to get a wonderful Christmas gift. Some records. All of them movie soundtracks:
Okay, I might have had a hand in choosing them. But aging is a wonderful thing, I’d forgotten most of my selections until I saw them again on the day. So it’s a real treat to have these. And I’m chipping away at listening to them now. I have to pick my moments to sneak down to the end room at home. But I’m lucky there’s a turntable in the family home still. (Alright, it’s a spare one of mine, I might have positioned it here last year for just such occasions).
My mum got herself a drum kit for Christmas (I guess technically my father bought it for her). But that’s been a delight for the grandchildren. And, since I was tasked with assembling it, I snuck a turn or two as well. Good times! Well, I think we’re all enjoying it. Some of the passive listeners have been a bit quiet in their appreciation…
Well, it’s all been good times here, actually. No work, lots of books, some CDs and records, friends and family to see. It’s impossible to call it anything but lucky. We are very, very lucky. And we’ll be up here for about a week, so I’ll try to keep the newsletters happening in and around the stat-days.
Wherever you are in this world, I hope you got to spend your Christmas Day with loved ones, with special people in your life. And if Christmas is a trying time for you - for whatever reason/s - then I hope you are doing okay. Thanks for reading this if you did. And I look forward to bringing you a couple more newsletters in 2023 - and then many more in 2024…
Happy holidays to you and yours.
