Theatre: The Piano Lesson

A Noise Within
I remember seeing The Piano Lesson as a Saturday afternoon TV movie during my childhood. I usually didn’t watch Saturday TV after it switched from cartoon to live-action, but this must have snagged my attention or maybe I tuned in at an especially engaging point. I remember there was something paranormal in the movie and that in at least one scene the piano was possessed. I don’t think I ever saw the movie again. 

Fast forward to the present: I’ve been following the August Wilson Cycle that A Noise Within has been producing and this year’s selection was The Piano Lesson!
The first half was great. ANW always has amazingly complex and authentic set deign. The actors, some familiar from the previous August Wilson plays, some not, were excellent and so comfortable in their characters, I felt like I knew them. And though it followed Wilson’s standard trope - a Black man rushing his way to prosperity only to blame something or someone for standing in his way - The rest of the story was quite interesting and intriguing. I couldn’t wait for the Piano possession!
Act 2 was such a disappointment! It was like the actors were rushing through (Which might have been the case. During the intermission, we overheard a stage hand saying they were running behind). Only some of the same intensity and depth of the characters came through. Then, in the end when the house shakes and the piano is supposed to become possessed by the ancestors or Mr. Sutter’s ghost, it was so anti-climactic. They could have done a better job of bringing that to life without much special effects expense. They didn’t even flicker the lights, which is ghost-on-stage 101! If I could do this over, I’d have another actor playing the ghost showing up in deep background at key points throughout the play. For the climax scene, I would have had the lights flicker and shake, the piano playing by itself, and the ghost flash their way through the scene.
Then it ended and all was well. Hmph.
I still love ANW as a venue and Greg Daniels’ productions of August Wilson plays. But I recognize that this particular night wasn’t anybody’s peak performance.

Off Beat Romance Double Feature

I managed to pick two quirky, romantic comedies that are really fun and worth watching multiple times. I highly recommend these for a fun Hulu + chill night.

Dinner in America (2020)
Hulu
An awesome movie about a low-level criminal punk rocker stumbles upon a punk groupie of whom not much has been expected. Shenanigans and punk music ensue. Overall a fun and well-made movie. Nothing extraneous perfect acting, good writing.

Palm Springs (2020)
Hulu
This is a sort-of-sci-fi romantic comedy about a time loop starring Andy Samberg. Kind of like Groundhog Day but in Palm Springs. I really liked it. Light and fun, good comedic banter, fun side characters.

Black History Month 2025 Shorts Series

I celebrated Black History Month this year by being a couch potato. Also, since none of the Oscar nominated shorts were available online, I decided to make my own shorts series. Want to hear about it? Here it goes…

Shaka Inkosi YamaKhosi (2021) 15 mins Netflix

This is an animated short about Shaka Zulu. It was okay. 

Cops & Robbers (2020) 7 mins Netflix 

Partially animated by different animation teams. That’s was the most interesting thing about this film, which is a poem about police brutality. 

Heart Shot (2022) 19 min Netflix 

Excellent short film about a mysterious bad girl. The action was surprisingly good.

The Weathering (2023) 20 min Netflix 
A black woman deals with the pain and prejudice of the maternal health system. Another well done short.

Makayla’s Voice A letter to the world (2024) 24 min Netflix
A really beautiful documentary short about a non-verbal (but learning) autistic girl who learns to communicate using a letter board and has a lot to say.

Sad Day (2020) 8min Hulu
A Crouching tigger inspired ramen shop dream. Music by FKA twigs. Very fun to watch!

Starkeisha (2022) 33 min Hulu
A sci/fi fantasy about code switching and self-acceptance. A bit too long, too much flashiness that gets in the way of the story, but worth seeing. Reminded me of Lovecraft Country episode 7, I Am, about Hippolyta’s adventures through different dimensions.

Part 2 2024 Holiday Movie Marathon: Snow and Inns and Planes, Oh My!

Photo by Clement Lepetit

Back for more of my 2024 Holiday Movie Marathon?! Thanks for reading on. If you're just tuning in, you might want to go to the first post to learn about the theme, tropes and rating system.

Dashing Home for Christmas (2020) 🎄🎄🎄
“Hopefully this is the last little hiccup in our trip. I think we’ve hit the misfortune limit.“
A career-focused woman is determined to spend Christmas with her family although everything that could possibly go wrong actually does. Along the way she runs into a fellow traveler who seems like her opposite, but it turns out they make a good team when they bring their skills together.
This is supposed to be a meet-awkward, road trip, holiday romance. The female lead is supposed to be a work-focused, cold-hearted and particular, but she doesn’t quite come off that bad. The male lead is supposed to be sloppy and a real nice guy. The actor pulls it off.
The production value was B-level and the acting was okay. The story wasn’t that original sticking to standard tropes, but something about the story made it endearing. I had other movies with similar storylines on my watch list that I avoided because I didn’t want a repeat.

• Tropes: Opposites attract • Shared goal: Get to the final destination, a place where we can spend Christmas with people we love • On the road • Stranded
• How’d you watch it? UPtv via Amazon Prime
• Fit the theme? Yep.

Snowed-Inn Christmas (2017) 🎄🎄🎄
Two magazines staff writers are sent on assignment to write the article that will save one of their jobs. One of them is a precise planner that plays it safe, the other, a sloppy, last minute adventurer. On the way, they find themselves stranded and snowed in a small town, Santa Claus, Indiana. They decide to try to save the B&B where they’re staying. Sub-plot: The older couple who run Winter’s Inn very closely resemble Santa and Mrs. Claus: Are they the real ones?
Real snow! No romantic chemistry between the two leads. The story is entertaining, but very trope-y. The male lead is played by frequent cheesy romance player, Andrew W. Walker, who I watched in Dashing Through the Snow (2018 marathon) and most likely in other cheesy romances.

• Tropes: Stranded together • Enemies to lovers • Opposites attract • Shared goal: save the inn
• How’d you watch it? Amazon Prime
• Fits the theme? For sure. They’re travel writers who get stranded while traveling.

A Merry Scottish Christmas (2023) 🎄🎄🎄
An American son and daughter visit their mom in Scotland only to learn that she’s inherited a title and estate. She wants them to take over. Will they leave their lives in the US to become the Duke and/or Duchess of the estate?
There are quite a few holes in the plot, but otherwise this was a nice gentle family drama with a cheesy, quick fall-in-romance story. I was a bit disturbed by how hard the male romantic lead was selling the female lead on staying in Scotland.

The son-brother is played by Scott Wolf best known for Party of Five and the daughter-female-romantic-lead is played by Lacey Chabert, a HolRom queen who you might have seen in Hot Frosty (I haven't seen it, yet). 

• Tropes: Shared goal: save the estate • Destination movie • Location gap • Career vs. Love 
• How’d you watch it? Hallmark via Netflix
• Fits the theme… sure. Yeah. Barely. The brother and sister fly to Scotland and the original intention was that they were tourists, but then they inherit.

2024 Holiday Movie Marathon: Snow and Inns and Planes, Oh My!

The theme of the 2024 holiday movie marathon was travel, which includes a person or group of people visiting another place for business or pleasure, movement via planes, trains and automobiles, and/or stays in hotels, inns and B&Bs. I didn’t know at the time I picked the theme, but hindsight tells me I really wanted to get away during the 2024 holiday season. I was miserable. I didn’t want to see people. I didn’t put as much effort into my movie marathon as I had in the past. I even postponed my personal Christmas a few days because I didn’t feel Christmasy on the 25th. Despite my bah-humbug attitude, I watched some pretty good movies. Now, that “the most wonderful time of the year” is over, I’m happy to share them with you.

Tropes that are prevalent in this theme include:

• Opposites attract: Perfectionist and/or difficult person (often a woman) vs carefree and/or sloppy person (often a man)
• Shared goal: Usually, save the inn or business.
• Stranded: stuck in the same place together
• Location gap: Oh no! We like each other, but we both don’t live in the same place. Who’s going to sacrifice?
• Career vs. love  

I thought I didn’t like the cheesy whimsical music that is often part of romance productions. Upon further thought and watching, it’s not that the music is bad, it’s more that when poorly placed, the cheesy whimsical music stands out and takes over the scene instead of blending into the production. When music is good in a movie, you either don’t notice it or it defines the scene in a good way. Bad music supervision is a sign of a lower level production. After watching tons and tons of cheesy romances, as soon as I recognize bad music supervision, I am put off.
It’s also really nice when the productions are filmed in real snow. It makes the movie more beautiful to look at and heartwarming. Most of the movies I watched in this marathon had real snow, which I am assuming it’s a sign of more productions being filmed in Canada. Thank you, Canada.

Along with all these new-to-me movies, I also rewatched Love Hard (Originally watched in 2021). I didn't take notes, but I still consider it well-produced and rewatchable. It also is on theme, since the female lead travels to meet the male lead. Of course I watched Spirit of Christmas and, yes, it is still my favorite holiday romance that also just so happens to fit the theme: Its about an inn! Yes!  

2024 rating system:
🎄Terrible. DNF.
🎄🎄 Not the greatest. Won’t watch again.
🎄🎄🎄Good to great. I enjoyed it.
🎄🎄🎄🎄 New favorite. I can watch over and over.


The Holiday (2006) 🎄🎄🎄🎄
To escape their romance troubles, A Hollywood-entertainment type and a British journalist decides to swap homes for their Christmas vacations. Of course both find love and or a sense of self and purpose. This is not a B-level cheesy holiday romance like I normally watch. It is an A+ level holiday romance with A-list stars, and a well-known romantic comedy writer-director. And it is so good! The holiday makes it into my favorites.

• Tropes: Fling to love • Love to overcome romantic scars
• How’d you watch it? Amazon Prime
• Fits the theme? Yes. Multiple people visiting another place.