I intended to watch some Wong Kar Wai this week and failed. I also intended to watch some Wim Wenders and failed at that as well. I did decide to watch the film, The Little Things, on HBO before it left the service and that definitely counts as my third strike. What an aggressively mediocre experience. I know I try to stay as positive as possible on this page and guess what? That IS me being positive. It’s such a hackneyed, slapped together production. The film is obsessed with procedure while having no knowledge of said procedure. The film has no ending and this has noting to do with (SPOILER ALERT) not solving the murder. I don’t care about that. Leaving a mystery open ended is fine and often allows the viewer to chew on something for time to come. I love it when a film gets it right. Take Fincher’s film, Zodiac, for example. They couldn’t possibly solve the murders because the real life perpetrator was never apprehended. Yet, that film still left us with plenty to chew on while nailing every other aspect of the case.

But that’s David Fincher. He’s always going to get the details correct.

This film is so aggro in painting Leto’s character as the villain all while ignoring the simple fact that he couldn’t have possibly been the killer. The filmmaker in question openly admitted that he had never decided whether Leto was or wasn’t the killer. Um what? You’re the motherfucking writer, my guy — you HAVE to know. Leto questioned him on this to a shrug and a, “you decide,” from the filmmaker. Great, just great. What they did do was litter the film with “clues” suggesting he was and “clues” suggesting he was not. What this “technique” accomplishes is only the muddying of waters. If you litter your story with ways a person could not possibly be a killer, guess what, he CANNOT BE THE KILLER. The rest is fake bullshit serving to throw us off the scent. It is downright idiotic. Like, I’m really angry about this because it is just so fucking stupid. The film never gets off the ground because there is literally no killer — they never bothered to write one. Does that make sense? Every film, every work of fiction, is a construct. When you fail to fully construct the world around your main characters, you’ve failed and the audience knows it.

But that’s enough about that.

My wife and I also watched the Golden Globes because we like to bet on who can guess the most correct answers. She wins every year but neither of us score high enough for bragging rights. My thoughts on the winners and losers? I don’t care. I loved Nomadland and was happy for Chloe Zhao. The moments I latched onto were when the winners’ families went nuts. That’s what these things are really about. I couldn’t care less if I ever won an award. Sure, it’s a nice feeling to have someone tell you that they liked your work — that proves you made a connection and connection is what it’s all truly about. The moment I would cherish is for my family. Knowing how much they love me and seeing the pride and excitement, that would be cool. My parents, specifically, would love it and I would be happy for them. Seeing the daughter of Minari’s director say, “I prayed, I PRAYED,” was THE moment for me. She was so damn proud of her papa. Sudeikis’ speech was great too and Cheadle taking a cue to accent Jason’s point was comedic timing perfection.

This has been my report on the awards ceremony of this past week. I hope this makes it on, “You Heard With Perd.”

As for the rest of my time, I’ve been writing a ton. Ultimately, I did decide to work on two projects at once. My collection of childhood stories is nothing more than getting them all onto the page for the first time. The next step will be to shape them and determine exactly what I wish to say about them and life in general. For now, the stories are being written as plain as possible and I’ve already outlined my crime thriller. I’ve known these characters for years and three of them have already been featured in a short story. I’m excited to get started and more than anything, to see where these characters take me. I always allow this to happen and for me, it’s always best. Roughly outline the basics of a plot and then allow the characters to dictate what actually happens. Often, the outline barely resembles the finished product but it’s purpose is only to fire the starting gun. Start the marathon and then provide small doses of water throughout the test of endurance.

For next week, there are a few films I’d like to see and give my thoughts on. Films like Volition, Saint Maud, and maybe I’ll get to a Wong Kar Wai or a Wim Wenders. No promises.

Until then, love each other.