"Why spiders? Why couldn't it be 'follow the butterflies'? "

Halloween has come and gone and, while it is not my favorite holiday nor do I enjoy scary movies, I did want to share a clip from my favorite Halloween movie:

Not scary, but definitely awesome. :o)

I have not written in a while but have actually been pretty busy watching a lot of different things. Netflix: Watch Instantly is evil and has allowed to me to watch many more movies and shows in a shorter amount of time :o) If I talked about all of them right now, this post would be ridiculously too long, so I have split them up and will post again in a few days.

So let's get started....

I had heard some great things about the show Spartacus: Blood and Sand, so I decided to give it a try and it was FANTASTIC. It is the real story of Spartacus and how he became a gladiator, but is only loosely based in history. It is shown on Starz, so it is kind of graphic, both with blood and sex, but it is mostly driven by the stories of its characters which are very compelling. The entire series is shot in front of a green screen and the blood and guts have a fake, Kill-Bill-like feel to them. I am extremely interested in seeing where season two takes us, especially considering how season one ended (which I will not spoil for you) and the fact that their lead actor is being replaced because of medical reasons. I HIGHLY recommend you watch this show, if you are not already.

On the more family-friendly front, I am really irritated that ABC Family, after only ONE month, stopped playing reruns of Friday Night Lights. They kept it at 6 p.m. for about two weeks before moving it to 11 a.m. for another two weeks and are surprised that not many people could keep track of when it was on. That, combined with the fact that the final season is being played on DirecTV before it airs on NBC (probably next spring or summer) means I have to take over one of my friend's televisions in the city every week to get my Tim Riggins fix. Lucky, I do not watch anything else on Wednesday nights, so I have the time. The things I do for my TV shows!

In terms of movies, I have finally watched MacGruber, Inception and Rebel Without A Cause.

Even though it got pretty bad reviews, I was sort of hoping that I would like MacGruber. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I had not seen the Saturday Night Live sketch, but understood what the concept of the character was about, however the only thing I found funny about the movie was Kristen Wiig.  Sadly, I would say that this is a movie you can skip seeing.

Rebel Without A Cause sat on top of my bluray player for about three weeks before I finally got around to watching it. Made in 1955, it stars James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo as three teens who all have issues with their parents, as teens tend to do, and the trouble they get into. It was well done and definitely worth seeing, if only because it was the last thing Dean made before his unfortunate death.

I really was not planning to ever see Inception.  I mean, I probably would have eventually, but I had no plans to do so.  However, under the guise of carving pumpkins, I was lured to my friend's house a few weeks ago and forced into watching the movie. Okay, it was not quite as scandalous and devious as that, but I did not know that is what we were going to be doing that night.  And I do have to say that the movie was pretty good. I would not say that it totally blew my mind, but it was definitely interesting and different and not anything that I could have ever come up with on my own. One problem with seeing it so far after everyone else and reading too many reviews was that I knew that there was going to be some big twist at the end, so when it happened, I was not surprised. It was well done and definitely worth seeing, but I do not think I would go so far as to say it is the best movie I have ever seen.

Well, that is it for now.  I will return shortly to talk about The Tudors, Due Date, The Social Network and a few other things.  I hope everyone is enjoying the Harry Potter Marathon Weekend on ABC Family and this lovely fall weather :o)

xoxo

c

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"If you don’t have faith that the world will turn in your direction then it just simply never will."

After letting it sit on top of my Blu-ray player for five months, I have FINALLY watched Rachel Getting Married. (You are all very proud of me, I know, you do not have to say it :o) Anne Hathaway plays a recovering addict who is getting out of rehab just in time for her older sister's wedding. As I had been warned, there were a couple scenes where you feel the awkwardness of the situation, which always makes me physical uncomfortable, but overall it was an excellent film. I especially liked that the music was not like a normal soundtrack, that the musicians were actually playing live while the scenes were being filmed. It made it much more natural that the wedding musicians, who were also friends of the family, were either rehearsing on the porch or just messing around in the other room while the family was interacting elsewhere in the house. The performances were fantastic and because of the realness of the characters and the way it was filmed, you really felt like part of this family. Anne Hathaway's performance is amazing and should not be missed!

On the complete opposite end of the movie-spectrum, I also recently watched Dear John. It was pretty much exactly what you would expect from a Nicholas Sparks book made into a movie (ie. A Walk to Remember and The Notebook). It was not horrible but it was not that great either. It also had this autism sub-plot that was not really developed all that well and just made the story more convoluted than it needed to be. Channing Tatum's and Amanda Seyfried's performances were fine, I just wish they would choose better movies to make. They are both good actors, they just happen to make some crappy movies.

I have completed Deadwood season two and it continues to be amazing. I am a taking a little break before starting season three two watch a few movies, but will get back into it very soon.

From Netflix, I have gotten Quantum of Solace and Silkwood.

The only James Bond movies that I have seen are the Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig versions. I have never really found them to be anything extraordinary. I watch them because they are fun and there are crazy action and fight sequences. But I have never found the plots to be all that interesting or believable. After watching Quantum of Solace, that tradition lives on. Maybe the earlier Bond movies have more to them, but I am going to guess that they probably do not. I did enjoy Quantum of Solace, as it was pretty much exactly what I had expected it to be. It was also very cool to see Siena, Italy at the beginning of the movie after having been there ten years ago with my Ya-yas :o)

I never got the chance to see MacGruber :o( It did not get very good reviews and did not do well in theaters, so it is already out of theaters near me. I just never had the time to get to see it so I will, unfortunately, have to wait until it is out on DVD. (Sorry JGE!!!)


On a completely non-entertainment related note, there are a lot of things going on in the world right now. The people of New Orleans, Haiti, Chile are still recovering from natural disasters. The Gulf Coast is also dealing with the on-going issue of the oil spill. There have been earthquakes, tornadoes and flooding all over the world, as well as in our own backyards. If you are feeling as completely hopeless and useless as I am and want to know where you can send money and aid, here are a few of my suggestions:
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
Habitat for Humanity
United Way
AmeriCares


I will be celebrating my 27th birthday this Sunday, so in honor of...myself...I leave you with this funny clip :o)



xoxo
c

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Christina: There’s a club. The Dead Dads Club and you can’t be in it until you’re in it....

You can try to understand, you can sympathize, but until you feel that loss… My dad died when I was nine. George, I’m really sorry you had to join the club
George: I…I don’t know how to…exist in a world where my dad doesn’t
Christina: Yeah that never really changes
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I finally saw Iron Man 2 and it was just as awesome as the first movie. Do not expect it to win any Academy Awards, but for a comic book movie and a sequel, it was completely entertaining and just what I needed right now. I do love Robert Downey Jr and I cannot wait for The Avengers movie, especially now that it also involves Joss Whedon :o)

Other summer movies I am looking forward to are MacGruber, The A-Team and Toy Story 3. I will see Sex and the City 2 and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, but am not expecting anything spectacular, considering the previous films were not that good. I also might see Dinner for Schmucks, The Switch and Eat, Pray, Love depending on the reviews.

I still have not watched Rachel Getting Married. This time it is mostly because there have just been other things that I have wanted to watch more. I have had the disc from Netflix since January, so I should probably get on that. Most of my TV shows have ended this week, so I should have lot of free time coming soon. I promise I will watch it and get back to you!

I also just watched The Messenger with Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson, which was an excellent film. I meant to see it when it was in theaters but it did not play at very many and it got lost among all the other Oscar nominated movies that I was seeing. Being a Casualty Notification Officer must be the hardest job in the military. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to have to tell family members that their loved one has died and I have tons of respect for the men and women that do it. The movie was human and artful and also had something to say, but was not political. It was more about loss and how different people deal with that loss. It is about the people that have to do the thing that nobody wants to do, but the job that has to be done. I know I say this a lot, but everyone seriously needs to see this movie.

With Cool Hand Luke, it took me a little while to get into the movie, because it is very slow moving. However, after adjusting to the meandering nature, I really enjoyed it and totally understand why it is considered such a classic. I also now understand the "shake that bush" reference from A Perfect Getaway :o)

I am still watching Deadwood and am in the middle of season two. It is still awesome and I cannot wait to see what happens, but I do not think I would have watched it when it was on TV. I just do not think I would have appreciated it as much I do right now. So I guess it is good that I did not try to watch it then because I am loving it now.

In current TV news, I loved the finales of Private Practice (even though it made me sob), The Vampire Diaries, Parenthood, NCIS: Los Angeles and Brothers & Sisters. The Good Wife and Grey's Anatomy were phenomenal. How I Met Your Mother was funny, but kind of lame in terms of a finale. NCIS was mostly confusing and I thought could have been better considering the full season build-up, but is always good. And I could care less about the series finales of Lost or 24, as I did not watch either show. This summer I am looking forward to new seasons of Mad Men, Dark Blue and White Collar.

Since I was in Montauk for my brother's wedding this past weekend (I have a sister now, yay!) I did not see MacGruber opening weekend, like I had hoped, but it is on my to-do list for the next week.

xoxo
c

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