Lucky Bunny

For some years now, I have aspired to watch all of the Oscar nominated Best Picture films. I have always failed. Sometimes it was impossible to find them playing anywhere. I would run out of time before the ceremony. I tried and tried. I know, it is an odd goal, but a goal, nonetheless. This year I was optimistic, I had seen a couple of the films already (Dune & Don’t Look Up). The ceremony is about one month later than it typically is this year (it is Sunday, in case you were interested). And finally, streaming is so in due to the pandemic.

When the nominees came out, I made a list of where all of the movies could be streamed (HBO, Netflix, Hulu) and got started. I watched Coda which is available on Prime – really good, heartwarming. Power of the Dog (Netflix) was not what I thought it was and I really liked it. Nightmare Alley (HBO) was visually appealing but ultimately kind of forgettable. Belfast was not streaming anywhere, and I forced Joe to purchase it (I am not a good person). It kind of gave me some anxiety. I kept thinking that everyone was going to be killed. Maybe if I knew more about the history of Ireland, I would have been more engaged? Who can say?

West Side Story (Disney). I am embarrassed to admit that I have never seen the original, so I have no point of comparison. I loved, loved, loved the actress who took on Rita Morena’s role (Ariana DeBose). I read an article where the film’s costume designer said that she was like the sun since she was the center of the neighborhood. Her dress is yellow with a red, ruffly underskirt during the song “America” and it is impossible to take your eyes off of her. I don’t know if the film should win best picture but she should win Best Supporting Actress.

I had originally thought that King Richard (rented on Prime) was a Shakespearean film but no, it is the story of Venus and Sabrina Williams’ father. I don’t like to be judgey when movies are about actual lives. It was interesting. A bit long.

Drive My Car (HBO). Three hours. In Japanese. But I love Haruki Murakami so I am a bit biased on this one. But there was something visually pleasing about it. It wasn’t draggy. I liked it.

And, finally, Licorice Pizza (rent on Apple TV). Meh. Lots of running. A good soundtrack. Magnolia is better.

Meeting my Oscar goal felt sort of anticlimactic. But it also made me feel like I could vote (my ballot must have gotten lost in the mail). I would vote for Power of the Dog. See it, it’s not what you think.

And now, the bunny story. Today I left my house at like 10:30. Drove to the plaza and went into a couple of stores. Then I drove the 22 minutes to my mom’s house (doing like 55 almost the entire time). I spent a bunch of time with her. We ate lunch. Then I went up to my friend Joe’s house. I jumped on the Peloton bike (I don’t love it). Right towards the end of my ride, Joe came upstairs and told me that he was standing at the kitchen window doing the dishes and he saw a little white bunny come out from under my car. We have wild bunnies where I live but they look like pet bunnies (it is a where-I-live-phenomenon – there are no white bunnies by Joe). There is one little white one this spring that has been hanging around my place recently. We went out to my car in Joe’s driveway. No bunny underneath. I honked the horn to try to scare her out. We opened the hood to see if we could see her. We thought that maybe she had run off. I was a little freaked out. We decided if she had rode all the way to East Marion in the undercarriage, she could ride back that way too. The entire way I was looking in the rearview mirror to see if she had tumbled out onto the road. She did not. I got home, parked and set myself outside to see if she would emerge. Sure enough, ten minutes later, there she was. Very hungry. Completely fine. I am glad that she is fine. I hope that she does not decide to hitch a ride again. She has been out foraging around all afternoon. And we now refer to her as Lucky.

May you be as fortunate as a baby bunny in a car undercarriage doing 60 miles an hour.