14 posts tagged “movies”
Ok, one of my students showed me thing..(um..someone just started singing "blame it on the ..a..a.a..alcohol..." walking out of the library)..let me focus...Bourne 4 is coming out but this movie, "Green Zone" is just like all the Bourne movies!
Nothing exciting to report...but today my co-workers made a little spread for and early b-day celebration. Thanks to them for being so nice and getting me a cute card too!
and it's also Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there! and especially to my mom!
I swear, every time I'm with my mom now she's got these two crawling all over her with cards. This happened yesterday too! It must be something they do together.
Attempted to take my mom to a spa but everything was booked. BOO! I should have done what my co-worker does, she books appointments the weekend before so she doesn't have to deal with the crowds. She has kids but sometimes I think she just sets everything up for herself and then tells her kids that's what they are getting for her...Anyway, so now, we (my sisters and I) are going to do something during Spa Week in San Diego in June. I was just telling my friend about how much a racket this Mother's Day thing is so I don't really feel bad about it. Plus with all those children it's kind of impossible to get all the moms away anyway. We ended up watching Slumdog Millionare and getting food from Pat & Oscar's - pizza, salad, ribs and bbq chicken. You know that made everyone in our house happy.
Also, watched Star Trek on Thursday. WATCH IT!!! It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Good!
Jason and I ended up driving the Burger King for the collector glasses.Yes, I hardly ever do that but after I watched this movie (which I will watch again and again...and again! Hum I might do that tonight!) anyway, I was so excited afterwards I had to have those glasses! The kids at school were kind of like "Star Trek?!? why??!?!" then I remembere they have no clue! Just kidding..some do maybe..but the last series ended what in 2005?!? Yeah, and these kids were born in..ok, I'm not even going there! No idea about the greatness of Star Trek. You should see it. Also, the trailers before the movie were good too - Year One, Transformers, Terminator...i forget what else. I need to look at list of releases to make my own summer movie watching list.
Now, I'm planning a road trip along Route 66. How far can I go in a week? I work Sundays so Sunday night to Sunday morning. Yes, I was watching GMA and got inspired. Who wants to come with? Or have you done it and do you have pointers on where to stop...starting in California of course :)
I will admit this...I saw "Twilight". On opening night. At a midnight screening. Yes. I. Did. I even dragged Puppymommy to go see it with me. I don't know why. But I felt invested. I read all the books. I did not really care for how it was written but I was excited about seeing the movie. David Edelstein described it perfectly on NPR - it was a "swoonithon." I sort of had to see how the kids acted. It was really hilarious. The girls would all sigh at all the right moments. Not everyone there read it but most of them did. It was such a fun energy. It reminded me of the "Harry Potter" kids but now the kids are in middle school and high school. Listen to Edelstein's review, I think his is the best review I've read or heard. Edelstein can see it from the swooning 17 year olds perspective as well as an adult. I read Ebert's review but he takes it from a more adult view. If you want to feel like a teen again or just enjoy a fun romance, I would say see it.
i also finally watched Atonement. It was good but I don't understand what all the hype was about. I guess, I'm dense because it did not blow me away like it did everyone else. Did I miss something? Anyway, that's it for my movie watching...there were more in there but these were the memorable ones.
Have a great Monday evening folks!
Today, I watched Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain (2006). Have you watched this movie? I never heard of it but I really like Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman so I thought I would give a go. It was really weird but really beautifully shot. I have not watched such a visually spectacular movie in a while, probably not since I watched "Lust Caution." Hugh Jackman's character, Tommy, is a scientist trying to find a cure for dying. The film jumps from the past to the present to the future and also replays scenes and overlaps scenes which added to the film's emotional impact. It definitely makes you think about death, aging, science, history and of course, love. When do you let go? How do you let go? It was strange but definitely left an impression.
Yesterday, I went to see "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" with Ambookgeek. Ambookgeek went in with no expectations, I unfortunately had some after enjoying the first movie. It was so boring! I mean, the first one had jokes at the right moment, made you uncomfortable when you needed to feel umcomfortable, and actually made me care about the characters. The sequel did nothing for me and I like all the actresses. I feel like they were not even trying at all because America Ferrera and Blake Lively seem to be doing so well on television. Amber Tamblin is still my favorite but I feel like the under-utilized all the characters. Maybe because a lot was going on in their lives but it was just "meh." Luckily we went to a matinee & it was only $5 and we ate amazing sandwiches afterwards.
I also watched "Funny Face" the 50th anniversary disc. The "How To Be Lovely" song is one of my favorites in the film. I have not watched this in years so it was nice revisiting it. I love Audrey Hepburn. I know, what a cliche but she's classic and lovely. I also love Kay Thompson - is that who Meryl Streep was trying to channel in "Devil Wears Prada"? Kind of? Of course, "Maggie Prescott" was much more subdued though I could see her being "Miranda Priestly" if it was a different decade. Anyway, always lovely to watch a fun musical filled with lovely art (fashion, sets, photographs) and lovely actors. I need to borrow "Sabrina."
The Bucket List was pretty enjoyable. It was actually kind of inspirational and not as emotionally wrenching as I thought it would be. I do love Morgan Freeman and enjoy Jack Nicholson, though I would not want to run into him because he kind of scares me. Anyway, they visit some amazing places. The cities and sites they visit are definitely characters in the film. Also, it made me want to drive a Mustang Shelby on a track, which I will add to my list. Actually, I'd love to drive any car on a race track. Now that would be incredible! I remember my friend took his motorcycle (crotch rocket :)) on a track once and he said "just ride the way you ride, Anna. And don't worry about any body else." I had asked him if racing was scary. I think that applies to a lot of other things as well. (Stop your dirty thinking! sheesh people!)
Any movie suggestions? Obviously, I watch EVERYTHING. I'll add it to my list :)
If you could, which film would you un-watch or which book would you un-read?
Submitted by Kate.
Pretty much any movie with Jennifer Lopez in it. She is awful and even the actors she is surrounded with in those movies cannot save it. You can NEVER get that time back. Even George Clooney could not save her in "Out of Sight" and people LOVE that movie.
Wow. Yesterday was pretty much a whirlwind. I got up and went hiking with Mellemusic. I think, we are going to make it a weekly thing again! YAY! I did miss hiking at our spot early on Saturdays. I am always surprised at how many people are up and out before us and we get there at 7am!
After the hike, we walked around some more and then I helped out pouring some fancy wine at the Autry Museum for Melle's job. It was pretty cool. The crowd was interesting and they all were pretty happy to be at the tasting to support United Way. People really do love their wine. We ran out after about an 1-1/2 hrs. We had 2 cases full and 4 different wines. I tasted some just so I would know what I was pouring. I did like the Long View Wineries chardonney. I think, I'm more a white wine drinker than a red wine, even though red is supposedly healthy for you. Whatever. I don't really drink wine so I have no idea what I'm talking about. With that said, it sure was easy to convince people that a certain wine you were pouring was good. I would say, "Oh it's good and it's from Argentina" and people would just agree with me. I have no idea what I'm saying people! What if you thought it was crap? But Melle's company does not distribute bad wines. I just thought those people should have their own opinions about it either way. I thought people would have a much more discerning palette but obviously no one wants to pretend that they don't know things.
We had a good time laughing at the uncles who kept coming around trying to flirt and drink all our wine. That's the other thing about wine. People are not so willing to try new ones. They pretty much stuck to the ones that they heard about before like cabernet. Melle brought a Malbec and people would read the label and you could tell they were wondering what it was but did not want to try it.
Then we met up with Tall Guy and hung out at the studio. Everyone's on a budget these days so it's all about free events and finding ways to amuse ourselves at home. Can I tell you that I seem to have forgotten about how to hang out with friends at my place? It's like "what do we do?" I don't own boardgames. I should get a gaming system just so we can have something to do. And maybe a couch...More to add to the list.
Oh and I'm all excited about the upcoming X-Files movie!
And yes, I will watch the Dark Knight too but everyone's excited about that one. I have been waiting for the new X-Files movie so I am excited that it'll be out on Friday :) YAY!
Happy Friday! Today is just going to be one of those days if you know what I mean. I woke up early and felt good. I had time to not rush (or so I thought) and then I had to figure out what to wear. Have you ever had one of those mornings where your clothes just feel all wrong? I literally spend 30 minutes trying on, what felt like, 30 different outfits. I was trying to explain this to Tall Guy but he did not get it. I do not think guys understand this at all. Things were too big, too tight, wrong color, wrong material - eventually I had to pick something but now I feel smelly. That's T.M.I. I know but what can you do?
So, I'm just going to write about the movies I have watched over the past month.
I did love Cate Blanchett's continuing protrayal of the "Virgin Queen" and Samantha Morton was great as "Mary Stuart Queen of Scots." I love Clive Owen but I really did not see the point of "Bess" and "Sir Walter Raleigh's" relationship except to show what Queen Elizabeth was missing. I know that is important but I just did not care about it when I was watching this movie.
The cinematography was incredible though and watching the extras, I learned a lot about the production designer, Guy Dyas. Did you know that the main ship represented 3 to 4 different ships? One side was the Spanish armada's main ship and the other was Sir Walter Raleigh's ship. Then the interior represented other boats. I thought that was pretty great. Though, I did think it was strange that the bulk of the extras were mainly about how fabulous Guy Dyas is. I'm sure he is but it was still kind of weird to me.
Wow, I honestly felt like I watched more than these over the past month but I guess not. Oh well. Happy Friday!
Javier Bardem as "Anton Chigurh" scared the crap out of me. The only movie I have seen him in is "The Sea Inside" which is about euthanasia and he is amazing in it. The way he looks at his victims, his disturbingly sickly pallor, and that weird bowl haircut only added to his intensity and evilness.
I was really impressed by Josh Brolin. I have never really been struck by Josh Brolin's acting. He has always just been that guy in the movie that never really made an impact on me (except in Goonies of course :)) But lately, I am becoming more and more impressed by him. I loved him in Planet Terror and now I loved him as Llewelyn Moss. He was definitely my favorite character in this film.
It was intense, suspenseful and for me, not all that predictable. Definitely go and see it if you have not. I jumped in my seat and covered my eyes a couple of times during this movie.
I finally was able to watch "Lust, Caution" by Ang Lee yesterday.
(I love the Arclight, but sometimes it is impossible to see a movie there. I tried twice last week to go and each time, there was some sort of event going on or the parking lot was full or it was just mad crowded. There is also this irritating flicker going on with this computer monitor that is kind of grating on my nerves...)
It was a pretty good movie. I really enjoyed the acting, the costumes, the story, the cinematography, the music. I am actually still processing it. I was speechless when we left the theatre because there were so many things that went on it in. It is a three hour movie but it did not feel as if it was that long.
It is set in 1942 Shanghai. Wong Chia Chi (Wei Tang), a quiet, shy girl, becomes part of a resistance movement against the Japansese occupation. She changes into a sophisticated society woman who must seduce Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). Mr. Yee is an assassination target for the resistance. Wong is pushed to her limit and is torn between her loyalty to the resistance and possible allegance to Mr. Yee.
This film is very graphic and intense. There are scenes that could be viewed as pornographic. I think, it adds to Wong's story though. It does have an NC17 rating.
Then it made me think of all these clips I see of people dancing. And they all have the SAME dance moves. It's really bizarre if you think about it. How can all these people just dance pretty much exactly the same? Is that how they really dance or are they just pretending to dance like that? I was thinking about the intro to Superbad, then Jamiroquai, and also Napoleon Dynamite and then thinking about my friends...same moves.
But maybe everyone just uses the same moves all the time unless you are truly a dancer?
Speaking of dance moves, I'm totally going to try to learn all the dance moves in High School Musical 2. Do not judge. I can feel the judgment. It was so cute and actually had a plot this time around. I should learn the songs too, then I will sing to my students. Too bad summer is over because I would totally sing the summer time song.
"what time is it?"
"summer time!"
