Once again it's before 8 a.m. and I'm awake. Why? Partying like a rock star. Okay maybe not like a rock star. There were no drugs involved and I only had a few beers. But no matter how much alcohol I consume, I'm always awake, not groggy awake, but wide awake ready to conquer the world awake, before 8 a.m. As much as I love sleep and dislike morning, you would think that in and of itself would be enough to keep me off of the bottle!! But you would be wrong. However...
I think I'm losing my taste for alcohol. I can't tell you how strange that is to me after my experiences in the last 10 years. I wasn't an alcoholic but I have been to a lot of parties since I graduated from high school and starting sophomore year there have been maybe 2 or 3 where I did not consume alcohol. That might be one percent of the parties I've attended. That doesn't mean I was falling down drunk because that's not cute but consumption was key. It's become a habit. I had a rum and coke on Halloween and had to choke it down. I tried again this weekend and it was not as bad but still not something I like very much anymore and it used to be my drink of choice!! Beer is a little better but I had a case and a six-pack of beer in my house for weeks. Very strange.
I think it may be partly psychosomatic because I really hate the way alcohol makes me feel in the morning. Even if there's no headache, my stomach may be unhappy or I'm just up... before 8 a.m. I'm so beyond not a morning person it's not even funny. It's kind of a mess, actually. Kind of like this post... Lol. You know how people are always like (all bright-eyed & bushy-tailed Chim Chim the Squirrel-like), "But you get so much accomplished!!" That has never been incentive to me. Waking up early means less time I'll be awake when I want to be: night time. Even if I'm just talking on the phone, night it awesome to me. If I could get the rest of the world to cooperate at night and be able to conduct business at night, I would absolutely do that. Know why I don't have any kids yet? Because they wake you up. Lolol. Those mommy bloggers are great birth control when they talk about that! I'm supposed to be using this early awake time to wash my hair before we go to Daytona so I guess I should do that, huh? Adios amigos.
11.07.2009
11.06.2009
Mexican Rice Bowls
This recipe is actually one you can have the kids help with since it's from the kids section of Rachael Ray's book, Classic 30 Minute Meals. Oddly, it's the only of her (6) books I have that's a hardcover. Not that that means anything but I just noticed that the other day. Anyway! I saw this recipe for Mexican Rice Bowls and it looked easy and yummy and I had most of the ingredients. My olives were pimento-free.
Result: Quite delicious! The olives were a bit salty for the rest of the meal so I would probably make this in the future w/o olives. I also kept the salsa on the side and added black beans (drained, rinsed with pepper, cumin, cilantro & coriander & a splash of lime added). I can't see any Mexican meal without black beans in my home! I also added garlic and shallots to the chicken & topped the whole thing (on a plate... lol) with homemade guacamole (garlic, onion, avocado, sea salt, lime, cilantro mashed together).
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3/4 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups white rice
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon Goya brand Sazón seasoning blend
- 1/2 cup tomato salsa or taco sauce
- 1/4 cup drained olives with pimentos, chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
- Blue or red corn tortilla chips and salsa for serving (optional)
Preparation
Heat a medium size pot over medium-heat; add EVOO and butter. When butter has melted into EVOO, add pieces of chicken tenders. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Sauté the chicken, stirring, until lightly browned.
Add the rice and cook another minute or two. Then add the chicken stock to the pot and the Sazón seasoning. Put a lid on the pot and raise to high heat to bring the stock to a quicker boil, 2-3 minutes. When the liquid boils, reduce heat to simmer and put the lid back on. Cook until the rice is tender but still a little chewy in the center, 13-15 minutes.
Take off the lid and stir in salsa or taco sauce, olives with pimentos and parsley. Turn off the heat and let stand five minutes.
Serve hot Mexican rice in bowls placed on dinner plates and garnish plates with chips and leftover salsa or taco sauce for dipping.
11.05.2009
Fooooooooooooood
Rashan is trying to set me up for the okie doke? You know why? Because he's a jerk. So there's this crazy site called FoodGawker which I just found out about full of gorgeous pics! and recipes and promptly labeled food p.orn. Rashan was like you know that doesn't mean that really... that means something else... I was like, WHAT?! Was I just unintentionally nasty??? OMG! And then he starts laughing. Jerk (soft j). Then he's like, "No, really. Google it." And I almost did it... such a Stace move. Rookie. Almost like I haven't been dating this man for more than 15 months.
Can we just reiterate my love for food? It's ridiculous. I wish I had someone to do the dishes for me. I would cook more. I also would love to have a personal chef. Can I have a personal chef, please? I would definitely eat out less if I had someone who would cook whatever my heart's desire. Lest we forget my ultimate quest, let me remind you. You are all still to be on the lookout for my HH. That's right, my Hispanic Husband. I'm going to need a man who is a Mexican chef. That man can cook me to a size 8 and I will love him for it for the rest of my life!! All of you have been seriously slacking on your pimpin and this makes me sad. How can I call you the blog la familia if you won't even find me my HH? I probably can't. But I can forgive you if you try again. Operation HH back in full effect... but don't tell Rashan, ok? He's kind of sensitive about me dating him and hunting for the HH. Selfish, ain't he? GET OVER YOURSELF!!
This weekend Rashan & I are meeting Adei & Drew and HU homie Bran & her fam in Daytona for the Hampton-Bethune Cookman game. You know what's important? WHAT WE'RE GONNA EAT! Our hotel has like 4 restaurants. Wow... They're probably mostly overpriced but they have bars... so it's a good start. Mmmmm.... foood. I'm on a plan to taste something new and amazing before the week is out. Life's good.
Can we just reiterate my love for food? It's ridiculous. I wish I had someone to do the dishes for me. I would cook more. I also would love to have a personal chef. Can I have a personal chef, please? I would definitely eat out less if I had someone who would cook whatever my heart's desire. Lest we forget my ultimate quest, let me remind you. You are all still to be on the lookout for my HH. That's right, my Hispanic Husband. I'm going to need a man who is a Mexican chef. That man can cook me to a size 8 and I will love him for it for the rest of my life!! All of you have been seriously slacking on your pimpin and this makes me sad. How can I call you the blog la familia if you won't even find me my HH? I probably can't. But I can forgive you if you try again. Operation HH back in full effect... but don't tell Rashan, ok? He's kind of sensitive about me dating him and hunting for the HH. Selfish, ain't he? GET OVER YOURSELF!!
This weekend Rashan & I are meeting Adei & Drew and HU homie Bran & her fam in Daytona for the Hampton-Bethune Cookman game. You know what's important? WHAT WE'RE GONNA EAT! Our hotel has like 4 restaurants. Wow... They're probably mostly overpriced but they have bars... so it's a good start. Mmmmm.... foood. I'm on a plan to taste something new and amazing before the week is out. Life's good.
11.04.2009
November Goals
I don't see the point in waiting until January to set goals. (Speaking of which I should really check up on my goals from January... I have a feeling I haven't done what I wanted to...) Aretha does monthly goals and I like that idea so here's what's on deck for November!
1) Try new recipe twice a week. Seeing as I now subscribe to Every Day with Rachael Ray AND Food Network magazine (which has a ridiculous amount of recipes!!) I should really put those to use. I also have a ridiculous number of RR cookbooks with a new one out this month (yesterday in fact and you know I want it even though it will be number 7!!)... I should use this stuff!!!
2) Try new ingredient, spice or dish once a month. I like being adventurous! Since sometimes it's difficult for me to get out of Gainesville, I can at least travel via food.
3) Eat out no more than 3xs/week (4 on Rashan visits). This probably sounds like a lot to y'all. It does to me, too but when I was in class for hours and hours on end and didn't get home until 8 or 9, I didn't feel like cooking. Now that our classes are cut down so we can work on our films, I bet I can do even better than 3-4xs a week but I wanted to give myself a doable goal.
4) Work out 3xs/week. It is so irritating to me that I have let this go! It's insane! The gym is ridiculously close. I can and will do better.
5) Dedicate time for spiritual growth. I have let this go, too and I can tell a difference. I'm going to fix it.
6) Catch up on movies. I'm still about a dozen behind. I made no progress in October and we're getting closer and closer to the end! Time to kick operation 750 movies this year into gear!!
7) Use a budget. Ahem. Yeah.
1) Try new recipe twice a week. Seeing as I now subscribe to Every Day with Rachael Ray AND Food Network magazine (which has a ridiculous amount of recipes!!) I should really put those to use. I also have a ridiculous number of RR cookbooks with a new one out this month (yesterday in fact and you know I want it even though it will be number 7!!)... I should use this stuff!!!
2) Try new ingredient, spice or dish once a month. I like being adventurous! Since sometimes it's difficult for me to get out of Gainesville, I can at least travel via food.
3) Eat out no more than 3xs/week (4 on Rashan visits). This probably sounds like a lot to y'all. It does to me, too but when I was in class for hours and hours on end and didn't get home until 8 or 9, I didn't feel like cooking. Now that our classes are cut down so we can work on our films, I bet I can do even better than 3-4xs a week but I wanted to give myself a doable goal.
4) Work out 3xs/week. It is so irritating to me that I have let this go! It's insane! The gym is ridiculously close. I can and will do better.
5) Dedicate time for spiritual growth. I have let this go, too and I can tell a difference. I'm going to fix it.
6) Catch up on movies. I'm still about a dozen behind. I made no progress in October and we're getting closer and closer to the end! Time to kick operation 750 movies this year into gear!!
7) Use a budget. Ahem. Yeah.
11.03.2009
Nitpicking the News Vol. III: The First Marriage
I am am captivated by this New York Times magazine article on the marriage of our President Rocky & First Lady Shelly. It's been a while since you guys heard those nicknames I gave them during the campaign, huh? I'd almost forgotten about them! This post doesn't necessarily fit into the nitpicking category since I heart this article by Jodi Kantor. As magazine articles are so relentlessly long, I excerpted here my favorite passages with my comments (if any) following denoted by an asterisk. I also rearranged some of the passages to make them flow better because I've omitted such huge chunks but unless denoted by an asterisk, the words are from Kantor's reportage. Enjoy.
"I’m married to the president of the United States."
*There's nothing special about this other than I'm excited that a black woman can say that! :)
Campaigns often prove toxic to participants’ personal lives, but [presidential adviser Valerie] Jarrett says the Obamas’ relationship improved in the crucible of the race. “They both rallied to each other’s defense and support,” she says. “By having to work hard at it, it strengthened their marriage.”
“If my ups and downs, our ups and downs in our marriage can help young couples sort of realize that good marriages take work. . . .” Michelle Obama said a few minutes later in the interview. The image of a flawless relationship is “the last thing that we want to project,” she said. “It’s unfair to the institution of marriage, and it’s unfair for young people who are trying to build something, to project this perfection that doesn’t exist.”
* PREACH!
* Le sigh.
When cable shows, bloggers and opponents fixated on her — on her supposed lack of patriotism, her supposedly angry streak — Barack was irate.
* Tell me how much you loved this!! I was SWOONING! I was working in news and didn't necessarily consider it news but as a person? LOOOOOOVED!!
The Obamas mix politics and romance in a way that no first couple quite have before. They also seem unusually willing, for a presidential couple, to kiss, touch and flirt in public. It may be that they are broadcasting their affection to the rest of us, an advertisement of their closeness. Or they may simply be holding tightly to each other as they navigate new and uncertain terrain. “Part of what they provide each other with is emotional safety,” Jarrett explained. Photograph after official White House photograph has shown the Obamas gazing into each other’s eyes while performing one or another official function.
* The pictures are soooo cute!
Marian Robinson, the first lady’s mother, has settled in (unaccustomed to being waited on, she won’t let the staff do the laundry). Last spring, according to Sher, well-meaning White House residence staff members tried to give the girls cellphones, so their parents could always reach them; the first lady stepped in to refuse.
* Clearly part of the reason I love them as a first family is because they seem so down to earth, so normal, so attainable. They make it look like something our children really can have if they so desire.
The equality of any partnership “is measured over the scope of the marriage. It’s not just four years or eight years or two,” the first lady said. “We’re going to be married for a very long time.”
*Let the church say, "AAAAAAMEN!"
"I’m married to the president of the United States."
*There's nothing special about this other than I'm excited that a black woman can say that! :)
Campaigns often prove toxic to participants’ personal lives, but [presidential adviser Valerie] Jarrett says the Obamas’ relationship improved in the crucible of the race. “They both rallied to each other’s defense and support,” she says. “By having to work hard at it, it strengthened their marriage.”
“If my ups and downs, our ups and downs in our marriage can help young couples sort of realize that good marriages take work. . . .” Michelle Obama said a few minutes later in the interview. The image of a flawless relationship is “the last thing that we want to project,” she said. “It’s unfair to the institution of marriage, and it’s unfair for young people who are trying to build something, to project this perfection that doesn’t exist.”
* PREACH!
“What do you think you could accomplish that other candidates couldn’t?” Michelle asked, according to [consultant David] Axelrod. The question hung in the air. Clearly, an Obama agenda would not look very different from that of Hillary Clinton or John Edwards.
“When I take that oath of office, there will be kids all over this country who don’t really think that all paths are open to them, who will believe they can be anything they want to be,” Barack replied. “And I think the world will look at America a little differently.”* Le sigh.
When cable shows, bloggers and opponents fixated on her — on her supposed lack of patriotism, her supposedly angry streak — Barack was irate.
* Tell me how much you loved this!! I was SWOONING! I was working in news and didn't necessarily consider it news but as a person? LOOOOOOVED!!
The Obamas mix politics and romance in a way that no first couple quite have before. They also seem unusually willing, for a presidential couple, to kiss, touch and flirt in public. It may be that they are broadcasting their affection to the rest of us, an advertisement of their closeness. Or they may simply be holding tightly to each other as they navigate new and uncertain terrain. “Part of what they provide each other with is emotional safety,” Jarrett explained. Photograph after official White House photograph has shown the Obamas gazing into each other’s eyes while performing one or another official function.
* The pictures are soooo cute!
Marian Robinson, the first lady’s mother, has settled in (unaccustomed to being waited on, she won’t let the staff do the laundry). Last spring, according to Sher, well-meaning White House residence staff members tried to give the girls cellphones, so their parents could always reach them; the first lady stepped in to refuse.
* Clearly part of the reason I love them as a first family is because they seem so down to earth, so normal, so attainable. They make it look like something our children really can have if they so desire.
The equality of any partnership “is measured over the scope of the marriage. It’s not just four years or eight years or two,” the first lady said. “We’re going to be married for a very long time.”
*Let the church say, "AAAAAAMEN!"
11.02.2009
Monday Mindspacing Vol. 22
*Day 2 of daily posting...
1) After badgering from Rashan I bought some margarita mix... after I bought it I looked at the label: 0% juice. *shudder* That's disgusting. I only buy 100% juice but I have this drink "product." I gave it to him when he came here.
2) Every time I try to get my Netflix queue down, I end up adding more films! At this rate I will need to watch 750 films every year for the rest of my life.... and that ain't happenin. I think I'll watch 365 next year, though.
3) I'm going through serious "When Harry Met Sally" withdrawal. I haven't seen it since January or February and I usually watch at least once a month. I heard someone say "He's never gonna leave her" in a movie and I wanted to go watch it IMMEDIATELY. But since I'm still pretty far behind I decided against it. But it wasn't easy!! I WANT A REWARD FOR WATCHING 750 MOVIES WHEN THIS YEAR IS OVER!!!!
4) The other night I told Rashan, "I'm not here to be nice. I'm here to be awesome." Clearly that statement is proof.
5) Rashan told me my film reviews sometimes sound like I will scream if I hear someone mention the film. Lol. Hilarious. Yes I was aware of this though I wouldn't have put it like that. And well... sometimes I won't SCREAM per se but I'm not gonna be happy if you mention that film!
6) It's been a while since I heard heavy rain, you know living in the sunshine state. The rainy season has been over for about a month and I haven't heard heavy rain... that means the rain outside sounds strange! Which is also weird.
7) I wonder if Goldie Hawn can act... I liked her more before seeing her old stuff which is full of her playing the bubble-headed blonde. I feel bad for people when I see that.
8) Carib what? Before I got to Hampton I was completely ignorant of the nuances of Caribbean culture. I am by no means an expert now but I had no clue there were so many nations with so many cultural differences. I grew up in the SOUTH. Charlotte was not nearly as diverse then as it is now 20+ years later. I might've met a Jamaican & my cousin's mom was from the Virgin Islands... my parents went to the Bahamas on their honeymoon... before I was born... yeah.... Nothing. Enter HU. Suddenly I know Bajans, Trinis, beaucoup Jamaicans, I'm listening to reggae and hearing people speaking patois! CRAZY! I also had my first beef patty & cocoa bread. Chile please. You know it's ALL about the food for me! It's been a while since I had some good Jamaican food! Man! Then shortly after I wrote this, I decided to go to the place near campus... W OW! The escovitch fish was DELISH! These pickled carrots were amazing! & the menu is so extensive! Clearly I need to go back regularly!
9) One of my fb pet peeves is when someone says "Tag me on this picture!" You're looking at the picture... TAG YOURSELF!!!
10) Just as I suspected, I got my Food Network Magazine & Rachael Ray isn't in it. BOOOOOOOO!!!!
11) I don't know that I can trust Guy Fiori after learning he doen't like big breakfasts at home.
12) Little known fact, the president visited Pamela's Diner (and loved it) while campaigning in Pittsburgh... I'd already been there multiple times. Guess what that makes me? AWESOME! :)
13) It's funny that my professors are very aware of my sensitivity to length. I seriously cannot take long films. And it actually has very little to do with the actual length and more to do with the emotional length. As in that movie was only 73 minutes but felt like my entire life. That means there is not enough happening in the plot and there are too many dull moments for your film to sustain my attention. I've watched 2.5-3 hour films I didn't want to end (Sex & the City (more because of my previously acquired affinity for the characters), Amelie). Fix that.
1) After badgering from Rashan I bought some margarita mix... after I bought it I looked at the label: 0% juice. *shudder* That's disgusting. I only buy 100% juice but I have this drink "product." I gave it to him when he came here.
2) Every time I try to get my Netflix queue down, I end up adding more films! At this rate I will need to watch 750 films every year for the rest of my life.... and that ain't happenin. I think I'll watch 365 next year, though.
3) I'm going through serious "When Harry Met Sally" withdrawal. I haven't seen it since January or February and I usually watch at least once a month. I heard someone say "He's never gonna leave her" in a movie and I wanted to go watch it IMMEDIATELY. But since I'm still pretty far behind I decided against it. But it wasn't easy!! I WANT A REWARD FOR WATCHING 750 MOVIES WHEN THIS YEAR IS OVER!!!!
4) The other night I told Rashan, "I'm not here to be nice. I'm here to be awesome." Clearly that statement is proof.
5) Rashan told me my film reviews sometimes sound like I will scream if I hear someone mention the film. Lol. Hilarious. Yes I was aware of this though I wouldn't have put it like that. And well... sometimes I won't SCREAM per se but I'm not gonna be happy if you mention that film!
6) It's been a while since I heard heavy rain, you know living in the sunshine state. The rainy season has been over for about a month and I haven't heard heavy rain... that means the rain outside sounds strange! Which is also weird.
7) I wonder if Goldie Hawn can act... I liked her more before seeing her old stuff which is full of her playing the bubble-headed blonde. I feel bad for people when I see that.
8) Carib what? Before I got to Hampton I was completely ignorant of the nuances of Caribbean culture. I am by no means an expert now but I had no clue there were so many nations with so many cultural differences. I grew up in the SOUTH. Charlotte was not nearly as diverse then as it is now 20+ years later. I might've met a Jamaican & my cousin's mom was from the Virgin Islands... my parents went to the Bahamas on their honeymoon... before I was born... yeah.... Nothing. Enter HU. Suddenly I know Bajans, Trinis, beaucoup Jamaicans, I'm listening to reggae and hearing people speaking patois! CRAZY! I also had my first beef patty & cocoa bread. Chile please. You know it's ALL about the food for me! It's been a while since I had some good Jamaican food! Man! Then shortly after I wrote this, I decided to go to the place near campus... W OW! The escovitch fish was DELISH! These pickled carrots were amazing! & the menu is so extensive! Clearly I need to go back regularly!
9) One of my fb pet peeves is when someone says "Tag me on this picture!" You're looking at the picture... TAG YOURSELF!!!
10) Just as I suspected, I got my Food Network Magazine & Rachael Ray isn't in it. BOOOOOOOO!!!!
11) I don't know that I can trust Guy Fiori after learning he doen't like big breakfasts at home.
12) Little known fact, the president visited Pamela's Diner (and loved it) while campaigning in Pittsburgh... I'd already been there multiple times. Guess what that makes me? AWESOME! :)
13) It's funny that my professors are very aware of my sensitivity to length. I seriously cannot take long films. And it actually has very little to do with the actual length and more to do with the emotional length. As in that movie was only 73 minutes but felt like my entire life. That means there is not enough happening in the plot and there are too many dull moments for your film to sustain my attention. I've watched 2.5-3 hour films I didn't want to end (Sex & the City (more because of my previously acquired affinity for the characters), Amelie). Fix that.
11.01.2009
Crazy Movie Lady 40
***TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF NATIONAL BLOG POSTING MONTH! I'LL BE POSTING DAILY FOR THE NEXT 30 DAYS STARTING TODAY!!***
October 25-31, 2009
I passed 600 this week! WHOOOOOO HOOOOOO! Less than 150 to go! Do you understand how little that sounds to me right now???? (Yes, that's strange to me, too! Lol.) I'm still 12 behind BUT I was as many of 17 behind this week until I watched 6 in one day.
597. N.ew World Order. Documentary about conspiracy theorists who believe the 9/11 attacks were staged... I'm choosing to address this film from a purely film student level rather than talking about the topic... like I do with most to all of my reviews. Interesting choice to start the film in black with the voice of JFK. The next scenes were scary and disturbing. EXCELLENT sound quality. Focused at the beginning, but because they were showing different factions of conspiracy theorists, but using one as their main character, the film began to get convoluted after about half an hour. There were scenes which could've been easily chopped because they did not advance the (in some ways non-existent) plot. I'd be curious to know what the filmmakers consider the point of this movie other than giving a platform to people who are really passionate about a viewpoint millions disagree with. Since there were very few people in the film for very short amounts of time with opposing views, it became like a one-note song: boring. No matter the topic, particularly the longer the film, the more you need informational variety. 2 stars
598. Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I was kind of scared to watch this... Very dumb start. I didn't care at all about what happened to this guy Paul who wasa loser with the women & wanted to get a chick he should never be able to get. You could see everything as soon as it was about to happen. Ridiculous. I can see lots of people liking this but I wasn't one of them. 2 stars
599. Nothing Sacred. 1937 film about a woman who falsely believes she has radium poisoning and gets caught up with a big city reporter. Some great clothes and relatively amusing moments. It started to drag after about 50 minutes. By the end I didn't care what happened. 2.9 stars
600. Sunshine Cleaning. Amy Adams stars in this film about a woman who becomes a crime scene cleaner (with her lazy sister played by Emily Blunt) so she can send her son to private school. Alan Arkin gets to play a cantankerous grandfather again. Some lip flap in the 'Happy Birthday' song scene where the sound didn't match the picture. I really enjoyed this film. All of the roles were well-acted and the plot was allowed to develop rather than being forced along. 3.9 stars
601. Butterflies are Free. Goldie Hawn film about a woman who moves in next door to a young blind man and befriends him. The "I can't believe you're blind" scene dragged on for way too long. I would guess that's partially because we're so much more used to a world where people are different but also because it needed to be edited. The film was too aimless in the first hour. It took an interesting turn at that point but it was almost too late. It wasn't horrible, but the meandering was definitely a distracter. 2.9 stars
602. Manufacturing Dissent. Documentary about Canadian filmmakers (who couldn't stop talking about being Canadian) in love with Michael Moore who want to make a film about him but find themselves in hot pursuit of him trying to get just one interview. The film comes off as sour grapes as she unveils all the ethical issues Moore has throughout the making of his films and the possibility that he's not a very nice person. I'm not the biggest Moore fan but this film irritated me more than his most irritating film! How are you going to do the things you criticize him for doing? Probably the worst thing, though was the narration. FYI: Just because you make a film doesn't mean you have to narrate it. Also too long. At least Moore can tell an engaging (probably factually and/or chronologically shaky) story. 2 stars
603. Oh God! Rob Reiner directs John Denver and George Burns in this film about a grocery store clerk who sees God and tells people who don't believe him. Some heavy & heavy-handed environmental messages in here. Weird answers from God to some deep questions, but some great ones, also. Music from the 70s and 80s is so horribly dated. But in general a mildly interesting and mildly amusing film. 3.3 stars
604. Elsa and Fred. Spanish film about a boring widower who is befriended by his new feisty Argentinean neighbor who spices up his life. Slow moving but cute to see old love blossom. 3.4 stars
605. The Odd Couple. The original film starring Jack Lemmon & Walter Mathau about a neurotic divorcing man who moves in with his slob of a divorced friend. Of course mania ensues. 3.3 stars
606. Strait Jacket. Joan Crawford film about a woman who spent decades in an asylum for decapitating her husband and his lover and is now out. The narration rather than dialogue was a bit overplayed in the early minutes. Crawford gave her all to the role of crazy! There is an outrageous number of cheesy graphics and effects. It becomes apparent early on that she's not all together there. It was too poorly acted to be effective on the part of everyone around Crawford. The explanation at the end was the worst. 2.8 stars
607. Protagonist. Jessica Yu documentary about an obsession with self-control. She seems to love animation, even giving wooden puppetry a role in this film. Strange interweaving of the four principles which makes it feel almost frenetic. It was difficult to connect with each of them. After 15 minutes I'm still guessing about the connection between the four-- outsiders? It took me a while to get into it, not that the stories weren't interesting, but they became riveting. I had to push through the unorthodox manner of storytelling in the stories of these four men who have to overcome massive obstacles. I don't know that I would want to watch it again... but I might. 3.4 stars
608. Arranged. Two teachers, an Orthodox Jew and a Muslim, bond over a shared expectation of arranged marriage. I really enjoyed this film. Some of the roles were a little caricature-ish, but that didn't detract from the overall believability of the script. Enjoyable characters, well-written, enough drama without being overplayed, with a pleasing conclusion. 4.4 stars
609. Mad Money. Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah & Katie Holmes in a film about a rich woman whose husband lost his job so she gets one... at the federal reserve. They carry off a heist and tell the story in flashbacks... which as you can imagine, gets OLD.... fast. Remember what I said about Diane Keaton being typecast? Even her clothes look the same in every film. Strangely, though, this was still somewhat interesting because there was some non-silly humor built in. Why is the black woman the single mother of 2? This film was definitely too long for what it was but I actually kind of enjoyed it... which felt strange. The denouement was ridiculous. Way too long which brought down my rating. 3.3 stars
610. The Amazing Adventure. Early Cary Grant film about trust fund baby who makes a bet to live on next to nothing for a year. Strangely frenetic scene-setting. I like that I get to see my boyfriend CG very early on, though! :) The music, though enjoyable, was intrusive over the dialogue in the first scene. It was even worse in the fight scene. They also must have just learned these different wipes because just about every single one was used. The story line was interesting enough if a bit slowly-paced. Grant is as gallant as ever. 3.2 stars
611. The Big Sleep. Bogey and Bacall. Oh. yeah. Intriguing at the outset. Bogey plays a detective. It was very strange how willing everyone was to give information to Bogey with curiously little coercion. Interesting story line. It's kind of cute that they're menacing each other with a bunch of .22s. This is definitely a movie you have to pay attention to the entire time. Lose focus for one minute and you've missed a critical part of the story. I stayed engaged until the end. 3.9 stars
612. Chops. Documentary about Florida high school students learning the repertoire of Duke Ellington for a competition. There was some technical quality lacking in the cinematography but the editing and story line are entertaining and for the most part engaging. I don't know that in the early scenes the film was quite able to strike the balance between utilizing the music and being unnecessarily married to it. When rehearsals began it was more natural. How do they have not a single female jazz musician among the principle people they interview at the Florida school? Very strange. I liked seeing white and black kids coming together like a family. This film made me want to pick up a french horn for the first time in 9.5 years. I don't understand how the filmmakers spent 33 minutes on the first school, 5 on the second, then moved to a different school for 3 more minutes. Why? The first school was so lovingly developed that the others just feel like throwaways. That of course detracts from the overall continuity and feel of the film. It might've been more effective to just focus on the one school. OR if they were showing other favorites in the competition, it seems there was another way to do that. Wynton Marsalis wasn't too heavily used in this film but he injected some nice soul and additional fun. Some good suspense built in the climax. Any jazz fan should be all over this film. 4 stars
October 25-31, 2009
I passed 600 this week! WHOOOOOO HOOOOOO! Less than 150 to go! Do you understand how little that sounds to me right now???? (Yes, that's strange to me, too! Lol.) I'm still 12 behind BUT I was as many of 17 behind this week until I watched 6 in one day.
597. N.ew World Order. Documentary about conspiracy theorists who believe the 9/11 attacks were staged... I'm choosing to address this film from a purely film student level rather than talking about the topic... like I do with most to all of my reviews. Interesting choice to start the film in black with the voice of JFK. The next scenes were scary and disturbing. EXCELLENT sound quality. Focused at the beginning, but because they were showing different factions of conspiracy theorists, but using one as their main character, the film began to get convoluted after about half an hour. There were scenes which could've been easily chopped because they did not advance the (in some ways non-existent) plot. I'd be curious to know what the filmmakers consider the point of this movie other than giving a platform to people who are really passionate about a viewpoint millions disagree with. Since there were very few people in the film for very short amounts of time with opposing views, it became like a one-note song: boring. No matter the topic, particularly the longer the film, the more you need informational variety. 2 stars
598. Paul Blart: Mall Cop. I was kind of scared to watch this... Very dumb start. I didn't care at all about what happened to this guy Paul who wasa loser with the women & wanted to get a chick he should never be able to get. You could see everything as soon as it was about to happen. Ridiculous. I can see lots of people liking this but I wasn't one of them. 2 stars
599. Nothing Sacred. 1937 film about a woman who falsely believes she has radium poisoning and gets caught up with a big city reporter. Some great clothes and relatively amusing moments. It started to drag after about 50 minutes. By the end I didn't care what happened. 2.9 stars
600. Sunshine Cleaning. Amy Adams stars in this film about a woman who becomes a crime scene cleaner (with her lazy sister played by Emily Blunt) so she can send her son to private school. Alan Arkin gets to play a cantankerous grandfather again. Some lip flap in the 'Happy Birthday' song scene where the sound didn't match the picture. I really enjoyed this film. All of the roles were well-acted and the plot was allowed to develop rather than being forced along. 3.9 stars
601. Butterflies are Free. Goldie Hawn film about a woman who moves in next door to a young blind man and befriends him. The "I can't believe you're blind" scene dragged on for way too long. I would guess that's partially because we're so much more used to a world where people are different but also because it needed to be edited. The film was too aimless in the first hour. It took an interesting turn at that point but it was almost too late. It wasn't horrible, but the meandering was definitely a distracter. 2.9 stars
602. Manufacturing Dissent. Documentary about Canadian filmmakers (who couldn't stop talking about being Canadian) in love with Michael Moore who want to make a film about him but find themselves in hot pursuit of him trying to get just one interview. The film comes off as sour grapes as she unveils all the ethical issues Moore has throughout the making of his films and the possibility that he's not a very nice person. I'm not the biggest Moore fan but this film irritated me more than his most irritating film! How are you going to do the things you criticize him for doing? Probably the worst thing, though was the narration. FYI: Just because you make a film doesn't mean you have to narrate it. Also too long. At least Moore can tell an engaging (probably factually and/or chronologically shaky) story. 2 stars
603. Oh God! Rob Reiner directs John Denver and George Burns in this film about a grocery store clerk who sees God and tells people who don't believe him. Some heavy & heavy-handed environmental messages in here. Weird answers from God to some deep questions, but some great ones, also. Music from the 70s and 80s is so horribly dated. But in general a mildly interesting and mildly amusing film. 3.3 stars
604. Elsa and Fred. Spanish film about a boring widower who is befriended by his new feisty Argentinean neighbor who spices up his life. Slow moving but cute to see old love blossom. 3.4 stars
605. The Odd Couple. The original film starring Jack Lemmon & Walter Mathau about a neurotic divorcing man who moves in with his slob of a divorced friend. Of course mania ensues. 3.3 stars
606. Strait Jacket. Joan Crawford film about a woman who spent decades in an asylum for decapitating her husband and his lover and is now out. The narration rather than dialogue was a bit overplayed in the early minutes. Crawford gave her all to the role of crazy! There is an outrageous number of cheesy graphics and effects. It becomes apparent early on that she's not all together there. It was too poorly acted to be effective on the part of everyone around Crawford. The explanation at the end was the worst. 2.8 stars
607. Protagonist. Jessica Yu documentary about an obsession with self-control. She seems to love animation, even giving wooden puppetry a role in this film. Strange interweaving of the four principles which makes it feel almost frenetic. It was difficult to connect with each of them. After 15 minutes I'm still guessing about the connection between the four-- outsiders? It took me a while to get into it, not that the stories weren't interesting, but they became riveting. I had to push through the unorthodox manner of storytelling in the stories of these four men who have to overcome massive obstacles. I don't know that I would want to watch it again... but I might. 3.4 stars
608. Arranged. Two teachers, an Orthodox Jew and a Muslim, bond over a shared expectation of arranged marriage. I really enjoyed this film. Some of the roles were a little caricature-ish, but that didn't detract from the overall believability of the script. Enjoyable characters, well-written, enough drama without being overplayed, with a pleasing conclusion. 4.4 stars
609. Mad Money. Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah & Katie Holmes in a film about a rich woman whose husband lost his job so she gets one... at the federal reserve. They carry off a heist and tell the story in flashbacks... which as you can imagine, gets OLD.... fast. Remember what I said about Diane Keaton being typecast? Even her clothes look the same in every film. Strangely, though, this was still somewhat interesting because there was some non-silly humor built in. Why is the black woman the single mother of 2? This film was definitely too long for what it was but I actually kind of enjoyed it... which felt strange. The denouement was ridiculous. Way too long which brought down my rating. 3.3 stars
610. The Amazing Adventure. Early Cary Grant film about trust fund baby who makes a bet to live on next to nothing for a year. Strangely frenetic scene-setting. I like that I get to see my boyfriend CG very early on, though! :) The music, though enjoyable, was intrusive over the dialogue in the first scene. It was even worse in the fight scene. They also must have just learned these different wipes because just about every single one was used. The story line was interesting enough if a bit slowly-paced. Grant is as gallant as ever. 3.2 stars
611. The Big Sleep. Bogey and Bacall. Oh. yeah. Intriguing at the outset. Bogey plays a detective. It was very strange how willing everyone was to give information to Bogey with curiously little coercion. Interesting story line. It's kind of cute that they're menacing each other with a bunch of .22s. This is definitely a movie you have to pay attention to the entire time. Lose focus for one minute and you've missed a critical part of the story. I stayed engaged until the end. 3.9 stars
612. Chops. Documentary about Florida high school students learning the repertoire of Duke Ellington for a competition. There was some technical quality lacking in the cinematography but the editing and story line are entertaining and for the most part engaging. I don't know that in the early scenes the film was quite able to strike the balance between utilizing the music and being unnecessarily married to it. When rehearsals began it was more natural. How do they have not a single female jazz musician among the principle people they interview at the Florida school? Very strange. I liked seeing white and black kids coming together like a family. This film made me want to pick up a french horn for the first time in 9.5 years. I don't understand how the filmmakers spent 33 minutes on the first school, 5 on the second, then moved to a different school for 3 more minutes. Why? The first school was so lovingly developed that the others just feel like throwaways. That of course detracts from the overall continuity and feel of the film. It might've been more effective to just focus on the one school. OR if they were showing other favorites in the competition, it seems there was another way to do that. Wynton Marsalis wasn't too heavily used in this film but he injected some nice soul and additional fun. Some good suspense built in the climax. Any jazz fan should be all over this film. 4 stars
10.29.2009
Project Runway Recap
My Project Runway recap is back!! Consider yourself warned, there are spoilers! Matter of fact, if you hate spoilers and haven't seen it, just come back after you have because this entire post is a spoiler.
Who cares how many women v. men there are? Pas moi.
Guess what Logan? You should've won if you wanted to see your stuff up there. The boys need to go home. Logan has potential... maybe... but Chris? Ugh. It's BEEN time for him to leave!!
OOOOH! Zippers galore!!
Did you say 30 yards of fabric Chris? That's stupid. No one needs 30 yards of fabric for one dress! Oh that's right, no fashion school for you... and still I'm going to call that what it is... #notanexcuse
Did you say the fabric doesn't matter? Weird, Carol Hannah. Why do you need to be told to work with what you're good at? These people baffle me.
Irina's fabric looks like Russian drapes. Vodka.
I like Althea. LOLOLOL @ Malvin's pants!! Those were horrid!!! I had totally forgotten abt that! Mr. Chickenegg pants. LOGAN! Wouldn't you be sensitive if someone compared your stuff to a loser's??? Wait you have no winning designs so...
Wait are there only 6 left? I've only heard that 98xs in 16 minutes.
I don't think your parents need education for you to be a fashion designer. Just FYI. That has nothing to do with anything.
Did you say they'll recognize a Christopher piece like that's a good thing? It's not.
CH... why did Tim just save you? Guess you better bring him to your workroom after you leave the show!
Chris.. that is ugly wedding meets dramatic funeral.
Althea... don't you think the judges will call him out if it's like yours? Of course messy Irina is egging you on and telling you to call him out. FOCUS!!!!!
LOL @ why is one dress thowing up the other? Such an Irina (yet accurate) thing to say!! I'm calling final three right now: Irina, Althea, Carol Hannah. Ugh. Where is Ramon???
Gordana... that is such a mess. Go home!! You AND Chris!! GEEZ!!!! Irina's right Althea... that is curiously like the Aspen look. Irina still irritates me.
Nick!! Where's Michael Kors AGAIN!?!? That bastard. He's forsaking me way too much this season!!!!! Kerry Washington... she never does it for me...
Carol... that top is not hot! It doesn't fit! Why is it gaping so much?
Alethea love the back of that top but the pants... I know you call that a paper bag waist but it still looks diapery to me.
Logan... I'm not sure about that... I'm very confused by everything happening there.
Irina... quite a cohesive look... it would be more fun if you sucked because you're so evil.
Gordana... what? Ew. I love how ye of the matronly looks think you're going to bring back long jackets. Yeah comma right.
Chris... No. No, no.
Nina, I think the dress is a bit tight, too. If that model looks like she has a pooch... there's no hope for the rest of us. Plus I'm not in the Sound of Music. I don't want to wear drapes.
LOLOLOL @ Heidi on Gordana! "You decided to make this look not edgy." Hilarity. Def. looks very plain jane. YAAAAAAAAAWN. Oops I fell asleep. Of course you like it. Go home.
Logan, HOW is that in the same collection?? B/c they're the same colors??? Wow Nina! "Fashion project from a student." Ew. & Judy Jetson... lol. When was the last time Logan washed his hair? I can feel the grease from over here. Wow Irina... I know Althea's gonna go back and cry!! LOLOLOL!! She's so about to say Irina betrayed her!
The judges are doing this evil laughter thing today that's making me uncomfortable! How was this a tough decision? My bottom three are in the bottom three. Let's go ahead and send them home. Thanks.
Gordana clearly you're in by the skin of your teeth. You and Chris. One of you next week. Adios Logan. I don't get it & I'm not in 'middle America.' Everyone in Kansas now hates you. Lol.
Who cares how many women v. men there are? Pas moi.
Guess what Logan? You should've won if you wanted to see your stuff up there. The boys need to go home. Logan has potential... maybe... but Chris? Ugh. It's BEEN time for him to leave!!
OOOOH! Zippers galore!!
Did you say 30 yards of fabric Chris? That's stupid. No one needs 30 yards of fabric for one dress! Oh that's right, no fashion school for you... and still I'm going to call that what it is... #notanexcuse
Did you say the fabric doesn't matter? Weird, Carol Hannah. Why do you need to be told to work with what you're good at? These people baffle me.
Irina's fabric looks like Russian drapes. Vodka.
I like Althea. LOLOLOL @ Malvin's pants!! Those were horrid!!! I had totally forgotten abt that! Mr. Chickenegg pants. LOGAN! Wouldn't you be sensitive if someone compared your stuff to a loser's??? Wait you have no winning designs so...
Wait are there only 6 left? I've only heard that 98xs in 16 minutes.
I don't think your parents need education for you to be a fashion designer. Just FYI. That has nothing to do with anything.
Did you say they'll recognize a Christopher piece like that's a good thing? It's not.
CH... why did Tim just save you? Guess you better bring him to your workroom after you leave the show!
Chris.. that is ugly wedding meets dramatic funeral.
Althea... don't you think the judges will call him out if it's like yours? Of course messy Irina is egging you on and telling you to call him out. FOCUS!!!!!
LOL @ why is one dress thowing up the other? Such an Irina (yet accurate) thing to say!! I'm calling final three right now: Irina, Althea, Carol Hannah. Ugh. Where is Ramon???
Gordana... that is such a mess. Go home!! You AND Chris!! GEEZ!!!! Irina's right Althea... that is curiously like the Aspen look. Irina still irritates me.
Nick!! Where's Michael Kors AGAIN!?!? That bastard. He's forsaking me way too much this season!!!!! Kerry Washington... she never does it for me...
Carol... that top is not hot! It doesn't fit! Why is it gaping so much?
Alethea love the back of that top but the pants... I know you call that a paper bag waist but it still looks diapery to me.
Logan... I'm not sure about that... I'm very confused by everything happening there.
Irina... quite a cohesive look... it would be more fun if you sucked because you're so evil.
Gordana... what? Ew. I love how ye of the matronly looks think you're going to bring back long jackets. Yeah comma right.
Chris... No. No, no.
Nina, I think the dress is a bit tight, too. If that model looks like she has a pooch... there's no hope for the rest of us. Plus I'm not in the Sound of Music. I don't want to wear drapes.
LOLOLOL @ Heidi on Gordana! "You decided to make this look not edgy." Hilarity. Def. looks very plain jane. YAAAAAAAAAWN. Oops I fell asleep. Of course you like it. Go home.
Logan, HOW is that in the same collection?? B/c they're the same colors??? Wow Nina! "Fashion project from a student." Ew. & Judy Jetson... lol. When was the last time Logan washed his hair? I can feel the grease from over here. Wow Irina... I know Althea's gonna go back and cry!! LOLOLOL!! She's so about to say Irina betrayed her!
The judges are doing this evil laughter thing today that's making me uncomfortable! How was this a tough decision? My bottom three are in the bottom three. Let's go ahead and send them home. Thanks.
Gordana clearly you're in by the skin of your teeth. You and Chris. One of you next week. Adios Logan. I don't get it & I'm not in 'middle America.' Everyone in Kansas now hates you. Lol.
10.28.2009
Buried Alive!!!
When I opened my Rachael Ray magazine in October I was taken aback to see buried alive muffins. Those joints looked CREEPY! So I knew I had to do it! Lolololol. Would you like to see the process? Here it goes! First I had to buy dolls to cut off the arms because the baby arms alone were either unavailable or too expensive. Dollar store = $6. But that meant hard labor decapitating and de-handing the dolls. Is there not an official word for de-handing? Like demanualing? Anyway...
I first held it lovingly, feeling creepy about what I was about to do.... Then I got into the Halloween spirit. Look at the shock! Don't you almost feel like the expressions are changing with each picture? Lololol
This is one of the creepiest ones. The collection of heads and hands on my bed.
Time to get clean! Everybody in the pool! Well... at least your heads and hands....
Is this not the cutest, cleanest little graveyard ever?
Mmm! Chocolatey!
IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!
This was a lot of work but I had so much fun! I couldn't stop giggling! Maybe I'll do it again in future Halloweens! The reaction of my classmates was HILARIOUS!! I got double takes as they walked in the room & shocked laughter, as well as them taking photographs. SO FUNNY!! LOLOLOL.
I first held it lovingly, feeling creepy about what I was about to do.... Then I got into the Halloween spirit. Look at the shock! Don't you almost feel like the expressions are changing with each picture? Lololol
This is one of the creepiest ones. The collection of heads and hands on my bed.
Time to get clean! Everybody in the pool! Well... at least your heads and hands....
Is this not the cutest, cleanest little graveyard ever?
Mmm! Chocolatey!
IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!
This was a lot of work but I had so much fun! I couldn't stop giggling! Maybe I'll do it again in future Halloweens! The reaction of my classmates was HILARIOUS!! I got double takes as they walked in the room & shocked laughter, as well as them taking photographs. SO FUNNY!! LOLOLOL.
Halloween Surprise!!
I don't want to ruin the surprise, but make sure you check back at one this afternoon for a look at what I have in store for my classmates (with pictures). It's gonna be AWESOME!!! LOLOLOLOLOLOL!!
10.26.2009
Monday Mindspacing Vol. 21
1) It never stops looking fruity for one man to light another man's cigarette. No matter how many classic films I watch.
2) I really wish Netflix would stop classifying every old movie as a classic. That is a lie.
3) I regularly see what Rashan's commented on the blogs we both read and say to myself, "Self..." Lol. J/k. But I regularly respond to him in the comments... WHY DO I DO THIS!? I assume because I'm so used to having a dialogue with him. 15 months into our relationship we still talk a minimum of 1.5 hours a day (usually only that short on Wednesdays when I'm exhausted) and up to 6 hours, but on average 4 hours a day. Sometimes I feel bad for responding to him in other people's comments. Then I get over it. It's the nature of the beast.
4) Though this thought is probably unpopular, I heartily disapprove of living in the same state your entire life. It really does help you to live outside of your comfort zone. EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS! It's fun! It's actually really uncomfortable at first, but you adjust. And if nothing else, you learn things about yourself. If I hadn't left Charlotte I may never have started blogging and can you imagine that world? You wouldn't have me! And neither would Rashan! Tears all around. Pass the tissues.
5) I told my thesis partner about the fried butter at the Texas state fair & he balked, said, "WHAT?! I don't understand Texas." Lololol. I've never been to Texas but he said the airports were enough for him. HILARIOUS! I'm totally going to Texas one day! Fave roomie lives there AND obviously there is some of the Mexican food in the world in that state. I'm salivating thinking about it... seriously.
6) VH1 did a celebrity list talking about who had the best lips. Of the women for consideration, there were NO black women. YEAH. RIGHT. Rashan's response to the list upon hearing this? "Invalid." Word.
7) I'm increasingly irritated by the bickering & outside the kitchen/work room stuff on Top Chef & Project Runway. I do NOT care if you don't like your competitor. As so many of you love to say, "You're not here to make friends." BTW, retire that saying.
8) My mom told me she doesn't want to live to be 100. I didn't appreciate that. I didn't even think to bargain with her and ask for 99.99. I'm seriously slacking in my debating. I think I was scared to ask her when she was planning on leaving. I'm not having it! YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER!! (For those of you concerned, I'm pretty comfortable with death b/c I experienced it a lot when I was younger. I don't like it but recognize it as a part of life.)
8) During my perusal of some of my old posts, I realized something. I was hilarious! Lol! I had so much energy two years ago! I'm not saying I don't now but I've certainly calmed down. Lol. This one cracked me up!!
9) I tried chocolate-dipped bacon at the fair... just because I'd heard of it. Dude... I was not a fan. Partly because it was cold. Cold bacon doesn't have nearly the appeal of hot bacon. Rashan didn't mind it, though. He actually liked it! I felt ill afterward.
10) I'm working on my 30 things to do before 30 list... I should hurry up and finish it to give myself 2.75 years to complete it! Suggestions? Travel is already pretty high on the list... as in at least 3 of the items!
11) Rashan saw the craziest part of me early Saturday morning... and stayed around. Bless his heart. Lol. MINE! ALL MINE!!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
12) I went to the game alone last week because my one classmate who also has season tix didn't go. Turns out I didn't mind it at all. Gator nation is real! We all enjoyed the game together! Plus I didn't feel so pressured to stand the entire time so it helped not to have to do that. AND my feet felt much less painful at the end of the night! SCORE!!
13) I get pretty funky when I have bad service... so much so that Rashan would rather get takeout than have to deal w/the possibility of hearing my irritation over it. Lolol. Whatev! Make them get it together!! PLEASE!
14) Rashan said the reason so many of you commented on the relationship post is b/c you think we're getting married... IS THIS TRUE??? Because if so, y'all should calm down! Lol.
2) I really wish Netflix would stop classifying every old movie as a classic. That is a lie.
3) I regularly see what Rashan's commented on the blogs we both read and say to myself, "Self..." Lol. J/k. But I regularly respond to him in the comments... WHY DO I DO THIS!? I assume because I'm so used to having a dialogue with him. 15 months into our relationship we still talk a minimum of 1.5 hours a day (usually only that short on Wednesdays when I'm exhausted) and up to 6 hours, but on average 4 hours a day. Sometimes I feel bad for responding to him in other people's comments. Then I get over it. It's the nature of the beast.
4) Though this thought is probably unpopular, I heartily disapprove of living in the same state your entire life. It really does help you to live outside of your comfort zone. EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS! It's fun! It's actually really uncomfortable at first, but you adjust. And if nothing else, you learn things about yourself. If I hadn't left Charlotte I may never have started blogging and can you imagine that world? You wouldn't have me! And neither would Rashan! Tears all around. Pass the tissues.
5) I told my thesis partner about the fried butter at the Texas state fair & he balked, said, "WHAT?! I don't understand Texas." Lololol. I've never been to Texas but he said the airports were enough for him. HILARIOUS! I'm totally going to Texas one day! Fave roomie lives there AND obviously there is some of the Mexican food in the world in that state. I'm salivating thinking about it... seriously.
6) VH1 did a celebrity list talking about who had the best lips. Of the women for consideration, there were NO black women. YEAH. RIGHT. Rashan's response to the list upon hearing this? "Invalid." Word.
7) I'm increasingly irritated by the bickering & outside the kitchen/work room stuff on Top Chef & Project Runway. I do NOT care if you don't like your competitor. As so many of you love to say, "You're not here to make friends." BTW, retire that saying.
8) My mom told me she doesn't want to live to be 100. I didn't appreciate that. I didn't even think to bargain with her and ask for 99.99. I'm seriously slacking in my debating. I think I was scared to ask her when she was planning on leaving. I'm not having it! YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER!! (For those of you concerned, I'm pretty comfortable with death b/c I experienced it a lot when I was younger. I don't like it but recognize it as a part of life.)
8) During my perusal of some of my old posts, I realized something. I was hilarious! Lol! I had so much energy two years ago! I'm not saying I don't now but I've certainly calmed down. Lol. This one cracked me up!!
9) I tried chocolate-dipped bacon at the fair... just because I'd heard of it. Dude... I was not a fan. Partly because it was cold. Cold bacon doesn't have nearly the appeal of hot bacon. Rashan didn't mind it, though. He actually liked it! I felt ill afterward.
10) I'm working on my 30 things to do before 30 list... I should hurry up and finish it to give myself 2.75 years to complete it! Suggestions? Travel is already pretty high on the list... as in at least 3 of the items!
11) Rashan saw the craziest part of me early Saturday morning... and stayed around. Bless his heart. Lol. MINE! ALL MINE!!! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
12) I went to the game alone last week because my one classmate who also has season tix didn't go. Turns out I didn't mind it at all. Gator nation is real! We all enjoyed the game together! Plus I didn't feel so pressured to stand the entire time so it helped not to have to do that. AND my feet felt much less painful at the end of the night! SCORE!!
13) I get pretty funky when I have bad service... so much so that Rashan would rather get takeout than have to deal w/the possibility of hearing my irritation over it. Lolol. Whatev! Make them get it together!! PLEASE!
14) Rashan said the reason so many of you commented on the relationship post is b/c you think we're getting married... IS THIS TRUE??? Because if so, y'all should calm down! Lol.
10.25.2009
Crazy Movie Lady 39
October 18-24, 2009
This week I got behind a little. I'm still in the double digits behind! Too much actual immediately applicable work to do. Eventually I'll catch up. Lots of docs this week.
584. Punch Drunk Love. Adam Sandler film about a man with 7 overbearing sisters. Irritating, intrusive music. The first 10 minutes gave me no idea of what the film was about. I got that he was a loser but that's about it. A very austere, clinical look to this film. Stylistic choice I cared nothing about. There was the most ridiculous awkward phone s.ex conversation ever. Why me? This film was shot in an extremely irritating manner. And the editing along with the music created a ridiculously unnecessarily frenetic & boring pace. It got mildly interesting after an hour & 15 minutes. If you think that wasn't enough, you're right. Especially since it then got irritating again. I never want to see it again. Ever. 1 star
585. Cleopatra: A Life's Journey. Argintinean film about two women who meet by chance, one rich and famous, the other poor and struggling who escape their lives for a few days. Wandering story line punctuated by entire songs where the characters just sat and thought. Interesting characters but the wandering wearied me after a while. 3.4 stars
586. How to Marry A Millionaire. Three gold-diggers live together and collaborate on how to snare a very rich man. Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable. Quite the trifecta! Bizarre six-minute on camera orchestral overture before the credits. It was a beautiful song, but let's get to the film, already, shall we, kids? As you'd expect, some marvelous clothes. Intriguing, nicely-paced film. I laughed out loud a couple of times at the hijinks as they found some horrible millionaires and great poor guys. (Figures.) Loved the end. Very funny. 4.3 stars
587. New York Doll. Documentary about the rock band the New York Dolls and their ups and downs. Some interesting and effective layering of archival images. The blending along with interviews, music & editing very quickly set a rock and roll scene. But it also has the impact of sounding like the story you've always heard about how drugs took down a rock & roller. The layering became a crutch early on, though. There were a lot of unnecessarily disorienting blurry shots. I had to adjust my eyes constantly. If it was in an effort to show the mood of the music, the editing style got that across just fine. The story then took an unusual turn. It was irritating to watch the story go back and forth in time repeatedly-- he's in the "present" and everyone else is in the future (? I guess...) They're talking in past tense and he's in future tense. The filmmaker inserted himself via questions in some unnecessary ways as well. I didn't understand why other people were talking about how the people in the film felt at certain times. Very bizarre. The synopsis really could've made this sound like a much more interesting film by even being honest about what the film is. I really liked the music. The structure and editing were unnecessarily frustrating. Toward the end the intercutting of concert footage was fantastic. Definitely too long. Anticlimactic after the huge moment they somewhat inadequately built toward. The last 15 minutes needed to be restructured to bring out and focus on the great material they had. 3.4 stars
588. Stranger with A Camera. Documentary about an eastern Kentucky landowner who shot a Canadian filmmaker making a film about poverty in his area in 1967. This film was from the perspective of a girl who grew up near the area, but in a middle class family. It was a bit long, the narration was a bit oppressive and irritating. The film was heavily slanted in strange ways. I wouldn't want to watch this again. 2.8 stars
589. Notorious. Hitchcock film (it's been a while, eh?) with Carey Grant & Ingrid Bergman. WHAT?! I can't take that level of awesome and I haven't even rolled the opening credits yet... A suspenseful story of espionage. Loved it! Extremely crazy. 4.8 stars
590. Greenfingers. British film with Clive Owen & Helen Mirren about a criinal who becomes a gardener in prison. The dialogue was written predictably and sometimes even tritely. Lame music. Only mildly interesting. Some fabulous hats on Mirren, though. 2.9 stars
591. Heart of the Game. Documentary about a successful girls high school basketball team in Seattle. I don't understand why Ludacris narrates this other than to get some buzz but more importantly I don't understand why the narration is written in this manner. It was pretty obvious that they started shooting this film after most of the groundwork had been set i.e. partway through their first season. So they spent some boring time in back story to explain what we missed. They go too quickly through two seasons then take an unnecessary break to get some coach back story. I think my biggest issue with this film other than the amount of characters is that so many issues and angles are introduced and not fleshed out. It's like you're getting constant snapshots and no complete pictures. And that serves as making the film feel long and somewhat dissatisfying. This is also a result of following the team/coach for such a protracted amount of time-- at least 7 years. The game sections are not edited/written tightly enough to get the game across without overdoing it. It steals the momentum from a fast-paced game. Use of announcer voiceover inexplicable toward the end saying what has been long-established. That said, the actual end of the film was still very emotional. 3.7 stars
592. Brooklyn Bridge. Ken Burns documentary about the aforementioned. Probably overly detailed about the construction, dedicating more than 35 minutes of the film to the subject, which makes it at times excruciating to watch. Obviously an amazing amount of research went into this film to find all the letters & documents involved. However, it feels more like a history class than a documentary. This film adds to the notion that documentary means boring. It absolutely could have been 30 minutes long. I didn't hate it but it was difficult to watch at times. The chronology was strangely ignored in parts toward the end. Some of the non-historical things included seemed strangely out of place. Like does this add to what the film's thesis is or is it just something the filmmaker likes that happens to mention or show the bridge? It seems overwhelmingly like the latter is true which is what makes the end really drag. 3 stars
593. Standard Operating Procedure. Errol Morris documentary about the 100s of photographs taken by soldiers at Abu Ghraib. This is so up his alley with the investigation into when the pictures were taken. The reenactments were over the top at times. The digital graphics went right into the austere look of the film. Very stylistic. Because he talked to a lot of the people who were there when the photos were taken and were in the photos, it made these soldiers, most of whom were kids at the time, seem like naive idiots. Not through the filmmaker's fault, but the soldiers. Great research to get the information in the film. It was a little too detailed and incredibly long. This could easily have been called 'Lessons Learned' for these kids. 3.5 stars
594. Cleaner. Beautifully shot & stylized film starring Samuel L. Jackson as a single father to Keke Palmer. Jackson is a crime scene cleaner who suspects a cover-up that the home of Eva Mendes. Intriguing from the outset. After an hour it became trite and predictable. That doesn't mean I knew everything that was happening as it happened. But it made the ending less satisfying. 3.6 stars
595. A Touch of Greatness. Documentary about a very creative teacher in Rye, NY in the 1950s and 60s. Far too heavy on interviews. They had this great archival footage which they took too long to explain. Why had they been taped? For another documentary? I wanted to see that most of all, though. It was much more interesting than these reminiscing "testimonials" from the teacher and his students. The interviews made it feel incredibly long. Very slow pacing. 3 stars
596. The Perfect Holiday. Morris Chestnut & Gabrielle Union. Faizon Love, Terrence Howard, Charlie Murphy, Queen Latifah, Katt Williams. Had all the cast makings of a potentially bad movie. Rashan made me watch this. I had very low expectations. I wanna know who costumed Union. HORRIBLE clothing choices. Stupid, predictable, silly, cliché. Poor acting. At 90 minutes it was still excruciatingly long. Never. Again. 2 stars
This week I got behind a little. I'm still in the double digits behind! Too much actual immediately applicable work to do. Eventually I'll catch up. Lots of docs this week.
584. Punch Drunk Love. Adam Sandler film about a man with 7 overbearing sisters. Irritating, intrusive music. The first 10 minutes gave me no idea of what the film was about. I got that he was a loser but that's about it. A very austere, clinical look to this film. Stylistic choice I cared nothing about. There was the most ridiculous awkward phone s.ex conversation ever. Why me? This film was shot in an extremely irritating manner. And the editing along with the music created a ridiculously unnecessarily frenetic & boring pace. It got mildly interesting after an hour & 15 minutes. If you think that wasn't enough, you're right. Especially since it then got irritating again. I never want to see it again. Ever. 1 star
585. Cleopatra: A Life's Journey. Argintinean film about two women who meet by chance, one rich and famous, the other poor and struggling who escape their lives for a few days. Wandering story line punctuated by entire songs where the characters just sat and thought. Interesting characters but the wandering wearied me after a while. 3.4 stars
586. How to Marry A Millionaire. Three gold-diggers live together and collaborate on how to snare a very rich man. Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable. Quite the trifecta! Bizarre six-minute on camera orchestral overture before the credits. It was a beautiful song, but let's get to the film, already, shall we, kids? As you'd expect, some marvelous clothes. Intriguing, nicely-paced film. I laughed out loud a couple of times at the hijinks as they found some horrible millionaires and great poor guys. (Figures.) Loved the end. Very funny. 4.3 stars
587. New York Doll. Documentary about the rock band the New York Dolls and their ups and downs. Some interesting and effective layering of archival images. The blending along with interviews, music & editing very quickly set a rock and roll scene. But it also has the impact of sounding like the story you've always heard about how drugs took down a rock & roller. The layering became a crutch early on, though. There were a lot of unnecessarily disorienting blurry shots. I had to adjust my eyes constantly. If it was in an effort to show the mood of the music, the editing style got that across just fine. The story then took an unusual turn. It was irritating to watch the story go back and forth in time repeatedly-- he's in the "present" and everyone else is in the future (? I guess...) They're talking in past tense and he's in future tense. The filmmaker inserted himself via questions in some unnecessary ways as well. I didn't understand why other people were talking about how the people in the film felt at certain times. Very bizarre. The synopsis really could've made this sound like a much more interesting film by even being honest about what the film is. I really liked the music. The structure and editing were unnecessarily frustrating. Toward the end the intercutting of concert footage was fantastic. Definitely too long. Anticlimactic after the huge moment they somewhat inadequately built toward. The last 15 minutes needed to be restructured to bring out and focus on the great material they had. 3.4 stars
588. Stranger with A Camera. Documentary about an eastern Kentucky landowner who shot a Canadian filmmaker making a film about poverty in his area in 1967. This film was from the perspective of a girl who grew up near the area, but in a middle class family. It was a bit long, the narration was a bit oppressive and irritating. The film was heavily slanted in strange ways. I wouldn't want to watch this again. 2.8 stars
589. Notorious. Hitchcock film (it's been a while, eh?) with Carey Grant & Ingrid Bergman. WHAT?! I can't take that level of awesome and I haven't even rolled the opening credits yet... A suspenseful story of espionage. Loved it! Extremely crazy. 4.8 stars
590. Greenfingers. British film with Clive Owen & Helen Mirren about a criinal who becomes a gardener in prison. The dialogue was written predictably and sometimes even tritely. Lame music. Only mildly interesting. Some fabulous hats on Mirren, though. 2.9 stars
591. Heart of the Game. Documentary about a successful girls high school basketball team in Seattle. I don't understand why Ludacris narrates this other than to get some buzz but more importantly I don't understand why the narration is written in this manner. It was pretty obvious that they started shooting this film after most of the groundwork had been set i.e. partway through their first season. So they spent some boring time in back story to explain what we missed. They go too quickly through two seasons then take an unnecessary break to get some coach back story. I think my biggest issue with this film other than the amount of characters is that so many issues and angles are introduced and not fleshed out. It's like you're getting constant snapshots and no complete pictures. And that serves as making the film feel long and somewhat dissatisfying. This is also a result of following the team/coach for such a protracted amount of time-- at least 7 years. The game sections are not edited/written tightly enough to get the game across without overdoing it. It steals the momentum from a fast-paced game. Use of announcer voiceover inexplicable toward the end saying what has been long-established. That said, the actual end of the film was still very emotional. 3.7 stars
592. Brooklyn Bridge. Ken Burns documentary about the aforementioned. Probably overly detailed about the construction, dedicating more than 35 minutes of the film to the subject, which makes it at times excruciating to watch. Obviously an amazing amount of research went into this film to find all the letters & documents involved. However, it feels more like a history class than a documentary. This film adds to the notion that documentary means boring. It absolutely could have been 30 minutes long. I didn't hate it but it was difficult to watch at times. The chronology was strangely ignored in parts toward the end. Some of the non-historical things included seemed strangely out of place. Like does this add to what the film's thesis is or is it just something the filmmaker likes that happens to mention or show the bridge? It seems overwhelmingly like the latter is true which is what makes the end really drag. 3 stars
593. Standard Operating Procedure. Errol Morris documentary about the 100s of photographs taken by soldiers at Abu Ghraib. This is so up his alley with the investigation into when the pictures were taken. The reenactments were over the top at times. The digital graphics went right into the austere look of the film. Very stylistic. Because he talked to a lot of the people who were there when the photos were taken and were in the photos, it made these soldiers, most of whom were kids at the time, seem like naive idiots. Not through the filmmaker's fault, but the soldiers. Great research to get the information in the film. It was a little too detailed and incredibly long. This could easily have been called 'Lessons Learned' for these kids. 3.5 stars
594. Cleaner. Beautifully shot & stylized film starring Samuel L. Jackson as a single father to Keke Palmer. Jackson is a crime scene cleaner who suspects a cover-up that the home of Eva Mendes. Intriguing from the outset. After an hour it became trite and predictable. That doesn't mean I knew everything that was happening as it happened. But it made the ending less satisfying. 3.6 stars
595. A Touch of Greatness. Documentary about a very creative teacher in Rye, NY in the 1950s and 60s. Far too heavy on interviews. They had this great archival footage which they took too long to explain. Why had they been taped? For another documentary? I wanted to see that most of all, though. It was much more interesting than these reminiscing "testimonials" from the teacher and his students. The interviews made it feel incredibly long. Very slow pacing. 3 stars
596. The Perfect Holiday. Morris Chestnut & Gabrielle Union. Faizon Love, Terrence Howard, Charlie Murphy, Queen Latifah, Katt Williams. Had all the cast makings of a potentially bad movie. Rashan made me watch this. I had very low expectations. I wanna know who costumed Union. HORRIBLE clothing choices. Stupid, predictable, silly, cliché. Poor acting. At 90 minutes it was still excruciatingly long. Never. Again. 2 stars
10.21.2009
In A Relationship
Rashan added me as his girlfriend on fb last week and I know it's weird but I felt mad naked as soon as it happened! There are pics of us all over, I talk about him all the time, and yet with that relationship status on fb, I was freaked out! I've gotten over it, though. Funniest? The wording of the email fb sent me to confirm, "Rashan said on Facebook that you two are in a relationship. We need you to confirm that you are, in fact, in a relationship with Rashan." Who wrote that first sentence? Are they out of elementary school? Because that was written like a tattling 5th grader. And the second sentence is almost like a lawyer wrote it. If so, why didn't he/she proof read the first part? Side eye, fb. Side eye.
I don't appreciate my mom's friend who said, "Ooh! New relationship! Congrats! Details! :)" I said, "Thanks. We've been together about 15 months." (Which all of my closest friends, not close friends, people I've met a couple of times, former coworkers, classmates, parents, close and kind of close relatives, bloggers and lurkers and his bloggers and lurkers know... i.e. 100s of people....) She said, "Well make sure you keep me posted so I have plenty of time to buy a dress! ;-)" Face. Are you serious? I haven't spoken to you in more than 20 YEARS. And neither has my mom!!! I didn't want to add you on facebook but you requested me until I said yes. At least 3xs. I have this thing about strangers "friending" me. I don't like it. I know bloggers who post once a week better than I know you. And you're old. Old people on fb creep me out... including my mother... who does not text or have the internet at home but now wants to join twitter. STOP WATCHING OPRAH RIGHT NOW, MOM!!
When I get married to whoever I get married to, it will be relatively small. I have plenty of cousins I don't know like that who won't be getting invited. (Remember I have at least 36 first cousins.) I.e. I know we're cousins but 1) what's your last name? 2) what's your first name? 3) I wouldn't recognize you on the street. I don't want to be surrounded by strangers on that day. Fall back. My mom was surprised by my reaction and said, "She's known you since you were a little girl! I don't think it's unreasonable that she would think she'd be invited to your wedding." Um... yeah... but again... 20 years??? Get your life together. Okay maybe that last line was harsh but come on. I will have a destination wedding just to discourage people like you. Hmmm... methinks that probably wasn't less harsh... What is wrong with people? Here is where I welcome your input. Not what I'd say to her because she's getting ignored but go crazy with what YOU would say to her. Also give some actual crazy "I can't believe you didn't invite me to your wedding!" story or an example of someone who would say that to you and get the ug mug. Have fun!
I don't appreciate my mom's friend who said, "Ooh! New relationship! Congrats! Details! :)" I said, "Thanks. We've been together about 15 months." (Which all of my closest friends, not close friends, people I've met a couple of times, former coworkers, classmates, parents, close and kind of close relatives, bloggers and lurkers and his bloggers and lurkers know... i.e. 100s of people....) She said, "Well make sure you keep me posted so I have plenty of time to buy a dress! ;-)" Face. Are you serious? I haven't spoken to you in more than 20 YEARS. And neither has my mom!!! I didn't want to add you on facebook but you requested me until I said yes. At least 3xs. I have this thing about strangers "friending" me. I don't like it. I know bloggers who post once a week better than I know you. And you're old. Old people on fb creep me out... including my mother... who does not text or have the internet at home but now wants to join twitter. STOP WATCHING OPRAH RIGHT NOW, MOM!!
When I get married to whoever I get married to, it will be relatively small. I have plenty of cousins I don't know like that who won't be getting invited. (Remember I have at least 36 first cousins.) I.e. I know we're cousins but 1) what's your last name? 2) what's your first name? 3) I wouldn't recognize you on the street. I don't want to be surrounded by strangers on that day. Fall back. My mom was surprised by my reaction and said, "She's known you since you were a little girl! I don't think it's unreasonable that she would think she'd be invited to your wedding." Um... yeah... but again... 20 years??? Get your life together. Okay maybe that last line was harsh but come on. I will have a destination wedding just to discourage people like you. Hmmm... methinks that probably wasn't less harsh... What is wrong with people? Here is where I welcome your input. Not what I'd say to her because she's getting ignored but go crazy with what YOU would say to her. Also give some actual crazy "I can't believe you didn't invite me to your wedding!" story or an example of someone who would say that to you and get the ug mug. Have fun!
10.19.2009
Monday Mindspacing Vol. 20
1) My mom doesn't like green beans. This is hilarious to me since she used to feed them to us all the time when we were little and we loved them! Every time she cooks for me and I request them, she balks. Apparently she had them a lot when she was a kid and can't stand them now.
2) My dad doesn't like potatoes because he says when he was in the Army he had them for every meal and therefore doesn't ever have to see another potato. He loves rice, though and would eat it for lunch and dinner every meal... and almost does. I love potatoes & would probably be okay if I never had rice again.... except maybe with Indian food. This was awkward when we lived together and traded off on the cooking. My rice aversion is partly because I lived on campus for 4 years where every dinner has some form of chicken & rice. Face. shoot. now.
3) I've never had brussels sprouts before because neither of my parents like them. You may have noticed they have a pretty bad rep. I don't think I've ever even been in a room with brussels sprouts (other than a grocery store).
4) I miss my dad. We never talk anymore.
5) Please stop posting 10-minute youtube videos. I know I can just hide you or ignore it, but it irritates me that you do it. That's too long. Really 5 minutes is pushing it.
6) I'm getting that fb friend purge need again (see Wednesday's post).
7) Don't act like you're sad it's too expensive to attend some event (homecoming) you've known about for months when you didn't look for your ticket until a few days in advance... face & your fault. You didn't want to go that badly so stop acting like you did.
8) I think I'm overloading my computer with my more than 570 films b/c that file with the list of movies keeps shutting down!
9) Before Rashan & I met, I used to send him a DJ-- Daily Jameil. A picture of myself looking fab. Lolol. I started that all over again! He loves it!
10) This all (this relationship thing) started between us over a competition in NaBloPoMo-- National Blog Posting Month-- where you post every day in the month of November. Two years later, we're doing it again! Who's gonna join us? It's only 30 days! You know you wanna! We actually kept the competition going for months. I outlasted him by something like 3 months... you know, 90 days... 2160 hours, but who's counting?
11) Somebody on fb said I have an iphone AND a 'berry. Why do you need both??? There is no cause for that amount of crack. Do you also have a 24-7 starbucks i-v? A crack pipe taped to your face? If you're gonna keep it gully like that, I say go all the way hard.
12) Don't post a fb status, comment on it & say you like it all within one minute. IT'S YOUR OWN STATUS!!
2) My dad doesn't like potatoes because he says when he was in the Army he had them for every meal and therefore doesn't ever have to see another potato. He loves rice, though and would eat it for lunch and dinner every meal... and almost does. I love potatoes & would probably be okay if I never had rice again.... except maybe with Indian food. This was awkward when we lived together and traded off on the cooking. My rice aversion is partly because I lived on campus for 4 years where every dinner has some form of chicken & rice. Face. shoot. now.
3) I've never had brussels sprouts before because neither of my parents like them. You may have noticed they have a pretty bad rep. I don't think I've ever even been in a room with brussels sprouts (other than a grocery store).
4) I miss my dad. We never talk anymore.
5) Please stop posting 10-minute youtube videos. I know I can just hide you or ignore it, but it irritates me that you do it. That's too long. Really 5 minutes is pushing it.
6) I'm getting that fb friend purge need again (see Wednesday's post).
7) Don't act like you're sad it's too expensive to attend some event (homecoming) you've known about for months when you didn't look for your ticket until a few days in advance... face & your fault. You didn't want to go that badly so stop acting like you did.
8) I think I'm overloading my computer with my more than 570 films b/c that file with the list of movies keeps shutting down!
9) Before Rashan & I met, I used to send him a DJ-- Daily Jameil. A picture of myself looking fab. Lolol. I started that all over again! He loves it!
10) This all (this relationship thing) started between us over a competition in NaBloPoMo-- National Blog Posting Month-- where you post every day in the month of November. Two years later, we're doing it again! Who's gonna join us? It's only 30 days! You know you wanna! We actually kept the competition going for months. I outlasted him by something like 3 months... you know, 90 days... 2160 hours, but who's counting?
11) Somebody on fb said I have an iphone AND a 'berry. Why do you need both??? There is no cause for that amount of crack. Do you also have a 24-7 starbucks i-v? A crack pipe taped to your face? If you're gonna keep it gully like that, I say go all the way hard.
12) Don't post a fb status, comment on it & say you like it all within one minute. IT'S YOUR OWN STATUS!!
10.18.2009
Crazy Movie Lady 38
October 11-17, 2009
I may have made a little progress this week but I want to be caught up by the end of October so I don't find myself having to watch 30 films on December 30th & 31st! I've got my work cut out for me.
570. Adventureland. Film about this kid who graduates from college and goes home to Pittsburgh where he can only find a crappy job at Adventureland city fair. Of course there is a love story but it takes too long to finish developing. I didn't really care what happened. 2.4 stars
571. Spirit of the Marathon. Crappy music in this documentary about marathon runners, including history of the marathon and following several people training for the marathon. The beginning almost made me want to run a marathon but I don't have that sort of crazy in me. Hours and hours outdoors in all kinds of weather? Pass. Let's do a 5k and then we'll talk. This film was interesting at first but grew too long and followed too many people. Learning about different kinds of marathon runners (first-timers, long-timers, marathon addicts), some effortlessly, some with maximum effort, but there is a limit. The music was really grating. It was a lame attempt at inspiration where it wasn't needed. The stories are inspirational enough without it. By the time we got to the marathon I was pretty sure they were going to make us watch 20 minutes of it... and I was just about right. Because of the amount of characters, the denouement felt really interminable. 2.9 stars
572. Shrink. Kevin Spacey plays the weedhead shrink to a "troubled" kid played by Keke Palmer. KP has a poorly-developed role. It takes way too long for you to see something in her character. My favorite characters were the most cynical ones. It became pretty corny toward the end which was unfortunate. It had potential for more. This was a little too long and followed a few too many stories. 3.3 stars
573. Auntie Mame. Classic film about a crazy single woman who becomes the caretaker of the nephew she'd never met when her brother died. Quite amusing. Irritating and annoying portrayal by an Asian actor. Not unlike the bending and scraping by black actors in classics. Some awesome clothes and hats. All of the "surprises" were easily identifiable & telegraphed early which was annoying. Definitely longer than it needed to be. I loved the title character, though. 3.4 stars
574. Fargo. Frances McDormand plays a pregnant sheriff investigating murder. William H. Macy is a crooked husband working with kidnappers. There were some completely unnecessary scenes which did nothing to advance the plot. Dumb. Multiple story lines playing out. I liked the high shock factor. 4.1 stars
575. Romantico. Documentary in Spanish set in Mexico & San Francisco about two illegal immigrant friends who go to the US to work as mariachis and the twists and turns they face. Interesting at first, then very slow-moving. I wanted something, anything to happen. No concept of the passage of time, either. I had no idea how long they were in Mexico. 3 stars
576. The Butterfly. French film about a crotchety old man who becomes the extremely reluctant companion of a little girl over butterflies. This girl said "I love celery root salad." Who says these things??? Only a French child. The end was almost trite but still a very cute film. 3.9 stars
577. The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Classic film starring a young Ron Howard as the son of a recent widower getting back into the dating scene. Very out of sync with the present. Today you're expected to at least let the body get cold before you start picking out future wives. It was more somber than I expected since Netflix billed this as a romantic comedy. That it was not. It played out like a sitcom with very definite scenes beginning and ending. I enjoyed it for the most part though sometimes I wanted it to just hurry along a little faster. 3.3 stars
578. The Proposal. Sandra Bullock is the overbearing boss who convinces her assistant Ryan Reynolds to marry her so she doesn't get deported. Betty White is her grandma. Pretty funny at times. Some horribly fake backgrounds. Why? Terrible. Has Sandra's face always that tight? Ryan is HILARIOUS!!! It was a little long but for the most part I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars
579. American Violet. Film based on a true story about a Texas woman the system tried to railroad into pleading guilty for a drug crime she didn't commit. Some excellent acting by Nicole Beharie and Will Patton. Alfre Woodard was also in this film. Her acting was less noticeable. There were some unnecessary "scene-setter" shots mixed into the narrative far too long into the film. Repetitive music mostly consisting of "sympathetic" moaning became irritating. I wouldn't have believed the story if I didn't know it was a true. The denouement was a bit overplayed and preachy. I do realize I'm reacting to the subject matter more than some of the elements in the film i.e some of the characters being more like caricatures than actual people-- few shades of gray in character development outside of the main character. Still a very compelling story and a quality film. 4.2 stars
580. Gilda. 1946 film starring Rita Hayworth about a love triangle with her old flame and her new husband set in Argentina. Very easy to see why she was such a sensation. This film was still missing something, though. She had some awesome clothes. Completely dissatisfying ending. 3 stars
581. Father's Little Dividend. Spencer Tracy & Elizabeth Taylor in the sequel to the classic version of 'Father of the Bride.' Taylor plays the daughter who's pregnant, which turns the family upside down. I can't say I overly enjoyed the film but I didn't hate it. It was just there. 3 stars
582. Alberta Hunter: My Castle's Rockin'. Documentary about a black woman who became a famous jazz singer in the early 20th century, left the music business, then staged a triumphant comeback at age 82. The narration was irritatingly heavy-handed and unnecessary. It made this film feel more like a news report than a documentary. She was amazing and great on camera, the type of performer who's always on. It seems when the filmmaker couldn't figure out a transition from one part of her life to another, he/she used one of her songs. She sounds great, but still. Some shaky/questionable use of archival images. I don't believe a lot of the earliest stories she told (because of doubt cast by the narration & Ms. Hunter herself as to her credibility) but that didn't make her less entertaining. She laughs like another Alberta-- my grandmother! I'm probably not old enough at 27 for some of her subject material! Lol. Really a fascinating historical portrait of a forgotten blues star. Dialing back the narration a lot would've improved this film dramatically. 3.4 stars
583. In the Mood for Love. Chinese film in Cantonese about neighbors who realize their spouses are having an affair. Strange repetitive music that sounded more Western than Asian. It was interesting the first time, less so the 7th. The other piece was used thrice. Why? I noticed 3 wardrobe repeats... I'm guessing because of the amount of time you're supposed to infer has passed. There was some interesting cinematography. The director got a little too caught up in slow motion. Still a quality film. 3.6 stars
I may have made a little progress this week but I want to be caught up by the end of October so I don't find myself having to watch 30 films on December 30th & 31st! I've got my work cut out for me.
570. Adventureland. Film about this kid who graduates from college and goes home to Pittsburgh where he can only find a crappy job at Adventureland city fair. Of course there is a love story but it takes too long to finish developing. I didn't really care what happened. 2.4 stars
571. Spirit of the Marathon. Crappy music in this documentary about marathon runners, including history of the marathon and following several people training for the marathon. The beginning almost made me want to run a marathon but I don't have that sort of crazy in me. Hours and hours outdoors in all kinds of weather? Pass. Let's do a 5k and then we'll talk. This film was interesting at first but grew too long and followed too many people. Learning about different kinds of marathon runners (first-timers, long-timers, marathon addicts), some effortlessly, some with maximum effort, but there is a limit. The music was really grating. It was a lame attempt at inspiration where it wasn't needed. The stories are inspirational enough without it. By the time we got to the marathon I was pretty sure they were going to make us watch 20 minutes of it... and I was just about right. Because of the amount of characters, the denouement felt really interminable. 2.9 stars
572. Shrink. Kevin Spacey plays the weedhead shrink to a "troubled" kid played by Keke Palmer. KP has a poorly-developed role. It takes way too long for you to see something in her character. My favorite characters were the most cynical ones. It became pretty corny toward the end which was unfortunate. It had potential for more. This was a little too long and followed a few too many stories. 3.3 stars
573. Auntie Mame. Classic film about a crazy single woman who becomes the caretaker of the nephew she'd never met when her brother died. Quite amusing. Irritating and annoying portrayal by an Asian actor. Not unlike the bending and scraping by black actors in classics. Some awesome clothes and hats. All of the "surprises" were easily identifiable & telegraphed early which was annoying. Definitely longer than it needed to be. I loved the title character, though. 3.4 stars
574. Fargo. Frances McDormand plays a pregnant sheriff investigating murder. William H. Macy is a crooked husband working with kidnappers. There were some completely unnecessary scenes which did nothing to advance the plot. Dumb. Multiple story lines playing out. I liked the high shock factor. 4.1 stars
575. Romantico. Documentary in Spanish set in Mexico & San Francisco about two illegal immigrant friends who go to the US to work as mariachis and the twists and turns they face. Interesting at first, then very slow-moving. I wanted something, anything to happen. No concept of the passage of time, either. I had no idea how long they were in Mexico. 3 stars
576. The Butterfly. French film about a crotchety old man who becomes the extremely reluctant companion of a little girl over butterflies. This girl said "I love celery root salad." Who says these things??? Only a French child. The end was almost trite but still a very cute film. 3.9 stars
577. The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Classic film starring a young Ron Howard as the son of a recent widower getting back into the dating scene. Very out of sync with the present. Today you're expected to at least let the body get cold before you start picking out future wives. It was more somber than I expected since Netflix billed this as a romantic comedy. That it was not. It played out like a sitcom with very definite scenes beginning and ending. I enjoyed it for the most part though sometimes I wanted it to just hurry along a little faster. 3.3 stars
578. The Proposal. Sandra Bullock is the overbearing boss who convinces her assistant Ryan Reynolds to marry her so she doesn't get deported. Betty White is her grandma. Pretty funny at times. Some horribly fake backgrounds. Why? Terrible. Has Sandra's face always that tight? Ryan is HILARIOUS!!! It was a little long but for the most part I enjoyed it. 3.5 stars
579. American Violet. Film based on a true story about a Texas woman the system tried to railroad into pleading guilty for a drug crime she didn't commit. Some excellent acting by Nicole Beharie and Will Patton. Alfre Woodard was also in this film. Her acting was less noticeable. There were some unnecessary "scene-setter" shots mixed into the narrative far too long into the film. Repetitive music mostly consisting of "sympathetic" moaning became irritating. I wouldn't have believed the story if I didn't know it was a true. The denouement was a bit overplayed and preachy. I do realize I'm reacting to the subject matter more than some of the elements in the film i.e some of the characters being more like caricatures than actual people-- few shades of gray in character development outside of the main character. Still a very compelling story and a quality film. 4.2 stars
580. Gilda. 1946 film starring Rita Hayworth about a love triangle with her old flame and her new husband set in Argentina. Very easy to see why she was such a sensation. This film was still missing something, though. She had some awesome clothes. Completely dissatisfying ending. 3 stars
581. Father's Little Dividend. Spencer Tracy & Elizabeth Taylor in the sequel to the classic version of 'Father of the Bride.' Taylor plays the daughter who's pregnant, which turns the family upside down. I can't say I overly enjoyed the film but I didn't hate it. It was just there. 3 stars
582. Alberta Hunter: My Castle's Rockin'. Documentary about a black woman who became a famous jazz singer in the early 20th century, left the music business, then staged a triumphant comeback at age 82. The narration was irritatingly heavy-handed and unnecessary. It made this film feel more like a news report than a documentary. She was amazing and great on camera, the type of performer who's always on. It seems when the filmmaker couldn't figure out a transition from one part of her life to another, he/she used one of her songs. She sounds great, but still. Some shaky/questionable use of archival images. I don't believe a lot of the earliest stories she told (because of doubt cast by the narration & Ms. Hunter herself as to her credibility) but that didn't make her less entertaining. She laughs like another Alberta-- my grandmother! I'm probably not old enough at 27 for some of her subject material! Lol. Really a fascinating historical portrait of a forgotten blues star. Dialing back the narration a lot would've improved this film dramatically. 3.4 stars
583. In the Mood for Love. Chinese film in Cantonese about neighbors who realize their spouses are having an affair. Strange repetitive music that sounded more Western than Asian. It was interesting the first time, less so the 7th. The other piece was used thrice. Why? I noticed 3 wardrobe repeats... I'm guessing because of the amount of time you're supposed to infer has passed. There was some interesting cinematography. The director got a little too caught up in slow motion. Still a quality film. 3.6 stars
10.15.2009
Hello Mojo
I'm losing my blog mojo! Sometimes I just don't feel like it. I'm a dozen movies behind and don't feel like I can get ahead EVER. I know that's exaggeration, but I have things to do, people to see! I don't really have the patience to sit down and write a blog post sometimes. We have these projects due, and yes the workload is about to slow down, but right now it's at a fever pitch. Sometimes I just want to SIT AND CHILL but I have work to do. No rest for the weary.
I was also told if enrollment wasn't high enough I might not have my assistantship in the spring. The person who told me this said it was simply because of the course I was assigned to teach. Wait. So I've been doing a good job, but that's not enough? Awesome. She didn't tell me when I would know for certain, but that $10k tuition discount is obviously something I don't want to lose. I'd rather not lose my stipend, either. And I need to find out if my course load only requiring 6 hours in the spring will jeopardize my financial aid. I think it will which is again a problem. I also need to accomplish more things on my film. It's almost like I'm frozen in place but still moving at a fever pitch. It's pretty dumb. And irritating at the same time. I'm also annoyed that I missed Glee last night. Hmph.
I was also told if enrollment wasn't high enough I might not have my assistantship in the spring. The person who told me this said it was simply because of the course I was assigned to teach. Wait. So I've been doing a good job, but that's not enough? Awesome. She didn't tell me when I would know for certain, but that $10k tuition discount is obviously something I don't want to lose. I'd rather not lose my stipend, either. And I need to find out if my course load only requiring 6 hours in the spring will jeopardize my financial aid. I think it will which is again a problem. I also need to accomplish more things on my film. It's almost like I'm frozen in place but still moving at a fever pitch. It's pretty dumb. And irritating at the same time. I'm also annoyed that I missed Glee last night. Hmph.
10.12.2009
Monday Mindspacing Vol. 19
1) I love how well my body responds to exercise!! After the first week in a while of 3 workouts a week, I already feel more svelte and sleek. Eye of the tiger kids! Especially since I've made a commitment to workout 3xs a week in the month of October.
2) I'm ready to admit it: I, Jameil1922, am an Etsy crack whore. ACK!!! The idea of being able to find cute vintage stuff and/or handmade hats and jewelery without having to leave my house. LOVES IT!! Wait until you see these hats I made!!!
3) No matter how many times I hear it, and I've heard it at least 5xs this year in different films from the Civil Rights Movement era, it sends chills down my spine and nearly brings tears to my eyes when I hear Bobby Kennedy announce the assassination of Dr. King. I can only imagine how devastating it was to hear that at a time when the country was in so much racial and emotional turmoil.
4) "Wrong. WRONG!" Dude! When Rashan and I first started talking on the phone, before we started dating, we were reciting whole scenes from the Chappelle Show on the phone. Lololol. How 'bout he said he should've known it wasn't gonna work out with this chick he went on a few dates with when she had never seen an episode. SCRATCH THE RECORD. You should've never spoken to her again. How bout THAT!
5) I'm in full student mode right now. I can't watch, eat or read ANYTHING out of critique mode. It's insane. INSANE!! ... But I kind of like it.
6) Why in editing "RunThisTown" for radio would you beep out g.string but not arse? Does that make a lick of sense? No. Smooth move ATL radio.
7) I have no idea how to dress for fall anymore. Seeing as we had one week of normal temps which might be misconstrued as something like fall i.e. below 88 and it's been 90+ but feels like up to 100? Yeah... I'm still looking like summer out here all day every day. But in Atlanta it's fall. Since I went to Atlanta this weekend, I kind of needed to remember that... yeah...
8) Taste of Atlanta was AWESOME. We definitely found some new restaurants to try. One, Tin Lizzy's had yummy Mexican food but pitiful margaritas... that's never good for a Mexican restaurant to have bad 'ritas i.e. is there really alcohol in this because it tastes like straight sour mix... Fix that. I cannot wait to go to Highland Bakery because they had these AMAZING sweet potato pancakes with caramelized brown sugar syrup. I will be thinking about those for years.
9) I've been dreaming about food a lot lately. I know this seems like it would be something I do regularly, but it's not. That's why I've noticed it.
10) I've actually seen some good movies recently. That doesn't mean I don't want to finally be able to watch my favorite movies. I do want that. I really really miss 'When Harry Met Sally' and 'Brown Sugar.' Le sigh.
11) I've been blogging 4 years and missed my bloggerversary! Tsk tsk.
2) I'm ready to admit it: I, Jameil1922, am an Etsy crack whore. ACK!!! The idea of being able to find cute vintage stuff and/or handmade hats and jewelery without having to leave my house. LOVES IT!! Wait until you see these hats I made!!!
3) No matter how many times I hear it, and I've heard it at least 5xs this year in different films from the Civil Rights Movement era, it sends chills down my spine and nearly brings tears to my eyes when I hear Bobby Kennedy announce the assassination of Dr. King. I can only imagine how devastating it was to hear that at a time when the country was in so much racial and emotional turmoil.
4) "Wrong. WRONG!" Dude! When Rashan and I first started talking on the phone, before we started dating, we were reciting whole scenes from the Chappelle Show on the phone. Lololol. How 'bout he said he should've known it wasn't gonna work out with this chick he went on a few dates with when she had never seen an episode. SCRATCH THE RECORD. You should've never spoken to her again. How bout THAT!
5) I'm in full student mode right now. I can't watch, eat or read ANYTHING out of critique mode. It's insane. INSANE!! ... But I kind of like it.
6) Why in editing "RunThisTown" for radio would you beep out g.string but not arse? Does that make a lick of sense? No. Smooth move ATL radio.
7) I have no idea how to dress for fall anymore. Seeing as we had one week of normal temps which might be misconstrued as something like fall i.e. below 88 and it's been 90+ but feels like up to 100? Yeah... I'm still looking like summer out here all day every day. But in Atlanta it's fall. Since I went to Atlanta this weekend, I kind of needed to remember that... yeah...
8) Taste of Atlanta was AWESOME. We definitely found some new restaurants to try. One, Tin Lizzy's had yummy Mexican food but pitiful margaritas... that's never good for a Mexican restaurant to have bad 'ritas i.e. is there really alcohol in this because it tastes like straight sour mix... Fix that. I cannot wait to go to Highland Bakery because they had these AMAZING sweet potato pancakes with caramelized brown sugar syrup. I will be thinking about those for years.
9) I've been dreaming about food a lot lately. I know this seems like it would be something I do regularly, but it's not. That's why I've noticed it.
10) I've actually seen some good movies recently. That doesn't mean I don't want to finally be able to watch my favorite movies. I do want that. I really really miss 'When Harry Met Sally' and 'Brown Sugar.' Le sigh.
11) I've been blogging 4 years and missed my bloggerversary! Tsk tsk.
10.11.2009
Crazy Movie Lady 37
October 4-10, 2009
I watched multiple highly talked-about films this week AND enjoyed some of them! It was a good week for films!
554. Pineapple Express. Silly silly movie about a weed head who witnesses a murder. Seth Rogen & James Franco went full weed head... but somehow I feel it wasn't a stretch. I definitely laughed out loud several times. Rosie Perez is a crooked cop. The last 5 minutes made this a true stoner movie. SO silly. But I cracked up the whole time. Lololol. 4 stars
555. About A Boy. Hugh Grant movie about a perennial bachelor who decides hot single moms are the new way to get over on women and a concurrent story with Toni Colette as a not-hot, depressed mom with a socially pitiful child. The kid and Grant's character suddenly find themselves intertwined. I'd managed to see bits and pieces of this film several times over the years but not the whole thing. The film took way too long to talk about where Grant's family was if it ever did. I still enjoyed it. 3.8 stars
556. Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene. Documentary of the successful, provocative black Washington, DC radio dj and eventual television commentator about whom the film "Talk to Me" was made. The music was obtrusive and most of the time didn't fit with the film. The narration was unnecessary and irritating. They gave the narration job to Don Cheadle to get attention for the film but it was absolutely unnecessary. They had this great video from his show that was believed to be lost but didn't use it enough. Greene had these amazing guests who are well-known names today. WASTE of a gold mine. Reuse of contemporary video and archival clips when they had years of video. The filmmaker(s) let other people speak for Greene instead of letting Greene speak for himself. I wanted him to use the actual newspaper articles, too instead of images of photocopies. 3.2 stars
557. Camille. James Franco & Sienna Miller are newlyweds heading to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon when he realizes how much she gets on his nerves. She got on mine, too, with that ridiculous bubbliness. Especially that horrible disappearing Southern accent. So cloyingly heavy and bad in the first scene, then non-existent for several scenes, then there in a less irritating and more authentic way and back and forth again. When she's killed in a car accident, she doesn't realize she's dead... some major continuity issues. Geez. Get an intern and make them pay attention to that stuff ON THE SET so you can re-shoot. And IN THE EDITING ROOM. They really needed to work on the beginning and end of the script. The middle was interesting and at times pretty funny but the beginning was terrible and the end veered toward the overly outrageous (which sounds crazy considering the concept of the film). I might have turned it off without the quest for 750. 2 stars
558. The Pajama Game. Doris Day is one of the seamstresses in a pajama factory. This Bob Fosse-choreographed film almost made me want some pjs but I don't do all that fabric when I sleep. Long sleeves and pants? Nope. Love the "I Would Trust Her" musical number. Musicals can be wearying for the endless musical numbers which don't advance the plot, of which there are many in this film including one ridiculously long number in the park. Wow... I couldn't get into this film. 2.9 stars
559. Cactus Flower. Walter Mathau plays a man dating a woman (Goldie Hawn) who thinks he's married. When she demands to meet his wife, he asks his assistant (Ingrid Bergman) to pose as his Mrs. Goldie won an Academy Award for her role. Pretty amusing but started to quickly veer toward the ridiculous. Quincy Jones did the music which was pretty cool. Easy to see where this film was going pretty quickly. Still cute. 3.6 stars
560. A Great Day in Harlem. Awesome concept. Documentary about the famous picture of dozens of (mostly black) jazz greats gathered on the steps of a Harlem brownstone. They found as many people as they could who were there that day to talk about what it was like and how the picture came together. SO cool. Fabulous editing, particularly early on. The interviewer was intrusive, though and the film could've used more artistic direction in interview composition. I liked the font selection. I cannot figure out why I am so into this film, maybe it's the energy of those interviews, the pacing of the editing, the uniqueness of the idea, probably a combination. Though I did wonder how long I would stay intrigued. AWESOME music from these jazz greats. That's what kept it riveting. One musician said "What's the point in living to 100 if you don't do anything." Word. Made me want to relearn the trumpet and make sure my kids pick up an instrument. Any instrument. And now I want to find the music of every single one of these people. Most random final words said in a documentary. So strange. Loved this film. One of the few times I wanted to listen to the credits until they ended. I can't imagine trying to clear all of this fantastic music. MONEY. 4.4 stars.
561. Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami. Documentary about the birth of the great boxer. Some really cool archival video but the film starts out pretty slowly with a lot of talking heads. Very poor job of weaving in the feeling of the time with what's going on in the Civil Rights Movement. From a Beatles photo op to political upheaval. Ridiculous and jarring. Some very obvious use of stock sounds. And it's always frustrating when a subject is still alive and has no contemporary role in the film. In this case that's due to Ali's illness but there are ways around it (archival) that weren't used here. Of course Ali is an amazing person on film. ALWAYS. But I'd rather HIM tell us about himself, even through archival footage, and what he was thinking and feeling instead of a biographer, some historians, some people from his neighborhood and his trainer and doctor. But probably more frustrating is the lack of structure and organization in the story line. The "Made in Miami" tag line was not properly fulfilled throughout the film. 2.3 stars
562. Operation Filmmaker. Documentary about an Iraqi wannabe filmmaker brought to Prague to work on a new film and the cultural clash and the clash of expectations between him and those on the set. Definitely far more interesting than the directors other 2 films I watched. It sparked discussion, but as usual, she was way too involved in her film. 3.5 stars
563. The Mosque in Morgantown. Documentary about a woman who is a single Muslim mother fighting the position of women in her mosque in West Virginia. Pretty interesting dynamics but the film needed to be shortened and have the story line tightened. I felt less sympathetic toward the main character as the film progressed. 3.4 stars
564. Foul Play. Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase movie about a woman who picks up a hitchhiker, then finds herself in the middle of a mysterious crime. Some of the things that just "happened" were way too coincidental. The car scene was the worst part of the entire film. Foolish. Never want to see this again. Didn't follow the conventions it set up early in the film. 2 stars
565. Kinamand. Danish movie about a plumber whose wife leaves him. When he starts eating in the Chinese restaurant across the street nightly he gets an offer to wed the owner's sister. It moved slowly but I still enjoyed the film. Some interesting twists and likable characters. 3.5 stars
566. Planes, Trains & Automobiles. John Candy & Steve Martin. Lol. That's funny just hearing those 2 names together. They're two strangers, one jolly and one laid-back, stranded together in bad weather. Silly but laugh out loud at times. 3 stars
567. Paranormal Activity. I wanted to see this low-budget ($15k) scary movie about a couple terrorized by paranormal activity in the middle of the night. It definitely looked low budget. Bad camera angles, lots of non-tripod shots, soft focus. Slowest start ever. By the time the activity started, I'd pretty much checked out. Didn't care what happened to these people. it felt like watching someone's home video. I wasn't scared or really terribly interested. The screaming, talking & gasping in the audience was hilarious though! Lol! I would reeeeeally like to know how they got so much buzz around this film! Because I need to take notes! WOW!!!! 2 stars
568. Tyson. Documentary about the heavyweight championship fighter. I needed the subtitles. I'm usually bothered by slow pacing, but I think this one moved a little too fast. I enjoyed the framing in the interviews. I wish there was more archival footage. Overlapping sound bites made the film confusing at times. Sound bite after sound bite after sound bite became wearying. I can't say I cared too much about how this film ended. Interesting at times, I liked that he talked about the most difficult moments of his life but it wasn't enough. Who would've thought I could hear the word skullduggery twice in one film? Lol. Not enough to save it. 2.8 stars
569. Good Hair. Documentary starring Chris Rock about black women and their battle with hair including natural, weaves and perms. Interesting and a definite opening to a conversation. I could not understand why Andre Harrell was in the film. You could feel the life drain out of the film almost every time he was on the screen. Some of the best parts involved "real people" instead of celebrities. Nia Long & Raven-Symoné were two of the most interesting celebs. And a woman with blond braids/locs I'd never heard of. It was a great experience watching this in Atlanta surrounded by black people. Some things in the film were very expected, a lot of it. He tackled a touchy topic with a lot of humor which helped a lot. There will be a lot of people who say things were missing from this film-- particularly the history behind "good hair" which on that note I absolutely agree, but the film is what it is. It worked. 4.2 stars
I watched multiple highly talked-about films this week AND enjoyed some of them! It was a good week for films!
554. Pineapple Express. Silly silly movie about a weed head who witnesses a murder. Seth Rogen & James Franco went full weed head... but somehow I feel it wasn't a stretch. I definitely laughed out loud several times. Rosie Perez is a crooked cop. The last 5 minutes made this a true stoner movie. SO silly. But I cracked up the whole time. Lololol. 4 stars
555. About A Boy. Hugh Grant movie about a perennial bachelor who decides hot single moms are the new way to get over on women and a concurrent story with Toni Colette as a not-hot, depressed mom with a socially pitiful child. The kid and Grant's character suddenly find themselves intertwined. I'd managed to see bits and pieces of this film several times over the years but not the whole thing. The film took way too long to talk about where Grant's family was if it ever did. I still enjoyed it. 3.8 stars
556. Adjust Your Color: The Truth of Petey Greene. Documentary of the successful, provocative black Washington, DC radio dj and eventual television commentator about whom the film "Talk to Me" was made. The music was obtrusive and most of the time didn't fit with the film. The narration was unnecessary and irritating. They gave the narration job to Don Cheadle to get attention for the film but it was absolutely unnecessary. They had this great video from his show that was believed to be lost but didn't use it enough. Greene had these amazing guests who are well-known names today. WASTE of a gold mine. Reuse of contemporary video and archival clips when they had years of video. The filmmaker(s) let other people speak for Greene instead of letting Greene speak for himself. I wanted him to use the actual newspaper articles, too instead of images of photocopies. 3.2 stars
557. Camille. James Franco & Sienna Miller are newlyweds heading to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon when he realizes how much she gets on his nerves. She got on mine, too, with that ridiculous bubbliness. Especially that horrible disappearing Southern accent. So cloyingly heavy and bad in the first scene, then non-existent for several scenes, then there in a less irritating and more authentic way and back and forth again. When she's killed in a car accident, she doesn't realize she's dead... some major continuity issues. Geez. Get an intern and make them pay attention to that stuff ON THE SET so you can re-shoot. And IN THE EDITING ROOM. They really needed to work on the beginning and end of the script. The middle was interesting and at times pretty funny but the beginning was terrible and the end veered toward the overly outrageous (which sounds crazy considering the concept of the film). I might have turned it off without the quest for 750. 2 stars
558. The Pajama Game. Doris Day is one of the seamstresses in a pajama factory. This Bob Fosse-choreographed film almost made me want some pjs but I don't do all that fabric when I sleep. Long sleeves and pants? Nope. Love the "I Would Trust Her" musical number. Musicals can be wearying for the endless musical numbers which don't advance the plot, of which there are many in this film including one ridiculously long number in the park. Wow... I couldn't get into this film. 2.9 stars
559. Cactus Flower. Walter Mathau plays a man dating a woman (Goldie Hawn) who thinks he's married. When she demands to meet his wife, he asks his assistant (Ingrid Bergman) to pose as his Mrs. Goldie won an Academy Award for her role. Pretty amusing but started to quickly veer toward the ridiculous. Quincy Jones did the music which was pretty cool. Easy to see where this film was going pretty quickly. Still cute. 3.6 stars
560. A Great Day in Harlem. Awesome concept. Documentary about the famous picture of dozens of (mostly black) jazz greats gathered on the steps of a Harlem brownstone. They found as many people as they could who were there that day to talk about what it was like and how the picture came together. SO cool. Fabulous editing, particularly early on. The interviewer was intrusive, though and the film could've used more artistic direction in interview composition. I liked the font selection. I cannot figure out why I am so into this film, maybe it's the energy of those interviews, the pacing of the editing, the uniqueness of the idea, probably a combination. Though I did wonder how long I would stay intrigued. AWESOME music from these jazz greats. That's what kept it riveting. One musician said "What's the point in living to 100 if you don't do anything." Word. Made me want to relearn the trumpet and make sure my kids pick up an instrument. Any instrument. And now I want to find the music of every single one of these people. Most random final words said in a documentary. So strange. Loved this film. One of the few times I wanted to listen to the credits until they ended. I can't imagine trying to clear all of this fantastic music. MONEY. 4.4 stars.
561. Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami. Documentary about the birth of the great boxer. Some really cool archival video but the film starts out pretty slowly with a lot of talking heads. Very poor job of weaving in the feeling of the time with what's going on in the Civil Rights Movement. From a Beatles photo op to political upheaval. Ridiculous and jarring. Some very obvious use of stock sounds. And it's always frustrating when a subject is still alive and has no contemporary role in the film. In this case that's due to Ali's illness but there are ways around it (archival) that weren't used here. Of course Ali is an amazing person on film. ALWAYS. But I'd rather HIM tell us about himself, even through archival footage, and what he was thinking and feeling instead of a biographer, some historians, some people from his neighborhood and his trainer and doctor. But probably more frustrating is the lack of structure and organization in the story line. The "Made in Miami" tag line was not properly fulfilled throughout the film. 2.3 stars
562. Operation Filmmaker. Documentary about an Iraqi wannabe filmmaker brought to Prague to work on a new film and the cultural clash and the clash of expectations between him and those on the set. Definitely far more interesting than the directors other 2 films I watched. It sparked discussion, but as usual, she was way too involved in her film. 3.5 stars
563. The Mosque in Morgantown. Documentary about a woman who is a single Muslim mother fighting the position of women in her mosque in West Virginia. Pretty interesting dynamics but the film needed to be shortened and have the story line tightened. I felt less sympathetic toward the main character as the film progressed. 3.4 stars
564. Foul Play. Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase movie about a woman who picks up a hitchhiker, then finds herself in the middle of a mysterious crime. Some of the things that just "happened" were way too coincidental. The car scene was the worst part of the entire film. Foolish. Never want to see this again. Didn't follow the conventions it set up early in the film. 2 stars
565. Kinamand. Danish movie about a plumber whose wife leaves him. When he starts eating in the Chinese restaurant across the street nightly he gets an offer to wed the owner's sister. It moved slowly but I still enjoyed the film. Some interesting twists and likable characters. 3.5 stars
566. Planes, Trains & Automobiles. John Candy & Steve Martin. Lol. That's funny just hearing those 2 names together. They're two strangers, one jolly and one laid-back, stranded together in bad weather. Silly but laugh out loud at times. 3 stars
567. Paranormal Activity. I wanted to see this low-budget ($15k) scary movie about a couple terrorized by paranormal activity in the middle of the night. It definitely looked low budget. Bad camera angles, lots of non-tripod shots, soft focus. Slowest start ever. By the time the activity started, I'd pretty much checked out. Didn't care what happened to these people. it felt like watching someone's home video. I wasn't scared or really terribly interested. The screaming, talking & gasping in the audience was hilarious though! Lol! I would reeeeeally like to know how they got so much buzz around this film! Because I need to take notes! WOW!!!! 2 stars
568. Tyson. Documentary about the heavyweight championship fighter. I needed the subtitles. I'm usually bothered by slow pacing, but I think this one moved a little too fast. I enjoyed the framing in the interviews. I wish there was more archival footage. Overlapping sound bites made the film confusing at times. Sound bite after sound bite after sound bite became wearying. I can't say I cared too much about how this film ended. Interesting at times, I liked that he talked about the most difficult moments of his life but it wasn't enough. Who would've thought I could hear the word skullduggery twice in one film? Lol. Not enough to save it. 2.8 stars
569. Good Hair. Documentary starring Chris Rock about black women and their battle with hair including natural, weaves and perms. Interesting and a definite opening to a conversation. I could not understand why Andre Harrell was in the film. You could feel the life drain out of the film almost every time he was on the screen. Some of the best parts involved "real people" instead of celebrities. Nia Long & Raven-Symoné were two of the most interesting celebs. And a woman with blond braids/locs I'd never heard of. It was a great experience watching this in Atlanta surrounded by black people. Some things in the film were very expected, a lot of it. He tackled a touchy topic with a lot of humor which helped a lot. There will be a lot of people who say things were missing from this film-- particularly the history behind "good hair" which on that note I absolutely agree, but the film is what it is. It worked. 4.2 stars
10.09.2009
One of THOSE Days!!!
Let me tell you about this day I had yesterday!!! I decided on Wednesday I was going to go to Atlanta this weekend after I found out we got an extension on our latest project. But that meant I had things to do! I packed my bag without incident. The drama started when I left the house.
First I went to get an oil change. The first place was booked until Saturday so I went to the next place I had a coupon for that wasn't one of those obscenely overpriced chains. Tires Plus. Ugh. Just as bad. I heard them quote 3 different prices for the same service while sitting at the front. Shameless liars. When I asked him about a tire, he said it would cost me $85 and I said no, he said, "Just kidding, $35." LOSER. Never going back there again.
I also decided to try out Florida chain Toojay's Gourmet Deli for lunch. There was a 15 minute wait for my $9.55 sandwich which I wasn't previously warned about. When I got it, it was burnt. The "fruit cup" was majority honeydew and canteloupe with 3 grapes & 2 little cuts of pineapple. I had to traipse back to get my money back. Did I mention I was walking from the auto place? And it was literally 92 in October? With humidity? And that it felt like nearly 100? NOT. HAPPY. At all.
Then I went to the ATM to get money out & the cash dispenser opened and closed multiple times without dispensing anything, then said transaction cancelled. I went to a different ATM, got my money, went home to check my account. Of course BOTH transactions are on there as processing so I got to spend 9 minutes on the phone to file a dispute. Awesome.
Then as I went to wash dishes one of my sink stoppers broke. So I used the one that's temperamental. Then it broke, too. LE SIGH!!! I couldn't take it anymore! I got my bags together and left! I got some Sonic when I stopped for gas. As I finished my tater tots I saw a sign for BOJANGLES!! One of my fave fast food spots from home that has NEVER been on 75!!!! I don't know when they added it to my route but 11 EXITS from where I stopped for food? THAT'S COLD!!! And the cap on a sucktastic day.
Now I'm in Atlanta and I just found out some amazing news: TASTE OF ATLANTA IS THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!! HECKS YEAH!!!! You know what we're doing tomorrow!
First I went to get an oil change. The first place was booked until Saturday so I went to the next place I had a coupon for that wasn't one of those obscenely overpriced chains. Tires Plus. Ugh. Just as bad. I heard them quote 3 different prices for the same service while sitting at the front. Shameless liars. When I asked him about a tire, he said it would cost me $85 and I said no, he said, "Just kidding, $35." LOSER. Never going back there again.
I also decided to try out Florida chain Toojay's Gourmet Deli for lunch. There was a 15 minute wait for my $9.55 sandwich which I wasn't previously warned about. When I got it, it was burnt. The "fruit cup" was majority honeydew and canteloupe with 3 grapes & 2 little cuts of pineapple. I had to traipse back to get my money back. Did I mention I was walking from the auto place? And it was literally 92 in October? With humidity? And that it felt like nearly 100? NOT. HAPPY. At all.
Then I went to the ATM to get money out & the cash dispenser opened and closed multiple times without dispensing anything, then said transaction cancelled. I went to a different ATM, got my money, went home to check my account. Of course BOTH transactions are on there as processing so I got to spend 9 minutes on the phone to file a dispute. Awesome.
Then as I went to wash dishes one of my sink stoppers broke. So I used the one that's temperamental. Then it broke, too. LE SIGH!!! I couldn't take it anymore! I got my bags together and left! I got some Sonic when I stopped for gas. As I finished my tater tots I saw a sign for BOJANGLES!! One of my fave fast food spots from home that has NEVER been on 75!!!! I don't know when they added it to my route but 11 EXITS from where I stopped for food? THAT'S COLD!!! And the cap on a sucktastic day.
Now I'm in Atlanta and I just found out some amazing news: TASTE OF ATLANTA IS THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!! HECKS YEAH!!!! You know what we're doing tomorrow!
10.07.2009
BOO!!!
Adei posted this video on fb and I can't for the life of me find the embed code to put it on my blog which of course is irritating the snot out of me. Do you understand that level of irritation? I'm not going to waste any more of my valuable hours hour of allotted time wasting time to search for it! Leave alone video!
Anyway... wow, focus. The video is a collection of a few seconds of multiple people being scared and losing it. LOSING IT! My faves are the ones where people jump out of the fridge! HILARIOUS! How do you think to yourself, "Self, today I'm going to scare the mess out of Missy by jumping out of the fridge"? Do you get a cooler to put all the food in? Or leave it all on the table so they have to open the fridge? Decisions, decisions! Lolol. Either way it cracks my ish up!
That video reminds me of one of the greatest collective memories of my childhood: scaring my sister almost DAILY. HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA. SO fun. She's only 19 months younger than me so most of the time growing up, we were together. At church we had all the same friends. Don't get it twisted, this doesn't mean we got along, particularly as we got older. We were just together a lot. Anyway when we were younger, I was probably in middle school, we would come in the house, it would be dark and I would go upstairs first... in the dark. I would hide in our bathroom which was at the top of the stairs and wait for her to come up. The first few times she would just walk up the stairs (you don't even understand I'm CRYING laughing right now typing this! I can't even get the story out when I'm typing it!) and I would jump out from the darkened bathroom and yell BOO!! and she would scream. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! SO FUNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!
This NEVER stopped being funny. After a few days she would start to call out up the stairs if I went up first, "Jameil, I know you're up there. Don't try to scare me." Silence. And I'd do it anyway. HILARIOUS!!!! I couldn't keep it to myself anymore so I told my mom. She said, "That's dangerous! You could scare her so badly she could fall down the stairs and hurt herself!" Hmm... party pooper but noted. It was around this time that I also decided it might lose its fun and shock value if I did it daily so sometimes I would run up the stairs ahead of her and go in my room, turn on the light and start reading, listening for her to say, "Stop trying to scare me, Jameil." HILARIOUS!! I had her shook! I also would switch it up by sometimes waiting in my darkened room at the end of the hall. She had to pass my room to get to hers. Always awesome! If I was in the bathroom, I'd wait until she had turned the corner from the stairs and was about to pass to jump out. Still scary! Now scary and safe! Mom-approved! Lolololololol. Except I talked to her about it yesterday and she was like, "I used to be so mad at you for doing that!" I said, "Why?! It was hilarious!" She said, "You know she was already scary." Lololol. Is that my fault or problem that she's scared of everything? Lightning, the dark, her shadow... She used to sleep in my mom's room when it stormed because she was scared. I didn't want to be left out (NO FUN WITHOUT ME!!) so I used to go to. Sleepover! Lolol.
I have no idea why I stopped but to this day I can't think of it without SCREAMING, literally screaming and sometimes crying with laughter! Even twice in the same week. And apparently in the same day! as I'm talking to my mom about how it still makes me laugh, I start cracking up again! And she says, "Like that?" SO FUNNY!! The fact that it's that ridiculous to she of the no sarcasm that she gets sarcastic is too funny! Love it! I hope it always makes me laugh like this!
On a semi-related note, wait until you see what I'm making my classmates for Halloween! It's gonna be awesome! Can't wait! I won't tell you because some of them e-stalk me and read my blog on the low. Can't have them ruining the surprise!
Anyway... wow, focus. The video is a collection of a few seconds of multiple people being scared and losing it. LOSING IT! My faves are the ones where people jump out of the fridge! HILARIOUS! How do you think to yourself, "Self, today I'm going to scare the mess out of Missy by jumping out of the fridge"? Do you get a cooler to put all the food in? Or leave it all on the table so they have to open the fridge? Decisions, decisions! Lolol. Either way it cracks my ish up!
That video reminds me of one of the greatest collective memories of my childhood: scaring my sister almost DAILY. HAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA. SO fun. She's only 19 months younger than me so most of the time growing up, we were together. At church we had all the same friends. Don't get it twisted, this doesn't mean we got along, particularly as we got older. We were just together a lot. Anyway when we were younger, I was probably in middle school, we would come in the house, it would be dark and I would go upstairs first... in the dark. I would hide in our bathroom which was at the top of the stairs and wait for her to come up. The first few times she would just walk up the stairs (you don't even understand I'm CRYING laughing right now typing this! I can't even get the story out when I'm typing it!) and I would jump out from the darkened bathroom and yell BOO!! and she would scream. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! SO FUNNYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!
This NEVER stopped being funny. After a few days she would start to call out up the stairs if I went up first, "Jameil, I know you're up there. Don't try to scare me." Silence. And I'd do it anyway. HILARIOUS!!!! I couldn't keep it to myself anymore so I told my mom. She said, "That's dangerous! You could scare her so badly she could fall down the stairs and hurt herself!" Hmm... party pooper but noted. It was around this time that I also decided it might lose its fun and shock value if I did it daily so sometimes I would run up the stairs ahead of her and go in my room, turn on the light and start reading, listening for her to say, "Stop trying to scare me, Jameil." HILARIOUS!! I had her shook! I also would switch it up by sometimes waiting in my darkened room at the end of the hall. She had to pass my room to get to hers. Always awesome! If I was in the bathroom, I'd wait until she had turned the corner from the stairs and was about to pass to jump out. Still scary! Now scary and safe! Mom-approved! Lolololololol. Except I talked to her about it yesterday and she was like, "I used to be so mad at you for doing that!" I said, "Why?! It was hilarious!" She said, "You know she was already scary." Lololol. Is that my fault or problem that she's scared of everything? Lightning, the dark, her shadow... She used to sleep in my mom's room when it stormed because she was scared. I didn't want to be left out (NO FUN WITHOUT ME!!) so I used to go to. Sleepover! Lolol.
I have no idea why I stopped but to this day I can't think of it without SCREAMING, literally screaming and sometimes crying with laughter! Even twice in the same week. And apparently in the same day! as I'm talking to my mom about how it still makes me laugh, I start cracking up again! And she says, "Like that?" SO FUNNY!! The fact that it's that ridiculous to she of the no sarcasm that she gets sarcastic is too funny! Love it! I hope it always makes me laugh like this!
On a semi-related note, wait until you see what I'm making my classmates for Halloween! It's gonna be awesome! Can't wait! I won't tell you because some of them e-stalk me and read my blog on the low. Can't have them ruining the surprise!
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