Would you believe it, 2 posts within the span of a week, it's a Christmas Miracle! (New Year's Miracle?)
This probably sounds (reads?) sad, but I had fun the other night typing up little blurbs about my DVD collection. It really made me think about why I have the DVDs I have. Sure, a bunch of them were presents or bought out of the dump bin at Wal-Mart or Blockbuster/Movie Gallery/Hollywood Video, but some of them I bought on the day of their release, or at least within the first week.
In fact, yesterday, after taking in a matinee of "It's Complicated" (good movie!), I went and bought (500) Days of Summer (new release in the past week or so) and Bridges of Madison County ($4 deluxe edition, plus I've never seen it before - woot). I have yet to slide them into their proper spot on the shelf, but that'll happen soon, I'm sure.
So, let's continue from where we left off...
56. The Cooler - Great cast... Alec (my favorite) Baldwin, William H. Macy, Maria Bello, etc. I remember we went over some of the disc's extras during one of my film classes during undergrad. Awesome.
57, Hidalgo - One of two DVDs I was given from my grandfather's DVD collection after he passed away. I had seen the film prior to receiving this DVD but have yet to watch it again.
58. Coffee and Cigarettes - Saw this in theaters during undergrad and liked most of the vignettes. Jim Jarmusch is an interesting director.
59. Raising Helen - I'm wasn't a huge rom-com fan and am not a huge fan of Kate Hudson either, but I kept it b/c I like John Corbett a lot.
60. Something's Gotta Give - Another free DVD from my sister. I've seen it once, but will rewatch it at some point b/c I've been on a Keanu Reeves kick. However, I am so not a fan of Amanda Peet after seeing her on Broadway a few years ago. Who keeps casting her in movies?
61. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World - This was the other DVD I was given after my grandfather's passing. I have never seen this movie before, even though I wanted to since it came out. When the time is right, I will sit down and watch this. I'm looking forward to seeing it - I love Peter Weir movies.
62. Illusion - Another movie I got just because of the lead actor (Michael A. Goorjian... you know, he was in Newsies and then played Neve Campbell's boyfriend on Season 2 of Party of Five?). He wrote/directed the movie too. It's all right, and well worth the $2.50 I payed for it at Kmart a few years ago.
63, Bourne Supremacy - The only Bourne movie in my collection, though I am meaning to get the other 2 on DVD at some point. Matt Damon is a bonafide action star. A solid sequel to the Bourne Identity.
64. The Missing - A gift from a friend/work colleague when I moved away from Indiana. Solid film - I keep forgetting that Ron Howard directed it, as it doesn't look like his other films.
65. Road to Perdition - I saw this in theaters and recently bought the DVD b/c I just saw Daniel Craig and Jude Law on Broadway. I was pissed, however, b/c the company I ordered it from sent me the Full Screen version (Full Screen sucks). I didn't bother sending it back b/c I didn't want all the hassle. I'm not a Tom Hanks fan, but it's got Paul Newman in it, so that's nice :)
66. My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Another DVD from my sister after she was weeding down her own collection. Again, John Corbett... woot.
67. Bandits - I remember this being kinda funny, plus I am a fan of the three leads.
68. The Majestic - One of Jim Carrey's finest movies. I love when he plays a more serious role (see also The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). Plus, I like that this is a movie about people who work in the movie business.
69. The Thin Red Line - Underrated war movie with an outstanding ensemble cast.
70. Gangster No. 1- Haven't watched this yet, but it's got David Thewlis in it, which is why I bought it.
71. Behind the Mask - Another $2.50 movie from Kmart... this one stars Matthew Fox. I haven't even unwrapped it from the plastic yet b/c it looks really awful. Maybe I should have a "crappy movie marathon" sometime soon.
72. Three Kings - Great movie with a great ensemble. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube are so good together. I really dig that scene where they show what happens on the inside when Mark Wahlberg's character gets shot - all the damaged the bullet does to his organs and such. Awesome!
73. Liberty Heights - Anybody else a huge Ben Foster fan? Come on - get your hands UP! Talented young ensemble in a solid Barry Levinson film about racism.
74. For Love of the Game - Oh Kevin Costner, I could watch you in baseball movies all day long. Decent story, but selfish me dug this b/c Costner plays a pitcher whose number is 14... I was a pitcher whose number was 14 too :)
75. The Talented Mr. Ripley - Another recent purchase after seeing Jude Law on Broadway (seeing an actor live on stage completely effects how I see them in movies from then on... in this case, I have a whole new respect for Law after seeing him as the lead in "Hamlet"). I have loved this movie since it came out in 1999 and am glad I have it to watch at my leisure. It's got a phenomenal cast and I love the director, (the late) Anthony Minghella.
76. Elizabeth - I'm a fan of biopics in general, but this one is extra special because it stars a woman but has a solid supporting cast of great male actors. This film is also waaaaaay better than it's sequel.
77. The Big Lebowski - Love. This. Movie. I have been a Jeff Bridges fan for a long time and his performance in this film is legendary. One of the Coen brothers finest creations... this movie has a great cast, completely memorable and quotable dialogue and can be watched over and over again and still be funny.
78. The Truman Show - Another fine Jim Carrey performance surrounded by a talented supporting cast (Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, etc...). Peter Weir is one of my favorite directors of all time, for sure.
79. Evita - I love me a movie musical, even if it's a cheese pop opera from Andrew Lloyd Webber. Madonna and Antonio Banderas are talented, capable leads.
80. Reservoir Dogs - Not a fan of Quentin Tarantino (though I liked Pulp Fiction), but I was curious about what all the hype was about with this movie. I get it now - it's got a good script and great violence, but I haven't been impressed with his more recent stuff.
81. The Player - *The* movie about movies. A classic Robert Altman picture with a brilliant ensemble and one heck of a tracking shot at the beginning of the film.
82. Thelma & Louise - This was one of those movies I knew I needed to see, but just hadn't. So, I finally just up and bought it and I watched it - wow. Thelma and Louise are flawed, but they are such strong female characters.
83. The Wizard - My brother got this for me for Christmas and I look forward to watching it soon :)
84. Chances Are - Robert Downey Jr. and Ryan O'Neal in one movie ... need I say more?
85. The Princess Bride - This is one of the films I could watch over and over and over again and never tire of. Pirates, true love, sword fighting, a giant and another solid ensemble (can you tell, I love ensemble films). Cary Elwes as Westley is one of my Top 5 male movie characters of all time.
86. The Untouchables - Ensemble = awesome. Plus, this is just a solid film on a whole.
87. Stand By Me - I am a sucker for Coming of Age/Buddy movies and this is one for the books. Such a talented bunch of young actors... River Phoenix was a great actor, even at that young age. Makes me sad thinking about his career that could have been.
88. Witness - Peter Weir, of course :) My favorite Peter Weir movie, actually. There are so many good things about this movie - great plot, great cast, beautiful location, great score, etc. I think this is one of Harrison Ford's best performances - he plays John Book as a tough, yet vulnerable guy.
To be continued...
:)
Showing posts with label randomness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label randomness. Show all posts
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Happy New Year's Eve 2009
Once again, wow I suck at having a blog.
Maybe my New Year's resolution will be to update this blog more :)
What a year it's been...
I applied to grad school, got accepted into grad school, started going to grad school for journalism because I am determined to write about films "when I grow up". And the sad thing is, I haven't been able to watch as many films nor write about them b/c I felt overwhelmed with school and assistantship work.
I'm in the last few days of my (glorious) 6 week winter break. And while I surely haven't done the amount of reading or writing I should have (as of right now, I still have yet to finalize a thesis topic/proposal), I have been able to catch up on some movie watching. I haven't watched the greatest of films, but even getting to sit through a few "meh" films in one day is better than watching no movies at all. Plus, I got to watch The Hangover and Star Trek (both 2009) with commentary... nice.
As I type this, I see my binder of movies (i.e. the hundreds of movies that are out of their cases and slid into a CD binder) as well as the hundreds of DVDs on my make-shift bookshelf (wooden crates - woot). They're so colorful :)
I got a few movies for Christmas this year, as well as ordered a few of my own from Overstock and I put them in their rightful place on the shelf the other day. All of my DVDs (whether in the binder or on the shelf) are in chronological order according to release date. (Exceptions being boxed sets, such as the Harry Potter films, my James Dean collection, the Pirates movies, Star Wars movies, and Indiana Jones movies... those are arranged chronologically within their own sets... as are the 16+ seasons of TV on DVD in my collection...)
Some of the DVDs are still encased in their plastic wrap. Some are movies I have seen, several are movies I have yet to see for the first time. Perhaps another goal this year could be to watch the DVDs in my collection which I haven't seen yet... that's probably around 5-10 movies. Yikes.
As I scan the titles on my shelf, I see that my collection is a real hodge-podge. There are some old classics (Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, West Side Story, Bonnie & Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) as well as some more recent fare that are borderline embarrassing (Dirty Deeds, Dukes of Hazard, Hot Rod, Meet Bill, Twilight). Surely there is a reason for each DVD to be there...
Let's start from the most recent ones and work our way down. I'll give myself an hour to do this - let's see how far I can get:
1. Star Trek - Christmas present from my sister. We saw it together over the summer and she remembered that I liked it a lot.
2. Role Models (unrated) - I hadn't seen it before, but will watch anything with Paul Rudd in it. Turned out to be super funny.
3. Milk - Again, hadn't seen it before but am a fan of Sean Penn and James Franco. I now understand why Sean Penn won Best Actor over Mickey Rourke - I don't think I've ever seen him smile that much before in my entire life. Very powerful film.
4. Australia - Saw it in theaters and wasn't super impressed, but I liked the epic scope of it all, the director, and cowboy Hugh Jackman (not gonna lie, he looked super sexy in this movie). Means more to me now that I've seen Hugh Jackman on Broadway and have his autograph.
5. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Saw it in theaters and like Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Plus, it's all about NYC :)
6. Tropic Thunder - Not a fan of Ben Stiller or Jack Black, but loved RDJ. Bought it so I can listen to the commentary at some point.
7. The Duchess - Never saw it before, but am a HUGE fan of Ralph Fiennes (he's my favorite actor - woot). Turned out to be a decent period piece.
8. Twilight - Not a fan of the franchise after reading all the books and seeing the movies. I was curious to listen to the commentary to see if the director and actors were sincere in thinking that this was a good film. The plot infuriates me, as does the entire series. Bella Swan is not a good role model for young girls.
9. Sex and the City: The Movie - LOVE this movie. I loved the TV series and this movie was just the tastiest icing on the tastiest cake. I love strong women characters, and it's a plus with all the fashion and settings.
10. Pineapple Express - Fan of Judd Apatow produced films and the pairing of Seth Rogen and James Franco. James Franco needs to do more comedy.
11. Be Kind Rewind - I love Mos Def and was a fan of how they Sweded the movies. Very cute movie from the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
12. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Dear Jason Segel, I love you and your Dracula puppet musical.
13. Atonement - Great book, great movie. James McAvoy was great as Robbie and should have been nominated for more awards.
14. Meet Bill - Still haven't watched it. I only bought it b/c it stars Aaron Eckhart. Since I bought it, however, I became totally over Eckhart and no longer respect him as an actor (he was only good in Thank You For Smoking and Conversations with Other Women).
15. Becoming Jane - James McAvoy again! Hathway does a decent job at portraying Jane Austen, though this was a poor-man's Pride & Prejudice.
16. The Painted Veil - Good book, good movie again. Edward Norton and Naomi Watts are great actors. Gorgeous film.
17. Starter for 10 - James McAvoy (do you see a small theme?) is great as a quiz bowl contestant. I was on the Academic Challenge team when I was in high school and this brought back memories...
18. Hot Rod - After becoming a fan of The Lonely Island, I decided to check out their feature film. Not the best movie ever by far, but it makes me chuckle.
19. Hairspray - I love movie musicals! Plus, this one addresses a lot of themes like body image, racism and overall tolerance. Great music, mostly great cast, just a fun movie.
20. Diggers - I thought this was going to be funnier than it was, but Paul Rudd gives another solid performance.
21. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - I completely dug Johnny Depp as Todd. Another great film from Tim Burton... great cast and really eerie feel to it. I wish they would have kept the main song in the film, though, instead of just as part of the underscore.
22. Superbad - One of the greatest buddy comedies in recent years. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are great together. A solid script from Seth Rogen.
23. Knocked Up - Though I am not a fan of Katherine Heigl in the slightest, I do like Rogen and his buddies a lot.
24. In Bruges - Colin Farrell's best performance to date for sure. Dark and darkly funny film with a great cast of Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes.
25. Hot Fuzz - TOO FUNNY! Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are so great together in this hysterically funny and violent British cop romp. "Punch. That. Shit."
26. The Prestige - A solid film from Christopher Nolan with a great ensemble of Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine. So dark... and you want to watch it again because of all the twists and turns.
27. Little Children - Great book, great film, solid cast. Kate Winslet (my favorite actress) gives a phenomenal performance. Plus, I'm a big fan of Patrick Wilson (who is just as hot in person as he is on film... oh yes)
28. The Illusionist - The "other" magic film (came out the same year as The Prestige). Underrated, but there were solid performances all around. Edward Norton is great, as always.
29. Borat - I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. Perhaps I can laugh because I was not offended by the exploitation of ignorant Americans.
30. The Departed - Soooo good. My favorite Scorsese film of all time. Great cast - you can't get any better than this. I love the violence and deception. Glorious.
31. Capote - Phillip Seymour Hoffman was amazing as Capote, but it was Clifton Collins Jr who stole the show, in my eyes, as Perry Smith. That scene where the gun shots just rang out scared me so much, I nearly leapt out of my seat.
32. I Could Never Be Your Woman - Odd movie from Amy Heckerling. Paul Rudd is adorable - and that dance sequence is funny.
33. High School Musical - Yep, guilty pleasure alert right here. The movie is pure Disney cheese, but the songs are catchy and the theme of expressing yourself is always nice to see.
34. Little Miss Sunshine - Quirky family fun. I remember seeing this in theaters and laughing hysterically during Abigail Breslin's dance number.
35. The Squid and the Whale - One of my favorite "indie" films. Great cast - Jeff Daniels and Jesse Eisenberg are brilliant.
36. Clerks II - Perhaps my favorite Kevin Smith film. Randal Graves is my favorite Smith character of all time.
37. Thank You For Smoking - Oh Aaron Eckart, you were so good in this film, what happened since then? Great cast and script.
38. Superman Returns - I really dug this movie when it came out. Brandon Routh made a great Superman, but I don't think this franchise should continue...
39. Casino Royale - I was so happy when they announced Daniel Craig as James Bond. This is my favorite Bond movie ever - it would have been a great movie even if it wasn't about James Bond. I love Chris Cornell's theme song and the plot of the film. Because of this movie, I will gladly see future Bond movies.
40. A Prairie Home Companion - Robert Altman's last film :( Loved Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly together.
41. Notes on a Scandal - I still have yet to watch it. I just bought it b/c Cate Blanchett is my 2nd favorite actress.
42. Batman Begins - Made me a fan of Batman again. Great cast (except for Katie Holmes) and solid re-into of how Bruce Wayne came to be Batman.
43. Hard Candy - F-ed up movie! Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page are great in this F-ed up movie about pedophiles.
44. The Chumbscrubber - Not a great film, but a decent ensemble cast. I don't know how they assembled these people.
45. Everything is Illuminated - Bought it w/o seeing it, and I ended up liking it a lot. Really emotional movie about finding out about your roots.
46. Good night, and good luck - Great movie about Edward R. Murrow. Made me a George Clooney fan. Plus, amazing ensemble cast!
47. Conversation(s) with Other Women - Interesting film... I appreciate the split screens throughout the entire film.
48. Jersey Girl - Not Kevin Smith's best film, but a good performance from Ben Affleck. It's nice to have something to remember George Carlin by...
49. The Aviator - I didn't like this movie much, even though it has a good cast. My sister was getting rid of her DVD, so I kept it.
50. Dirty Deeds - Not gonna lie, I only bought this b/c I had just started watching Heroes and thought Milo Ventimiglia was hot.
51. Dukes of Hazard - Another one my sister was going to give away... saw it in theaters and laughed. Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott are funny and there was an Air Supply reference.
52. Frequency - Dennis Quiad + James Caviezel = awesomeness.
53. How to Lose Your Lover - I went through a big Paul Schnieder kick a while ago and though this wasn't an awesome movie, it was only $3 at Big Lots.
54. The Upside of Anger - I will watch Kevin Costner in just about anything, and this turned out to be a decent movie (I saw it in theaters when it came out).
55. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - Not as good as the first movie, though I remember liking this book a lot. My dad has a funny Colin Firth story, so it makes these movies extra special to me.
Well, my hour is up... perhaps I will finish this list in the new year :)
Have a great end of 2009 and start of 2010 everyone!!
Maybe my New Year's resolution will be to update this blog more :)
What a year it's been...
I applied to grad school, got accepted into grad school, started going to grad school for journalism because I am determined to write about films "when I grow up". And the sad thing is, I haven't been able to watch as many films nor write about them b/c I felt overwhelmed with school and assistantship work.
I'm in the last few days of my (glorious) 6 week winter break. And while I surely haven't done the amount of reading or writing I should have (as of right now, I still have yet to finalize a thesis topic/proposal), I have been able to catch up on some movie watching. I haven't watched the greatest of films, but even getting to sit through a few "meh" films in one day is better than watching no movies at all. Plus, I got to watch The Hangover and Star Trek (both 2009) with commentary... nice.
As I type this, I see my binder of movies (i.e. the hundreds of movies that are out of their cases and slid into a CD binder) as well as the hundreds of DVDs on my make-shift bookshelf (wooden crates - woot). They're so colorful :)
I got a few movies for Christmas this year, as well as ordered a few of my own from Overstock and I put them in their rightful place on the shelf the other day. All of my DVDs (whether in the binder or on the shelf) are in chronological order according to release date. (Exceptions being boxed sets, such as the Harry Potter films, my James Dean collection, the Pirates movies, Star Wars movies, and Indiana Jones movies... those are arranged chronologically within their own sets... as are the 16+ seasons of TV on DVD in my collection...)
Some of the DVDs are still encased in their plastic wrap. Some are movies I have seen, several are movies I have yet to see for the first time. Perhaps another goal this year could be to watch the DVDs in my collection which I haven't seen yet... that's probably around 5-10 movies. Yikes.
As I scan the titles on my shelf, I see that my collection is a real hodge-podge. There are some old classics (Casablanca, Lawrence of Arabia, West Side Story, Bonnie & Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) as well as some more recent fare that are borderline embarrassing (Dirty Deeds, Dukes of Hazard, Hot Rod, Meet Bill, Twilight). Surely there is a reason for each DVD to be there...
Let's start from the most recent ones and work our way down. I'll give myself an hour to do this - let's see how far I can get:
1. Star Trek - Christmas present from my sister. We saw it together over the summer and she remembered that I liked it a lot.
2. Role Models (unrated) - I hadn't seen it before, but will watch anything with Paul Rudd in it. Turned out to be super funny.
3. Milk - Again, hadn't seen it before but am a fan of Sean Penn and James Franco. I now understand why Sean Penn won Best Actor over Mickey Rourke - I don't think I've ever seen him smile that much before in my entire life. Very powerful film.
4. Australia - Saw it in theaters and wasn't super impressed, but I liked the epic scope of it all, the director, and cowboy Hugh Jackman (not gonna lie, he looked super sexy in this movie). Means more to me now that I've seen Hugh Jackman on Broadway and have his autograph.
5. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Saw it in theaters and like Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Plus, it's all about NYC :)
6. Tropic Thunder - Not a fan of Ben Stiller or Jack Black, but loved RDJ. Bought it so I can listen to the commentary at some point.
7. The Duchess - Never saw it before, but am a HUGE fan of Ralph Fiennes (he's my favorite actor - woot). Turned out to be a decent period piece.
8. Twilight - Not a fan of the franchise after reading all the books and seeing the movies. I was curious to listen to the commentary to see if the director and actors were sincere in thinking that this was a good film. The plot infuriates me, as does the entire series. Bella Swan is not a good role model for young girls.
9. Sex and the City: The Movie - LOVE this movie. I loved the TV series and this movie was just the tastiest icing on the tastiest cake. I love strong women characters, and it's a plus with all the fashion and settings.
10. Pineapple Express - Fan of Judd Apatow produced films and the pairing of Seth Rogen and James Franco. James Franco needs to do more comedy.
11. Be Kind Rewind - I love Mos Def and was a fan of how they Sweded the movies. Very cute movie from the director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
12. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Dear Jason Segel, I love you and your Dracula puppet musical.
13. Atonement - Great book, great movie. James McAvoy was great as Robbie and should have been nominated for more awards.
14. Meet Bill - Still haven't watched it. I only bought it b/c it stars Aaron Eckhart. Since I bought it, however, I became totally over Eckhart and no longer respect him as an actor (he was only good in Thank You For Smoking and Conversations with Other Women).
15. Becoming Jane - James McAvoy again! Hathway does a decent job at portraying Jane Austen, though this was a poor-man's Pride & Prejudice.
16. The Painted Veil - Good book, good movie again. Edward Norton and Naomi Watts are great actors. Gorgeous film.
17. Starter for 10 - James McAvoy (do you see a small theme?) is great as a quiz bowl contestant. I was on the Academic Challenge team when I was in high school and this brought back memories...
18. Hot Rod - After becoming a fan of The Lonely Island, I decided to check out their feature film. Not the best movie ever by far, but it makes me chuckle.
19. Hairspray - I love movie musicals! Plus, this one addresses a lot of themes like body image, racism and overall tolerance. Great music, mostly great cast, just a fun movie.
20. Diggers - I thought this was going to be funnier than it was, but Paul Rudd gives another solid performance.
21. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - I completely dug Johnny Depp as Todd. Another great film from Tim Burton... great cast and really eerie feel to it. I wish they would have kept the main song in the film, though, instead of just as part of the underscore.
22. Superbad - One of the greatest buddy comedies in recent years. Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are great together. A solid script from Seth Rogen.
23. Knocked Up - Though I am not a fan of Katherine Heigl in the slightest, I do like Rogen and his buddies a lot.
24. In Bruges - Colin Farrell's best performance to date for sure. Dark and darkly funny film with a great cast of Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes.
25. Hot Fuzz - TOO FUNNY! Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are so great together in this hysterically funny and violent British cop romp. "Punch. That. Shit."
26. The Prestige - A solid film from Christopher Nolan with a great ensemble of Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and Michael Caine. So dark... and you want to watch it again because of all the twists and turns.
27. Little Children - Great book, great film, solid cast. Kate Winslet (my favorite actress) gives a phenomenal performance. Plus, I'm a big fan of Patrick Wilson (who is just as hot in person as he is on film... oh yes)
28. The Illusionist - The "other" magic film (came out the same year as The Prestige). Underrated, but there were solid performances all around. Edward Norton is great, as always.
29. Borat - I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. Perhaps I can laugh because I was not offended by the exploitation of ignorant Americans.
30. The Departed - Soooo good. My favorite Scorsese film of all time. Great cast - you can't get any better than this. I love the violence and deception. Glorious.
31. Capote - Phillip Seymour Hoffman was amazing as Capote, but it was Clifton Collins Jr who stole the show, in my eyes, as Perry Smith. That scene where the gun shots just rang out scared me so much, I nearly leapt out of my seat.
32. I Could Never Be Your Woman - Odd movie from Amy Heckerling. Paul Rudd is adorable - and that dance sequence is funny.
33. High School Musical - Yep, guilty pleasure alert right here. The movie is pure Disney cheese, but the songs are catchy and the theme of expressing yourself is always nice to see.
34. Little Miss Sunshine - Quirky family fun. I remember seeing this in theaters and laughing hysterically during Abigail Breslin's dance number.
35. The Squid and the Whale - One of my favorite "indie" films. Great cast - Jeff Daniels and Jesse Eisenberg are brilliant.
36. Clerks II - Perhaps my favorite Kevin Smith film. Randal Graves is my favorite Smith character of all time.
37. Thank You For Smoking - Oh Aaron Eckart, you were so good in this film, what happened since then? Great cast and script.
38. Superman Returns - I really dug this movie when it came out. Brandon Routh made a great Superman, but I don't think this franchise should continue...
39. Casino Royale - I was so happy when they announced Daniel Craig as James Bond. This is my favorite Bond movie ever - it would have been a great movie even if it wasn't about James Bond. I love Chris Cornell's theme song and the plot of the film. Because of this movie, I will gladly see future Bond movies.
40. A Prairie Home Companion - Robert Altman's last film :( Loved Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly together.
41. Notes on a Scandal - I still have yet to watch it. I just bought it b/c Cate Blanchett is my 2nd favorite actress.
42. Batman Begins - Made me a fan of Batman again. Great cast (except for Katie Holmes) and solid re-into of how Bruce Wayne came to be Batman.
43. Hard Candy - F-ed up movie! Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page are great in this F-ed up movie about pedophiles.
44. The Chumbscrubber - Not a great film, but a decent ensemble cast. I don't know how they assembled these people.
45. Everything is Illuminated - Bought it w/o seeing it, and I ended up liking it a lot. Really emotional movie about finding out about your roots.
46. Good night, and good luck - Great movie about Edward R. Murrow. Made me a George Clooney fan. Plus, amazing ensemble cast!
47. Conversation(s) with Other Women - Interesting film... I appreciate the split screens throughout the entire film.
48. Jersey Girl - Not Kevin Smith's best film, but a good performance from Ben Affleck. It's nice to have something to remember George Carlin by...
49. The Aviator - I didn't like this movie much, even though it has a good cast. My sister was getting rid of her DVD, so I kept it.
50. Dirty Deeds - Not gonna lie, I only bought this b/c I had just started watching Heroes and thought Milo Ventimiglia was hot.
51. Dukes of Hazard - Another one my sister was going to give away... saw it in theaters and laughed. Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott are funny and there was an Air Supply reference.
52. Frequency - Dennis Quiad + James Caviezel = awesomeness.
53. How to Lose Your Lover - I went through a big Paul Schnieder kick a while ago and though this wasn't an awesome movie, it was only $3 at Big Lots.
54. The Upside of Anger - I will watch Kevin Costner in just about anything, and this turned out to be a decent movie (I saw it in theaters when it came out).
55. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - Not as good as the first movie, though I remember liking this book a lot. My dad has a funny Colin Firth story, so it makes these movies extra special to me.
Well, my hour is up... perhaps I will finish this list in the new year :)
Have a great end of 2009 and start of 2010 everyone!!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Wow - I suck at this (part II)
So, it's been a freakishly long time, once again, since I wrote on this blog.
It's not like nothing has happened or anything in the past few months since Idol ended. I have been busy! I took a few summer classes to prep for grad school this fall (journalism - woot!) and I've been writing for a newspaper called The Post. Because we can't post our material written for that paper on our own blogs, you'll just have to go check it out for yourself...
http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/
I have been to the movies a few times this summer... haven't been wowed by anything in awhile, though. I am looking forward to seeing Funny People this weekend - big fan of Apatow and company... glad they included Aussie Eric Bana in the mix :) He was a stand-up comedian before he scared the crap out of everyone with his brilliant performance in Chopper.
I am also very much looking forward to Julie & Julia... Amy Adams and Meryl Streep covet two slots on my "Favorite actresses" list, and it'll be great to see them in another movie together... though they never actually share the screen this time around. Their dynamic was great in Doubt, but this time around, they each have their own half of the film to carry. I'm obsessed with cooking shows, so a movie about cooking will probably send me over the edge :)
What else, what else?
Comic-Con went down last weekend. Even though I never actually attended a Comic-Con, I love watching clips online and reading EW's coverage of the event. I am so excited for a lot of the projects they covered this year!!! (I'm such a dork)
So, the Big Lots store in our area has had DVDs on sale for $3, so naturally I bought about 20 or so... they are stacked in a high pile next to the crates that house the other hundred+ movies/TV on DVD that I already had, not including the hundreds of DVDs/TV on DVD that I have in a binder... which is sitting in its own crate across the room from where I'm sitting right now. I couldn't help it!
So far I've only been watching the extra material on the movies I have already seen before. I watched bits and pieces from Superman Returns, Liberty Heights, How to Lose a Lover and Good Night and Good Luck. (BTW - George Clooney and Grant Heslov's commentary was AWESOME!!!! Made me appreciate the movie even more!!) I bought some movies I hadn't seen before, but haven't had the time to watch them yet. I got a boxed set of most of Stanley Kubrick's movies... I'm not a fan of his thus far, but I will give his stuff another chance. I'm also looking forward to watching the original King Kong. I was not a fan of Peter Jackson's version, or the one w/Jeff Bridges (swoon), so hopefully the original lives up to all the hype!
Even though Idol is over (and this is a movie blog), I probably will be writing about Season 8 one more time next month, as I will be seeing the Top 10 in concert on August 25th. Even though it's been a couple months, Idol has still been in the news b/c of all the contract drama w/the judges and Seacrest. I just saw a headline a couple minutes ago that says Kara will be back to judge this season... that pisses me off. They best keep Paula around, then, if we're going to be stuck with Kara. Paula is a more important part of the show - she has been there since the beginning. Kara has judged one season, and while I was on her side at first, she quickly lost my favor as the season progressed.
Don't take away Paula... sure she doesn't make sense half the time, but she's a necessity for the viewers and contestants. If I sang crappy, I would want her to be there to say something positive about my outfit and gently let me down. I hope the Idol executives man up and give Paula the money she deserves and keep her on the show.
Anyway, enough about the judges... bring on the Top 10! Less than a month until I'm at the concert. I will let you all know how that goes down... maybe post a couple pictures? I will be screaming like an idiot, I can picture it already!
I hope you are having a fabulous summer and that you are enjoying the few good movies that have been popping up here and there... (Side note - I can't wait for (500) Days of Summer to finally open somewhere near me! )
Happy movie watching!!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Happy New Year - maybe I should make a resolution to post more often...
Bonjour,
I had off from work today and thought that I should write a post... not because I have anything super important to say, but I haven't posted in awhile, and I feel that if I took the time to set up a blog, I should at least write something every once in awhile, right? I think one of my New Year's Resolutions will be to post at least once a month. We shall see if I keep to it :)
So, what's going on...
Well - I just finished reading the entire Twilight series. So - spoiler alerts for those who haven't read the books - if you don't want me to ruin anything for you, don't start reading again until after you see a string of these ******************** below.
I have a bone to pick with the Twilight series. To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what Twilight was until I saw a trailer for the movie last spring. Through the pressure of advertising, I saw enough Twilight commercials to pseudo-pique my interest. I went and saw the movie on opening weekend, just to see what all the hype was about. The movie was chock-full of teen angst and poorly executed special effects. I could understand why females were majorly crushing on Edward Cullen - he's an attractive vampire who seems to be the "good bad boy" and is all about being in a committed relationship. Swoon, right? If you are a teenage girl - yes.
I am not a teenage girl anymore - haven't been for the last 6 years - but I get the appeal of high school movies. For those who aren't in high school, these movies represent something to look forward to. For those in high school, perhaps you can relate the characters because you might be experiencing some of the same feelings of the characters, or they may remind you of people you know. For those of us out of high school, we watch high school movies and can look back at our own high school experiences and reminisce or just chuckle to ourselves because we know better now that high school should not be the best time in our lives.
Right - Twilight - so I take in the movie as well as the comments of the scores of women young and old surrounding me and decide I need to read the series for myself to see how this all plays out. I bought Twilight and read it over a few days. Turns out I liked the movie better - sure, the plots were mostly the same (the movie did take some cinematic liberties, but that is to be expected), but I was just astounded by how much I did not like the way the book was written.
I felt that the characters changed moods/facial expressions multiple times in the matter of mere sentences. I know high school kids like to change their minds, but come on - it seemed like every sentence, Bella was happy, sad, frustrated, confused, down on her looks, clumsy, and/or defiant. Pick a mood and stick with it. I'm not mad at the characters, as they do not exist (duh) - I'm disappointed with the author.
I think it's awesome that Stephanie Meyer wrote this series, which a lot of people have read and attached themselves to as huge fans (I believe they are called "Twihards"). But I not only have a problem with the ever-changing (like, multiple times within one sentence, ever-changing) emotions of the characters, I have an issue with some of the themes - namely body-image and ownership.
Body-image is a huge deal in the Twilight series... and it's always the same character getting down on herself - Bella Swan. Bella spends a good portion of her time oogling over Edward's stunning face/body/hair/voice/smell/etc... and then she ALWAYS mentions how she is so plain next to him and can't believe how anyone as beautiful as him would want to be with someone like her. We get it - the vampires are a beautiful race of undead people. Congrats to them. But Bella shouldn't always be such a Debbie Downer about her own appearance. Meyer doesn't describe our heroine as anything remotely unpretty, nor is she represented in the film that way (Kristen Stewart is pretty - there is zero question about that), but every few pages it seems, Bella mentions something about physical appearance. But then, after she becomes a vampire, her attitude about her appearance also changes - she finally believes that she is beautiful and feels like she finally looks the part of Edward's wife. Awwwwwww.
As for ownership - that is all over the books. And the ownership I write of isn't about owning objects, but people. Edward is very territorial about Bella - she is his. And I get that she also says that he is hers - they are in a relationship and belong to each other, that's okay by me. But there is a lot of "SHE IS MINE!" actions/reactions from Edward that left me shaking my head while I was reading. This usually happened during passages regarding Edward and Jacob. Speaking of Jacob - that whole imprinting thing got to me. I knew he was going to imprint on Renesmee as soon as she was born - everyone had to end up in the family (see also Harry Potter series, and even Star Wars). But all those wolves who imprinted on their mates - notice that the males imprinted on females - and the females didn't have any say in it - it just happened and everyone accepted it. I am not against cultures with arranged marriages, but I'm also not against free will. And I thought it was a bit creepy that Jacob and his other werewolf friend both imprinted on babies/toddlers.
All of this is just my opinion - I mean no disrespect to anyone who is a fan of the series.
****************************************
What else? Oh! It's Awards Season :) The most wonderful season of the year!!
The Golden Globe Awards are on this coming Sunday, the SAGs are soon to follow and the Oscars in another couple months! I have not seen as many films as I would have liked to by now, but a lot of the smaller stuff (like The Wrestler, Frost/Nixon, Milk and Revolutionary Road) haven't come here yet :(
Of all the big-nominees, I have seen The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Doubt. I did not like the former, but was a big fan of the latter. Benjamin Button just was not as impressive as I hoped it would be. I'm not a Brad Pitt fan, but I thought that since he was decent in his previous films with Fincher, that this film would also be an exception. Alas... the story was nothing to write home about, though the cinematography and locations were brilliant.
Doubt was pretty good... I still wish I would have seen the play, but you can't go wrong with Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis. Some of the camera angles seemed overly forced, but I loved the locations and the script. PSH is intense - I love him more and more with every performance.
As for the TV front... shows will be starting up with new episodes this week - I am very much looking forward to the return of 30 Rock, Bones and Saturday Night Live. If you have not started watching 30 Rock yet, what is wrong? Do you not like to laugh? It is the greatest show on television - I kid you not. Bones starts new episodes next week... the Gravedigger will be returning in a few weeks (probably during sweeps) - I'm also hoping for the return of Zack Addy... though I doubt that'll happen. SNL is new this week - Neil Patrick Harris is hosting (w/music guest Taylor Swift)... this has the potential to be one of the best shows all season as NPH is soooooooo funny and talented. Maybe there will be some singing? I hope so!
Guess what else starts next week? AMERICAN IDOL!!!!
Yes, I am not ashamed to admit that I have been looking forward to the return of American Idol since after they crowned David Cook (!) the winner of Season 7. I love the auditions, I Love Hollywood week, and I LOVE when they hit the Top 12!!! You know you sit and judge all of those singers like you were up there sitting next to Simon. (BTW - Simon is my favorite judge!)
I hope they have good themes this year and that they do another Idol Gives Back - not only are there usually amazing performances, but it's nice that AI can help raise $$ for children here in the USA and in Africa.
The Reality Channel has been running Season 7 in its entirety - and yes, I have been watching. It's funny to see who in the Top 12 they really focused on throughout the beginning of the competition. Good for Jason Castro for doing as well as he did - they never showed him singing until he was in the Top 24. David Cook will still be my favorite from last season, but I feel like I need to apologize for how nasty I was toward David Archuleta in some of my posts from last year. He's a good little singer, and since the show has released a CD... and his first two singles are beyond catchy. So, sorry I hated on you David Archuleta.
Well - I should get going - perhaps do some baking? Maybe watch a movie?
I hope you have a wonderful day :)
See ya next month?
Friday, August 29, 2008
"Parlez-vous Olympics?!" and RDJ
Good day,
I realize I haven't' updated this in awhile... probably because I haven't watched any movies lately. (Gasp!) No... like most of the world, I was watching the Olympics for the past couple weeks. They've been over since Sunday night and I'm only just getting back into my normal TV/movie watching routine... I plan on seeing "Hamlet 2" sometime this weekend, so that should be entertaining, to say the least. Steve Coogan is a funny, funny man.
But before I spout off about the cinema, I'd like to put in my 2 cents about this year's Summer Games. I love the Olympics. Like whoa. But, I really only get into the Swimming, Diving, Gymnastics and Track & Field. This is probably because that's all that NBC shows in the evening hours when I'm free to watch TV. I would have liked to watch some soccer, baseball, softball, etc..., but network television doesn't think that the general public is interested in that. Well, we are. Instead of watching all of the NBC affiliates at all hours of the night, my sister looked up on-line who won all of the non-NBC televised events.
As we all know, the Games turned in a Michael Phelps a-thon... which I was okay with. I really enjoy watching amazing swimmers because I like swimming, but I'm not at all awesome at it. It's great that he won his 8 gold medals... but really, no one else but a swimmer (or a very, very, VERY talented Men's gymnast who could manage to get team gold, all-around gold, and then a gold on each of the 6 events) could get 8 golds in 1 Olympics. Michael Phelps is a phenomenal athlete who seems to have respect for his teammates and his mom. (BTW, his mom was the highlight of the games... it was almost more fun to watch her cheer on her son and his relay team than actually watch the event itself). He's supposed to be hosting SNL on September 13th... let's hope he is as entertaining out of the water as he is in the water.
Gymnastics were good to watch... it was interesting to see the Men's team be so psyched about winning bronze and how sad the Women's team was that they got silver. Cheer up chicas, you beat out hundreds of other girls to get the silver! You should be proud. I won't even get into the whole "Those girls from the China team still look like they are in elementary/middle school" debacle... But some of them did look quite young...
Closing ceremonies were all right. I enjoyed the fireworks and those women who had all the bells on. I really liked those guys that were strapped to that tower... that was awesome. How they ran up the sides of it... and then the dudes in the middle of the human flowers who were running on air. So cool!
I'm looking forward to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. My sister wants to go... and so do I, but let's be realistic... that probably costs a ton of $. And in this economy, with my paycheck, that ain't gonna happen. Thank you America... once again I'll be enjoying the Olympics from the comfort of my home/cardboard box (hey, I don't know where I'll be in 2 years).
As mentioned above, I will be getting back into my movie-watching habits now that the Games are over. First stop, Hamlet 2... I've seen the trailer, I saw Steve Coogan on Conan. I am 100% convinced I am going to laugh out loud and thoroughly enjoy the film this weekend.
I haven't seen a movie in a couple weeks. The last thing I saw was Tropic Thunder (in which Coogan co-starred). I did a one-time-only lift of my own personal lifetime boycott of Tom Cruise/Ben Stiller movies to see this film (Mel Gibson is the other person on my lifetime boycott list...).
Honestly, the only reason I saw Tropic Thunder was because of Robert Downey Jr. If he wasn't in the film, I would have avoided it like the plague. He made the film funny. Tom Cruise is getting a lot of hype for his part, but he creeped me out. Like this was some excuse for him to dress in a fat suit and curse a lot and do lewd dance moves. I saw through your guise, Cruise, and you still make me wretch.
But back to Robert Downey Jr... I am so very glad that he is back in the limelight (for a positive thing...). I have been a RDJ fan for many, many years. Even in high school/early years of college, I watch a bunch of RDJ films and realized what a talented actor he is. Chaplin... SO BRILLIANT! And even earlier this summer, in Iron Man, RDJ proved that he can do the action movie but still keep his sarcastic edge in tact. He's funny, but vulnerable and relatable at the same time.
In Tropic Thunder, RDJ took a huge creative risk. Playing a character who goes beyond black-face to play a part in a movie is not exactly politically correct and could offend a lot of people. But, RDJ's character is not making fun of black people... his character is so Method, that he doesn't know of any other way to get into character unless he "gets into character"... from the outside and the inside. He's so wrapped up in himself, that he gets knocked down a peg or two throughout the film by his cast mates. The arc of RDJ's character is the most interesting one in the film, and it's really fascinating to see him dig further and further into his Method hole and then crawl back out and learn some "Life Lessons". (BTW, I'm not knocking Method Acting... I completely respect an Actor and his/her craft/process. The use of it in this film is just extreme and is meant to be laughed at).
Now - if only they would make "Satan's Alley" into a real movie... starring RDJ's character and Tobey Maguire. That would be PRICELESS.
Well, I should get going... maybe watch a movie or something (?)
Have a fantastic day and I'll cya at the cinema :)
I realize I haven't' updated this in awhile... probably because I haven't watched any movies lately. (Gasp!) No... like most of the world, I was watching the Olympics for the past couple weeks. They've been over since Sunday night and I'm only just getting back into my normal TV/movie watching routine... I plan on seeing "Hamlet 2" sometime this weekend, so that should be entertaining, to say the least. Steve Coogan is a funny, funny man.
But before I spout off about the cinema, I'd like to put in my 2 cents about this year's Summer Games. I love the Olympics. Like whoa. But, I really only get into the Swimming, Diving, Gymnastics and Track & Field. This is probably because that's all that NBC shows in the evening hours when I'm free to watch TV. I would have liked to watch some soccer, baseball, softball, etc..., but network television doesn't think that the general public is interested in that. Well, we are. Instead of watching all of the NBC affiliates at all hours of the night, my sister looked up on-line who won all of the non-NBC televised events.
As we all know, the Games turned in a Michael Phelps a-thon... which I was okay with. I really enjoy watching amazing swimmers because I like swimming, but I'm not at all awesome at it. It's great that he won his 8 gold medals... but really, no one else but a swimmer (or a very, very, VERY talented Men's gymnast who could manage to get team gold, all-around gold, and then a gold on each of the 6 events) could get 8 golds in 1 Olympics. Michael Phelps is a phenomenal athlete who seems to have respect for his teammates and his mom. (BTW, his mom was the highlight of the games... it was almost more fun to watch her cheer on her son and his relay team than actually watch the event itself). He's supposed to be hosting SNL on September 13th... let's hope he is as entertaining out of the water as he is in the water.
Gymnastics were good to watch... it was interesting to see the Men's team be so psyched about winning bronze and how sad the Women's team was that they got silver. Cheer up chicas, you beat out hundreds of other girls to get the silver! You should be proud. I won't even get into the whole "Those girls from the China team still look like they are in elementary/middle school" debacle... But some of them did look quite young...
Closing ceremonies were all right. I enjoyed the fireworks and those women who had all the bells on. I really liked those guys that were strapped to that tower... that was awesome. How they ran up the sides of it... and then the dudes in the middle of the human flowers who were running on air. So cool!
I'm looking forward to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. My sister wants to go... and so do I, but let's be realistic... that probably costs a ton of $. And in this economy, with my paycheck, that ain't gonna happen. Thank you America... once again I'll be enjoying the Olympics from the comfort of my home/cardboard box (hey, I don't know where I'll be in 2 years).
As mentioned above, I will be getting back into my movie-watching habits now that the Games are over. First stop, Hamlet 2... I've seen the trailer, I saw Steve Coogan on Conan. I am 100% convinced I am going to laugh out loud and thoroughly enjoy the film this weekend.
I haven't seen a movie in a couple weeks. The last thing I saw was Tropic Thunder (in which Coogan co-starred). I did a one-time-only lift of my own personal lifetime boycott of Tom Cruise/Ben Stiller movies to see this film (Mel Gibson is the other person on my lifetime boycott list...).
Honestly, the only reason I saw Tropic Thunder was because of Robert Downey Jr. If he wasn't in the film, I would have avoided it like the plague. He made the film funny. Tom Cruise is getting a lot of hype for his part, but he creeped me out. Like this was some excuse for him to dress in a fat suit and curse a lot and do lewd dance moves. I saw through your guise, Cruise, and you still make me wretch.
But back to Robert Downey Jr... I am so very glad that he is back in the limelight (for a positive thing...). I have been a RDJ fan for many, many years. Even in high school/early years of college, I watch a bunch of RDJ films and realized what a talented actor he is. Chaplin... SO BRILLIANT! And even earlier this summer, in Iron Man, RDJ proved that he can do the action movie but still keep his sarcastic edge in tact. He's funny, but vulnerable and relatable at the same time.
In Tropic Thunder, RDJ took a huge creative risk. Playing a character who goes beyond black-face to play a part in a movie is not exactly politically correct and could offend a lot of people. But, RDJ's character is not making fun of black people... his character is so Method, that he doesn't know of any other way to get into character unless he "gets into character"... from the outside and the inside. He's so wrapped up in himself, that he gets knocked down a peg or two throughout the film by his cast mates. The arc of RDJ's character is the most interesting one in the film, and it's really fascinating to see him dig further and further into his Method hole and then crawl back out and learn some "Life Lessons". (BTW, I'm not knocking Method Acting... I completely respect an Actor and his/her craft/process. The use of it in this film is just extreme and is meant to be laughed at).
Now - if only they would make "Satan's Alley" into a real movie... starring RDJ's character and Tobey Maguire. That would be PRICELESS.
Well, I should get going... maybe watch a movie or something (?)
Have a fantastic day and I'll cya at the cinema :)
Monday, August 11, 2008
All Aboard the Pineapple Express (and other happenings this weekend)
Good day,
Like many other people in my age bracket, I went and saw the latest Judd Apatow production this past weekend - Pineapple Express.
I laughed. A lot. And I'm not even someone who supports pot-smoking (I think it's gross and not a good way to spend your time or money - but that's just my opinion). But, I am a fan of Apatow's films, especially those featuring (and/or written by) the very funny Seth Rogen.
Pineapple Express was not a "good" film in the way that Knocked Up and Superbad were good films. Those films had strong plotlines and characters you could really care about. Pineapple Express was labeled a "weed/action movie", and that's really all it is. It's a weed movie with action sequences (guns, car chases, fight scenes, explosions, etc...). But Pineapple Express doesn't teach you life lessons like Apatow's other films of years past (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Instead, Pineapple Express gives you plenty of material to laugh at without you, the audience, having to strain your brain cells.
Even though it's not a "good" film, Pineapple Express is a fun watch. It was so refreshing to see James Franco in a comedy. To be honest, I find him aesthetically pleasing, so I've seen a bunch of his films over the past few years... and to continue being honest, most of them suck. A lot. (Spider Man 3, Annapolis, etc...) He's been doing the Spider Man movies or dramas for awhile now, it was nice to see him re-embracing comedy. (Remember "Freaks and Geeks" from 2001? You should. And if you don't, then go find it on DVD and watch the whole season and you'll see what I mean. Comedy.)
Franco and Rogen made as great on-screen team - probably b/c their friends off-screen as well. Everything that came out of Franco's mouth was hilarious. So, props to Rogen (and his screenwriting partner, Evan Goldberg) for writing good material and props to Franco for bringing it to life. Loved that Jaws shirt and those striped pajama pants... they went so well with the laid back/stoned off his ass attitude. In a way, I was reminded of The Dude. Good times.
Beside Pineapple Express, I watched a LOT of the Olympics. My sister and I have been recording everything on NBC and then going through it (God Bless the DVR... fastforwarding and rewinding television is GLORIOUS). We're big fans of Swimming, Diving and Gymnastics, so that's mostly what we've been paying attention to. We actually went to highschool with one of the men's swimmers. He didn't medal, but he made it to the Finals for the 100m Breaststroke, so that was cool.
The highlight so far has been swimming - last night when the Men's team won the 400m Freestyle Relay... HOLY COW that was INTENSE!
The USA was in 2nd place until literally the last 20 feet of the race, and then the USA guy punched it into overdrive and won by, like 8 hundreths of a second. It was awesome. We were cheering so loud! Luckily we don't have neighbors, or else we'd have woken everyone up with our shouting and hollering for Team USA. Yay America :)
This afternoon, because my sister is at work and I would feel wrong for watching the Olympics w/o her, I decided to check out "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog". For those of you not familiar with this little piece of wonderful, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog" is an on-line series of 3 videos created by Joss Whedon (the guy who made Buffy, Angel, Firefly, etc...)
I had heard about Dr. Horrible and read about it in my EW, but had to check it out for myself. And I'm so glad that I did! Dr. Horrible stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillian and Felecia Day and it's a musical about an evil scientist named Dr. Horrible (NPH) who has a crush on a girl from the landromat (Day) who ends up dating his nemesis, Captain Hammer (Fillian). The songs are actually really catchy and the cast is great - Neil Patrick Harris is awesome. I haven't gotten the chance to see him live on Broadway yet, so seeing him in this little on-line video series was awesome. I know people are hoping there will be more installments - I'm hoping right there with them!
I'm a relative newcomer to Joss Whedon's work. The only Buffy anything I've ever seen was the 1992 film (which Whedon wrote, though I wasn't aware of who he was when I saw it... I was in elementary school!). I haven't seen Firefly or Serenity (though I think I'd like them). I recently started watching Angel (I got hooked on David Boreanaz from Bones, so this was the next logical series to watch, I thought... too bad I didn't know any of the Angel backstory from Buffy - whoops!), and I'm almost done with the whole series. So, I'm trying to get on the Whedon bandwagon :)
Well - I must be off. There is a lot of job hunting to do, as well as Olympics to watch.
Have a good one!
Like many other people in my age bracket, I went and saw the latest Judd Apatow production this past weekend - Pineapple Express.
I laughed. A lot. And I'm not even someone who supports pot-smoking (I think it's gross and not a good way to spend your time or money - but that's just my opinion). But, I am a fan of Apatow's films, especially those featuring (and/or written by) the very funny Seth Rogen.
Pineapple Express was not a "good" film in the way that Knocked Up and Superbad were good films. Those films had strong plotlines and characters you could really care about. Pineapple Express was labeled a "weed/action movie", and that's really all it is. It's a weed movie with action sequences (guns, car chases, fight scenes, explosions, etc...). But Pineapple Express doesn't teach you life lessons like Apatow's other films of years past (40 Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad and Forgetting Sarah Marshall). Instead, Pineapple Express gives you plenty of material to laugh at without you, the audience, having to strain your brain cells.
Even though it's not a "good" film, Pineapple Express is a fun watch. It was so refreshing to see James Franco in a comedy. To be honest, I find him aesthetically pleasing, so I've seen a bunch of his films over the past few years... and to continue being honest, most of them suck. A lot. (Spider Man 3, Annapolis, etc...) He's been doing the Spider Man movies or dramas for awhile now, it was nice to see him re-embracing comedy. (Remember "Freaks and Geeks" from 2001? You should. And if you don't, then go find it on DVD and watch the whole season and you'll see what I mean. Comedy.)
Franco and Rogen made as great on-screen team - probably b/c their friends off-screen as well. Everything that came out of Franco's mouth was hilarious. So, props to Rogen (and his screenwriting partner, Evan Goldberg) for writing good material and props to Franco for bringing it to life. Loved that Jaws shirt and those striped pajama pants... they went so well with the laid back/stoned off his ass attitude. In a way, I was reminded of The Dude. Good times.
Beside Pineapple Express, I watched a LOT of the Olympics. My sister and I have been recording everything on NBC and then going through it (God Bless the DVR... fastforwarding and rewinding television is GLORIOUS). We're big fans of Swimming, Diving and Gymnastics, so that's mostly what we've been paying attention to. We actually went to highschool with one of the men's swimmers. He didn't medal, but he made it to the Finals for the 100m Breaststroke, so that was cool.
The highlight so far has been swimming - last night when the Men's team won the 400m Freestyle Relay... HOLY COW that was INTENSE!
The USA was in 2nd place until literally the last 20 feet of the race, and then the USA guy punched it into overdrive and won by, like 8 hundreths of a second. It was awesome. We were cheering so loud! Luckily we don't have neighbors, or else we'd have woken everyone up with our shouting and hollering for Team USA. Yay America :)
This afternoon, because my sister is at work and I would feel wrong for watching the Olympics w/o her, I decided to check out "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog". For those of you not familiar with this little piece of wonderful, "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog" is an on-line series of 3 videos created by Joss Whedon (the guy who made Buffy, Angel, Firefly, etc...)
I had heard about Dr. Horrible and read about it in my EW, but had to check it out for myself. And I'm so glad that I did! Dr. Horrible stars Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillian and Felecia Day and it's a musical about an evil scientist named Dr. Horrible (NPH) who has a crush on a girl from the landromat (Day) who ends up dating his nemesis, Captain Hammer (Fillian). The songs are actually really catchy and the cast is great - Neil Patrick Harris is awesome. I haven't gotten the chance to see him live on Broadway yet, so seeing him in this little on-line video series was awesome. I know people are hoping there will be more installments - I'm hoping right there with them!
I'm a relative newcomer to Joss Whedon's work. The only Buffy anything I've ever seen was the 1992 film (which Whedon wrote, though I wasn't aware of who he was when I saw it... I was in elementary school!). I haven't seen Firefly or Serenity (though I think I'd like them). I recently started watching Angel (I got hooked on David Boreanaz from Bones, so this was the next logical series to watch, I thought... too bad I didn't know any of the Angel backstory from Buffy - whoops!), and I'm almost done with the whole series. So, I'm trying to get on the Whedon bandwagon :)
Well - I must be off. There is a lot of job hunting to do, as well as Olympics to watch.
Have a good one!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Randomness from the past week
Hola blog readers,
It's been a week since the Earthquakes... I didn't feel the one that was in the 4.somthing range the other day, so for me it's been a week since my tangible world has been rocked. To be perfectly honest, they scared the bajesus out of me. Being woken up at 5:30 in the morning because my entire apartment was shaking was one of the craziest/most terrifying thing that's happened in awhile. I was the only one in the office to feel the aftershock at 11:15, but at least that one only lasted 3 seconds as opposed to the eternity the 5:30AM one felt like it lasted.
Last Friday night, my sister and I took in an evening screening of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". How awesome/adorable is Jason Segel? He wrote a very funny script and though some critics felt like he couldn't quite carry a movie like Seth Rogen, I think his performance was inspiring. As someone who attempts to write scripts every now and again, I have been taught by a professor whom I respect that you should always "write what you know" and that's exactly what Segel did. That naked breakup scene? He actually experienced that? That friggin' sweet Dracula puppet rock opera? Segel once aspired to produce one. Brilliant... that's what this movie is.
Yes, it's completely predictable and completely follows the recent Apatow formula for the buddy/romantic comedy, but it's still entirely entertaining. After watching "Superbad" for the bajillionth time the day after I saw "Sarah Marshall", I realized that "Sarah Marshall" is consistently funnier throughout the entire film. "Superbad" and even "Knocked Up" are funny, but they both have long pockets of movie where the audience doesn't laugh. "Sarah Marshall", even in its most serious moments, still provides the audience (or at least me) with enough material where I was laughing every few minutes.
This week I didn't have much time to watch any more movies, though I'm seeing a matinee of "Baby Mama" tomorrow. Tina Fey is my idol... she is an amazing writer and actress. So much so that 30 Rock has just barely scouched by The Office as my favorite show on television. This past week's episode was great - how many people actually got all the Amadeus references? Probably not many, but they were PRICELESS. And Will Arnett, back for a 3rd time... too funny. "I called you, but not on a phone, so you probably didn't get it."
Going back to the gloriousness that is Jason Segel for a second... did you see How I Met Your Mother????? The 2nd Robin Sparkles video was great - "Sandcastles in the Sand", a power ballad featuring James Van Der Beek... good times.
And "Lost"??? That was one of the best episodes in a long, long time. Benjamin Linus is a person with feelings... who knew? And poor Alex! And the smoke monster... hello! How come Ben can control it? And, I called it during a commercial break that (Crazy) Jack has appendicitus. Sure enough "Next time on 'Lost'", Jack bites it in the sand... Get up Jack - you make it off the island. I'm so glad this show is back on track. The Michael episode was kind of a drag... we needed the back story, but come on...
And of course, American Idol.
Oh, American Idol. You were such bad and then such good television this week.
Andrew Lloyd Webber week proved to be disastrous for poor Jason Castro. After his subpar performance of "Memory", the judges (especially Simon) wailed on him. Come to find out the next morning he was really sick the past few days, but was man enough not to bring it up on the show for pity votes.
The elimination show was one for the books. First off, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber was kind of nasty talking about Brooke and Jason while both of them were sitting mere feet behind him. So not everyone has the skills to sing his showtunes. I watched Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to become more familiar with his music... those songs aren't really that catchy/memorable. And I can empathize with Jason... though I know "Memory" is sung by a Cat, I had never heard that song all the way through before ... and I LOVE showtunes. (Sweeney Todd is playing on my iTunes right now... the Michael Cerveris/Patti LuPone stage version, so ha)
The actual elimination was intense. Even though I hate Syesha, I thought Brooke deserved to go home. But, after Brooke was safe and Syesha was put in the bottom 2, I thought for sure that Jason was going to do home. But, once Seacrest brought out Carly and Jason and then he started asking Carly about how she thought she did, I had a glimmer of hope that Carly, and not Jason, would be in the bottom 2 (even though, vocally this week, Jason should have been in the bottom 2).
When Seacrest said Jason was safe, my sister and I screamed with happiness. I have never felt more like a loser watching television than that moment, but whatever... :)
I was sad that Carly got kicked off instead of Syesha... Syesha needs to leave. She's pitchy all the time (why Randy never says this is beyond me) and she messed up her opening last week, but no one said anything. No one said anything when little David A. messed up his words, which makes you wonder... why do they think he's the greatest thing to happen to that show since Kelly Clarkson? If he was older, they would pick on him for being boring and predictable. For reals. And Brooke... poor Brooke and her 2nd false start of the season. Yikes
So, next week is Neil Diamond week (woot!). I friggin' LOVE Neil Diamond music. You can go on and laugh about that, but his songs are catchy and I really like his voice. I think David Cook should sing "Coming to America", Brooke should sing "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" and Jason should sing "Cherry Cherry"... I don't know about the others because chances are regardless of what songs they pick, I won't care.
Well, enough randomness for the evening... I need to finish watching "The Flying Scotsman".
I bid you farewell and happy movie/TV/Idol watching :)
It's been a week since the Earthquakes... I didn't feel the one that was in the 4.somthing range the other day, so for me it's been a week since my tangible world has been rocked. To be perfectly honest, they scared the bajesus out of me. Being woken up at 5:30 in the morning because my entire apartment was shaking was one of the craziest/most terrifying thing that's happened in awhile. I was the only one in the office to feel the aftershock at 11:15, but at least that one only lasted 3 seconds as opposed to the eternity the 5:30AM one felt like it lasted.
Last Friday night, my sister and I took in an evening screening of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". How awesome/adorable is Jason Segel? He wrote a very funny script and though some critics felt like he couldn't quite carry a movie like Seth Rogen, I think his performance was inspiring. As someone who attempts to write scripts every now and again, I have been taught by a professor whom I respect that you should always "write what you know" and that's exactly what Segel did. That naked breakup scene? He actually experienced that? That friggin' sweet Dracula puppet rock opera? Segel once aspired to produce one. Brilliant... that's what this movie is.
Yes, it's completely predictable and completely follows the recent Apatow formula for the buddy/romantic comedy, but it's still entirely entertaining. After watching "Superbad" for the bajillionth time the day after I saw "Sarah Marshall", I realized that "Sarah Marshall" is consistently funnier throughout the entire film. "Superbad" and even "Knocked Up" are funny, but they both have long pockets of movie where the audience doesn't laugh. "Sarah Marshall", even in its most serious moments, still provides the audience (or at least me) with enough material where I was laughing every few minutes.
This week I didn't have much time to watch any more movies, though I'm seeing a matinee of "Baby Mama" tomorrow. Tina Fey is my idol... she is an amazing writer and actress. So much so that 30 Rock has just barely scouched by The Office as my favorite show on television. This past week's episode was great - how many people actually got all the Amadeus references? Probably not many, but they were PRICELESS. And Will Arnett, back for a 3rd time... too funny. "I called you, but not on a phone, so you probably didn't get it."
Going back to the gloriousness that is Jason Segel for a second... did you see How I Met Your Mother????? The 2nd Robin Sparkles video was great - "Sandcastles in the Sand", a power ballad featuring James Van Der Beek... good times.
And "Lost"??? That was one of the best episodes in a long, long time. Benjamin Linus is a person with feelings... who knew? And poor Alex! And the smoke monster... hello! How come Ben can control it? And, I called it during a commercial break that (Crazy) Jack has appendicitus. Sure enough "Next time on 'Lost'", Jack bites it in the sand... Get up Jack - you make it off the island. I'm so glad this show is back on track. The Michael episode was kind of a drag... we needed the back story, but come on...
And of course, American Idol.
Oh, American Idol. You were such bad and then such good television this week.
Andrew Lloyd Webber week proved to be disastrous for poor Jason Castro. After his subpar performance of "Memory", the judges (especially Simon) wailed on him. Come to find out the next morning he was really sick the past few days, but was man enough not to bring it up on the show for pity votes.
The elimination show was one for the books. First off, Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber was kind of nasty talking about Brooke and Jason while both of them were sitting mere feet behind him. So not everyone has the skills to sing his showtunes. I watched Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to become more familiar with his music... those songs aren't really that catchy/memorable. And I can empathize with Jason... though I know "Memory" is sung by a Cat, I had never heard that song all the way through before ... and I LOVE showtunes. (Sweeney Todd is playing on my iTunes right now... the Michael Cerveris/Patti LuPone stage version, so ha)
The actual elimination was intense. Even though I hate Syesha, I thought Brooke deserved to go home. But, after Brooke was safe and Syesha was put in the bottom 2, I thought for sure that Jason was going to do home. But, once Seacrest brought out Carly and Jason and then he started asking Carly about how she thought she did, I had a glimmer of hope that Carly, and not Jason, would be in the bottom 2 (even though, vocally this week, Jason should have been in the bottom 2).
When Seacrest said Jason was safe, my sister and I screamed with happiness. I have never felt more like a loser watching television than that moment, but whatever... :)
I was sad that Carly got kicked off instead of Syesha... Syesha needs to leave. She's pitchy all the time (why Randy never says this is beyond me) and she messed up her opening last week, but no one said anything. No one said anything when little David A. messed up his words, which makes you wonder... why do they think he's the greatest thing to happen to that show since Kelly Clarkson? If he was older, they would pick on him for being boring and predictable. For reals. And Brooke... poor Brooke and her 2nd false start of the season. Yikes
So, next week is Neil Diamond week (woot!). I friggin' LOVE Neil Diamond music. You can go on and laugh about that, but his songs are catchy and I really like his voice. I think David Cook should sing "Coming to America", Brooke should sing "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" and Jason should sing "Cherry Cherry"... I don't know about the others because chances are regardless of what songs they pick, I won't care.
Well, enough randomness for the evening... I need to finish watching "The Flying Scotsman".
I bid you farewell and happy movie/TV/Idol watching :)
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Random musings from the past week - Obama Rally and American Idol...
Word to your mother
So, about 2 hours ago, I got home from an Obama rally on IU's campus, during which actor/college professor Kal Penn spoke about the senator from Illinois... I knew Kal Penn was a well spoken person, but seeing him speak in person gives me a whole new appreciation for him as a person and an actor.
This past Monday night, actor Sean Astin accompainied Chelsea Clinton to IU (Indiana University, for those of you not in the know) in support of Hillary's campaign. As I'm an Obama supporter, I opted not to go see Chelsea and Sean speak. (That, plus Dancing With the Stars and How I Met Your Mother was on that night... :) ). The next morning in the school's paper, I saw a quote from Astin which read "I'm valuable in Indiana because I was in 'Rudy'." I'm ambivalent about Astin's acting skills and don't really know much about him as a person besides what I gathered from the Lord of the Rings trilogy's bonus discs which accompanied the extended editions of each film. That quote was a complete turnoff, and I seriously hope it was taken out of context. Just because you are in a movie that took place in Indiana doesn't mean that the people here should feel obligated to listen to what you have to say or support who you support.
Which leads us to tonight's Obama Rally with Kal Penn... i.e. Kumar from "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle".
I admit, "Harold and Kumar" was my first introduction to Kal Penn (thanks Spud... you got me hooked). And I'm pretty sure a lot of the 350+ people who showed up at the Rally tonight came because they thought that Kal Penn was going to be like his character of Kumar (1 person during the Q&A asked about what Penn's favorite thing off the White Castle menu is. True fans know that Penn was a vegetarian during the making of that film and they had to make fake non-meat burgers for him to eat during the White Castle scene... duh).
We were treated to an hour and half dialogue about Obama and how during the Writer's Strike, Penn decided to help out with the campaign, specifically in Iowa. Penn shared some anecdotes from his own experiences which guided him to his interest in politics and what led him, a self-proclaimed Independent, to support Barack Obama. He spoke about "our generation" and how we, the 18-35 year olds of this country, actually make a difference and how our votes are important, especially this year.
I really appreciated what Penn had to say. As a person whose vote was note counted during the last presidential election (yep, when I went to the polls to vote, my room number was 2 digits off on my address and they said I could fill out an absentee ballot or some B.S. like that and my vote was not counted...), it's going to be interesting how this year's election goes down. I don't know where I will be located come this November, but you can be damn sure I'm going to be registered to vote as soon as I get there.
Anyways... the Rally was really great. I got to sit in the front row and listen to a really great presentation from someone who I have respected for awhile now (um, did you see "The Namesake"... if not, you need to log off your computer, escort yourself to a video store of some sort and rent this film. It. Is. Excellent.). But, I would probably have gone to the rally whether Penn was speaking or not. I went to see John Kerry speak in 2004 and have tried to get more into politics the past few years because my peer group is the future of this country, and that's really scary. So, it's better to be informed now than 20 years down the line being completely out of the loop. Hearing Kal Penn speak was just the icing on the cake :)
Speaking of voting in our country... how about that American Idol?
(Waaaaaaaaaaay bad segue, I know)
Okay, to be perfectly honest, I love American Idol. I have seen all but 1 episode of the show (I forgot to DVR the results show from the Top 12 this season... but David Hernandez got kicked off and I saw the group song on YouTube the next week, so all was well). I like judging people's singing abilities from the comfort of my own living room. I am not the best singer in the world, in fact, I don't really sing around anyone except some people in my family. Though, if you were ever to pass my car while I'm going to/from work, the movie theater, grocery store, etc..., you are almost guaranteed to see the one-woman show that I put on every time I'm behind the wheel... the best performances come from mix-CDs I made years and years ago... the ones with such gems as "I Want it That Way," "Candy," and "Livin' on a Prayer". Or there's always those Broadway CDs... Spring Awakening, Wicked, Company, Legally Blonde... the list goes on...
But anyway, The Idol...
(BTW, that's what my mom and I call the show - "The Idol"... much like we call Dancing With the Stars, "The Dancing Show")
I have been a David Cook fan ever since his first audition... he had a pink streak in his hair and sang "Livin' on a Prayer" and I was smitten. I turned to my sister and said, "I want him to win" and I've been saying it every week since. He sings well, he does crossword puzzles, he plays the guitar and he's super entertaining (plus, he does that little half smnile thing when he's singing... sa-woon). I know the arrangments of the songs he does are not original, but he's way smart with the covers he choses to cover. Did you see his performance of "Hello" and "Billie Jean". Whoa... awesome.
My sister and I are also supporting Jason Castro, though unless he tries a little harder and does something other than pluck the strings of his guitar and hypnotize America with those beautiful blue eyes, that boy is going to get ousted soon. If he goes before Ramiele and Kristy Lee Cook, then something is wrong with the voting process and/or the American people (they are not good people... Not. Good.). Castro is the most aesthetically pleasing guy on that show, but he needs to step up his game.
My mom likes that little guy - David Archuleta - but I think he needs to go too. He's too wide-eyed and innocent, so much so that I don't think it's an act. If he wasn't 17, they'd be ripping him to shreds. He's a boring performer. He sings well, but he's boring. And he licks his lips while he sings. WTF is up with that?
Michael Johns is okay - he's an attractive man with a powerful voice but he looks waaaay older than he actually is. I think he looks like a slightly puffy version of Guy Pearce. Just an observation. I like him (he plays tennis, that's cool), but he shouldn't win.
As for the girls... Ramiele needs to go. This past week she sand Heart's "Alone", a song that was too big for her britches. Carrie Underwood sang that a few seasons ago and rocked the shit out of that song... Ramiele butchered it. I don't care that she said she was sick. Boo frickin' hoo. You're on American Idol - suck it up and sing your song without making excuses for yourself. Kristy Lee Cook tricked America into keeping her around for another week by singing "God Bless the USA". And next week must be country week as Dolly Parton will be mentoring them... Kristy butcheres every song she sings, but she sucks the least at country music (I really fear for Jason Castro this week... poor guy).
Carly Smithson, that Irish girl, is a good singer, though last week she sounded like she was pushing her vocals too hard. I don't want her to win, but she can stick around awhile longer. Same with Brooke. I really, really liked her from her first audition. Now I just like her... she's starting to make excuses for herself during judging. She's talented, but needs to stick to who she is.
And then there is Syesha. I do not like her one bit. She sings all right, but she seems like a fake person. One of those people who thinks she is God's gift to singing and American Idol - her and her scarfs she wears each week. I sooooooooo wanted her to go home last week instead of Chikeze. But alas. At least she was in the bottom 2. May America keep her there for awhile... give her a slice of humble pie (as Tyra Banks would say).
Well, that is all the news that's fit to print right now. I'm going to go finish watching "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" (gotta love that scene where they sing "Hold On" in the car) and "The 40-Year Old Virgin" (my next article is about Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow... I re-watched "Knocked-Up" already and will revisit "Superbad" sometime this week - woot).
Tomorrow I'll head to the movies to see "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" - go Frances McDormand and Amy Adams :)
You have a fantastic weekend... I'll catch ya later.
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