seriously, my delayed posts are lame...

How does this happen?! How is it November 9th and I haven't posted since Sept 6th?! Oh yeah, vacation happened. Still, no excuses.

So here we are... one week after Election Day. And it was an INTENSE one, kids. But we dems overtook Connecticut and were the exception to the rule that was the rest of the results throughout the US. It makes me proud. WHAT ELLLSE happened?! September was BUSY. Got to go to The View in late September, VERY fun, had really good seats for being on camera. My mom, Ali, Amy and myself all had a fabulous time.

THEN it was vacation time! One goal in life was to drive the Pacific Coast Highway, otherwise known as the PCH. Well I finally got that chance and drove MUCH of the PCH with Amy. We drove from Portland, Oregon out to the coast and then down to LA. *Notation: from Monterey Bay to LA we had to take the fast route because Alyssa had gotten us stand-by Ellen tix for that day, so we husseled down to make it. LUCKILY it was WORTH it and we made it into Ellen. But sadly missed Big Sur, driving through Santa Barbara, etc. SO NEXT time I'll have to do the Monterey - LA PCH trip. There's always next time! I keep reminding myself that it's not possible to do EVERYTHING the first time.

BUT let's talk pop culture! My post tonight will be about the one and only show 'Glee.' I'll get back to the movies next time... mostly cause there's much to catch up on and we're OFFICIALLY in Oscar Race time! Best time of the year!

So... that little show known as 'Glee' has swept the nation. The way people feel about 'Glee' is like the way people feel about Obama sometimes. Some LOVEEEE it. Some don't like it so much. Some don't care so they ignore it. And some just down right hate it. I'm not going to sit here and 'stand' on my soap box and say that 'Glee' is the best thing to hit the TV. I know it has it's flaws... but when it's good, it's pretty darn good.

Let's take tonight's episode for instance. It was titled "Never been kissed" in which we find two of the characters in situations where they have/had never been kissed until tonight. We've been seeing a lot of Kurt lately... A few weeks ago we had the touching episode with his dad in the hospital, we had some Kurt themed episodes last season and even during the duets episode we found Kurt still struggling with picking a duet song and partner to sing with because he's gay. Now if you've missed all of the talk & campaigning about gay rights and bullying, you've been living under a rock. Everything about 'Glee' has been so relevant to these harassment/suicide/bullying issues, it's a bit uncanny. And even though I think some other characters are due for their time in the spot light, Kurt's issues are one of the reasons I like 'Glee'. I think it's such a good example for the young gay community. We've never seen a character like Kurt before on TV. We've had "Will & Grace", characters in "Grey's Anatomy" , "Brothers and Sisters" and "Ugly Betty"... but all of those shows have only brushed upon what it's like to be a gay teen in school [**'Ugly Betty' being the best example, I applaud what they did with Justin's character... GOD, I MISS THAT SHOW!!]. But what they've had Kurt go through is truly groundbreaking. Kurt faces real issues gay teens face in real life. Key word REAL! And having openly gay Chris Colfer be an advocate for gay rights and stand up for what's happening and what he went through is an even better thing to have on their side.

Another thing I like about 'Glee' is the music. Yes, they sing top 40 hits sometimes that we've all probably heard too much of, but they bring light to older pop, rock, broadway, jazz and classical music. Some of their fans haven't had the chance to be exposed to these different genres, some have. But it's important for those who haven't grown up in a house with musical persuasions to be introduced to these fun and essential musical genres.

THIRD! It's funny. You've got to be paying attention to pick up on some of the hidden, subtle dry humor lines coming out of their mouths... more specifically comic genius Jane Lynch's mouth who plays Sue Sylvester. She is so highly inappropriate sometimes, I just want to die. The things the writers throw at us are.... smart, witty, hilarious, touching and heartfelt. A job well done!

Sure 'Glee' may be cheesy and over the top sometimes, and some songs are better than others [take tonight, the cover of 'Teenage Dream' by Katy Perry was great, but I thought the mash-ups weren't as great as last time. But overall, 'Glee' is a gem in this sometimes crappy, poorly written, reality driven television world!

What do you think my peeps?! Are you a 'Gleek'??!?

But for now... have a VERY Happy Tuesday. I'll be back with some movie updates soon!

Going the Distance

You know the felling that you get when you're excited to see a movie? Cause you hope it's gonna be really good? And even the previews were funny? But you even read a review and they like it, so you are hoping that it's going to be just as you've initially hoped?! Well 'Going the Distance' is that movie. Probably even BETTER! I like Drew Barrymore, even in ROM COMS (i.e. Fever Pitch, I'm a fan!) she's funny and enjoyable. I also like Justin Long. But the two of them have truly great on-screen (and maybe off-screen? who can keep up with this on-again off-again couple?!) chemistry.

Going the distance is so enjoyable because of a few different reasons, but the main one is that it's a pretty good representation of a real relationship. Almost as real as they get on the screen. One could argue 'The Kids are All Right" is another recent example of a real relationship portrayed on screen and it's true... but in typical big Hollywood rom coms, the relationships are all a bit too fantasized. And I'm not saying that this one doesn't have a fairy tale ending, but getting to that fairy tale ending involves hard work, potential life changes and people talking about these things like adults... you get what I'm trying to say?!?!... what Geoff LaTulippe does with the screenplay is gives us a taste of what one of these long distance relationships might really be like. [I just read on IMDB that he based this off of close friend/the film's producer's real long-distance relationship.] Reading other reviews, this is one common thread, even Barrymore supposedly was drawn to the script because of the "real" factor.

What I also liked about this film was how far removed from technology it seemed. Sure during some of the "long-distance" montages they're shown texting and their texts are displayed on screen for us to read... but you don't once see cell phones out and being used when they're hanging out together. Sure Long's cell phone pisses his friends off cause he's on it so much texting Barrymore in San Fran, but when Barrymore, Long and co. are hanging out at the bar, the cell phones are gone. So much of today's friendships and social 'hang out time' gets lost in people being too connected [I fall victim to this criticism too sometimes]... but it was nice to see friends enjoying their time, minus the smart phones. Plus, they love top gun and the game Centipede. 80's flashback! But in a good way!!

Long and Barrymore have great on-screen chemistry. I'm sure it helps that they were together when filming this, but they really do look and act great together... one couple you're finding yourself routing for. I found myself laughing pretty much throughout the whole film. Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jim Gaffigan and Christina Applegate are all perfectly funny sidekicks. I was truly smiling throughout this whole movie.

So if you're looking for a rom com that you can bring the Boyfriend to too... definitely don't miss this one. I've been cutting back on my dvd buying lately... but this one is definitely one to have on my shelf.

Judy Greer, where are you?!

So I just happened to stumble upon "Ella Enchanted" on TV this evening... and it's one of those movies I kinda really enjoy.. Go ahead and laugh, but it's actually pretty good! [plus I loved the book growing up!] Anne Hathaway is enjoyable as always, and one of my favorite Brits, Hugh Dancy is also quite the charmer in this one... and then WHAT DO YOU KNOW... I go onto IMDB to look up something and they have a new Anne Hathaway preview on the main page... also starring Jake Gyllenhaal... called "Love & other drugs."

Watch here:

Love & Other Drugs

Now I like both of these actors... (marry me, jake!?) but I have one gripe! Supposedly Judy Greer is tagged in the preview aka is going to be in this movie... but I did not see her once in the preview! DUDE, WHERE are you hiding Judy Greer?!? Now, if you know me, then you know I've written about Judy before (yep, we're on a first name basis)... I think she's the character actor that's LONGGG overdue for her starring role. She continually proves herself in every film and is such a stellar character actor that she deserves to be the leading lady every now and again! We can see Oliver Platt in here... but where's Ms. Greer?! I'm guessing she's going to be Hathaway's BFF. PER USUAL.

So, what did you think of this preview!? Interesting twist with it being set around the viagra invention. Do you think Judy Greer needs her time in the sun too?! Do you think if I write to Jake, he'd marry me?! More importantly... would Judy be my friend if I wrote her a letter?!

christina perri - jar of hearts

Look at me go this week! So many updates for you friends!
Another "check this out" from me... and it's funny, I couldn't remember how I heard about this song... I guess it was iTunes! But anyway, this is a pretty great new song. Very pretty. with tons of Heart. no pun intended - Christina Perri's "Jar of Hearts". From the bit I've read about her this evening, it sounds like she's literally had a whirlwind of a past week/two weeks! Well, I'm happy for her, because it's a beautiful song and I've listened to it a least 5 times today! So check her out! It was featured on SYTYCD this week and she sang live tonight... missed it - cause I didn't read that EW article soon enough.

she's even featured on perez!
http://perezhilton.com/2010-07-15-listen-to-this-bottle-it-up

http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/07/15/christina-perri-jar-of-hearts-qa/

listen on myspace, too! or any of these sites, really!
http://www.myspace.com/christinaperri

Yay for another new artist to add to my "Watch/listen for" mix!

Have a superb weekend friends!

The Help

You know when you read one of those GREAT books?! Well, The Help is one of them!! I know what you're thinking... this is what EVERYONE has been saying (if you've heard any of the buzz)... well I can assure you that it's HONEST, truthful buzz - author Kathryn Stockett truly deserves every good word. And I want to write more about it sometime soon, but just wanted to get that initial, HEY! READ THIS! post out there.

It's also going to a be a movie next summer... and I just hope that they do a great job with this wonderful piece of literature. I think this a must read for High School reading lists. YES! I just said that!

Plus, the cast is sizing up to be impressive...

Movie buzz: http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2010/07/13/the-help-exclusive-allison-janney-joins-the-cast/

EW Review: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20258471,00.html

Cyrus... the movie, NOT Miley!

OK well, so June absolutely RAN away from me... for those that know me and what I do, June is the busiest time at work and so many a later nights and just crashing hard when I got home. But I did make it out to a few movies... even though I worked 6 days a week the whole month! Things I'm going to write about soon... Toy Story 3 and Ecplise. For now, I'm going to fill you in on what I thought about Cryus.

I popped over to the little theater here in Norwalk that actually shows the indies and not-so-popular flicks to see Cyrus. I knew it was going to be a bit quirkier based on the little I had read about the writers/directors, the Duplass brothers. I didn't read much going in, sometimes I prefer it this way so that I go in with an unbiased opinion. What I was met with was an awkwardly woven love triangle.

This is the second movie in the past few months that I have watched that made me actually feel awkward and out of place during the film. The Duplass brothers have introduced us to John (John C Reilly), a lonely guy, still feeling a bit sad about his divorce from ex-wife Jamie (Catherine Keener), who's in a bit of a rut and can't seem to get out of it. Jamie comes over his apt to find him masturbating when she just wanted to give him the news that she's engaged to her new boyfriend. The two seem to have a pretty good relationship considering they're divorced with no children... although John is still upset by the split when she has obviously moved on. She tells him to come to a party that she and said fiance are going to where he'll be "intellectually stimulated" and find hot chicks. So he cleans himself up and goes to the party. This is one of the first times that I felt awkward for him, making a complete fool of himself while trying to talk to girls... it isn't until that he goes outside to pee in the bushes that Molly (Marisa Tomei) walks past and says "nice penis." She informs him that she overheard his truthful declaration to the last girl that he was trying to pick up and she found it interesting and truthful. The two hit it off and she goes home with him. When he wakes up in the morning, she's gone, but has left a note on the pillow with her name and number on it. She calls (pretends to forget who he was) and agrees to come over his place. And once again, they have sex but she leaves in the middle of the night - this time John wakes up when she leaves... so what does he do? He follows her home to see what she's really up to.

One thing leads to another and we meet our title character, Cyrus (Jonah Hill). Her 21yr old, almost 22 yr old son who appears to be a huge mamma's boy. I don't want to tell you the whole plot line, so I'll leave it up to you to see it for yourself.

The cinematography was jarring at first for me, lots of close ups, handheld and a lot of an in your face type of shot. After a while it grew on me, realizing that the awkward cinematography matched the awkwardness that was happening in the story line. What I did like was where you'd see the characters talking and not talking, but their conversation was being played the whole time. So sometimes the shots would actually match what they were saying and other shots would focus on body language and the unspoken part of getting to know each other moments with their converstaion still being overheard. A very interesting way to portray the sometimes hard to show the getting to know you bits... you know what I'm saying?!

The acting by Reilly, Tomei and Hill were all splendid. Reilly was a loveable lug, who you couldn't help but root for. Tomei, a smart and sexy but sometimes clueless to the tricks her son is trying to pull and Hill transforms perfectly into a weird, grown up baby (that's right, I just described it like that) that makes us want to cringe sometimes too. Overall, I enjoyed the awkward (boy, I've said that a lot this time) ride the Duplass brothers taks us on... it's not in your face, but more of a weird emotional ride that all of us have been on (not this exact ride, but you know what I mean) with our own families at one point or another.

Post-Oscars... finally!

Well friends, it looks like I've done it again. I've abandoned you for too long. The Oscars came and went... they were a pretty good show! Steve and Alec were funny... Sandra won and almost made me cry. Then Sandra got cheated on. Then Sandra told us she was a mom to a little boy, and boy is he cute. Goodness... so much has happened! Or not... as we hit the post-Oscars drought of movies, there were few good ones out there to go and see.

Saw "The Runaways"... was OK for a chick bio-pic. Every time Dakota picked up a cigarette or drug I wanted to yell.. DAKOTA NO! think of your PARENTS! Your INNOCENCE! you're still a little GIRL! Crazy? yes... I know I am. Kristen Stewart was just mediocre as usual. Always doing the same hair thing, the biting of the lip thing... teenage angst at it's finest? nope... probably not.

Then there were the Nicholas Sparks tear jerkers... well I guess "Dear John" was before the Oscars... but then there was the "Last Song". Usually I try to read the Sparks books before I go to the movie... since I know it'll be a quick read. But then I just get angry that it's not the same as the book, like I did once again seeing "Dear John". I didn't get to read "The Last Song"... so I couldn't complain about the similarities or not. Although, Sparks wrote "Last Song" JUST so it could be made into a movie that Miley could be in. She was pretty awful... poor Greg Kinnear, Kelly Preston and cute kid who was in "Martian Child" with my fave, John Cusack.

Saw "Iron Man 2"... definitely not as good as the first. There was humor lacking in the writing. As much as RDJ and Don Cheadle tried to carry the movie with their performances, the script was pulling them down.

But now as the summer blockbusters approach... even those seem lack-luster. There's the big budget "Wall Street 2" sequel.. the "Prince of Persia" that just hit... and MAN... JAKE Gyllenhaal... IS HOT. he is also funny and seems like a nice person ( I know this because he was on Jimmy Fallon this week... DUH). I'd date him. If Reese doesn't want him... it's OPEN SEASON!

As for cute Rom Coms... "Letters to Juliet" was super sweet. It was almost heartbreaking to see Redgrave up on the screen again after all that she's lost this year. There was one scene with her brushing an upset Amanda Seyfried's hair... and that moment especially reminded me of her loss of daughter Natasha Richardson. What a nice team... bad things like that don't deserve to happen to nice people. My other enjoyable rom com I saw was "Just Wright"... sure Allyson and I were the minority in this theater... and sure the other people annoyed the heck out of me by talking the whole time... but I wasn't about to turn around and say something. I just love me some Queen Latifah in anything. "Last Holiday" was on tv tonight, but of course the channel was all messed up so I couldn't really enjoy it. I think she made a better pair with LL Cool J romantically, but she and Common also had great chemistry... but seemed to be really only on the friend level.

Well my friends, it's late and I'm gonna hit the sack. Being on duty for work means you never know when you'll be woken up in the mornings sometimes!

For now, enjoy your summer movies... dive into that Netflix queue if you're gaining lots of time because most of your favorite TV shows are on hiatus for the summer season.

oscars, one week and counting

this will be a short post. I'll write more before the oscars, but it is late and I must go to bed!

Saw An Education on the flight back from Poland yesterday... I know, it's a complete crap way to watch a film... but I wanted to see it since I didn't know if the theaters would still be showing it when I got back.

Carey Mulligan certainly deserves her small buzz. She was really fantastic. The whole storyline is slightly creepy, but I've seen worse... and certainly the most disturbing Oscar goes to Precious this year. Peter Sarsgaard is a good 30 something creepster who befriends the 16 yr old Mulligan. I also always love seeing Alfred Molina in films. We needed more of his over-bearing totally morally skewed father on screen!

Otherwise, I leave you all with this feature from Esquire on Roger Ebert. Truly an inspirational story. I've looked up to Ebert since before I can remember. His Sunday show with Siskel was a staple in our home. I will truly, honestly miss reading his reviews every Friday when he eventually leaves us. He's funnier than ever, writing almost as much and remains to be a constant in the film community. While you might not all agree with him (I don't always either) he's been an amazing figure in the critic world. This article left me in tears... but you know me, I'm an emotional sap anyway.

oscars update

Oscar update!
I added The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, A serious Man and District 9 to the top of my queue, so hopefully I'll get those five finished before March 7th! I'm on a time crunch since I'll be gone on business in Poland from the 18th til the 27th. But even if I just did the 5 days when I get back - one per day, I'd make it. And even have 2 extra days!

Still have to find time to see An Education especially since Carey Mulligan is nominated for Best Actress... and I like to see all the actors in each category too. I'll have to see if The Last Station is playing anywhere around here, because if I've seen that one, then I've seen all the best actress noms! Once I've seen The Hurt Locker, I'll only have to see Colin Firth in A Single Man and I'll have seen all the best actor noms.
Surprisingly, I've already seen all the Best Supporting Actress noms... Mo'Nique is definitely a favorite for both me and the academy because of her globe win. But Vera was Awesome! in Up in the Air and Maggie Gyllenhaal's nom for Crazy Heart is well deserved too.

I'm not doing so well for Best Supporting Actor noms... have only seen Invictus! 1 out of 5! Ah! But again... if I get to Basterds and The Last Station then I'll be 3 out of 5. Still haven't decided on The Lovely Bones... got such mixed reviews, so it's not high on my list. Though Stanley Tucci certainly looks creepy in the previews! Good for him, he's one of my celebrity favorites.

This weekend will be seeing Valentine's Day and maybe I'll get to An Education since it's a long weekend! YESSSSS.

Avatar & Dear John

So I finally hunkered down in my movie theatre chair this past Saturday morning for an 11 am showing of Avatar (and let me tell you, it was BUSY for an 11 am Saturday showing)... Had put on my SNAZZY real 3-d glasses as soon as I got them, yes I was that kid walking through the movie theatre with my glasses on, and prepared my butt for a solid 3 hours of sitting.

And isn't it interesting to see a sci-fi movie with your father on your right who's seen it once before and your good friend sitting on your left who doesn't usually do sci-fi flicks... If you're like me... I wonder constantly what they're thinking... are they sleeping behind those glasses? Are they bored? Are they loving it?

So anyway... I was VERY impressed with the graphics. I mean, when people talk about how crisp and detailed they are... those descriptions don't even do them justice! Seriously, I would go again just to stare at the skin of the Navi... the details of the forest... everything! Even the way they did Sam Worthington's legs with CGI... very real.

The story line was not as bad as I was expecting. I prepped myself for the worst, so I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't totally awful. Sure, Cameron's script isn't worthy of a best screenplay nom (in my opinion)... that's why he didn't get one. If you're a sci-fi fan or even just an avid book reader/movie watcher, you know his story isn't original. It's like a combination of Fern Gully, Dances with Wolves and a little Pocahontas mixed in... nothing we haven't seen before in a script.

And the critics are right, the parts of Titanic that pulled on our heartstrings and got us so emotionally involved just aren't here in this latest Cameron flick. It certainly is a film of our time for the technical aspects and I did enjoy Zoe and Sam's performances... they did what they could with the script. Not overly amazing, but they did a good job with what they were given. I could stand to stare at Sam for another 3 hours... ; ) Maybe he could read the phone book to me with his sweet Aussie accent (yes, I know he was born in England... but grew up in Australia).

But before I saw Avatar; I saw Dear John on Friday evening with friends. Dear John certainly makes Avatar oscar worthy. The script was turned into this lifeless story... given the book isn't much better, but this script just picked up and changed all the wrong parts of Sparks' novel.

The best part of Dear John was Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum's chemistry with each other. Their chemistry was sooo good in fact, it made you question why they broke up about 2/3rds of the way through the film. They just looked like they had so much fun making the film together and I honestly question whether their real life significant others would be jealous of the on-screen chemistry. HOT HOT HOT.



So friends, what have you seen lately?

2010! Oscars!

I have seriously failed all few of you who may be reading this blog. I promise that in 2010 I will take the time to sit, write, share, contemplate, and enjoy good film, television and pop culture.

2010 has turned out to be a good year so far, I'm very grateful for great friends, great opportunities, a great job... I'm really optimistic for what the rest of 2010 will bring.

And it's that time of year! MY FAVORITE! OSCAR time! The Oscar nominations are out and it's going to be an INTERESTING show because for the first time we have 10 Best Picture Noms! Which will make my father's Oscar contest verryyyyy interesting. But I'm also excited to see how these new changes turn out... .who knows, it could be so bad they'll be back to 5 again next year.

And how sad I've only seen 4 out of the 10... I'm very far behind this year. Avatar is on my list for this weekend, The Hurt Locker is in my netflix queue and I'm going to try to get to An Education before that leaves! Inglorious Basterds is also on the netflix queue and I've got to see about District 9 and A Serious Man.

I really enjoyed Crazy Heart, the music, the acting, the story... all of it! T Bone Burnett really does a great job of making the song an integral part of the movie, like he's done with his others too.

For now though, it's time for bed. I'll update more this weekend. Goodnight you crazy folk.



p.s. help me think of a new name for this blog!