I got wild and crazy Friday night and watched something from my watchlist that I hadn’t seen before, and it was kind of a mistake that perfectly illustrated that new vs. old and comfortable dilemma. It wasn’t a bad movie. It just wasn’t what I really wanted at that time. It was something that looked like it might be a bit of a comedy. It had a great cast of familiar actors, most of whom do projects that tend to have a bit of quirkiness to them. It even started out looking like it was going to be funny. And then it went off into bummer land — not really outright tragic, just low-level disappointment for all the characters and the kind of ending that in another movie might have been happy, except it was framed as being a letdown.

Fortunately, I wasn’t in a mopey mood, and I had too busy a weekend to get the blues. It just wasn’t the fun movie night I had in mind. When I’m in the kind of mood that requires uplifting, it’s generally best to go with something familiar so I know how it will affect me. I think that’s why there are so many movies I’ve never seen, books I’ve never read, but I keep rewatching/rereading old favorites. Sometimes you need something you’re guaranteed to love. I guess obscure arty films are always a big risk. I should keep that in mind. Period costumes aren’t a guarantee that I’ll like something (though they help).

I’m kind of thinking of rewatching the Lord of the Rings trilogy this weekend. I’ve got multiple free nights in a row, and it’s been nearly ten years since I last watched any of it. I may even see if the library has the extended editions, since I’ve never seen those and I don’t have them on DVD. That’s “winter” viewing, and I’m about to run out of winter.