That's a pretty accurate description of Edward Cullen. Title is from the Twilight Rifftrax.
General Blogging I played Wii Sports Resort yesterday at my friend Liz's house, and ended up hurting my arm since I haven't played the game in a long time. It was worth it, though, since I had a lot of fun.
News/Stuff About Celebrities and Movies/Music/TV Shows/etc. Actor News: -Jared Padalecki is engaged to ex-'Supernatural' costar Genevieve Cortese. Both of the Winchester Boys are off the market now. Sadness, but I am happy for both Jensen and Jared.
Ohhh yeah.
Most Recent Movie(s)/TV Show(s) I've Seen At Home: 'Blood Diamond' Directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Honsou and Jennfier Connolly, the movie takes place in 1999 in Sierra Leone during the Sierra Leone Civil War. Like a few of Zwick's other films, this is taking place during a time of strife in a country; the Civil War in 'Glory', the Satsuma Rebellion in 'The Last Samurai', and that adds much to the tension and story in that there are many different ways the story could go. This took awhile for me to get into, but once I was in, I was hooked. Though much like Zwick's other films, it's kind of predictable after awhile. It was a good film, though.
Grade: B+
Miscellany Funny Picture(s) I've Found:
The Song Currently Stuck In My Head: 'Get Back' by Ludacris. I completely blame 'Tropic Thunder' for this song getting stuck in my head.
Jackie Earle Haley:
Hot Guy Of the Day Michael Fassbender.
Quote of the Day -Bernard: "Excuse me, there seems to be some mistake. I bought some popcorn and a drink and now I have no money left." -Youth: "That's how much it costs." -Bernard: "What is it, magic popcorn? Does it produce some kind of dizzying high?"
Anything Else I Can Think Of A Video You Need to See: Twilight Rifftrax:
A career everyone should aspire to. Title is from 'Black Books', a really awesome British TV show. All 3 seasons are on Hulu and on Netflix, so there is no excuse for you not to see this show.
General Blogging I need more money. It's as simple as that. I have to come up with $683 for my Math class this semester, because I'll be damned if I'm going to be any later in getting my Associate's Degree. I should have my Bachelor's Degree by now, damn it. I would, too, if my family had had enough money to let me go to school when I wanted to/should have, or if I'd have taken the time to get/do scholarships. It's all water under the bridge now, but it irritates me that I'm so behind everyone else as far as school goes. I know it could be worse; I could be taking one class every two semesters and not actually doing the work, but still.
In addition to the class fee, I need to pay bills. That's a fact of life, but there seems to be so MANY of them. Thankfully, only two of them are over $100 {not counting my credit card bill, which I can pay $50-$100 if I choose, fuck the $15 minimum}, so that's something that lets me breathe a little easier. The bad thing is that I make about...$400 a month at my job, not counting my annuity check I get every month, which brings it to about $500 a month.
Money sucks. Plain and simple.
News/Stuff About Celebrities and Movies/Music/TV Shows/etc. Movie News: -Casting for 'The Hobbit' has begun in New Zealand. No "big names are confirmed as yet. (Sorry.) Instead, the producers are starting small – hobbit-sized, in fact – as they work from the bottom up to gather the hundreds of extras that will be needed to populate Middle Earth once more."
I wonder how long it would take me to get a passport and visa to go and be an extra?
Actor News: -According to Greg Grunberg in this article, 'Heroes' will return next season. “We will wrap it up properly in the next season and get to 100 episodes,” he maintains. “At least that’s what I would like to see happen. They take so much care in writing the show that I would hope we get the chance to end it right."
I know this might get me murdered by more than a few of my friends who like this show, or even get me a few weird looks, since I was all about this show at one point, but I am really glad it's going to end next season. I stopped watching halfway through season 3 since I disliked the direction it was going, and I felt a lot {almost all} of the characters were changing so radically, to the point where only Matt Parkman had any believable character growth/change. Also, I'm getting really sick of hearing about the show almost everywhere I turn.
Miscellany Funny Picture(s) I've Found:
Always!
The Song Currently Stuck In My Head: 'French Navy' by Camera Obscura. One of my all time favourite songs.
Jackie Earle Haley:
Hot Guy Of the Day Dylan Moran.
Despite my best efforts to resist and prove Ben wrong, I have to admit I have a thing for him now. Freaking Irish. Why do they have to be so HOT?!
Quote of the Day -Manny: "You are a filth wizard. Friend only to the pig and the rat. Ugh. Look?" {he opens a pizza box} -Bernard: "Pizza. I was going to warm it and eat it later. Everybody does that. That's normal. You are just looking for things to complain about." -Manny: "And what are these?" -Bernard: "...wasps."
Anything Else I Can Think Of A Video You Need to See: Just another reason why Eddie Izzard is amazing:
What's a movie without a gang bang? Title is from Jon, and I wish I could remember what movie he was talking about at the time.
General Blogging
Last night, and by that I mean Monday night/Tuesday morning, I had my first experience with Jagermeister, and I loved every second of it. I'm not a big drinker, per se. By that I mean I have maybe one drink every two months. The price of alcohol and the general taste of it make me not that enthusiastic about drinking. I love mixed drinks, and basically anything where I cannot taste the alcohol I'm drinking. Because of this, Smirnoff Twisted Drinks {black cherry}, Mudslides, White Russians and nearly virgin Dirty Girl Scouts are my favourite drinks ever.
I was hanging with my friends Hugh, Tim, and Tim's brother Jon. For lack of anything better to do, and having just watched 'The Hangover', the four of us went to a drive-thru liquor store {very weird...it kind of promotes drunk driving, doesn't it?} and bought a six pack of Mike's Twisted Tea and a 750 ML bottle of Jägermeister, and then took ourselves and the liquor back to Hugh's house.
I really liked the 4 shots of Jäger I had. It made the Mike's Hard Tea taste better than it had been {surprisingly}, though after 4 shots, it made me kind of dizzy, but also made 'Tropic Thunder' even more hilarious than it normally is. By the time we took the 4th shot, after Tugg kills the panda, the four of us were losing our shit. I actually couldn't do my shot then, because I was laughing so hard, and had to calm down before I could take it.
I was then at Hugh's until 2:20, just to make sure I was okay to drive {I was}, and so was actually up until 3 AM. I'm very much looking forward to doing more shots of Jäger.
I am, however, not looking forward to being semi-groped by my drunk friend Tim. That was weird, to say the least.
News/Stuff About Celebrities and Movies/Music/TV Shows/etc. Movie You Should Be Excited About:
I was talking about this film last year, back when all we had was a teaser trailer. I still don't know much more about it, for fear of finding out spoilers, but it is a "sci-fi thriller" and it stars:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy.
Just the cast ALONE makes me want to see it, and Chris Nolan as the director? I am so there.
Movie News:
-Sam Mendes is slated to direct the next James Bond film. This would be the second time a director who primarily does dramas will be directing an action film. According to this article, he "has been something of a directorial chameleon in his career, flitting from dramas like 'American Beauty' and 'Revolutionary Road', to the visually stunning and violent graphic novel adaptation, 'Road To Perdition', while he’s even tackled whimsical comedy with 'Away We Go'.
A Bond movie, though, will be his biggest test yet. And, while all his films have looked beautiful, perhaps it was this ability to jump from genre to genre that persuaded EON to approach him. After all, while Bond movies are stylish, they’ve never been overwhelmed by any director’s particular style – so Mendes should fit right in. It’ll be interesting to see the visual approach he’ll bring to Bond." Actor News:
-Sharon Stone is going to be on four episodes of 'Law and Order: SVU', one of my favourite television shows of all time. According to this article, she will "play a former cop-turned-prosecutor who will (presumably) go toe-to-toe with Benson, Stabler, and the gang." This should be interesting I think, especially if she turns out to be a baddie.
Most Recent Movie(s)/TV Show(s) I've Seen At Home:
'Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion' For how funny he was in 'The Hangover', and for how funny he is in the trailers I've seen for his various movies, I expected much more than I got with this. I'm not saying he's not funny {there were a few scenes where I couldn't stop laughing}, I'm saying this could've been a lot better. He reminds me of Demetri Martin, in that they both incorporate a musical instrument into their routines.
I'd watch this again, but I'd let a while go by before I did. I do finally understand the "Fugees and Funyuns" thing that Justin had up on his fridge, which was pretty hilarious. I love Seth Galifianakis.
Grade: B-
Miscellany Funny Picture(s) I've Found:
This sketch will never stop being funny. It's made even funnier when you are listening to the song below while looking at it.
Incredibly true.
The Song Currently Stuck In My Head:
'Bad Romance' by Lady Gaga. Like all pop music, it gets stuck in my head way too easily. I kind of love her, though, so I don't mind.
Jackie Earle Haley:
Hot Guy Of the Day
Joshua Jackson.
I can't wait for 'Fringe' to be back on the air this month :>
Quote of the Day
-J.D.: "I hate pudding and I don't use toilet paper. I have one of those french things that shoots water up your bum."
-Janitor: "A bidet?"
-J.D.: "Bidet to you, sir."
Anything Else I Can Think Of A Video You Need to See:
I'm not a big fan of 'Scrubs' anymore {it got pretty awful after awhile}, but this cracks me up something fierce:
You have to choose the actors who will play: ♥ Yourself alias the main character: Kate Mara It's always hard for me to cast actors as myself, but I think Kate would be the best choice. She looks like a normal girl, which, you know, works well for me.
♥ The true love: Brendan Hines He looks like the type of guy anyone could fall in love with.
♥ The "mistake": Nick Stahl He's attractive, but in comparison to the "true love", he's definitely a big mistake.
♥ The true love's best friend: Joshua Jackson I'd envision him as the owner of a book store or CD store who knows both my character and the "true love", and hooks them up. Plus, I could easily see Brendan Hines and Joshua Jackson hanging out together.
♥ The rival: Arielle Kebbel She looks the part of the blonde bombshell, and looks like she'd have no problem stealing your guy.
♥ Mom: Kelli Williams She looks very warm and caring, and would give good advice.
♥ Dad: Chris Meloni You definitely want a father who would be protective of you, but not overly so, and even though Elliott on 'SVU' is over protective sometimes, Chris doesn't look like he'd smother you.
♥ Sister/brother (or both): Younger brother: Anton Yelchin
Younger sister: Abigail Breslin
Okay, so I have no siblings in real life, but these two look like they'd be great; you have the cool younger brother who looks out for you and the cute as a button younger sister who looks up to you.
♥ Hot Older Married Neighbor: Misha Collins There's always that one neighbour in rom-coms that you lust after, even though you know he's unavailable. And in this case, who wouldn't want Misha to be theirs?
♥ The Best Friends: BFF 1: Amanda Seyfried The sassy, fun one you go to with your guy problems.
BFF 2: Olivia Thirlby The quiet girl who is ridiculously talented at music or writing or some combination of both of them.
BFF 3: Ari Graynor The down to earth one.
BFF 4: Ben Foster The boy you've been friends with since grade school, who you have always viewed as a brother.
This initially only had a place for one best friend, but who really only has just one? And only girls at that?
♥ The Best Gay Friend: Paul Dano Every girl needs a best gay guy friend to let her know what's what.
♥ The Laid Back Boss: Jason Sudeikis He'd be the type of boss everyone wants; laid back, pretty okay with everything you do as long as you weren't constantly late and didn't burn down the building or steal from him.
♥ The city: San Diego
Not many romantic comedies, at least that I've seen, take place in San Diego, but I would love to see it shown, since it's a beautiful city.
And now you have to choose YOUR PERSONAL SOUNDTRACK, of course: ♥ Opening credits: I Feel It All- Feist ♥ Quiet Afternoon: Naked As We Came- Iron & Wine, The Fox In the Snow- Belle & Sebastian ♥ Out On the Town: I Turn My Camera On- Spoon, April Fools- Rufus Wainwright ♥ In The Club: Dance In My Blood- Men Women & Children, Starstruck- Lady Gaga, Strut- Adam Lambert ♥ Meeting For The First Time: Occasions- The Brendan Hines ♥ First Date: You Make Me Weak At the Knees- Electrelane ♥ The Kiss: Fade Into You - Mazzy Star ♥ Falling In Love: Undisclosed Desires- Muse, Imitation- Mêlée, How My Heart Behaves- Feist ♥ Sex: Familiar Taste of Poison- Halestorm ♥ First Fight: Shitlist- L7 ♥ Making Up: Bulletproof- Kerli ♥ The Break Up: Love/Hate Heartbreak- Halestorm, This Love- The Veronicas ♥ The Psychological Breakdown: Pretty Girl (The Way)- Sugarcult, Do What You Have to Do- Sarah McLachlan, Death Came And Got Me- Rosie Thomas ♥ Shopping With Friends: Right As Rain- Adele, White Collar Boy- Belle & Sebastian ♥ Retrospection: I Remember- Damien Rice, Faded From the Winter- Iron & Wine ♥ The Night of "The Mistake": Lover I Don't Have to Love- Bright Eyes ♥ Coping Mechanisms: So What- Pink ♥ Getting Back Together: In My Arms- Beecake, Don't Change- INXS ♥ End Credits: Let Go- Frou Frou, An End Has a Start- The Editors
I listened to the mix I made for the soundtrack to this today and it flows pretty well together. I couldn't pick just one song for every category, and so there you have it.
I will take good medicine any day. Title is from one of SNL's hilarious opposite band Jon Bovi sketches.
Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis need to do this sketch all the time.
General Blogging
Like any Sunday, I worked 2-6. Since the start of 2010 {hey, it just became the new decade on Friday}, I haven't done much. The most exciting thing that's happened so far is getting my health insurance card. I am covered until 2013, I believe, on the plan I'm on now.
News/Stuff About Celebrities and Movies/Music/TV Shows/etc. Movie News:
-According to wenn.org {I can't find the article or I would link it here}, the following is happening; The executors of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's literary estate have threatened to withdraw Guy Ritchie's rights to the Sherlock Holmes story if the director hints at a homosexual relationship between the lead characters in his sequel.
Robert Downey, Jr., who plays the supersleuth in Ritchie's new movie adaption, recently appeared on David Letterman's U.S. talk show and hinted at a homoerotic subtext in the relationship between his character and Jude Law's Dr. Watson.
During the interview the actor also asked the audience to decide whether Holmes is "a very butch homosexual."
But Downey, Jr.'s comments have infuriated Andrea Plunket, who controls the remaining U.S. copyrights to the Holmes story, and she's threatened to withdraw permission for a follow-up if Ritchie suggests the detective is more than just friends with his sidekick.
She says, "I hope this is just an example of Mr Downey's black sense of humour. It would be drastic, but I would withdraw permission for more films to be made if they feel that is a theme they wish to bring out in the future. I am not hostile to homosexuals, but I am to anyone who is not true to the spirit of the books."
Uhm...no matter how much you sugar coat it, or deny it, you are being hostile to homosexuals with this statement. I do not personally see the ~subtext in the movie, but I can see where people are coming from.
-IMDB is a bitch and spoiled a major plot point from season 4 of 'Dexter' for me in a news article about 'Desperate Housewives'. I can't be the only person who hasn't seen season 4!
Here are my Best of 2009 for Movies/Television.
Megan's Top Favorite Films of 2009
10. 'Terminator: Salvation'. I went into this film expecting to hate it with a passion. I was never very big into 'Terminator', but I love the first movie. I haven't seen the second one in years, and so don't remember much about it. I never saw the 3rd one, but have been told I'm better off for not doing so. This surprised me with how intense it was, and how terrible it wasn't. No, it's not the best in the series, or even in the tops for the series, but it's enjoyable, and most of the time, I ask for at least that in a movie I'm paying $8 to see.
9. 'Paranormal Activity'. This is one of those movies where the filmmakers could do everything right or everything wrong. Thankfully, it was in the former category. It's not as scary as the trailers make it out to be, but there were parts where I was pretty terrified. It's been a very long time since I've seen a good psychological horror movie. You know a movie is scary if I have to call a friend on the drive home so I won't be "alone" when I walk into a dark house.
8. 'Star Trek'. I am not a Trekkie at all, and I found this very enjoyable. The chemistry of the cast was incredible, and they embodied their characters very well. Even for non-fans like me, I was able to determine who was who pretty easily, and follow the story as well.
7. 'Sherlock Holmes'. I went back and forth in liking this, but I'm glad I gave it a chance because it was absolutely enjoyable and I had a lot of fun while watching it. I hope they do more with this series, and I take back everything I said about Robert Downey Jr. not being right for the part of Sherlock.
6. 'District 9'. Best sci-fi movie I've ever seen. Hands down. And I'm not a big fan of aliens.
5. 'The Hangover'. Funniest comedy of the year, and surprisingly, the highest grossing R-rated film ever. There's already a sequel in the works, even before the movie hit theatres.
4. 'The Hurt Locker'. I don't actively seek out war movies, but this, as well as 'The Kingdom', from 2007, is one of the best that have come out in recent years. This is a white-knuckler movie in every sense of the word. The tension builds and builds, and then abates before building some more. It never really goes away, either, unt
3. 'Zombieland'. Probably my favourite zombie flick of all time. It's funny and creepy in the right places and the right amounts. All the characters were very likable, and brought the right amount of emotion you'd expect, and want, in a horror comedy zombie film.
2. 'Watchmen'. I might a little biased, since this is my favourite graphic novel, but this is without a doubt, the best comic book movie ever made. It stayed as true to the source material as it could, without being slavish, and also added a few little things of its own, without detracting from the original source material. And honestly? I preferred the ending of the movie as opposed to the ending of the novel. Psychic squid? Really?
1. Up'. The best movie Pixar has ever done. Hands down. It has everything you could want; humour, action, an emotionally draining opening {I swear, I've never seen an opening as depressing as 'Up' in any kid's movie, or maybe any movie}, and cute secondary characters. And as a bonus, the main kid is not annoying whatsoever, which is often a problem in kid's movies.
Honorable Mentions
-'Taken'. Hereto known as the movie that made Liam Neeson an action star, and made throat chopping a new cool way to take down one's enemies.
-'Adventureland'. I went in expecting a silly comedy, and got to see a pretty decently made character drama. I would recommend this, even if you don't like Kristen Stewart.
Megan's Top Worst Films of 2009
8. 'Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'. I know, I know. A sequel to one of the best cult films out there? What're they thinking? Well, that's exactly what went through my mind, but I still wanted to see it. Overall, it was a good effort, but it in no way captured the flavour or humour of the original film, and I don't think anything actually could.
7. 'The Ugly Truth'. 'The Proposal' wasn't some amazing movie, but this could've been a lot better. In the end, it just became a substandard romantic comedy.
6. 'I Love You, Man'. While not a terrible movie, it was nowhere near as funny or as good as I was hoping and expecting. With actors like Paul Rudd and Jason Segel in a movie, you expect it to be rip-roaringly hilarious. Not so.
5. 'Brüno;. I'm not a Sasha Baron Cohen fan by any means, but this looked a lot funnier than 'Borat' was. And while, yes it was funnier than 'Borat', it was still ridiculous and just this side of bad.
4. 'Law Abiding Citizen'. This was not a bad movie, but not a good one, either. It was nice to be able to root for the bad guy for once.
3. 'The International'. I had seen 'Taken' prior to this, and the movie trailers and posters made it look incredibly electrifying and action packed. There is one action scene in the entire movie, and the rest of it is Clive Owen trying to take down the big bad bankers in Europe. Kind of a yawn-fest, honestly. I couldn't wait to leave the theatre.
2. 'The Informant!'. This could've and should've been a lot better than it was, but throughout it, I was not interested in the character and his "struggles". By the end, I kind of wanted him to go away forever.
1. 'Public Enemies'. I was expecting this to be amazing, but was incredibly disappointed. It dragged and dragged, and about, at least an hour and ten minutes in, my friend Bekah and I looked at each other and shook our heads. The pacing was bad, the plot was bad, and the cinematography looked...you know how when you watch a movie, you know you're watching a movie? And you know how when you watch a home video someone recorded on a shaky camcorder and is bragging about how great their camera skills are? Yeah, it was like the second one. It looked unfinished, and that was incredibly apparent in the high definition it was supposed to be in.
Best Film of 2009: 'District 9'
Runner Up: 'Up'
Best Show of 2009: 'Supernatural'
Runner Up: '30 Rock'
Biggest Disappointment of 2009 (Film): 'Public Enemies'
Runner Up: 'The Informant!'
Biggest Disappointment of 2009 (Television): Not seeing Cal and Gillian kiss on 'Lie to Me'.
Runner Up: Yet another year that 'Firefly' is not back on the air.
Most Depressing Scene (Television): The death scene in 'Supernatural' s5, episode 10: 'Abandon All Hope'.
Runner Up: The end scene of 'Dollhouse' season 1, episode 6.
Movies of 2009 I want to See But Haven't Yet:
-'Brothers'
-'Pandorum'
-'Inglorious Basterds'
-'Amelia'
-'All About Steve'
-'Invictus'
-'An Education'
-'A Single Man'
-'Fantastic Mr. Fox'
-'The Princess and the Frog'
-'The Lovely Bones'
-'It's Complicated'
-'Precious'
-'The Fourth Kind'
-'The Invention of Lying'
Overall, 2009 was not a bad year for film. It's a nice change from the last few years, which have been very shaky.
Miscellany Funny Picture(s) I've Found: The Song Currently Stuck In My Head:
'Good Man in a Bad Time' by Ian Hunter, from the 'Fright Night' soundtrack. One of the best vampire movies ever made and one of my favourite movies of all time.
Jackie Earle Haley:
Lookit how tiny he was! :D
Hot Guy Of the Day
Jason Sudeikis.
Quote of the Day
-Ron: "Look, I'm not tryin' to be a bitch here but you fuckin' act emo. You cry every fuckin' movie."
-Hermoine: "I don't CRY every movie! If I cried every movie, I'd...tear drops...from my eyes!"
-Ron: "Bitch! I'm just trying to tell you that when a girl cries excessively it makes her an emo."
Anything Else I Can Think Of Band You Should Be Listening To:
Muse
Seriously, you guys. If you're not listening to them, you NEED to.
I Want:
January 21st to come so I can see more 'Supernatural'. Mmm, hey there, Jensen :3
A Video You Need to See:
David Tennant as Hamlet:
Seriously...what can't this man do? Jesus he's awesome as Hamlet. I so wish I could've seen this/gone to England at ALL!
I would love to be there. Title is from Spencer Humm, one of Maryland's best comedians, and one half of the amazing Renaissance festival fighting comedy duo; Hack and Slash.
Spencer is the one with his mouth open. I have met both of these guys and they are so nice. I've seen their show about 5 times and it has been hysterical each and every time.
General Blogging
I feel this needed to be changed forever ago, and this is much better than 'The Day So Far' {which didn't really encompass what I wanted to convey. I don't even know what I'm saying, but you're reading this, so I must make some amount of sense}.
-Rang in the New Year at my friend Bekah's house, with her boyfriend and our friend Liz. We watched 'Romeo + Juliet', part of 'The Fugitive' before that and played the Storytelling Game. Liz and I shared a pizza, and all of us had way too much chocolate.
-It should be noted that my New Year's Resolutions {all in caps, so you know they're important} are in many ways the same as about half the populations of the world, with a few other things thrown in:
1} Lose weight
2} Be more thrifty with money
3} Try and be more patient
4} Start cooking more
5} Check out 1 book you've never read before at the library each time you go
I might come up with more as the day goes on, but right now, that's what I've got.
-I actually put number 3 into practise for the last hour or so when my internet was not connecting at all. I got a little frustrated, but there were no tears or screaming and cursing. And for that, I am very proud of myself.
News/Stuff About Celebrities and Movies/Music/TV Shows/etc. Movie You Should Be Excited About:
'Clash of the Titans'.
Honestly? This movie looks terrible. BUT! I will be one of the first in line to see it. At the very least, we will get a pretty decent action movie. And Sam Worthington is very nice to look at.
*Cough* So, uh. I'll just leave this picture here...
Movie News:
-According to this article, James Cameron's 'Avatar' has earned over $800 million worldwide. $800 million. Even though I thought the movie was over-hyped and the plot was something we've seen repeatedly, you have to give it to Cameron; he seems to just rake in the dough.
-Filmmaker Magazine has listed their picks for top 25 Best Independent Films of the Decade. They are:
1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
2. There Will be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2008)
3. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2008)
4. George Washington (David Gordon Green, 2000)
5. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
6. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
7. Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette, 2003)
8. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (Errol Morris, 2003)
9. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
10. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)
11. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
12. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
13. Punch Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)
14. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
15. Before Sunset (Rick Linklater, 2004)
16. Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)
17. Iraq in Fragments (James Longley, 2006)
18. Funny Ha Ha (Andrew Bujalski, 2002)
19. No End in Sight (Charles Ferguson, 2007)
20. Synechdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)
21. About Schmidt (Alexander Payne, 2002)
22. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
23. Junebug (Phil Morrison, 2005)
24. Zoo (Robinson Devor, 2007)
25. Man Push Cart (Ramin Bahrani, 2005)
I have only seen 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, but I agree pretty much. Except for 5 and 6, which I disliked a lot.
Most Recent Movie(s)/TV Show(s) I've Seen At Home:
'The Elephant Man'
Directed by David Lynch, starring Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft and John Gielgud. This tells the story of Joseph Merrick {erroneously referred to as John Merrick since the 1800's}, the "Elephant Man", played by John Hurt, who, because of a congential disorder {to this day, they don't know conclusively what he had} has been disfigured since the age of 3, and has been an attraction in a sideshow. Dr. Frederick Treves, played by Anthony Hopkins, finds Joseph and takes pity on him, bringing him to live at the London Hospital so he and the rest of the staff can care for him and study him.
Not being a David Lynch fan, nor having seen any of his movies {aside from part of 'Eraserhead', which...whoa}, I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought it would be a little weird, but ultimately a good movie. What I got was an emotional ride that I will never forget. The story of Mr. Merrick is handled very well, and literally tugs on your heartstrings. I have not cried so much and so hard at one movie in a very long time. And it started about halfway through. You feel an amazing amount of sympathy for this man, who, despite his disfigurement, was a very caring, smart person. Everyone should see this film, David Lynch fan or no.
Grade: A
'The Fugitive'
Directed by Andrew Davis, starring Harrison Ford {in his middle aged sexy glory...what?}, Tommy Lee Jones, Jeroen Krabbé and Julianne Moore. Harrison Ford plays Richard Kimble, falsely convicted of murdering his wife. On his way to prison, two of the convicts on the bus cause a fracas which ultimately ends up with the bus crashing and in the way of an oncoming train. Richard escapes, and is chased by US Marshals, a particularly tenacious one played by Tommy Lee Jones, all the while trying to find the man who murdered his wife. This is one of my favourite movies, and I like it more each time I watch it. High on action and suspense, it's great for many rewatches. Keep an eye out for the Janitor from 'Scrubs'.
Grade: A
'Romeo + Juliet'
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau, Paul Sorvino and Brian Dennehy. It's the tale of Shakespeare's most famous star-crossed lovers, transplanted to the modern day, but still with Shakespearean words. I initially didn't care for this film, mainly because I kept hearing about it, and we had spent so much time reading Romeo and Juliet in school that I just didn't care anymore {still one of my least favourite of Shakespeare's plays}. Having watched it now, I do like it a lot, and kind of want to own it, if only to see the rest of the cast {minus the two angsty leads} do their stuff.
Grade: B
Most Recent Book(s) I've Finished:
Carrie by Stephen King. This was his first book, and I have to say, we owe a great deal of thanks to his wife for rescuing this from the trash can. I'd only seen the movie before, and when I was in New Hampshire, since I'm on a big Stephen King kick, I picked this up, and before I knew it, I was 67 pages in. It's a quick read, but a very engrossing one nonetheless. King perfectly captures just how horrible girls, and especially teenaged girls, can be to one another and to those they consider different, which is amazing, considering he is not a girl. The book I found to be a lot better than the movie, and I highly recommend this book to everyone.
Grade: A
Miscellany Funny Picture(s) I've Found:
The Song Currently Stuck In My Head:
'Starstruck' by Lady Gaga. Ahh, what better way to ring in the New Year than by having loud pop music in your head?
Jackie Earle Haley: Hot Guy Of the Day
Bill Hader.
Quote of the Day
-Joey: "You're either a zombie or a vampire."
-Bart: "Good. Zombie or vampire. I knew there had to be a scientific explanation for this." from 'The Revenant'
Anything Else I Can Think Of A Video You Need to See:
Anything making fun of 'Jersey Shore' is alright in my book. I've never seen the show, but I'm pretty sure this is right on:
Directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Honsou and Jennfier Connolly, the movie takes place in 1999 in Sierra Leone during the Sierra Leone Civil War. Like a few of Zwick's other films, this is taking place during a time of strife in a country; the Civil War in 'Glory', the Satsuma Rebellion in 'The Last Samurai', and that adds much to the tension and story in that there are many different ways the story could go. This took awhile for me to get into, but once I was in, I was hooked. Though much like Zwick's other films, it's kind of predictable after awhile. It was a good film, though.
Quote of the Day
