He's Just Not That Into You

Saw it yesterday at Alamo. Sorry, haters, it was awe-some. Sometimes, I really wished I was wearing my awkward pants, but it made me laugh, it made me tear up, and it had lots of people in it that I rather enjoy: Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly ("Sarah friend?"), Mac ("Hello, I'm a Mac."), and Ben Affleck. Mac and I were on the outs there for a little while after he downgraded from Drew Barrymore to Kirsten Dunst, but we are so back on after this. He was hot. He and Jennifer Aniston/Ben Affleck had the best storylines, although Drew's was really cute at the end. I kind of wish Jennifer Aniston and Ben Affleck would get together in real life, now. I digress. Yes, it's a schmaltzy rom-com. No, I don't care. I really really enjoyed it and I highly recommend it. The Ben/Jen ending alone totally did it for me, but the rest is well worth it, too.

I am a terrible geek.

Not only did I enjoy the first Star Wars prequel, I'm also really freakin' excited for this: http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/movie-stills/gallery/1360/transformers-revenge-of-the-fallen-stills.

OMG Cool cars that turn into robots and beat the crap out of each other. People who do not like this movie are a mystery to me. And please spare me the whole "weak plot, bad actors whatever whatever" thing. Cool cars that turn into robots and beat the crap out of each other. Focus, people.

Hopefully my newfound love of BSG will help me out in the eyes of those who think my geek cred has seriously slipped today.

Movie Mania

As promised, a few sentences about some of the other movies I watched over the "break." Again, in no particular order.

The King of Kong made me feel incredibly awkward. But, I was also totally caught up in the drama, complete with hating on Billy Whatisface. Tool.

Kit Kittredge was a pretty typical kids movie in that it had about five happy endings. Almost everything that they could wrap up in a pretty little bow, they did. It was atypical in that it did stay true to the one story line that seemed like it would be too false, too forced with a happy ending. It was also atypical in that some of the drama leading up to the happy endings was kinda heavy. The moment where Kit sees her dad in the soup kitchen...crushing. I also thought it was a well-done, age-appropriate depiction of the Depression. Y'know, a good intro to that period in history for an age group that's a bit too young for The Grapes of Wrath. Timely, that. Also, I kind of love Abigail Breslin. I hope she makes it through the whole child actor thing relatively unscathed.

Slumdog Millionaire was fantastic and I don't feel like I can do it justice in this blog. I keep starting to type something and then furiously clicking backspace. I start to write about how uplifting it is, but then I think that makes it sound cheesy. Or I start to write about all the aspects of this movie that make it wonderful, how you'd never know Dev Patel is new to the big screen or how even the music is great, but effusive praise always sounds kind of hollow. Let's just sum it up this way: director Danny Boyle is truly an amazing storyteller.

Diner didn't really do it for me, but it was fascinating to see Mickey Rourke in his glory days. So much is being made of him right now, his fall from grace and his comeback, but none of the hype over The Wrestler meant anything to me because I was too young to notice him the first time around.

The Mistress of Spices and Marigold were both just fluffy brain candy. Mistress of Spices is based on a book that I may pick up at some point. It has that whole magical realism thing I tend to enjoy in novels, but which felt kind of awkward and weird on film. Marigold has kind of a "meta" thing going on; it's about an American actress being cast in a Bollywood film. A love story and some interesting dance scenes ensue.

A Very Merry Christmas, Part 3: Things I Forgot

Two quick highlights of my holiday I left out before:

1. On Christmas Day, I saw my first preview for Notorious. Merry Christmas, me!
2. Pat's parents sent us 10 pints of frozen custard from Kopp's in Milwaukee. I freaking love that place. I also love that this gift was so creative and audience-aware. Coming home to a FedEx box full of dry ice and frozen custard was an excellent surprise on Christmas Eve!

A Very Merry Christmas, Part 1

While nothing is quite like being home for the holidays (especially when it's a white Christmas at home), Pat and I still had a very relaxing and wonderful Christmas. And we still have three more days off before we have to go back to work!

I think our happy holiday started with putting up a Christmas tree together for the first time, even though this is the fourth Christmas we've lived together (pictures here). Something about having a tree just got me in the Christmas spirit. I think that's because so many of my ornaments and decorations are from friends and family. When I look at that ugly plastic candy garland, I think of the first time my cousins and I snuck into our great-grandfather's house at night and decorated the tree and the rest of the house. We found that hideous garland, had a good laugh, and immediately hung it up. And, actually, I think it kind of works on our tree.



Christmas Eve we slept in and had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. Heck, that alone makes for a good day in this household. And, even though I didn't get to spend Christmas with my family, I did get to talk to all nine of them while they were celebrating together at my grandparents'. With them all laughing and "fighting" and goofing around in the background, I get to feel like I'm there with them for a few minutes at the holidays. Hopefully I really will be decorating cookies, listening to the Oak Ridge Boys, stuffing my face, and laughing with them next year. And, at least I will see them all in January.

This next part is probably not going to sound like a holly jolly time to anyone else, but we also cleaned our bedroom, master bath, and walk-in closet on Wednesday. Not just cleaned, but deep-cleaned. The kind of cleaning where you take everything out of the drawers and off the shelves and get on your hands and knees to scrub the baseboards and go through all your clothes to get rid of what you don't wear. I love that kind of cleaning. We're going to be doing that to the rest of our apartment this weekend. I can't wait.

We wrapped up our day by watching movies (Diner and Kit Kittredge), eating a nice holiday dinner (ham for Pat, grainy mustard mashed potatoes, asparagus with toasted almonds, salad, and biscuits), tracking Santa Claus, and drinking homemade eggnog while watching A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. Okay, okay, it's not the best Muppet movie ever, or even the best Muppet Christmas special, but they had me reeled in as soon as the first notes of the first song started playing and they sealed the deal with Jesse L. Martin and Sweetums, one of my favorite Muppets from my second-favorite Muppet movie: Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince.

R.I.P. Jeff Healey

Sometimes, I find that I am surprisingly upset by the death of a celebrity. I know I'm not alone in this, but it's kind of a strange phenomenon that we grieve so much for people we don't know.

First Roy Schneider, and now this:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003718419

And yes, I'll freely admit that the only reason I'd even heard of Jeff Healey is because I love the movie Road House, but that movie did make me a fan.

If you weren't previously aware of my Patrick Swayze or Jaws obsessions, now you are.

Just for the heck of it...

I figured I'd go ahead and post since it's been two months since the last time. Despite the fact that I haven't been posting, I have been partaking in the pop culture. I've seen some movies (Lions for Lambs was horrendous, as was I am Legend; National Treasure 2 was surprisingly enjoyable), read *lots* of books, and have pretty much given up on TV (due to a combo of a lack of time, the strike, and Heroes sucking this year). I tried American Gladiators, but the nostalgia factor was just not enough to overpower the cheese factor. At least Psych starts again tonight. Gus and Shawn are my favorite relationship on TV, followed by Ned and Chuck, JD and Turk, and Len and Bruno. ;) Oh, and speaking of, I know I failed to do my weekly DWTS posts during the fall, but I'm glad Marie Osmond didn't win. I thought Mel B. was the best dancer, but Maks' choreography for the finale was awful. That's my $.02 on that.

Most of what I've been reading I won't bother posting about (historical romances, I kid you not; I'm addicted to them.), but I did read a cool collection of short fiction that I got at the Texas Book Festival called The First Line. All of the stories in it start with the same first line. There are four issues a year, check it out: www.thefirstline.com.

PS I've recently discovered Google Reader. An excellent way to stay on top of the million or so pop culture blogs I like. :)

One last thing: http://thesuperest.com/archives/2007/10/16/k01_unopposinator/
A couple of friends draw "superheroes," each one bested by the next. An excellent time-waster. (Thanks to Pop Candy for linking to it!)

Transformers

Transformers came out on DVD today, and despite Pat's mocking, I did go out and buy it. Not only that, but I went to get it at Target, which is the only retailer offering it in the DVD case that transforms into Optimus Prime.

At 11:45 this morning, on the day it came out, there were at least five other people buying it in the five minutes I was at Target. One was a mother of a young child buying it in the regular case. The other four were all dudes my age and three of them were getting the transforming case.

Too funny. I may be a tool, but obviously I'm not alone. :)

Sydney White, Monday TV, and Rustic Overtones

It's gonna be an eclectic post, friends.

Friday, I had a really terrible day. The worst since getting to Austin. There was a scene with the FedEx man. There were tears. It was bad. So, Friday night, I skipped out on kickball practice (more on kickball on my Boston to Austin blog once we've had some games) and Pat took me to see Sydney White. It's the Amanda Bynes teen comedy based on the Snow White fairy tale. It was Pat and I and a horde of teenage girls in the theater, which was super fun for him. Let me tell you, the movie really hit the spot. I just totally emptied my mind for a couple of hours and was absorbed in the total silliness of it. I laughed aloud several times and actually thought it was really cute. Pat thought it was possibly the cheesiest movie I've ever liked. He's probably not too far off, but I highly recommend it if you are in the mood for a little cheese. I'd say it's tied with Bring it On: All or Nothing for my favorite "mindless movie," but it could be that my opinion is colored by how emotional I was on Friday and how much better I felt leaving the theater.

Last week, I said I'd only watched DWTS and HIMYM, but I did watch last week's Heroes, too. I don't have much to say, yet. I'm going to watch a few more episodes and see how it goes. I'm wary of adding new characters (I'm looking at you, Grey's Anatomy), but I do like the Parkman/Mohinder/HRG partnership and I'm intrigued by what Peter's been up to for the last four months leaving him with amnesia. I'm also digging the storyline with Nathan and Peter's mother and Hiro's father. I'm much more interested in the storyline involving the older generation of heroes than I am in the boogey-man storyline. I hope they bring back Claude Raines.

I didn't get to watch much of DWTS last night because of the three-way time conflict of DWTS, Heroes, and Monday Night Football. I did see Mel B, my boy Mark Cuban, and Wayne Newton. Oh, Mark Cuban, how I love you so. Why are the judges such haters?? How was everyone else last night? The Cheetah girl?

Here's what's backed up on the DVR right now: two episodes of Reaper, one of Heroes, and one of My Name is Earl. This week I'm gonna check out Pushing Daisies, too. Unless it conflicts with the Sox game...

One last thing: the Rustic Overtones. Why do they spite me so? Seriously, if I had known the reunion was going to last more than the summer...And if I had known a little earlier...I may not have left the East Coast. They are playing shows left and right! And I'm missing them. But, the good news is that they are playing the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. I've already got plans on Saturday, but I'll be seeing them Friday. I can't wait! I hear that they played for some record execs, too, so maybe they're going to become big rock stars (living in hilltop houses, driving fifteen cars). I hope so.

I'm back!

So, I probably shouldn't be devoting too much time to pop culture, much less blogging about it, but...it's TV season. And I love TV season. So, I'm going to do a quick catch up on the books I've read/movies I've seen, but I'll probably be keeping any actual commentary to TV for the foreseeable future.

And yes, I will eventually post to my Boston to Austin blog. In fact, I can't wait to share all my Austin adventures with you guys, but I just haven't had the time. That, and I want to start with a post about our road trip, but right now I can't seem to get the pictures from my camera to the computer. Gotta work on that.

So, real quick, books I've read: The Killer Angels (for my fellow Whedon fans, he's said in a few interviews that this book partially inspired Firefly) and the Harry Potter series. I needed some light reading leading up to the move and since starting school. Speaking of, I'm about to finish book 7 and I'd really love some recommendations for another series I could pick up. Preferably something light, easy-to-read and easy to get in to.

Movies I've seen: Arsenic and Old Lace (really weird), Superbad and Shoot 'em Up. Um, Superbad lived up to the title. And Shoot 'em Up was weird in an entirely different way than Arsenic and Old Lace. I wanted to see it because it had Paul Giamatti and Clive Owen and I like action films, etc. But wow...the plot was even thinner than it usually is in action movies. It was pretty much just an excuse to showcase a lot of violent action sequences.

Overdue...

So, I've been saving this post for six weeks or more now thinking that I'd eventually come back to this and write something a little longer and a bit more thoughtful, but it's clear that's not going to happen, so instead I'm just going to bite the bullet and post my immediate reactions to Schindler's List.

In other news, my new project is to develop the ability to read more than one book at a time. The list of books I want to read is so long and this would allow me to read a lot more books because I could read other books while stalled on a book that I like, but isn't a page turner for me, like Schindler's List or The Killer Angels, which is what I've been reading since I finished Schindler's List. Another new project is to read all the Harry Potter books before I move. We'll see how either one goes.

Anyway, on to the overdue post...

Schindler's List

Well, it only took me two months or so (maybe more, I'm not even sure), but I did finally finish reading Schindler's List. I'm sure everyone knows the story (and it's a bit complicated to review the plot of non-fiction, eh?), so I'll keep my review to the actual writing, which I didn't love. I really hate when authors "break the fourth wall," so to speak. Don't address me directly. Don't tell me your purpose in writing the book. If it's not clear to me without you explicitly stating it, perhaps you should rethink your career as an author. What I did like was that Thomas Keneally did not canonize Schindler (although, he unfortunately stated explicitly several times that he wasn't.). It makes him all that much more admirable to me; he wasn't a hero, he was just a man who did the right thing at a time when that was hard to do.

Anyway, I'm a little embarassed to say it, but I think for the second time in the short history of this blog, I'm going to say "skip the book, watch the movie." Man, it goes against every fiber of my future-librarian body to say that. And twice in the span of a few months. Ugh. Of course, in the name of full disclosure I must admit that I haven't seen the movie in ten years while the book is still fresh in my mind. Still, I don't think you can ever go wrong with Liam Neeson and Ben Kingsley.

Princess Bride

You may recall that in an early post in this blog I reviewed the book version of The Princess Bride and wondered what Cary Elwes was up to these days. ABC News has the answer and the accompanying photo is not pretty.

Children of Men

I actually really liked this movie, but Pat thought the ending was unsatisfying (we didn't actually watch it together). Usually I am the one that finds an entire movie ruined by the ending, but while I agree it would be interesting to see what happens next, I think it ends in a good place. Well, good being relative of course. I really wouldn't recommend this movie if you're looking for something light.



In fact, what I want to know more about isn't what happens after the ending, but what happens before the beginning of the movie. There are hints here and there that a lot of the characters, particularly Jasper and his wife, have interesting back stories. I would like to know more about how the world ended up in the state it is in fictional 2027. I would like to know more about what separated Theo and Julian (though I think that may have been revealed in a part that kept skipping). I would like to understand more clearly the missions of the Fishes and of the Human Project.

It's a very thought-provoking movie about what would happen if suddenly the human race was faced with extinction. I guess humans are unique in the respect that we can be aware of our own impending extinction; an endangered species, on the other hand, is probably not conscious of the fact that it's one of very few remaining. But, maybe it is. They find out new things about the minds of other animals (and humans) every day. In P.D. James' vision of the future, awareness of our own impending doom causes utter chaos and mayhem. Why is that, I wonder?

Not only is the world fraught with crime and destruction, but for some reason Great Britain is the only remaining country/government in tact (I'm a little fuzzy on the exact details). I would like some explanation of how they kept it together while every other country's government imploded. So again, while I agree with Pat that I think there's a lot more to this story that could be told (and probably is in the book), I don't think it's at the end.

I really recommend Children of Men. It's good, although definitely dark (I was going to add that it's sad, but it's also hopeful.), and I am okay with how the story is resolved.
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Sacrilege!

Is using the term sacrilege for anything that's not actually sacred, strictly speaking, sacrilegious in itself? Did that even make sense?

I digress.

I failed to mention that the closing number on the DWTS Tour was to Footloose (big yay!), but that helps me segue nicely into this bit of news that I find unnecessary:

Zac Efron Brings Home the Bacon in Footloose Remake

And how awful is that title? Oh, TV Guide...

Very Brief Reviews

So, I started this post right after I got back from a trip to Maine for my mother's 50th birthday, which was June 16. Actually, I even finished everything you'll read below that week, but also included in the post was my assessment of Schindler's List, which I finally finished reading, and that was really what was causing the hold up. So, I'll do that another time, and in the meantime, here are some brief movie reviews:


My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Okay, so I've actually seen this one before, but I was totally stoked (wow, 1993 called. They want their vocab back.) that it was playing on my bus ride to Maine last weekend. Otherwise, the ride wasn't that great - the bus wasn't air conditioned, there were no pockets on the backs of the seats for my stuff, and the bus was jam-packed - so a good movie was really a treat. Seriously, I love this movie in a way that I rarely love cheesy romantic comedies. I laugh when Ian gets beat up by the old lady, I choke up a little when Toula's parents give them a house at their wedding, the whole nine yards. This movie knows how to push all my sappy buttons. I have one complaint though: My Big Fat Greek Wedding is guilty of perpetuating the pop culture stereotype that to transform from "frump girl" to Greek goddess, a woman has to ditch the glasses. Because beautiful girls are also blessed with perfect eyesight, or should at least appear to be.

Children of Men

Finally, I watched a movie I hadn't already seen! That's the first time in months.

Okay, I started to write my thoughts on this one and they were not "very brief" as promised in the title, so I'll save it for another post.

You Got Served

Another movie I had never seen... and I probably would have been better off if I had left it that way. I really wanted to see the dancing because a lot of it was choreographed by judges/dancers/choreographers featured on So You Think You Can Dance, which is my current guilty pleasure (though I don't like it as much as Dancing with the Stars). The dancing was pretty awesome, but I'm just not sure it was worth it. The movie was even worse than I expected and I had set the bar pretty low. There were a couple of times I actually told Pat to pause because I just needed a break and some time to consider whether or not I really wanted to lose an hour and a half of my life to watching the acting skills of former B2K members. My recommendation: DVR it on TV. That way, you don't have to pay to rent it, but you can still fast forward to the dance routines.

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More than Meets the Eye

This weekend, I had pretty much the best 24 hours ever, which began with me seeing Transformers with Jenn and Greg on Saturday night. Although, before I go off on a total squee-fest, let me just lodge the complaint that our previews totally blew right now. Except for the preview of Shark Week, which was of course, awesome. PS I'm going to use the word "awesome" somewhere between two and three hundred times in this post, so get used to it now. Summary of the Shark Week preview: "Sharks aren't angry; they're hungry."



So, Transformers...Transformers was exactly what I want in a movie: entertainment. No, I didn't have any particularly deep thoughts or feelings while watching (In fact, I'm pretty sure I had no thoughts, deep or otherwise, except for "this is so awesome this is so awesome this is so awesome."). No, the plot was not particularly original. And you know what? I couldn't care less. This may very well be my favorite movie of the last five years. I laughed, I teared up (surprise, surprise), I clapped (sorry, Melissa), I fanned myself, I covered my eyes, I squee'd, and I repeatedly whispered to Jenn, "this is so cool." Seriously, there was not a single moment where I was not entertained.

For someone who enjoys action movies and special effects, it's pretty much two and a half hours of pure joy. And yet, it was surprisingly low on really graphic violence, which I also appreciated, mostly just robot-on-robot action. It's all the thrills without having to actually see someone lose a limb or lie in a twisted heap on the ground or gasp for their last breath. Pretty much it's just really freaking cool GM cars turning into robots and then kicking the crap out of each other. Did I mention it was awesome?

Also, I have no idea where Josh Duhamel's been all my life, but hell-o.

To put into perspective just how much I liked this movie, I said to Pat, "you know how I get really pissed off when movies end in such a way as to leave an opening for a sequel? When Transformers did that I was like, 'holy awesomeness, I can't wait. I hope they make like six sequels. And, I hope the next one comes out tomorrow.'" I am planning to see this movie at least two more times in the theater. I seriously considered walking out of the theater, buying another ticket, and seeing the next showing of it that very night. The only thing that stopped me, I think, was that I had to work at 7:30am yesterday.

Here, check out the imdb.com page for the man who voices Optimus Prime: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0191520/. He did voices in some of my favorite childhood cartoons. Most notably, he was Eeyore! This man is a major icon of my childhood and I didn't even know it.

The 24 hours of awesomeness (and reliving my childhood) ended with seeing the Dancing with the Stars tour last night, but I'm going to post separately on that, so let me just comment quickly on two other movies I saw this weekend with Pat while he was recovering from having his wisdom teeth removed: Music & Lyrics and The Three Musketeers. I'm sure everyone knows how awesome The Three Musketeers is already (and if not, run, do not walk, to your local Blockbuster; it's also free On Demand on Comcast right now). Music & Lyrics was a pretty cute rom-com. Pretty formulaic, but it has Drew Barrymore (who I love love love) and Hugh Grant (who I have developed a fondness for since Love Actually). It's also pretty funny. Definitely a no-brainer, but a nice mindless way to spend an afternoon with someone doped up on Percoset.
There's more to this post than meets the eye...

MTV Movie Awards

Just finished watching the MTV Movie Awards. I have only these few things to say:

1. Transformers looks so freaking awesome I can't stand it, but I also can't stand that this was essentially a two-hour preview for the movie.
2. Sarah Silverman sucked.
   
3. Johnny Depp accepted his award looking exactly like he did in 1990: plaid shirt tied around his waist, torn jeans, longish hair, and ridiculously gorgeous.
   

The Time Traveler's Wife, the movie

This news really excites me: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117963263.html?categoryid=1959&cs=1

The tidbit at the end there also reminds me that I want to add The Other Boleyn Girl to my reading list.

What I've been Reading/Watching

My TV/movie viewing and especially my reading have slowed down in the last few weeks due to Megan's visit, going to LA, picking a grad. school, and procuring a second job. However, I did catch up on some things when I had down time in LA.

Katy has Showtime and On Demand, so we watched the first three episodes of The Tudors. I'm totally sucked in and hope the rest of the episodes will be online. First of all, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is so hot. Secondly, I am not so good with history, so for me it's all new and intriguing (except that I do know what happens to the wives and with the separation from the church). I'm looking forward to learning the fate of England under the reign of Henry VIII because I really don't know much about it. If you enjoy historical drama or Jonathan Rhys Meyers, check it out.

I also saw Beverly Hills Cop for the first time ever. I don't have much to say about the movie, but according to Katy, it's noteworthy that I had never seen it before. I was kind of excited to see LA/Beverly Hills sights (or should I use "sites" in this context?) that I had just seen in person for the first time. Speaking of, anytime we went anywhere in LA that was mentioned in Clueless, I was ridiculously excited.

I finished reading Aloft by Chang-Rae Lee, but I'm going to post a separate entry for that.

Thursday Morning Miscellany

First, American Idol. So far I have not called a perfect "bottom three," though I did get two out of three this week. However, I'm three-for-three in that each week one of my bottom three actually goes home. Next week's theme: Tony Bennett songs. I actually even like Tony Bennett, but seriously, I have yet to see LaKisha or Melinda do a song that was recorded in the last twenty years. I'd like them to get on that.

Also, what I think may be a fun link: http://tmastc.blogspot.com/2007/03/one-shining-moment.html.

It's all of the "One Shining Moment" montages (which they play each year following the men's NCAA basketball championship game) from the last ten years. I haven't had a chance to actually watch them, yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

Pat and I watched The Illusionist last night. Once again, I was sucked in to a movie by the cast: Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti (okay, Jessica Biel is also in it, so I guess that should've been a giant red flag). And, once again, the movie fell flat. It wasn't bad (unlike Man of the Year and American Dreamz). I'd even give it three out of five stars on Netflix. But, it also wasn't great. And, I honestly don't even have much to say about it. The accents were horrendous and I figured out the plot twist all on my own. Also, I really liked the story idea, but thought it wasn't executed as well as it could've been. This movie falls short of its potential. But don't we all?

Finally, an article from The Boston Globe about superstitious baseball players: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/03/29/quirk_of_fortune/.

Being mildly superstitious myself, I enjoyed it.

Happy Thursday!