The Films of Tomorrow

Dear Liza,

This past Sunday, I took a break from wrestling with the French map quilt to go to the movies with Grandpa Nelson and Auntie Bridgett. We walked a mile down to the Tomorrow Theater on Division Street.

The Tomorrow is an old movie theater that has been resurrected by PAM, our Portland Art Museum, as a community place to show movies and feature local artists, attracting families and artists to enjoy all sorts of art together.

To make sure everyone had fun, our old friend Selfie Bot was there, drawing pictures of folks and making everyone smile.

On the “previews” screen, we saw that our friend Jack Kent had been here just days before, drawing Sketchy sketches during the showing of “Wayne’s World”. Clearly, this is a place we need to get to more often.

We got popcorn and sodas, and “The Iron Giant” began. Grandpa and I had seen it years ago, but it was new to Auntie Bridgett. We all enjoyed it very much, and I realized at the closing credits that it was an early creation of Brad Bird, who later created “The Incredibles” and a dozen other wonderful animated films since then.

We were still talking about the movie as we walked home, and we passed this poster for a completely different event. Funny how some images just get into the cultural mind and stay there….

Love,

Grandma Judy

Klaus: A New (to us) Christmas Movie

Dear Liza,

Every Christmas, we watch our favorite holiday movies. From “Miracle on 34th Street” to “The Muppet Christmas Carol” and “Charlie Brown’s Christmas”, we watch and enjoy over a dozen films.

We are fussy about our movies, of course. We don’t count “Die Hard” or “Bad Santa.” We like sweet, old fashioned stories where no one gets shot.

And this year, we found a new one! In looking over lists of movies online, I found 2019’s “Klaus” listed. From the minimal description and reviews, it seemed like a good bet. And it was!

“Klaus” is a delightful animated story about an exiled prince given a seemingly impossible task in order to regain his father’s favor. It is told with humor, slapstick comedy and suspense, with just a whisper of romance. Produced for Netflix, Klaus features voices by Jason Schwartzman, Joan Cusack, Rashida Jones and J.K. Simmons. It made me laugh out loud and was judged “Popcorn Worthy” by Grandpa Nelson.

So, go see Klaus. You won’t be sorry, I promise.

Love,

Grandma Judy