Goya's Ghosts

Last night I was watching a movie from 2006 called Goya's Ghosts, directed by Milos Forman. The movie opens in Spain in 1792 where the Inquisition are investigating the works of successful painter Francisco Goya (played by Stellan Skarsgard). However, one of Goya's models, Ines (played by Natalie Portman) is arrested by the Inquisition and "put to The Question" (tortured). In order to release her, Goya is forced to make a deal with hypocritical Inquisitor, Lorenzo (played by Javier Bardem). Although the historical setting of the movie is fairly authentic, the plot is entirely fictional. The movie is visually very lavish and very well-made. Apparently it had pretty bad reviews when it was released but I really liked it, and Natalie Portman looked great. It reminded me in many ways of Forman's earlier film Quills, in that they both feature an iconoclastic and controversial artist (in the case of Quills it was the Marquis de Sade), both of them semi in love with a young muse, and struggling against a hyprocritical authority figure. Personally I preferred Quills.

It was another really dull day at work, and as usual I was really glad to get back home this evening.

Enchanted

Well, I heard from Michele last night. She apologised for leaving it so long since she last contacted me and said that the reason was that she had added me on one of the social-network sites, but added me under an old account that I had made a couple of years ago, never used, and completely forgotten about. I've got two e-mail addresses and so, forgetting all about the previous one, I had made another account, which I did have people adding, and I did use. Michele found herself the only listed friend on my previous account, and thought that I was hiding something, or something was going on. I explained that that was not at all how it was, it was just a simple mistake, and so I deleted the old account and added her to the main one that I use. Michele thanked me for explaining and said that she should have spoken to me about it long ago. I really feel bad about it, because like I said, it was completely unintentional, and I really hope that she still wants to hang out.

This morning my parents came up and, while my dad finished painting the windowframes, my mum and myself went along to the Vue Cinema to see a free preview of the film Enchanted, directed by Kevin Lima. When we got there we had to wait almost an hour before the film started because the cinema apparently wasn't aware that they were supposed to be showing it and so they weren't ready. However the film was funny and entertaining. It opens in an animated, typical Disney movie style, about a princess in a fairy-tale land, who falls in love with a prince, but ends up being transported by his evil stepmother into a modern-day (live-action) New York. After the film, mum and I went along to John Lewis and had coffee and a scone, and then went around for a few minutes so mum could buy some golf balls for my dad's Christmas present, and then we met up with dad and went back to my parent's house for our weekly lunch (which was tacos today, flavoured with cheese, salad and salsa sauce). The latest issue of Sight and Sound magazine had arrived, so that was good, something to read.

The painting on my window frames is now finished, except for another coat needed in my bathroom, so that meant that I could put up my Christmas decorations, which certainly brightens the place up. That means that the process of installing the double glazing is almost finsihed now.

Trekkies

Last night I was watching a film on television called Trekkies, directed by Roger Nygard. It was a documentary about Star Trek fans. The tone of it was pretty affectionate, but they have some of the really hard-core fans like a dentist who decorates his surgery like the Starship Enterprise and a woman who turned up for jury duty wearing a Star Trek uniform. A lot of it was quite funny. I used to be a big Star Trek fan when I was younger, and I went to a couple of conventions and I used to belong to a fan club, so I could recognise a few things in the film. I also watched a couple of episodes of The Twilight Zone: The first episode was "Once Upon a Time" which starred silent-movie legend Buster Keaton as an 1890s janitor who, unhappy with the busy pace of small-town life in the 1890s, finds a time helmet which transports him to 1960, in search of peace and quiet. The episode opens with a hilarious take on silent comedy, complete with slightly speede up action and no dialogue (silent-movie-style title-cards are used instead). The other one was called "Five Characters In Search of an Exit" about a disparate group of five people who find themselves in a featureless metal cylindar with no idea how they got there or why.

My dad came around this morning to continue painting the sills and frames around my windows. It managed quite well, but there will probably need to be another coat of paint added next week. I went round to my parents house for lunch (which this week was pieces of beef in a kind of spicy tomato sauce with peppers and onions in it, along with mashed potato and peas, followed by raspberry and gooseberry crumble), which was really nice. In the afternoon I helped my dad take the Christmas decorations down from the loft and wrap my brother's present. My dad had also found a box of some of my books, which I must have packed up before I moved out, and so I took those back with me.

Painting

Last night I watched some more episodes of the old series of The Twilight Zone. The ones I saw were called "Nightmare as a Child" about a young woman who is visited by a mysterious child who unlocks a dark secret from the woman's past, "A Stop at Willoughby" about a harrassed 1950s businessman who is haunted by strange dreams of a bucolic 19th century small town, and "The Chaser" about a lovesick man who decides to use a love potion on the object of his desire.

My dad came around this morning to start painting the windowsills in my home, after having the double glazing installed. It was just the primer coat that went on today. There will still be two or possibly three more coats of paint to come, and then the process should be finished.

I went to my parent's house for lunch (which this week consisted of roast chicken, peas, stuffing and roast potatoes, with a blackberry and raspberry crumble for dessert). The rest of the afternoon was quite quiet.