"Make a wish..."

"It already came true"

*SWOON*

Pretty In Pink

I've been putting it off for weeks, but I am dying for a Pretty In Pink fix. This is also a 100% full-proof way to get Griff to clear out. He says he likes the brat pack movies, but I'm not convinced. I can not think of a single thing wrong with that movie. Molly Ringwald? Check. James Spader? Check. Great fashion? Check? KICK ASS SOUNDTRACK? Check-ity Check Check. SO I'm going to try and make some time for that.


I'm also going to try Music Monday to get back in the swing of this. Hello, Monday. Let's dance.

I've Been Watching Things:

We stayed with a friend who has Netflix, which made me want Neflix....so I've been watching things again. Hooray! I haven't been in much of a mood to watch anything, but it's such a SHINY NEW TOY. So here's what we've been watching:

Babies came out awhile ago, and it has been on my To Watch list for ages. I loved it, and more importantly Oz loved it. There are no subtitles, no narration, just babies being babies all over the world. It was a little cringe-worthy watching the American parents being complete idiots (I mean come on, you can't read "How to be the best parent you can be!!!" or some such nonsense with your baby sitting right there playing! PLAY WITH THE BABY!!!). I thought a European family featured would have been nice too.

Then we found Stephen Fry's America in the instant queue and added that one. I watched this when it originally aired in the UK, and to my friends reading with Netflix, if you get the chance, it really is a nice watch. I adore Stephen Fry. This is one of my "happy go-to" things to watch. It made me nostalgic for our road trip (and yeah, I need to post some more from that! ha!)

And lastly, we watched something incredibly cheesy. George Romero's Monkey Shines. Wow. Awesome 80s Horror. Hilariously, wonderfully bad.

Man On Wire

Like the book rut, I've been in a film rut. It's hard for me to watch anything new. I used to try and watch something new every week, and now, lately, I just don't have the energy or motivation. It's sad because I love film. I've DVR'd several movies I've been dying to see (or haven't seen in years) and just haven't watched them.

Last night, I picked Man On Wire to watch. I've been wanting to watch a good documentary, and I had been told years ago (in school) to watch this one. I believe Griff bought it for my birthday 2 years ago. (Honestly, you wouldn't believe the list of films I have that I haven't even watched yet. Bad, Film Student, very Bad!).

It's about a frenchman who is a wire/tight rope walker. Much like you have flash mobs now, he would walk on very large, famous public structures. The World Trade Center was his ultimate goal, that which he wanted to walk more than anything and the film is about how he and his accomplices went about making it happen. Because they couldn't do it legally.

It was breath taking and inspiring.

...It also had a phenomenal soundtrack. Predominately, it used a specific track by Michael Nyman which I recognized immediately because it is used throughout The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, & Her Lover, which is one of my favorite movies EVER. I can not express enough how a good soundtrack enhances a good film watching experience. "Memorial", in particular, is a composition that brings a lump to my throat. It's one of those "heart exploding in your chest" pieces for me. So I will leave that here as well. But please, if you want to watch something that is simply amazing, watch Man On Wire.

It's time to meet the Muppets

I would be lying if I didn't say I have had anxiety over picking what would be the first movie Oz would see at the cinema. I would see previews and think maybe this or maybe that, but it would fall through. I would decide he wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. For some time I was sure that it would be the new Winnie the Pooh that was released at completely different times in the UK and US. Not by weeks, but months. So when I missed it go round in the UK, I had plenty of time to try again when it was in the US. But there was always an excuse.

Then the Muppets came back. I love the Muppets. I have loads of memories or watching The Muppets with my sister and Dad. I remember my Dad singing "The Rainbow Connection", and to this day, the song makes me want to cry (as you all know, I do not cry, but sometimes I feel that inkling and the moment passes. I'm not completely a robot).

We went to see the Muppets early in December along with my sister, Mimi and her husband, Brent.

Ever the film geek/mom, I had to take pictures of The Process. "Us with Movie Poster", "The Theater", "With Tickets"...sadly, none in the theater itself. I didn't want to be hassled for getting my camera out.

I was worried of it being too loud, too overwhelming. Oz loved it. He took turns sitting on everyone's lap, eating popcorn and watching the movie. He made it over halfway through before finally becoming cranky. I nursed him and he fell asleep. It was an excellent evening and I couldn't be happier with the final choice as his first trip.

Now, for a note on the movie itself. I loved it. I laughed and wanted to cry the entire time. There were so many nods to what the Muppets were, how their time had passed and why they are such a treasure to the hearts of anyone who grew up watching them. They are magical. Period.

I do read the credits tho, and in the opening I noticed that MUSIC was done by Bret McKenzie, of Flight of the Conchords and NOT Paul Williams, the musician who worked on so many other Muppet movies and wrote "Rainbow Connection". I was disappointed and for the rest of the film I couldn't help but notice how obviously "McKenzie"-ian the score and songs were. But disappointment aside I was still able to enjoy the movie because it really does just make you feel incredibly happy.

...and I have teeny tiny crush on Jason Segal now. The end.

Travel Rewind: Black River Drive In

After Canada we crossed back into New York and made our way towards

the Adirondacks. Along route, we passed an operating Drive-In theatre.

We were both cursing it being the middle of the day and our dumb

unfortunate luck that we wouldn't be around to stop and see a movie

that evening. They were playing Final Destination 5 and Fright Night.

Neither would have been my first picks, but fuck that...IT'S A DRIVE

IN. But it didn't matter, because we couldn't go.

We started driving and it was getting later and later. We found a

campsite and it turned out we were only about 30 minutes down the road

from the Drive-In. You may be confused at this point. How could we

whining about seeing the Drive In and not going early in the afternoon

and then be camped out 30 minutes down the road? All I can tell you

is, there was a LOT of around your elbow to get to your ass driving

that day. I'm only glad we stopped when we did.

I went online and found out showtimes for the Drive In and it was

settled that after dinner we would go. I don't remember what we did

for dinner that night. I do remember that we put on our PJs and made

sure Ozzy stayed awake so he would be good and tired and sleep on the

drive there (so hopefully he would sleep through the movie).

We decided to miss the first feature, Final Destination 5. I haven't

seen any of those movies and I don't understand how you can have a

title that has the word "Final" and is number 5 in the series. I

wasn't over the moon about seeing a re-make of my beloved Fright Night

either, but it's the lesser of two evils. Either way, I thought it was

fucking cool to see a horror movie at the drive in. That just felt

right.

We pulled up within minute of the film starting. The girl at the booth

was about to shut for the night, so we barely made it. Unfortunately

we missed the concessions. BOO. We were really excited about popcorn,

nachos and soda. We had a tiny dinner to make room for all the junk

food we would now not be having. It didn't kill the mood tho. WE WERE

AT THE MOTHERFUCKING DRIVE IN.

We found a place to park, adjusted the seats and started the movie.

You didn't have to open your window and adjust a speaker into the car.

They told you what station to tune your radio to and you were able to

listen to the film that way. It was awesome. Ozzy slept through the

first half of the film and woke up around the second half. What's

great is that we were able to enjoy a film and not "disturb" those

around us. I was able to put Oz in the front seat with me and nurse

him back to sleep, where he stayed until the credits rolled.

And my film nerd self can't help but take a minute to reflect on the

film itself so here goes:

Of course it was no where near as good as the original. Re-makes

rarely, if ever, are. A really great cast did the best they could with

some pretty crap material. Colin Farrell was gorgeous, but had zero

charisma. I'm going to put this down to him using a bad American

accent and not being all sexy-brooding in his natural Irish accent. An

Irish vampire would have been sexy (something that I always felt was

lacking in the original. Chris Sarandon is a great villain, but he is

never sexy. Or maybe it's an 80's thing I don't get. Because I don't

think Michael Douglas is sexy either and his ass was always naked

during the 80's.). David Tenant was sorely underused, but hilarious.

It wasn't until I was listening to BBC Radio 4's Mayo/Kermode podcast

when it was pointed out that Tenant is doing a Russell Brand

impression, that the light bulb went off. Fucking brilliant and

hilarious.

The film is pretty clunky and uninspired. I was disappointed with

Sarandon's cameo as a motorist who gets bit. I think it would have

been cooler if he and Farrell had passed a knowing look in the dance

club scene. The 3-D sequences were pointless.

So while it sounds like I didn't like the movie, I had an awesome

time. Being at a Drive In made a bad movie completely worth it, and I

enjoyed it 1000x more than if I had seen it in a cinema or on dvd.

It was so refreshing for us to be seeing a movie. In our pre-baby

days we went to the movies almost every single week without fail. We

had thought about trying to take turns seeing movies while on the

road. Or going to an early showing during the week, when the cinema

would be all but empty. We haven't had a chance to do that yet. But

our eyes are always peeled for another Drive In.

Movies Watched Lately.

So I've FINALLY been able to take advantage of my LoveFilm membership by watching a movie while breast-feeding during the week. It's been awesome. I get to watch new things and feel nostalgic for school. I miss talking about movies and watching new things. Plus, I get so excited whenever I get a new film. It's like a little mini-Christmas surprise. Score. So here's what we've watched lately:

Revolutionary Road- I was so excited about seeing this. I love Kate. I love Leo. It looked like it would be a beautiful (literally) movie to watch. I was surprised to find out that I was utterly bored by it. It's that same comment made a 1000x over about how horrible suburban life is, especially for the stay at home wife/mother, who has always yearned for something more but couldn't have because of what society expected of her. *YAWN*. I get it, I really do. But I also feel like it's been done and the story I was just...boring. Ironically tho, the performances from Kate and Leo were still amazing.

The Wrestler- I'm a wrestling fan. It's not cool, but there you have it. I loved this movie. It moves with such an honestly about it, that you sometimes feel like you are watching a documentary rather than a fictional story. It's a role that Mickey Rourke's face was made for. I honestly had tears welling up at the end. I am curious tho if non-wrestling fans enjoyed it as much?

The Warriors- You know when you get to a party late, and you're a little worried that it's passed you by but then surprisingly you have a fantastic time? Yeah, that's how I felt when I watched The Warriors. It's so cult and has so much built up around it, I was afraid I might not get it and it would have passed me by. But I LOVED IT. It's fantastic and I will definitely be adding it to my DVD collection. Go watch it.

Missing school and smoking in films....

I came across this article today online, which initially I thought was going to be about rebooting the current ratings system in the US, but instead was largely about characters smoking in movies ( This Article is Not Yet Rated ). First off, it made me miss being in school like crazy. This is just the sort of article I would HAVE to get into a paper somewhere, or devise writing an article further exploring the argument itself. 

And like all things currently, I have to make it tie back to our impending parent-dom, and what kind of parent am I going to be in letting our kids watch this or that. Because the article itself is so devoted to the argument of smoking, let's start there.

I can honestly say, I don't think I know anyone who would admit to smoking because they thought it looked cool in movies. Sure, when we were little we all mimed it (you know you did!), but when it came to actually trying a cigarette for the first time, all I could think about it how horrid it smelt and I couldn't wait to get the stink off my fingers. Now when I was 22 I did start smoking, but that was more an extension to drinking, and when the drinking dried up, so did my smoking habit. 

I can recall as a youngster being taken to 3 different rated-R movies at the cinema by my Mom. 

1. The Good Son

2. Ransom

3. The Birdcage

Apparently thrillers and gay comedies were a-okay in her book (and God love her for it!). But I remember being forbidden to watch Natural Born Killers, even tho I wanted to watch it more than anything. Eventually it came on cable and instead of sneaking and watching, I went into her bathroom where she was getting dressed, told her it was on, and I was going to go ahead and watch it. Honesty was always the way to go in our house, and I know I probably would have been grounded if she walked in and saw me watching it instead. 

BUT BACK TO MY POINT.....

If all the smoking in movies now are relegated to R-rated films, and assuming it just the baddies and rebels lighting up now, does it make it less of a threat when your 13 year old is offered their first cigarette? Will they sit and think "Well, I never see Jennifer Aniston lighting up in movies, and she's my favorite actress, so I think I'm going to give a pass". Um, no....not reality. 

Why is smoking suddenly so dangerous that it's rarely seen or spoken about in films today? Yet guns and violence are still okay? Whatever happened to just common sense? If I want my kids to see this, I'll let them watch it, and if I don't, I won't let them. And honestly, they're going to get to an age where if they really want to watch it, they are going to. (That's a whole nuther story about me and A Clockwork Orange right there...). 

This is hardly a very concise argument or train of thought, but....I am slightly worried that we're going to be seeing that closing clip from Thank You For Smoking a reality. You know, the one where old movies with smoking are digitally re-mastered and altered to remove cigarettes. Bette Davis without her smoke curls? No thank you.....

Coraline Review

Yesterday, we went to see Coraline. I was very excited about seeing this because:

1. I love Neil Gaiman, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book it was based off of.

2. It's stop motion animation, from the same director of Nightmare Before Christmas

3. Looks amazing.

And I would say that, yes, overall it met all my expectations and was stunning to look at. I don't think that it HAS to be seen in 3-D, I'm sure I would have enjoyed it just as much in 2-D. I also loved that Coraline has blue hair. It was a small touch that I found charming.

BUT (there's always a 'but'), a very important element of the story was changed, and left me disgruntled at the end of the film. While the book is based on Neil Gaiman's book, the story was written for the screen by director, Henry Selick. In the film, a character by the name of Wybie is introduced into the narrative, even tho he does not exist at all in the book. I was okay with this, Coraline thinks mostly internally in the book, and this character allows her to interact and bring across her character. Because we all know, internal monologues in films can be VERY boring. So Wybie didn't really bother me....until the last few moment of the film.

I will carefully try not to give too much away, but in the book Coraline "saves the day" by her own careful planning and ingenuity. In the film, Wybie rushes in at the end to save the day. Which to me, only perpetuates to little girls that a boy will always be there to solve the problem, save them from danger, etc. I hate to push that sort of feminist rhetoric on what is otherwise a charming children's film, but I hate that they took away such a wonderful, positive ending; and instead put a "safe", "old-fashioned" ending on it.

Otherwise, I would say, go see it. It's a fantastic film and I was secretly hoping that one day I have a little girl as imaginative and brave as little Coraline.

 

Friday the 13th

It had to be done. Going to see Friday the 13th on Friday the 13th was a treat that I could not resist. 

From the initial get-go I was skeptical of the new installment in an otherwise stale franchise. Don't get me wrong, I love Fridays 1-7 (in particular I love Part 4: the Final Chapter with Crispin Glover AND little Cory Feldman. It's just too good to be true), but I drew the line and hated Jason Takes Manhattan, or as I call it, Jason Rides a Boat. I couldn't finish Jason Goes to Hell and flat out refused to watch Jason X (in space, really?). And when they announced a new Friday the 13th they said it was going to be a remake. A REMAKE!?!?!

So I hated it from the start. There is nothing wrong with the original, in fact, I find the original to be very right indeed. But as they started releasing info, and then actually a picture of the new Jason, it dawned on me that it can't be a remake. (SPOILER): Mrs. Vorhees was the killer!!! Jason doesn't arrive till part 2! Needless to say, I become more excited about the impending arrival of the new Friday. AND I was ecstatic when they released that they would be playing it on Friday the 13th. Marketing scams like this I willingly oblige to play into. It adds to the fun (see also, the remake of the Omen that was released on 6-6-06. Brilliant! Rob Zombie made a MAJOR error in not pushing for Halloween's release to be on, what?, HALLOWEEN. Marketing and audience would have been done, finished, finito.). 

Opening night and a full house. One of my favorites. And then the movie started and the disappointment can over me in waves. First, the premise that this group of kids are hiking through the woods looking for a crop of weed was stupid. AND the fact that it was so close to Camp Crystal Lake, also stupid. As Griff pondered, how did all that weed get cultivated with Jason running around so close by?

I continued to feel disappointed until it suddenly dawned on me. Once again, THIS IS NOT A REMAKE, thus it's a-okay to enjoy. And then 2, IT'S JASON. So once I had this little shout out with my brain I allowed myself to enjoy. It was also the first Friday movie I had seen in a cinema. So I took a chill pill and enjoyed.

When I decided to that, there were a couple pleasant surprises. For example, there was a lot of little "in" jokes and references to those who have seen all the other Fridays. And all the annoying people died, and who doesn't love that?

But even when I resigned myself to the fact that it was good for a Friday the 13th movie, I have a few issues. First of all, it was annoying how big and loud Jason was, but he was incredibly quiet when it came to appearing behind someone. Also, how the hell did he get on top of the house so quickly?

My biggest problem though, is a personal one. Because you see, I hate fake boobs and more than that I hate pornographic sex (and all that that implies). In the 1980s, you saw a lot of films that jokingly address teen sex and how awkward and funny it was. Now though, all the girls have fake boobs, and people behave like they are starring in a porno. I miss funny awkward sex of the 80s and I wish it would come back. 

So that's my little commentary on Friday the 13th. It had to be done....