In the past month, I have seen Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hangover Part III and Furious 6 and they were all good. If you liked the previous franchise movies, you will probably like these as well. However, I am not going to review them here because most people have probably already made up their minds about whether or not to see those. Instead, I am going to talk about The Place Beyond the Pines and The Iceman, which were fantastic and I am not sure these films are on most peoples' radar.
To be fair, I mostly saw these two movies because of who is in them (Bradley Cooper, Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans), but I am glad that I did and now think you should too! The trailers for The Place Beyond the Pines made it seem more like an action movie and, while it did have a few fast-paced scenes, I would call it more of a character study. Similar to director Derek Cianfrance's most recent movie, Blue Valentine, it is about the how these peoples' lives intersect and how each action affect those lives. The movie is split into three acts. The first act focuses on the character of Luke, played by Ryan Gosling, a motorcycle stunt rider who starts robbing banks in order to provide for his son. The second act follows Bradley Cooper's character, Avery, who is a young cop in a small town police department run by corrupt detectives. Avery and Luke's individual stories only overlap once, but that small interaction has huge consequences, which you see fifteen years later in the third act of the movie between their two teenage sons. It is an intense story and very well done. The acting is great all around, as is to be expected from all involved, but I was especially impressed with Eva Mendes. She is the only actor that is in all three acts of the film and normally I am not a huge fan of hers, but she actually surprised me in this. And, of course, I would get my wish of having Cooper and Gosling in the same movie only to have them be in only one scene together. C'est la vie.
The seventh blog I ever posted was about my love for actress, Kristen Bell. If you have read any of the subsequent posts you probably know that I have continued to follow her career over the years. I am currently enjoying her character Jeannie Van Der Hooven on Showtime's House of Lies and really liked last summer's Hit and Run, which was written and directed by her fiance Dax Shepard (and also happened to star my other love, Bradley Cooper).
This morning at 10:35 a.m. EST, Entertainment Weekly announced that Kristen and Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas had created a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise $2 million so that they can FINALLY make the Veronica Mars movie that I have been waiting for since the show went off the air in 2007. In less than five hours, they raised half their goal and at the time of this post were at about $1.5 million. Update: They are at $2 million and counting! I think that Warner Bros. should refund the Kickstarter donations if the goal is reached in less than 24 hours as an apology for doubting the fandom, but that's just me. Here is the video explaining the project: And here are all the links you need for anything else you might want: Kickstarter: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project
Mars Investigations (in case you can't watch videos at work but still want to catch up on episodes): http://marsinvestigations.net/
I am so beyond excited that I have pretty much not gotten anything done at work today. So, if I get fired, I guess I will just have to go to LA to work on the movie :) xoxo c -------------------
Here are my annual picks and predictions for this year's Academy Awards: Best Actor: My choice: Bradley Cooper Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis Actual Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis Best Actress: My choice: Jessica Chastain or Quvenzhane Wallis Prediction: Jennifer Lawrence Actual Winner: Jennifer Lawrence Best Supporting Actor: My choice: Robert De Niro Prediction: Tommy Lee Jones Actual Winner: Christoph Waltz Best Supporting Actress: My choice: Anne Hathaway Prediction: Anne Hathaway Actual Winner: Anne Hathaway Best Animated Feature: My choice: Brave Prediction: Brave or Wreck-It Ralph Actual Winner: Brave Best Director: My choice: David O. Russell Prediction: Steven Spielberg Actual Winner: Ang Lee Best Picture: My choice: Argo Prediction: Argo Actual Winner: Argo For the second year in a row, I will be live tweeting the awards show here and will update this page as winners are announced. xoxo c -------------------------------------------
2012 is over and I have finally gotten around to completing my list of favorite movies from the past twelve months. These are not necessarily the movies that are going to win any awards, but they were the ones that entertained me the most:
The Avengers If you are at all surprised that this is on my list, then you clearly do not know me that well or read my blog at all. I adore Joss Whedon and everything he does and this movie just proved that, if you let him do his thing, magic happens. Expectations were very high for this movie and I definitely think the cast and the story exceeded those expectations, at least for me. I just hope that the S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot actually gets turned into a full series, mostly because it brings Agent Coulson back to life, but also because it will be awesome.
Argo Ben Affleck showed us he was a great writer/director with The Town and Argo proved once again that he continues to be a triple-threat. I enjoyed this movie not only because it was well-written, directed and acted, but also because I learned about a piece of U.S. history that was not well-known. I was not actually alive during the Iran Hostage Crisis, but even my mother does not remember the story of these six fugitives coming home. (And if you know my mother, that is a rarity because she remembers EVERYTHING.) However, even if you do not care for the historical aspects, it is still a great, high energy story. I particularly enjoyed the characters played by Alan Arkin and John Goodman and their tagline: Argo fuck yourself! Pitch Perfect I was really excited to see this movie before it was released. I am a pretty big a capella nerd and the cast is also filled with actors that I love: Brittany Snow, Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp, Rebel Wilson and Elizabeth Banks, to name a few. It is hilariously funny and smart and it is definitely a must-see. I saw it twice in theaters, bought the blu ray for myself for Christmas and have already watched it two more times.
Over the holiday weekend, I got a chance to see both Silver Linings Playbook and Rise of the Guardians.
My mom came into town for Thanksgiving, so Wednesday night I introduced her to the Alamo Drafthouse. While she was not used to eating in the dark, she enjoyed her first Drafthouse experience and we both really liked Rise of the Guardians. I had heard a bad review on the radio and was not sure about it, but it ended up being fantastic.
When the Boogeyman, aka Pitch, tries to take over the world, the immortal guardians must join forces to stop him before children stop believing in the guardians and they disappear. If you have not already figured it from the picture, the group of guardians is comprised of Santa Claus, Jack Frost, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and the Sandman voiced by Alec Baldwin, Chris Pine, Isla Fisher and Hugh Jackman respectively (the Sandman does not speak) and the Boogeyman is Jude Law. I also quite enjoyed the elves and the yetis, who help Santa in his workshop.
While the plot was fairly predictable, my mom and I both thought that it was funny and very entertaining. It was visually beautiful, the dialogue was witty and it is just a great holiday adventure for the whole family.
I now present you with a list of my favorite movies from 2011. I do not believe that most of these films will win any awards, but I enjoyed them the most of all the things I saw this year. They were the movies that stuck in my head the most and made me want to watch them again as soon as I walked out of the theater. You may disagree, and that is fine, and I would invite you to share your favorite movies with me in the comments section below.
So now without further ado and in no particular order.....
Limitless I am a little Bradley Cooper-biased, but I actually really enjoyed this movie a lot. I especially liked that it was not presented as a science fiction movie but more as an exploration of the human mind. You think more about the moral implications of what it would mean to take a drug like NZT. How would it change the way you interact with other people and how you live your life. This movie was engaging and highly entertaining.
Bridesmaids This was the funniest movie I have seen in a really long time. I have been in six weddings, none were quite this hilarious, but I can definitely relate to many of the situations with which these ladies had to deal. The entire cast was great as an ensemble and even better in their individual roles. Each women adds a different level of hilarity throughout the entire movie. Also, I have said it before and I will say it again, I expect puppies to be given as favors at every bridal shower I go to from now on.
The Hangover Part 2 was not quite as good as the first movie, but definitely not as bad as the reviews it has been getting. I thought it was pretty hilarious, but it did have some flaws.
To begin with, I think they tried to stick to the formula of the first one a little too closely. Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug head to Thailand for Stu's wedding but, instead of losing the groom-to-be, they wake up missing Stu's future brother-in-law, Teddy. They spend the rest of the movie retracing their steps from the night before trying to figure out what happened.
Phil: So much, Trace, I don't even know where to begin
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I apologize for the delayed weekend movie preview. I was in New York City last night for Glen Hansard's performance at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which I will tell you about next week.
This weekend we have two sequels in theaters: The Hangover Part 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2.
Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug head to Thailand for Stu's wedding in The Hangover Part 2. Stu's plan for a subdued pre-wedding brunch does not exactly go as planned. This time, instead of losing the groom-to-be, they wake up missing Stu's future brother-in-law. This has not been getting as good of reviews as the first film, but it still looks pretty crazy and funny. Plus, we all know how much I love Bradley Cooper, so I will clearly be seeing this in theaters.
Kung Fu Panda 2, on the other hand, has been getting good reviews. In this sequel, Po and the Furious Five venture to China to battle a villain, uncover the secrets of Po's origins and save kung fu. Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross and James Hong have all returned to voice their characters from the first film.
I usually do not see animated films in the theater and will probably not make an exception for this one. I enjoyed the first Kung Fu Panda, but not enough to want to spend that much money to see the sequel.
Brad Pitt's The Tree of Life also opened this weekend, but only in limited release and not in Philly. It has been getting good reviews, but it needs to do well in theaters before they give it a wide release. I will let you know if that happens.
I hope everyone enjoys their Memorial Day Weekend! Let me know what movies you see!
xoxo
c
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I've never felt more confident, and people could spot it from a mile away. And as for this, the violence? I gotta be honest, it grew on me. Once you've taken a few punches and realize you're not made of glass, you don't feel alive unless you're pushing yourself as far as you can go."
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I have been a little distracted this past month with March Madness and skiing in Utah, but I am back from vacation and my bracket is completely demolished, so I am back to reality. I know you have missed me!
Now, we all know that I am a little Bradley-Cooper-biased, but I really do not understand why Limitless did not get better reviews. I have to say, I really quite enjoyed it. It had a good plot that kept moving and kept you interested throughout. Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a blocked writer who is presented with an "FDA approved" drug that will give him access to every part of his brain and all the fame and fortune that comes with those abilities. The whole concept definitely poses an interesting question, or two. First, would you take the drug in the first place, not knowing exactly what it would do to you? And second, what would you do with your life if you could remember everything you have ever read or seen, learn any language in an instant, pretty much accomplish anything you have ever wanted to accomplish? Obviously, there are also other twists and turns to the movie that you keep you engaged and on the edge of your seat, but I definitely left the theater feeling very motivated, like I could be doing so much more with my days. Of course, that feeling did not really last too long :o) If anything, this movie proves what I have been saying for a while now, that Bradley Cooper is a leading man that can carry his own movie.
I also recently saw Rango, an animated movie starring Johnny Depp. It was a little slow getting started and a little more serious than I expected it to be, but overall an entertaining movie. Below, is one of my favorite scenes:
Although, I have to say, the most interesting part of this movie was that it was not filmed like a typical animated feature. Normally, for animated films, the actors record their voices in a booth and are separated from the rest of the cast at all times. For Rango, Director Gore Verbinski actually had them act out the scenes together while he recorded their voices. I am not sure that you could actually tell the difference during the movie, but it is certainly a fun fact!
Another Johnny Depp movie that I finally got around to seeing was Public Enemies. Sadly, it was not very good. The acting was a good as you would expect from Depp and Christian Bale, however the plot was just sooooooo slooooooooow! Thirty minutes into the movie I was already checking my watch...and it was a two hour and twenty minute film! If you have not already subjected yourself to this movie, I would say you can definitely skip it.
On the other hand, Green Street Hooligans was a movie that I was not sure about going into it, but that I really enjoyed. It stars Charlie Hunnam and Elijah Wood and is about a Harvard undergrad who gets expelled, moves to London and learns about the world of football hooliganism. As someone who has recently gotten into American soccer, this film opened up an entirely different culture than what we are used to in the States. Being part of a firm, or supporters club as we call them, is more of a lifestyle across the pond than it is here. It is about supporting your team, but it is also about your firm's reputation and defending that reputation against other firms. It was incredibly interesting to see what European football firms are really all about. If you are a soccer fan, you should definitely see this movie. Even if you are not, it is an intriguing story and is worth the watch.
In other sporting news, regular season baseball officially begins for my Phillies on Friday! I will try to not let it get me too distracted from my TV and movie duties, but I am not making any promises :o)
Also, for those of you who are interested, Chris Despo's album is now available for sale at www.chrisdespo.com! It is not yet up on iTunes, but I will have that link for you as soon as it is available. I have pretty much been listening to the album non-stop all week and have to say that it pretty amazing. He is my friend, so I am slightly biased, but I think that it is definitely worth checking out!
As always, if you have any questions or comments feel free to post them below. I especially want to hear if you agree/disagree with my reviews or think there are any shows or movies that I should not miss.
xoxo c
p.s. Japan has been added to the list of tragedies currently in our world, so I once again give you my list of places to donate:
Since all of my regular season shows have finished and the new summer seasons are just now getting started, I have not been watching a whole lot lately. Also, because of this ridiculously hot weather, I have been spending a significant amount of time by my aunt's pool READING! Shocking, I know, but it does happen from time to time :o) I have also been watching lots of the World Cup.
I did finally get around to watching An Education the other night when my mother ordered it OnDemand. It was a good film, well acted, etc. I just was not very excited by it. Carey Mulligan's performance was definitely excellent. However, I am not sure that it was more deserving of an Oscar nomination than Emily Blunt's role as Queen Victoria. I do love Emily Blunt though, so I am little biased. I was, however, excited to see Olivia Williams from Dollhouse as the teacher. I would not say that everyone HAS to see this film, but it was well-done, so if it looks like something you would enjoy, then you will probably like it. I know, that was not super helpful, but it is pretty much all I can say.
The A-Team, on the other hand, was SO MUCH FUN! I did not go into this movie expecting much more than a typical action film. The special effects did leave something to be desired and, while the scene was hilarious, the idea of "flying" a tank is not exactly what I would call realistic. However, if you were a fan of the TV show then I think you will definitely enjoy it. I used to love watching this show with my brother when we were younger and I was happy to see that my favorite characters were as entertaining as I remembered them being. And if you do go see the movie, make sure you stay until the credits finish! Definitely a fun summer flick!
It also made me happy to see Bradley Cooper wearing Phillies shirts in two different scenes. It obviously does not take a whole lot to make me happy, especially when it involves Bradley Cooper. To be fair though, I loved him before most people and while I did try to track him down while he was filming The Dark Fields though in Philly last month, I was unsuccessful. C'est la vie!
Season three of Deadwood was just as awesome as expected. My only complaint would be that, because it was canceled, the finale left some unanswered questions. I have no idea if it was canceled after the season was finished filming, so it is possible they thought they were coming back for another season. Regardless, it was an excellent series overall and I highly recommend everyone watching it at some point. Timothy Olyphant and Ian McShane are obvious stars, but it is really the supporting characters that really make this show shine. Just be prepared for lots of people's throats getting cut :o)
I am now planning to catch up on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. I have heard that this is a hilarious show and after learning that Chase Utley and Ryan Howard will be in an episode of the upcoming season, I decided it was time I started watching. In fact, one of my friends has threatened to cut me off unless I watch the show, so I guess I better get started :o)
I never did see Sex and the City 2, mostly because it got horrible reviews, but also because I just never found the time. I do, however, still really want to see Toy Story 3, so that is on my to-do list for next week. I have also added Despicable Me to my list of movies that I might see depending on reviews, because the previews look really funny.
xoxo
c
So many places still need our help after all the devastating natural and unnatural disasters that have happened, please consider donating SOMEWHERE. Here are my suggestions:
In honor of the Winter Olympics, I give you this clip:
I have been watching some of the olympic coverage but do not usually watch as much of Winter as I do the Summer Olympics. My favorite Winter Olympics movies would be The Cutting Edge, Cool Runnings and Miracle, in case you were wondering :o)
The last week has been a little crazy. The passing of a friend's father, the East Coast being up to its eyeballs in snow and traveling to Ohio to help my best friend with wedding stuff and celebrating her completion of grad school, to name a few. I did get some movie watching in before the craziness hit and to take my mind of things, so here we go...
Forest Whitaker totally deserved the Best Actor Oscar for The Last King of Scotland. Whoa. If you did not see this movie when it came out in 2006, as I neglected to do, you must see it now. It was intense and sometimes a little too graphic for my taste, but excellent none-the-less. Whitaker usually plays such a gentle and kind man that it made him even scarier as the military dictator and President of Uganda, Idi Amin. That was definitely the last year I neglected to watch a movie that people were raving about during Oscar season.
In my continuing preparation for this year's Oscars on March 7, I watched The Hurt Locker and it was phenomenal. Another very intense movie, but still phenomenal. It is about a unit of soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq. My favorite scene is where one soldier is trying to figure out why another soldier enjoys what they do so much, when the rest of them are just trying to survive:
Sergeant JT Sanborn: I'm ready to die, James. Staff Sergeant William James: Well, you're not gonna die out here, bro. Sergeant JT Sanborn: Another two inches, shrapnel zings by; slices my throat- I bleed out like a pig in the sand. Nobody'll give a shit. I mean my parents- they care- but they don't count, man. Who else? I don't even have a son. Staff Sergeant William James: Well, you're gonna have plenty of time for that, amigo. Sergeant JT Sanborn: Naw, man. I'm done. I want a son. I want a little boy, Will. I mean, how do you do it, you know? Take the risk? Staff Sergeant William James: I don't know. I guess I don't think about it. Sergeant JT Sanborn: But you realize every time you suit up, every time we go out, it's life or death. You roll the dice, and you deal with it. You recognize that don't you? Staff Sergeant William James: Yea... Yea, I do. But I don't know why.[sighs] I don't know, JT. You know why I'm that way? Sergeant JT Sanborn: No, I don't.
I can definitely say that seeing it one time was enough, but is definitely worth seeing. At least see it so that you fully understand what our soldiers are doing for us, because it truly is amazing.
Now onto more lighter fare...
I watched the movie Class with Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy and Jacqueline Bisset. And, of course, no 80's movie would be complete without supporting roles from John Cusack and Alan Ruck :o) It was pretty good and one of those 80's movies that I felt I needed to see, but was rather predictable. I guess when you have seen as many movies as I have though, not many things surprise you anymore. However, my one question is, how is it fair that Rob Lowe looks exactly the same today as he did in 1983?! Seriously!
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen did not get very good reviews, but I saw the first one, so I thought I should watch the second one. And it was not very good. Don't watch it. For those of you who did actually see it, does anyone else think that the location of the Matrix of Leadership looked an awful lot like the place where Indiana Jones found the Holy Grail? I'm just sayin'.
I also saw Valentine's Day with my best friend on Valentine's Day and it was just as cheesy as we expected it to be. My main complaint was that there were just too many characters and too much going on to really get invested in any of the people's lives. I felt that it was trying too hard to be Love Actually, especially with the cute little boy who is in love. And, as much as I love Taylor Swift, I felt like they could have taken out both high schooler storylines and the movie would have been much better. It was cute, but you probably should not spend your money seeing it at the theater and just wait for it to come out on DVD. I probably would not have gone, but my future husband, Bradley Cooper, was in it, so of course it was a must see for me :o)
I would like to see Crazy Heart and A Single Man this week, but I will probably only get to one. I also have District 9 from Netflix. When it gets closer to the Oscars, I will give you my winner predictions.
As always, if you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you in the comments section below. I hope all you East Coasters survived the snow!
...Not the artful, postures of love, but love that over-throws life. Unbiddable, ungovernable, like a riot in the heart and nothing to be done, come ruin or rapture. Love as there has never been in a play." --------------------------------------------------
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!
Mine was good. Santa brought me Julie & Julia, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and The Proposal. I also got a couple Border's gift cards so that I can buy myself some more movies :o)
Over the past couple weeks, I have watched a lot of movies, some were bad and some very good.
Scotland, PA and How To Be were both so boring that I could not get past the first half hour of either of them. So, that is all I will say about that.
In my ongoing quest to see everything Bradley Cooper, I watched All About Steve, even though it got horrible reviews. I would not say it was the worst movie I have ever seen, but it was not good. Parts of it were funny and I did get through the whole thing, but it was just...stupid. There really is no other word for it. It makes me a little sad when good actors, like Cooper and Sandra Bullock, make crappy movies.
I also watched Duplicity, which was not horrible but was not very good either. It jumped around a lot and was one of those movies where you do not know who is deceiving whom until the very end. Julia Roberts was just nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for this movie and I do not really understand why. Like I said, it was not a bad movie, but I think she has been better in other movies.
Inglourious Basterds is another movie I did not really enjoy. I mean, it was fine, it was not horrible, but I was just really unimpressed by the whole thing. And, I know it was Quentin Tarantino, but I really do not need to see people being scalped.
So those were the bad movies, now onto the good movies...
Last Monday, I finally saw Fantastic Mr. Fox and it was everything I hoped it would be. It was my favorite Roald Dahl book as a kid and I was so excited to see this movie before it even came out. The animation was awesome and the story was just as good as I remembered. George Clooney and Meryl Streep as Mr. and Mrs. Fox and Jason Schwartzman as their son Ash were great and I just thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. I highly recommend that everyone see this movie.
I also went to a screening of It's Complicated at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute on Monday and I thought that it was HILARIOUS. I laughed so hard I cried. Meryl Streep is amazing. To go from being Julia Child to Mrs. Fox to Jane, a woman divorced for 10 years having a secret affair with her ex-husband, all in one year...she is amazing. It did not get great reviews and it was a little long, but at no point was I not being entertained. And I got to stare at Hunter Parrish a lot, so that was a bonus!
And finally, Saturday night, I saw Sherlock Holmes with my brother, his fiancee and our friends. It was definitely entertaining and I enjoyed it, but it was not as amazing as I was hoping it would be. I also found it hard to understand Robert Downey Jr's British accent at times. However, the action sequences were fun and the relationship between Downey's Holmes and Jude Law's Dr. Watson made me laugh a lot, so overall, I will say I liked it.
Golden Globe and SAG Nominations have also come out in the past couple weeks (links are at the bottom). I usually try to see at least all of the Best Picture nominees, so I still need to see Up In The Air, Nine, The Hurt Locker, Avatar and An Education. I loved Precious and you already know how I feel about Inglourious Basterds. I also still really want to see The Messenger, Me and Orson Welles, Brothers, The Young Victoria, A Single Man and Invictus. Think I can do it before the end of the month? :o)
The empty TV schedule lately has clearly given me lots of free time to watch all these movies.
It has also made it a little easier to be single during the holidays. I have tried really hard to stay positive this season, but it is hard when you are surrounded by couples. I have been single for a very long time, but I do know that I can be very picky. What do you expect when you are constantly comparing prospects to Dr. Pomatter, Jack Bourdain or Noah Calhoun? And I realize that none of these characters are perfect men, but it definitely does not help the situation.
I watch too many movies and TV shows, I know this. I want my life to be a fairytale and it is most definitely not. So I will keep getting lost in these other worlds until it becomes one. Maybe I have set my standards and expectations too high. Maybe it is unrealistic. But why shouldn't I get everything I have ever dreamed of? I can wait.
Anyways....
I hope that everyone has enjoyed their 2009 and has an even more FABulous 2010! Happy New Year and Happy Movie Watching!
I apologize in advance if this blog is kind of all over the place. I have been watching lots of different stuff and this is the first post I have written in a while. I promise I will try harder to be more focused and write more often.
So here we go...
I have finally watched The Godfather: Part Three. It creeped me out a little that Sofia Coppolla had a kissing scene, that I almost thought was leading into a sex scene, in a movie directed by her father. And I was right about the movie not wowing me. I still do not understand the obsession with these movies. However, I have now watched them all, so no one can give me a hard time about not seeing them :o)
On my continuing quest to see everything Bradley Cooper, I have watched Jack & Bobby (which I discovered OnDemand and then on theWB.com), The Comebacks and New York, I Love You (which is in theaters right now).
New York, I Love You was a combination of several vignettes about love in New York City. I thought it was very interesting and had a stellar cast. Along with Bradley Cooper, it also starred Robin Wright, Natalie Portman (who also wrote and directed one of the segments), Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, Shia LaBeouf, Ethan Hawke, James Caan, Andy Garcia and many, many more. The stories were separate yet interwoven throughout the film, some were sad, some were happy, but they all were true to life. I think it is definitely worth seeing.
The Comebacks was one of the worst movies I have ever seen and that is all I will say about that.
Jack & Bobby was a great show and I am sad that I did not get to watch it while it was on TV. It was really well written and very entertaining. Although, I have to admit my absolute favorite part of every episode is actually the opening credits - the theme from The Patriot, written by John Williams, paired with clips of famous presidential speeches - you really cannot go wrong with that combo. I turn up the volume every time to listen to it and never fast forward through it. It sounds corny but maybe you need to watch it to understand:
Another cool fact is that executive producer, Greg Berlanti, is now one of the the executive producers for Brothers & Sisters and I noticed several similarities between the two shows. I don't think it is a coincidence that the main character on Jack & Bobby was a kid named Robert "Bobby" McCallister who grows up to be a Republican Senator and then goes on to be President, and Rob Lowe's character on B&S is named Robert McCallister, who is a Republican Senator who wants to be President. Plus, Logan Lerman looks like he could be Rob Lowe's little brother. Love it! :o)
I think Bradley Cooper should do more projects like Jack & Bobby and less projects like The Comebacks, but that's just my humble opinion.
I also watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail last week. The Monty Python boys are always funny, however, I found I enjoyed Life of Brian more than the Holy Grail, mostly because during this one, I pretty much had no idea what they were talking about half the time :o) I tend to prefer their shorts as they are much easier to follow..."I always wanted to be a lumberjack!" Maybe I just need to watch the movie again.
There are now 219 movies in my Netflix queue...I MAY have added a few more since my lost post...but I am still slowly working my way down :o)
In the world of television, I have become increasingly obsessed with The Vampire Diaries. As you may remember (http://ayetortuga.blogspot.com/2009/08/when-youre-wearing-pantyhose-on-your.html) I was not super excited about this show before it started, but I am a sucker for hot vampires, so I watched. The first few episodes were good, so I kept watching, and now the episodes just seem to be getting better and better each week. Then they had to go and add Matthew Davis to the cast (think Warren from Legally Blonde or Matt Tollman from Blue Crush) as the new history teacher, Alaric Saltzman, so now I'm officially hooked.
I am also loving new USA Network show, White Collar. Matthew Bomer plays a white-collar criminal who makes a deal with the FBI to let him out of jail if he helps them catch other white-collar criminals. It is funny and extremely entertaining, and I am only slightly biased since a friend of mine is doing the marketing for the show ;o) The only downside is that it is on Fridays at 10pm, which is where my DVR comes in super handy.
I could not get into Cougar Town or Eastwick (which has now been canceled). I also stopped watching Modern Family. I thought the first couple episodes were funny, but I just have not been able to get into it. I watch enough television, so I think it is okay if I skip this one. I also stopped watching Flash Forward and never even started watching V because I decided I just was not interested in them.
Ugly Betty, Dollhouse, NCIS and Castle are having AMAZING seasons. Sadly though, the stupid FOX Network has already canceled Dollhouse, just as it was hitting it's stride, because viewership has been too low. But what do you expect when you put a show on Friday nights two seasons in a row and have it's lead in be totally unrelated sit-coms?!
Anyways, that's what I have been up to while currently unemployed. If you agree/disagree with anything I have said, feel free to leave comments below. I am really going to try to write more often, so stay tuned!
Bill Pardy: What?! Jack: Lyme disease. You touch some deer feces, and then you...eat a sandwich without washin' your hands, you got your lyme disease! Bill: And that makes you look like a squid?! -------------------------------------------
I don't like scary movies. I don't like things jumping out at me and I don't like blood and guts.
I can handle movies about supernatural occurences (ie. The Ring, The Exorcist) because after the movie is over I am brought back to reality and am not concerned with being abducted by aliens or possessed by the devil. However, I won't normally go to the theater to see these kinds of movies, unless one of my friends makes me.
I do NOT like movies where people are getting killed by other people (ie. Scream, What Lies Beneath). Watching those movies makes me think about the fact that people are murdered everyday, sometimes in their own home. My biggest fear is having someone break into my house and attack and/or kill me.
When I was younger and home alone at night I would not turn out the light of the room I was leaving until the light was on in the room I was entering. My bathroom was attached the my bedroom, but also had a door into the hallway. I would leave the hall light on, turn my bedroom light on, walk through my room into my bathroom (my shower curtain was always left open) and make sure the other bathroom door was closed before going back through my room, turning out the hall light and closing my bedroom door. I always sleep with the bedroom door closed because I figure, at least that way, if someone comes into my room, I'll hear them open the door. I'm not that bad now that I'm older, but it still freaks me out thinking that someone could be in my house and me not know it.
The only time I usually watch scary movies is if an actor/actress that I REALLY like is in it (Pulse with Kristen Bell) and/or if it's more comedic than scary (Slither with Nathan Fillion).
So, against my better judgement, I watched the movie Midnight Meat Train the other night. I don't say "against my better judgement" because it was a bad movie (although it was a little weird) but because it gave me nightmares that night which screwed up my sleep schedule for the rest of the week. Anyways, it stars Bradley Cooper (hence the bad judgement), Leslie Bibb and Vinnie Jones. Cooper plays a photographer who, while wandering the city one night, takes a picture of a girl and then discovers the next day she has been abducted. He becomes obsessed with figuring out what happened to her and eventually starts to believe she's been murdered by a butcher (Jones). That might not sound that weird, until you find out what's actually happening to these people. I won't tell you, in case you actually ever watch the movie, but it's definitely a bizarre ending.
I also watched the premiere's of Glee and Vampire Diaries this week.
Glee was not as awesome as the preview episode in the spring. I felt like it jumped around too much and tried to introduce too many plot lines, but it was still good. I will give it some time to improve before I stop watching.
I thought Vampire Diaries was actually pretty good. I'm a sucker for cute vampires, so it's not a huge suprise that I like this show. Again, I will give it a few more weeks before I make my final decision :o)
On a completely un-tv/movie related note, I was rockin' out at the Rascal Flatts concert tonight, so I will try to watch Coraline sometime this weekend and get back to you.
Next on my list is the Godfather trilogy. I have never watched any of these movies. I know, I know, it's a disgrace, but I'm working on it!
Cordelia: I stand corrected Oz: Just keeping things in perspective -----------------------------------------------
I went with my mom the other night to see Julie & Julia. If you have not yet seen it, you definitely should. Meryl Streep is, of course, amazing in any role that she takes on, and she is hilarious as Julia Child.
But that's not my focus today.
Part of the movie is based on the real life story of Julie Powell and her blog about cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook and it made me think about my own blog. Her goal was too make all 500+ recipes in 365 days and she wrote about each one. Considering this, I feel like I need more focus and direction. I have no problem writing aimlessly about random thoughts I have about movies and actors and whatnot, but I now have a new plan.
I've talked a lot about my Netflix queue and how I'm slowly trying to work down from 230 movies - yes, that number has gone up since I last mentioned it - and now you get to go through that journey with me. That may not interest you at all, but like I said before, if you don't like it, don't read it.
Once the regular fall TV schedule starts up again, I might throw in some comments on current shows, and I'll comment on current movies as I deem necessary.
I feel better now that I have more direction :o)
As I am currently on my Bradley Cooper kick, I have been working my way through the entire Alias series. Although, he was only in the first two seasons, with a couple guest appearances later in the series. I did not watch Alias when it was on TV, mostly because none of my friends did - that I know of - and no one ever really told me that I should be watching it. So far, I have finished the first two seasons.
The first season was alright. I felt like I could not pay attention to the actual missions Jennifer Garner's character, Sydney, was sent on and still understand what was going on. The relationships were more interesting to me than the actual plot of the overall show. However, the second season was much more engaging, if only because Merrin Dungey's Francie had more to do than just constantly ask Sydney why she was traveling so much when she worked for a bank.
I find that, often, shows of this nature either have an amazing first, maybe second season, and then go down hill (ie. Lost, Heroes) or they have a mediocre first season and don't hit their stride until the next season (ie. Buffy, hopefully Dollhouse). The problem with that second scenario is that studios have no patience anymore and want shows to be a hit right away, so they end up canceling really good shows too soon that just have not found their audience yet.
The only thing that seriously bothers me about Alias is that, no matter how many hairstyles or different outfits Jennifer Garner's characters put on while undercover, her face always looks the same. You'd think as high-tech as these operations are, they could give her a prosthetic nose or something! Especially since she's usually trying to get information from the same people and several times has been recognized. I mean, come on, if I can figure that out, certainly the CIA should be able to!
Other than that I find the series interesting enough to keep watching. I'm not totally obsessed, but it's pretty entertaining. Mostly, I just hope that Greg Grunberg has more lines like this to Michael Vartan: "Well, something's going on. No man naturally smells as good as you do right now." :o)
Alias, season three, here I come.
I would love to hear your thoughts on anything I've said, even if you disagree with me, so feel free to take full advantage of the comments section below. Thanks for reading and spread the word to friends and family so that I can become famous, meet Ryan Gosling and have him fall madly in love with me.
My friends thought I should start a movie/tv blog about the shows I watch, movies I see and actors and actresses related. I don't really know where to start, so bear with me.
I will probably drop a lot of actors names, some you may know, some you may not, but I suggest you get very familiar with IMDb if you want to follow along because telling you who each person is will just get too tedious. I may ramble about something totally random...maybe throw in a comment or two about my World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies...you may even disagree with most of what I say, but I don't really care, these are my thoughts, not yours. I will try not to use any spoilers, but I can't make any promises.
Okay, here goes.....
The most recent movie that I saw was The Hangover.
Initially, I had no desire to see this movie because I tend to not enjoy "boy" humor. It's hard to clarify that though. I have never seen 40 Year Old Virgin, Talladega Nights and I hated Anchorman. I have not seen Borat and have absolutely no plans to see Bruno. However, I did enjoy Old School and Wedding Crashers and I loved Dodgeball. I guess, I like Vince Vaughn but not Will Farrell...for the most part. There are, of course, exceptions to every rule.
After hearing the good reviews that The Hangover was getting (especially from Angelo Cataldi of the 610 WIP Morning Show), I decided to see it with two of my girlfriends and I actually really enjoyed it. At times, I felt like it dragged just a little bit, but overall I thought it was pretty hilarious.
What really surprised me the most about this movie was that most people did not know who Bradley Cooper was before it came out. I have been following Bradley Cooper since 2004 when he was in the ABC Family movie I Want to Marry Ryan Banks (yes, I watch ABC Family movies, I know I'm a big dork). Before that, I had seen him in Sex and the City and Wet Hot American Summer (an awesomely hilarious movie that everyone should see) but he was eclipsed by more famous actors like Paul Rudd and SJP. Then I really fell in love with him in Kitchen Confidential. A TV show that sadly got canceled on FOX, as so many good shows do (FIREFLY) but was based on the book by Anthony Bourdain about a chef in NYC. My dvd is on it's way to my house and I have rewatched every episode on hulu in the past week. He was also in Alias, Wedding Crashers, Failure to Launch (with Justin Bartha who is also in The Hangover), He's Just Not That Into You and several episodes of Nip/Tuck. I have not seen all of his work, but have at least put most of it on my Netflix queue. He's recently been cast in the A-Team movie remake as Faceman...which I'm a little overly excited about. He also happens to be from the Philadelphia area, as am I, so that makes him even cooler :o)
I feel like most of the time good actors get over-looked because people are paying attention to the well-known actors who are usually not very good, but are just more popular. Bradley Cooper is a victim of that phenomenon and it's my goal to change that...although, I'm not really sure how because I guarantee that only my friends will follow this blog. ;o)
But I digress....
To summarize my very first blog posting, if you haven't seen The Hangover, you should. And more importantly, if you don't know who Bradley Cooper is, you definitely should get caught up.
The movie is split into three acts. The first act focuses on the character of Luke, played by Ryan Gosling, a motorcycle stunt rider who starts robbing banks in order to provide for his son. The second act follows Bradley Cooper's character, Avery, who is a young cop in a small town police department run by corrupt detectives. Avery and Luke's individual stories only overlap once, but that small interaction has huge consequences, which you see fifteen years later in the third act of the movie between their two teenage sons. It is an intense story and very well done.
