Category Archives: Escapes and Pleasures

A Fantasy, Partially Fulfilled

12 Wednesday Mar 2014

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Four Films in 26 Hours

Miami Film Festival.photo For some time now I’ve wanted to attend one of the premier film festivals (Sundance, Tellerude, Toronto, etc.) and immerse myself in five or six days of nonstop film watching.

I got a taste of that this past weekend when I was in Florida, taking in a few Sox spring training games and visiting my soon departing Miami daughter.

A couple of months ago said daughter sent me the program for the March 2014 Miami International Film Festival, and without much planning or investigating, I quickly chose four films that sounded of interest and got tickets.

How was it?

I loved it.

I saw one film Friday night at 7 PM and three the next day, at 1:15, 3:30, and 7 PM.

The films were all very different, but all four were enjoyable and entertaining. None will win awards, I suspect, but there is something I continue to enjoy about not knowing before hand much about what I’ll see.

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2014 Oscar Nominees, Best Live Short Films

20 Thursday Feb 2014

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As I wrote in a previous post about our Cinema Club, I find I am increasingly enjoying seeing films about which I know nothing in advance. Assuming someone has filtered out the bad ones, there is just something enjoyable about being totally open to what is presented.

I experienced this again when I saw the five 2104 Oscar Nominees for Best Short Live Films. These five ranged from seven minutes to 30 minutes in length (total time for all five is 108 minutes). I found two of these five quite absorbing, one, had it ended better, could have been excellent also, and two were just fair, in my unschooled opinion.

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“Particle Fever” – A Film You Probably Won’t See, Unfortunately

17 Monday Feb 2014

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Particle Fever *****

Five stars for a 99 minute documentary about science, about the Large Hadron Collider, about the search for the Higgs boson, and about the ‘rivalry’ and lives of theoretical and experimental (?) physicists?

Yes.

And we never would have seen this film if we had read about it in advance.

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2014 Oscar Nominated Documentary Short Program (A & B)

13 Thursday Feb 2014

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Last year, at the urging of several ‘film friends’ and breaking with my prejudice against seeing short films, I found I thoroughly enjoyed both the 2013 Oscar-Nominated Documentary Short Films and the 2013 Oscar Nominated Short Live Action Films.

In fact, much to my surprise, both of those made it into my top category (five stars) of films seen throughout last year.

So, of course, I am returning to see the ones nominated in both categories this year. Reviewed below are the Documentaries, divided into two shows, Program A & B. You can see both A & B, currently in DC at the West End Cinema and at other independent theaters here and around the country, with a half hour break between the two and a discount for seeing them both. If you only have enough time for one of the Programs, see Program B.

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The Two Indias I Know

11 Tuesday Feb 2014

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In January, Ellen and I were in India, Ellen as a co-host for a conference in Bengaluru (Bangalore) on corruption and transparency and both of us for a celebration of 50 years knowing and being part of an Indian family.

For me, there have always been two Indias, and I think Ellen has captured some of both in her photos below and in a slide show of additional pictures.

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Films: “Philomena” and “Blue Is the Warmest Color”

02 Thursday Jan 2014

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Philomena **** 1/2

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I think I tend to rate films with good/terrific stories and good/terrific acting as four and a half or five stars. I’m not ‘schooled’ in films in the way many reviewers are, and while I can appreciate good film making, good photography, and some of the other aspects that make movies outstanding, for me it’s most often the story and the acting.

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The Books Most Enjoyed by MillersTime Readers in 2013

28 Saturday Dec 2013

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“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read”- A. Lincoln

You’re gonna need some time for this post.

And probably pen and paper to jot down some titles that you’ll likely want to add to your ‘to read’ list for 2014.

Despite a recurring theme in contributors’ emails about not reading as much this year nor finding as many memorable books, I think you’ll find a diverse and rich list of titles and comments.

Seventy-two of you contributed this year, listing approximately 325 books, with fiction leading nonfiction 55% to 45%. The female-male division of contributors was also 55%-45% (F/M), about what it has been in the past. The contributors are listed alphabetically to make it easier to find specific individual’s choices.

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More Good Films

16 Monday Dec 2013

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I’m not sure if there was a dry spell on good films earlier in the year, or perhaps I was just otherwise engaged. But suddenly it seems as if there are a bunch of good ones out. Here are mini-reviews of three I’ve seen in the last two weeks, each one suggested to me by a MillersTime reader.

Keep those suggestions coming.

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Bobcat Bite(s) the Dust

15 Sunday Dec 2013

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Bobcat.P1110635-539x256First it was the closure of A.V. Ristorante in Washington, DC, home of the best white pizza ever made, the best tomato and garlic pizza I’ve ever had, and wonderful soft shells with garlic pasta and seafood platters.

Then it was Sam Wo in San Francisco, home to cheap, filling Chinese food where you entered thru the kitchen and made your way upstairs to one of the two small rooms with formica tables and a limited menu.

Now it’s Bobcat Bite, that served that wonderful hamburger with green chile (with or without cheese) on the outskirts of Sante Fe.

All three dives.

All three family owned and operated.

All three now closed.

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Best 2013 Books According to…

05 Thursday Dec 2013

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This week marks the announcements of Best Books of 2013 by a variety of sources, Goodreads, NY Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Amazon, Slate, Publisher’s Weekly, etc.

While MillersTime readers will have to wait until the end of December to see what other readers of this blog most enjoyed (you all are getting your lists together this weekend, aren’t you?), I thought I’d collect in one place what others are listing.

My personal favorite list, other than MillersTime of course, is the one announced by Goodreads, the on-line site where readers post books they’ve read and what they think about them. It is the only major book awards decided by readers. Almost two million votes were cast on the Goodreads site, and you can see how many readers liked various books when you click on a particular category (Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Historical Fiction, etc.).

Check these out while you’re waiting for the 2013 MillersTime list:

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Theater at Its Best

04 Wednesday Dec 2013

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On a recent trip to London, we of course spent every evening at the theater and saw a range of productions (The Light Princess, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), each worthy in its own way.

But The Curious Incident was particularly outstanding, and I write here a bit about it because it is likely to come to the US.

If it does, go out of your way to see it. And get tickets early.

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