40 posts tagged “movies”

I admit. I've been kind of burned out on movies -- well, burned out at going to the theater to see them, anyway. Sometimes the trade-out between seeing a movie on the big screen and getting the full effect of the crowd experience isn't worth stupid crying babies (or rather, stupid parents who a) bring babies to movies and b) let them cry), cell phones, or obnoxious 13-year-olds.

However, I saw Prince Caspian yesterday and it was absolutely amazing. The whole experience was awesome. What a fantastic movie -- I thought it was even better than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and can't wait to see what the Walden Media PTB do with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. CS Lewis was such a fantabulous storyteller.

That led me to do some research on the upcoming summer/fall blockbusters and I realize that there are over a dozen movies that I'm either interested in seeing, excited to see, or ridiculously excited to see premiering over the next few months.

I am still dying to see Iron Man, and I want to see Baby Mama and Made of Honor, although the latter two might end up being Netflix selections, just because I am more anxious to see some of the other big movies.

The six movies that I am positively, ridiculously excited to see are as follows (in order of release date) -- and some will include trailers:

1) The Dark Knight, July 18: I *loved* Batman Begins. Took Kevin and Mia to see it on the IMAX and we all were speechless. Christian Bale is by far the superior Batman, I can't wait to see how Heath Ledger interpreted the Joker, and I'm so glad that Maggie Gyllenhaal has replaced Katie Holmes. That was smart casting. Or recasting, as the case may be.

I've been slacking in my movie-watching lately. I blame the fact that I can barely keep up with my TiVo -- I mean, I'm a month behind on Lost, for crying out loud. I also can't remember the last movie I saw in the theaters.

As always, in no particular order:

16) Cold Creek Manor (Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, Kristen Stewart, Stephen Dorff): I ranked this two stars on Netflix. I wish there was a two-and-a-half star option, because I didn't loathe this movie, but there were some completely unnecessary parts, and some overacting, and some generally bad story-telling. I've never lined up my own Cherry Chapstick rating system with any specific guidelines -- as the disclaimer says, I use it as I see fit, based on nothing even resembling structure and/or objectivity -- but I guess I'd give it two Cherry Chapsticks.

17) Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts, Tate Donovan): I saw this in the theaters with Elizabeth, Sarah and Mia, and we all really liked it. It was so cute, and so refreshingly PG. I get so tired of the arguments that the kind of crap put into movies and TV shows aimed at the younger demographic happen, so gee, we might as well watch it -- whatever. Just because something is realistic doesn't make it beneficial or, you know, right. Emma Roberts is adorable, and I really enjoyed watching this again on DVD. Four Cherry Chapsticks.

18) The Jane Austen Book Club (Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Maggie Grace, Maria Bello): Couldn't even make it through half of the movie. It was boring and uninteresting and...I just didn't remotely sympathize with any of the characters. The plastic wrapper of a Cherry Chapstick.

19) Juno (Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman): I've written extensively about my love for it. I constantly have "Anyone Else But You" in my head. Five Cherry Chapsticks.

20) Across the Universe (Rachel Evan Wood, Jim Sturgess): I don't know why I even Netflixed this. I don't sympathize remotely with anti-war protesters, or casual drug use, or really, the whole hippie existence in the 60s and 70s. So yeah. Like The Jane Austen Book Club, I didn't even finish it. The plastic wrapper of a Cherry Chapstick.

21) Into the Wild (Emile Hirsch, Kristen Stewart, William Hurt, Hal Holbrook, Marcia Gay Harden): Funny, Kristen's not even listed in any of the reviews or on Netflix or whatever, but her storyline and her character's interaction with Chris is the only one I cared about. As I've mentioned, I just didn't find Chris very sympathetic. I think it stems from the fact that I've lived in forced isolation before due to my depression, and so I honestly don't understand how anyone would choose isolation. Two Cherry Chapsticks.

22) Undertow (Dermot Mulroney, Josh Lucas, Jamie Bell, Kristen Stewart): This was a weird movie. Really, really weird. Really violent and depressing and did I mention weird? I Netflixed it in my quest to see all of KS's movies, and was irritated to find that she's in two 90-second scenes within the first half-hour of the movie. I still don't quite understand the point or the underlying theme or, really, what was even going through the director's mind. At all. The cap off a Cherry Chapstick.

23) The Safety of Objects (Patricia Clarkson, Glenn Close, Moira Kelly, Joshua Jackson, Dermot Mulroney, Kristen Stewart): The first time I watched this last year sometime, I was distracted and didn't get it. I didn't even understand the title. I thought it was disjointed and weird. But I watched it again recently and this time, I, well, really saw it. It's still a little weird and a little disturbing, but I also liked it a lot better. And the title made a lot of sense and was even a bit profound. Two and a half Cherry Chapsticks.

24) The Golden Compass (Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards): I'm not going to suggest that Kevin and Mia see this, and it has nothing to do with the supposed "controversy" over the book. I read the first book and found nothing offensive or controversial whatsoever. However, I was so bored watching the movie. Seriously. It was disappointing, because I liked the book so much. Two Cherry Chapsticks.

25) Cloverfield (Mike Vogel, Lizzy Caplan): I never got around to seeing this in the theaters -- I much prefer Netflixing them and watching them in my PJs at home, anyway -- so I was looking forward to this. JJ Abrams didn't disappoint. I really, really liked it, and unlike some, I wasn't bothered by the jerky motions from the hand-held camera. It just made the suspense more realistic. Four Cherry Chapsticks.

26) Panic Room (Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker): I still don't like this movie very much but I figured I'd at least watch it all the way through. People have said that Kristen was cast only because, at 11, she resembled Jodie Foster, but what very few know is that she was attached to the movie before Foster was. Originally, Nicole Kidman was cast as Meg, and Hayden Panettiere as Sarah. And then Panettiere was replaced by Kristen, and then Nicole Kidman hurt her knee and was forced to drop out. If only that hadn't happened -- I'm sure I would've enjoyed the movie a lot more without Foster. Anyway, now that I've seen the entire thing, I still can't give it more than two Cherry Chapsticks.

Cherry Chapstick

Jen's Cherry Chapstick Rating System is in no way scientific, accurate, or objective, and is based on whatever the hell she feels like.

"I did a really funny prank where I got my assistant to paint all the cars in your neighborhood white so you would wake up and think it was snowing. That was a good one." -- Tina Fey

Baby mama

Poehler interviewed Fey for an article in the most recent Marie Claire, which features Fey on its cover.

It is hilarious. I encourage you to pick up a copy so you can read the entire article.

"Tina Fey on Top"
                   By Amy Poehler

I am in 30 Rock — the building, not the show — trying to find Tina Fey, whom I'm supposed to interview. It's taken hours. After giving three passwords, I finally spot her surrounded by a phalanx of hip-hop dancers and bodyguards. Eventually Fey breaks from the group, mounts a pilates Cadillac, and starts working out. I pull up a chair next to the machine and begin.

AMY POEHLER: I have a couple of things I want to ask you about. You were homeschooled, correct?
TINA FEY: Um, no. I was school-schooled.

AP: And you grew up in the North Pole?
TF: Pennsylvania. Did you Google me? Is that how you got your information?

AP: Yeah. Is your name Karen Felcher?
TF: Um, no, although I can see why you're confused, because that is my porn name.

AP: OK, then I'm going to start again. We're in a movie together coming out this month called Baby Mama. Tell everyone what it's about. And please, do it right.
TF: It's about a lady — a business lady — who wants to have a baby, but her junk is broken, so she calls upon the services of another, healthier lady to be her surrogate. You play that lady, and your character is a little bit of a charming dirtbag, so complications and delights ensue.

AP: And we have some very great actors in this film with us. Who are they?
TF: Sigourney Weaver. Steve Martin. Gregorias Kinnear. This is going to sound like a lie and a fib, but those people actually are in this movie.

AP: Tell us about the fashion shoot you had to do for Marie Claire. How did that go?
TF: I was very unhappy with the clothing selections they had for me, so I ended up making most of the clothes myself.

AP: Amazing. There are a lot of stories about you peeing in corners when you go on a photo shoot to mark your territory. Is that right?
TF: Yes. Yes, it is.

AP: What are your beauty rituals?
TF: Some people work with a trainer, some people work with a stylist. I work with a celebrity fecalist. A fecalist is basically a person who comes and collects my stools, and then examines them to see if I'm eating right and if I should be drinking more water and what my moods should be.

AP: And you're producing your fecalist's reality show, right?
TF: Yes. It's called Eric Gurian: The Turd Whisperer.

AP: OK, let's talk about when we first met — in Chicago, in 1993. What were we doing?
TF: We were probably eating Italian beef sandwiches and getting our hair permed.

AP: Actually, we met in class at the ImprovOlympic Theater. You taught me my first real beauty lesson.
TF: I was 22 or 23, and I had only recently learned that you can pluck your eyebrows or have a lady put hot wax on them and remove portions of them and shape them. So this was a big thing that happened to me, and I passed that information on to you.

AP: Back then, I used to get my hair dyed at a place called Big Hair. It cost $15. They just used straight bleach, so my hair was the color of white lined paper, and my eyebrows looked like they were done with a thick black marker. So tell us a little bit about a play you wrote while in Chicago in the early '90s, about Catherine the Great.
TF: Yes, yes. I used to take playwriting classes, and I wrote a one-act play — I can't remember the name of it, but it was really about the way women are perceived as leaders. In the play, Catherine the Great would say things like, "You know, John F. Kennedy had extramarital affairs and no one says anything. But I bang one horse and now I'm a horse-banger for all eternity? That's it? That's what I am?" I think Hillary Clinton's got to be able to relate to that.

AP: Being a tough, capable broad has never been easy — look at us. Although we did have a lot of fun on Baby Mama. Boy, did we play a lot of pranks on each other.
TF: We love pranks. I mean, we're kind of like Cloons and Damon that way, doing a lot of, like, $250,000 pranks. I did a really funny prank where I got my assistant to paint all the cars in your neighborhood white so you would wake up and think it was snowing. That was a good one.

AP: I had an assistant on Christmas Eve fill your trailer with rats, and we laughed. Oh, the pranks.
TF: So much pranking.

I thought it was time for another movie update, otherwise I'll completely forget what I've been watching.

In no apparent order (although I'm numbering them to keep track), we have:

7) 10 Things I Hate About You: I have seen this movie so many times, I can pretty much quote the whole thing, but it is a movie I've watched this year, so I'm going to go ahead and count it. This is on my list of all-time favorites. Even my brother, who is utterly disdainful toward anything that's not high-browed and critically-acclaimed, likes it. It came out in 1999, amidst a group of similarly-genred movies that debuted between 1998-2001 that I also love, like Can't Hardly Wait, Bring It On, She's All That, Center Stage, Drive Me Crazy, Get Over It and Save the Last Dance. It's a modern-day retelling of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, and it is awesome. Stars Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Krumholtz and Larisa Oleynik. (Speaking of, I just found out the first season of The Secret World of Alex Mack is on DVD. So Netflixing it.) Five Cherry Chapsticks.

8) Enchanted: I liked it. Didn't love it, and I don't really feel the need to add it to my DVD collection, but it was cute. Amy Adams was really great and boy, is she able to adapt an annoying Disney princess voice. I could've done with less of Susan Sarandon's entire storyline and more (much more) of Patrick Dempsey. Drool. All in all, I'd say Disney did a good job. Three-and-a-cap Cherry Chapsticks.

9) Fierce People: I kind of wish Kristen Stewart hadn't been in this movie, because then I wouldn't have ever had to subject myself to it. As it is, I fast-forwarded through a lot of it. It was really random, and disturbing, and fairly revolting at times, and the only characters I even remotely liked were Maya (Stewart) and Finn (Anton Yelchin). They were 14 at the time this movie was filmed -- seriously, what were their parents thinking letting them do something like this? Anyway, the cap off a Cherry Chapstick, just because Kristen has a two-minute scene at the very, very end that made the viewing experience worthwhile almost sort of worthwhile.

10) 21: Loved it, loved it, loved it. I have already talked about it in a prior post, but it was fantastic. I want to see it again. Four Cherry Chapsticks.

11) Becoming Jane: I really, really liked this. A lot. I really like Anne Hathaway, and after Atonement, I also like James McAvoy. I've heard that it's not accurate, but hey, I've never read and will never read a biography on Jane Austen, so it didn't bother me at all. I especially loved the Pride and Prejudice parallel. Four Cherry Chapsticks.

12) Rounders: I like this movie a lot, but the desire to punch Edward Norton in the face never really goes away. I can't believe that Mike (Matt Damon) continued to bail Worm out after the dude just disregarded, well, basic human decency and trashed his so-called best friend's reputation all over town and ruined his life, pretty much. Anyway, it's a really good movie, especially if you're a fan of that whole Texas Hold 'Em scene. I, personally, find movies like it, 21, Ocean's 11, etc. fascinating. Three Cherry Chapsticks.

13) Speak: Like In the Land of Women and 10 Things I Hate About You, I tend to watch this movie a lot. So I'll only count each one time, even though I'm sure I'll watch them again. I've gone on ad nauseum about the awesomeness of this movie, so if you want to know more, I'm certain it has its own tag. Five Cherry Chapsticks.

14) Transformers: I wasn't really that interested in seeing the movie in the theaters, even though I watched the cartoon (and Go Bots!) as a kid, so I'm glad that Kevin wanted to watch it with me. It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. I'm looking forward to seeing Shia LeBeouf (who will always be Louis Stevens to me) in the next Indiana Jones installment. The special effects, particularly the Autobots and Decepticons transforming, were spectacular, and as an added bonus, there was the hotness of Josh Duhamel. Three Cherry Chapsticks.

15) The Messengers: I guess this is considered a horror movie, but I think of horror movies as all those ridiculous Friday the 13th/Halloween/whatever movies that have absolutely no plot, one-dimensional characters, and gallons of blood. I like movies like The Shining, and The Ring, and similar films that are more psychologically scary than slasher crap. I'd definitely characterize The Messengers as psychologically creepy. It's another Japanese horror adaptation, much like The Ring and The Grudge. Penelope Ann Miller can't act, but other than that, I thought it was pretty well done. Kristen Stewart is fantastic, but then, that's pretty much to be expected. The little boy that plays her brother is absolutely adorable. John Corbett, Dylan McDermott and Dustin Milligan also star. (And there's a cameo by Cigarette Smoking Man.) Anyway, I liked it, even if I will never be able to go into a basement or look at a crow again. Three and a cap Cherry Chapsticks.

The Messengers

Cherry Chapstick

I'm hanging out at home tonight to tackle one of my obsessive-compulsive projects: namely, taking my gobzillion pictures and putting them in photo albums. Now, that might not seem like that big of an ordeal, but because it's me, I'll be taking all the pictures that are currently in the albums out of the albums and then reorganizing all of them.

I think there was something similar featured in an episode of Friends -- seriously, you can just call me Monica Geller.

While picture-organizing, I'll be watching The Messengers (yes, finally) and In the Land of Women. I haven't seen the latter in a while, but I've recently been pimping it to Steph -- probably ad nauseum, sorry about that -- and then I found this (awesome) vid set to one of my favorite songs, "Dark Blue" by Orange County piano rock band Jack's Mannequin, and so I need to watch it.

For the 123rd time.

"Let Go" by Frou Frou is one of my very favorite songs. Whenever I hear it, I instantly think of the final scene in Garden State, one of my favorite movies. I never thought anyone else could ever top Frou Frou.

Until Boys Like Girls.

Holy. Crap. Their unplugged version is absolutely beautiful.

Let Go

Boys Like Girls

...but I am really getting excited for the release of the movie, schedule for a May 8, 2009 release.

I used to characterize myself as an avid detractor of anything sci-fi, even though I liked the Star Wars franchise. (And by Star Wars franchise, I mean the original, non-Hayden-Christiansen trilogy.) I did see the fourth Star Trek movie, the one with the humpback whales, and I can't even remember why. It doesn't sound like something I'd do.

But then I stumbled headlong into Firefly -- and subsequently, Serenity -- and fell in love. I decided maybe I wasn't being fair to the genre and, like anything, it depended on the story, the writing, and whether or not the characters were relatable. After Firefly woefully went the way of other short-lived greats like Wonderfalls (is it wrong that I'm still bitter about FOX's stupidity?), I was willing to give the reincarnation of Battlestar Galactica a shot, and I loved it.

Therefore, when it was announced that there would be a new movie of the early years of Captain Kirk & Co., I didn't immediately nix the idea of seeing it.

Especially when it was revealed that JJ Abrams would be directing. He is on my list (not that list -- get your minds out of the gutter) of people I would love to meet and grill about their awesomeness, along with Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Rob Thomas (the writer, although I wouldn't mind meeting the singer, too) and Joss Whedon.

I think I have an advantage going into this experience: I'm basically unfamiliar with the Star Trek mythology. I equate it to the whole Terminator thing. I love the TV series because I could care less about the movies. I like Lena Headey so much better than what's-her-name, and the Terminator movies didn't have Cameron. So whether or not there are discrepancies from the movies -- I have no clue. To me, The Sarah Connor Chronicles is a brand-new show.

Likewise, I understand there's an uproar from the, erm, Trekkies about a lot of what JJ's doing. I'm blissfully unaware, nor do I care. (And wow, I didn't rhyme on purpose.)

His Enterprise crew casting is, in my opinion, awesome: Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Anton Yelchin (Chekov), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), Karl Urban (McCoy), John Cho (Sulu), Simon Pegg (Scotty).

Plus, Jennifer Morrison, Rachel Nichols, and Eric Bana have been cast as well. As has Winona Ryder, but I haven't decided if that's a good or a bad thing.

"My goal is to make Trek REAL -- that is to say, not have it be camp, not have it be phony, not have it look like a scrap of green scrap was used anywhere. Of course, this is Star Trek. We're using every trick in the book. But WHEREVER WE CAN, we are shooting on sets -- either built on sound stages or expanding upon found locations. This is important. What this means is that the movie won't have that 'actors performing in a blue or green void then placed in front of a spaceship set' feeling that makes me insane. " -- JJ Abrams

Okay, so my impatience (and insomnia) won out and I went to the Wal-Mart that's five minutes away from me and picked up Atonement. Since it was after midnight, they had already put them out. I should've just waited for Netflix, but I have a feeling that there's going to be a "Long Wait" tag for quite some time, especially with the buzz the Oscars created. Also, I can't rent from Blockbuster because I don't have a credit card. They won't even take Visa check cards or whatever. If that's not the most ridiculous policy, I don't know what is.

I haven't watched the movie yet. I watched the bonus features and seriously, you should rent/Netflix/whatever the DVD for those alone. The "making of" featurette is really quite fascinating. One of the parts I liked most was when Joe Wright and the cinematographer were talking about how they wanted an air of tension to surround Saoirse Ronan (young Briony) whenever she walked, moved and even spoke. They said they wanted to create the impression that she was drawing the camera along behind her rather impatiently. There were a couple clips shown as examples, and that's exactly what happened. It was really stunning camera work.

You must also watch at least the first deleted scene. I watched it by itself first and then overlayed with Joe's commentary. He said the majority of the deleted scenes were abandoned because he didn't like the way he directed them, but that this first one created too much emotion in Briony too soon. He said it gutted him to cut it because Saoirse's performance was so phenomenal, and he was absolutely right -- I have never seen a more natural emotional reaction from a child actor before. Not even from Dakota Fanning, who's supposedly the master of everything. Or whatever. She goes from agitated to face-crumpled and tearful in five seconds flat and you can tell nobody was shining lights in her eyes, and there were no cuts to add eyedrops, or any of the other tricks used to elicit tears. Seriously, what a fantastic scene.

It still boggles my mind that the marketing people are choosing to market this as a love story. In a way, actually, I guess it is, but not the type the previews (and the DVD cover) make it out to be. From the opening scene until the closing scene, we see everything through Briony's eyes and from her perspective. But I suppose hailing it as a Titanic-like romance is more appealing to the masses. *eyeroll*

I'm trying to see how many consecutive posts with which I can bore people. This might be the third.

Anywho, I'm sure there will be a QotD or whatever this weekend, but I never see them on the new layout, so I rarely answer them anymore.

So here's my question to anyone who feels like commenting: what are your Easter plans?

Mine: church and lunch with my parents, sister, Kailin, Emily, and Eli (and maybe Kevin and Mia), and then steadfastly avoiding yet another (extended) family get-together. Seriously. It's hard for me to be all cheerful and smiley to certain relatives who talk about me behind my back and then pretend they don't. I'm hanging out with my sister-in-law and Ava on Thursday, and then I'll see the rest of my immediate family Sunday morning, so that takes care of everyone. (I know, I know, I really need to work on my ability to be fake. But I have a hard time grinning and bearing it.)

So after church and lunch, I shall be taking myself to see 21, which opens on Good Friday. It stars Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey, and I loved Ocean's 11 and Rounders, so obviously I'm a sucker for any casino-style flick. Plus I like Kate Bosworth a lot.

Except, never mind, I just checked and it doesn't open till the 28th. Crap. I suppose I'll see Definitely, Maybe, or maybe Jumper -- I hear Kristen Stewart has a cameo, and I like Rachel Bilson and the kid from Billy Elliot.

Atonement releases on DVD tomorrow. It's #1 in my Netflix queue, and I timed it (not on purpose not quite on purpose) so they'll get my latest DVDs back tomorrow, so I'd better get it. I'm just saying.

I downloaded the Oscar-winning soundtrack last night and it is absolutely breathtaking. I instantly remembered every scene as if I'd just seen the movie yesterday instead of two months ago.

This track in particular gave me chill bumps because...well, unless you've seen the movie, it's hard to describe. It's only 76 seconds (or something equally minuscule), but it is powerful.

Every track is beautiful, but my favorites are "Denouement," "Elegy for Dunkirk," and "Atonement."

01 Briony

Dario Marianelli