Must Watch Movies

To-Live-and-Die-in-LA

Last night over dinner Garrett and I watched To Live and Die in LA. Despite feeling a little ripped off that there was no 2Pac in the soundtrack :) (HELLO, the world can always use more 2Pac) I thought it was awesome. Garrett has been hounding me to watch it since I loved Drive so much and so finally after almost 2 years of persuasion, I sat down to see what it was all about.

Here’s the thing with me and movies — I really like going to the movies, seeing good movies, quoting random dialogue from movies — but if you ask me if I want to sit down and watch one? The answer is no – I am never in the mood. They are so LONG and they take so much investment! I’d much rather just watch something quick like a tv show (no commercials, GAH!) or do something entirely different. But there are a few exceptions. I got a chuckle reading this post over on Cupcakes and Cashmere the other day about movies you can’t say no to. It made me think of my own list of movies that no matter how busy I was, I would make time for. So I thought I’d share it.

In no particular order:

1. Dirty Dancing
2. The Sound of Music
3. Singles
4. Sleeping with the Enemy
5. Top Gun
6. The NeverEnding Story
7. Reality Bites
8. Basically ALL of Tori Spelling + Valerie Bertinelli’s Lifetime Movies (what?)
9. Sixteen Candles
10. Teen Witch

(Listen, I never said I was a movie critic. :) )

I asked Garrett to make the same list and he rattled off these:

1. Citizen Kane
2. A Christmas Story
3. Lawrence of Arabia
4. The Bridge on the River Kwai
5. Die Hard/Die Hard 2
6. Fiddler on the Roof
7. Caddyshack
8. Predator
9. The Great Escape
10. Commando

So…Is it any wonder we hardly ever sit down to watch movies together? :) Are you judging us?

I know you must have a few irresistible movies up your sleeve too.

See and Be Scene

We’ve watched some suuuuuper random movies lately. My netflix queue has clearly broken the recommendation algorithm because the stuff they have been suggesting lately is bananas. No thank you, Jean Claude Van Damme movies. But I thought I’d share some snippets from the last few cinematic weeks:

Crazy Stupid Love: I wanted this to be GREAT and while I enjoyed it, I thought it was only okay. I think Steve Carell was better as a romantic lead in Dan in Real Life (I shamelessly love that movie) and for me Ryan Gosling in Drive was his best role this year. Even the gratuitous ab shots couldn’t compete with Drive. Entertaining-ish though. And Emma Stone is cuteness squared.

Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune: Hey-O, not a feel good movie! But an interesting look at a time in history interspersed with an influential artist. Garrett has an incredibly large soft spot for Folk Music (He’d light his lighter up at a Peter, Paul and Mary show for sure!) so this was his pick. But I love a good documentary.

Elf: Dude I know. This movie is completely seasonally inappropriate as well as a million years old. I can’t believe I had never seen it until recently either. But HOLY HELL it was so funny we’ve watched it twice. It will definitely be added to the Holiday Rotation. Will Ferrell has this uncanny ability to make me do a full body belly laugh with just an expression. I don’t know what it is. I miss his Saturday Night Live years.

Another Earth: I loved this movie. It was beautiful to watch and I’m still thinking about it. When I read the plot synopsis I wasn’t sure it would be my kind of movie (it sounded a little sci fi for my tastes) but it was REALLY emotional and interesting in a way that I didn’t anticipate. Worth a watch.

On tonight’s movie menu:

*****

While we don’t watch movies nearly as often as I would like, my heart still goes pitter-pat over the potential of a good film. Every year around the time of the Oscars I get a little bit of entertainment industry nostalgia. Have I ever told you that I was once a very aspiring film student? I think I have but I can’t remember. It was during The LA Years (obviously) and the short story goes like this: when you flunk out of your previous college, film schools in LA laugh at your applications. Actually they probably laugh at applications full of amazing grades, because that stuff is COMPETITIVE. And so my life took a different path. But I still have fond memories of living down there and every year I try my best to watch all of the Oscar contenders to recapture a little bit of that buzz that I used to feel while living in LA. We are woefully behind this year, but I’m going to do my best to make a valiant effort!

Have you looked at the list of nominees?

What movies have you seen on the list? Will you be trying to squeeze them all in?

Any other good movie recommendations for me. My netflix queue is now dangerously low. :)

Food for Thought

I am so excited I am to finally see this movie!

Check out the trailer:

It’s opens July 3rd at The Crest and I can’t tell you how important I think these issues are. I promise not to get up on a soapbox here, but seriously, the food industry is so much more complicated than it appears to be and I don’t think the average American even thinks about where their food comes from or how it is made when they walk into the grocery store. And if they do, half they time the labels on things and “nutrients” being infused into foods become so confusing that it is hard to tell heads from tails when it comes to what is “Good For You.”

If you are interested, I absolutely love this article by Michael Pollan, which is actually an excerpt from his book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, which is quite possibly one of the best books I’ve read in the past couple of years.

(Certainly not in a smutty, beach read kind of way, but you know — eye opening.) A quick warning — the article is pretty long (but so worth it — Go read it, I’ll wait.)

Ahem.

Anyway, he also wrote a significantly shorter article called Six Rules for Eating Wisely that is equally as interesting, if not quite so time consuming. (Ha! I tell you after I make you read a 12 page article…do you hate me?)

Both have really influenced my opinions over the past couple of years when it comes to the food Garrett and I eat. I’m not saying that I am perfect or that Pollan, for that matter, has all the answers — I mean, obviously if I was doing everything right I’m sure I would certainly look much different (and truth be told, probably wouldn’t be eating this Twix right now…haha…True confession…DAMN working in an office environment!)

But it’s about starting somewhere.

It’s about baby steps.

And when you add those all up in the end, I feel like those efforts and those concerns will be much more influential on my long term good health than a smaller dress size.

And honestly — the long term — that’s really what we’re all really hungry for, right?

Confessions of Teenage Drama Show Lover

Ok, ok I admit — I kind of have a hot crush on Penn Badgley from Gossip Girl.
So sue me.
The first I ever heard of him was when my mother called me frantically to say “Oh my god, Holly, turn on Gossip Girl because one of the characters looks like Garrett!” To which I promptly rolled my eyes, said “Yeah, sure he does mom, whatever” and I went on happily ignoring the show the entire season.
And then this Summer, clearly during a time of weakness, I happened to catch an episode and I thought to myself— Fine, I can check out this horribly scandalous teenage drama show out just to do my own scientific research. Which left me only two real options — See if this horribly vapid actor would indeed look like Garrett? (Which then begged the question, would I find him attractive?) Or be an adult and turn off this glossy, innuendo-laden trash television off and flip it back to CNN.
If you had to wonder about my decision, then you truly do not know me at all! I’ve always had a passion for research!
So ahem, the scientific evidence:
Exhibit A: Garrett
(I hope you all know, by the way, that he is totally going to kill me for this. But I have rationalized it by telling myself it is noble to die for science, so I’ve got that going for me.)
Exhibit B: Penn Badgley
Um…so seriously I think it is no surprise that I have a little crush on this hot young stud actor, no?
(Side note: OMFG, he is like 22. ROWR! Jesus, I’m doomed to turn into a leathery old Cougar.)
But this is beside the point! The point is, and I do have one…THE POINT IS, I am no longer crushing on Penn Badgley (I hope that name is fake, by the way) solely because there is an uncanny resemblance between him and my own sweetheart.
No siree! I have recently discovered that Penn Badgley is also an accomplished orator. An orator who spoke these wise words to The Huffington Post today, thus cementing my love for him for all eternity.
XOXO,
Gossip Girl

The Movie List: 2008

It was so depressing that I couldn’t remember any of the movies I saw in 2007. I’m resolving to keep better track this year. This will be a working document and I have put a link in my sidebar.
1. Atonement – (January) Beautiful adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novel with phenomenal costumes, music, and heartache. I wasn’t thrilled with the ending, it felt a little to “neat” for me, but I did find the story compelling.
2. Music and Lyrics – (January) This movie is why I don’t have HBO. I caught it one of the like 500 times it was on while I was out at my mom’s recently and even though it was pure garbage I found myself really enjoying it. Plus Hugh Grant’s bumbling Brit is a character that I (sadly) never get sick of.
3. The Kite Runner – (January) While nowhere near as good as the book, I enjoyed this movie. It was our bookclub outing after finishing the book and I found myself annoyingly listing all the things they were leaving out in my head as the film played. Hmmm…this may have been why I didn’t enjoy it as much.
4. Because I Said So – (January) Ugh! This movie is why I don’t want HBO…it was terrible. I was so exhausted by Mandy Moore and Diane Keaton’s constant yappying and totally unrealistic relationship that I fell asleep like 30 minutes before the ending. Cute outfits can’t make up for the fact that getting sucked into this movie cost me two hours of my life I will never get back.
5. The Last Kiss – (January) There are many reasons I loved this movie even though I didn’t think it was great. Honestly, first go watch the trailer here, I can wait. See, wasn’t it good? Ok, so if you are like me and you may have a teensy little crush on Zach Braff, or if perhaps the soundtrack houses a majority of artists in your record collection too, please go rent it. Also as an added bonus when you see this scene you will have an immediate understanding the dynamic of my own relationship. Jacinda Barrett and Zack Braff are seriously a richer, glossier, better looking version of me and Garrett. They have us down to a tee — well until he starts hanging out with stupid Rachel Bilson…but OMG she is so freakin pretty in this movie. Hate her.
6. We Are Marshall – (January) I’m just telling you, don’t watch this movie if you are PMSing. Unless of course a pink puffy face for days is a good look on you.
7. Breach – (January) Spies, Government, FBI, Ryan Phillipe — I mean there are worse things you can spend your time watching. I thought this was entertaining.
8. Live Free or Die Hard – (January) This is what happens when you send the boyfriend to the video store. Hmm…should we even call it the video store anymore, does anyone actually get videos there? DVD store just doesn’t have that same ring to it. ANYWAY, long story short it was entertaining — way better than I thought.
9. The Bourne Ultimatum – (January) See above. Also better than I thought, but by the end of this movie I had had just about enough of things blowing up, people being chased, gun shots, etc. One can only suspend disbelief for so long, right?
10. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – (February) I want you to know that I will never again spell the word Caribbean incorrectly after losing a game of Cranium over it. Anyway, that story (boring as it was) is probably more entertaining than this movie. My general reaction — meh. It didn’t really keep my interest. I loved the other two, but this one not-so-much. In its defense, I was very tired both times I tried to watch it and fell asleep. Sleeping through integral parts kinda does that to a movie.
11. Kissing Jessica Stein – (February) I love the quirkiness of this movie. I’ve seen it a couple of times and every time I like it a little bit more. Watching parts of it with the boyfriend really made me aware of how hyper-neurotic the main character is, but nonetheless its an interesting concept…and the Rilke quote is a good one. English nerd alert!
12. Made of Honor – (May) Yep, that’s right I haven’t seen a FREAKING movie since February! Isn’t that depressing? I either can’t stay awake, and I never get to the theater…so it was quite a treat to catch this, popcorn in hand, by myself at the Fashion Valley Mall in San Diego this week. McDreamy TOTALLY came through in the clutch!
13. Juno – (May) Yay for $1.99 Blockbuster coupons! Was excited to see this since it got so much hype, and for the most part it delivered. Parts of the dialogue bugged me and were a little reminiscent of that Dawson’s Creek style teenage verbosity, but overall it was fun, quirky, and entertaining. Is it weird that it made me kinda hot for men in sweatbands?
14. No Country For Old Men – (May) Listen, in case you weren’t aware, Javier Bardem is one scary dude. I covered my eyes in numerous parts because, frankly, I’m kind of a pussy — but overall a very engaging flick! The end was a little abrupt, but the acting was stellar throughout. Is it just me or was there no music anywhere in that movie? Weird, now that I’m thinking about it.
15. Untraceable – (June) Listen, if you had just played hostess to 2 guests and a dog for a whole weekend, attended a rehearsal dinner and then went to a wedding with 300 guests knowing only know the bride and the groom and your boyfriend (who is in the wedding party) — then curling up with this movie on a Sunday night might be so pleasurable you’d die of happiness. However, if you are just looking for a GREAT! MOVIE! to watch, you will probably find better. It was entertaining, but had I been less tired I probably would have thought it was 2 hours of imitating the movie Seven with Diane Lane wearing bad pants.
16. Sex and the City – (June) I really wasn’t sure I was going to like this movie because I LOVED the series that much — and ya know, it may not translate. It was so good, however, that when I left the theater I had that feeling you have after a long catchup conversation with a good friend you haven’t seen in a while — nostalgic, fulfilled, and looking forward to the next visit. I would totally see it again!
17. Michael Clayton – (June) Pretty good — Actually it was probably really good, except that I was tired when I watched it and slept through like a half an hour right in the middle. The nap was just what I needed, but I was too lazy to rewind. Consequently, all the pieces didn’t make total sense to me at the end, but I could see how, with a few more details, it probably would have. Definitely worthy of a rental.
18. Gone Baby Gone – (June)Wow — this movie was super engrossing and even a little disturbing. You get through what you think is the entire movie, and then all of a sudden the twists and turns abound! I love a good movie where the ending kind of takes you by surprise. Good, but only if you are in the mood for something serious and kinda heavy.

I just want bragging rights if I call it…

My guess for the winner of Food Network’s Next Iron Chef is John Besh.

I’m crossing my fingers.

I know, my life is EXTREME.

Miami Vice: Very Official Movie Review

Oh my god, so this blockbuster.com thing rocks my world. I love this free trial thingy, cuz I’m watching movies like a mad woman and when they are crappy I don’t even feel bad because I’m not paying for them. Big ups to my cousin Jim for the clue-in on what a mega scam this is. Speaking of terrible movies (and by terrible I mean TOTALLY AWESOME)…I watched Miami Vice last night. Well, most of it. Have you seen it? The dialog is PHENOMENAL.
Here is my favorite scene (to give you some context, this scene happened right before Colin Farrel muttered, “If they didn’t do time with us, they ain’t doin crime with us”) I took the liberty of copying this snippet from IMDB for your reading pleasure. I think it really sums up how intelligent this movie is
Det. Ricardo Tubbs: [Crockett is holding a live hand grenade] I’m gonna tell you what’s gonna happen. People are gonna come in here, and you know what they gonna say? They gonna look around and go ‘Oh ah, hell. That’s some crazy motherfucking wallpaper, what is that? Jackson Pollock?’
Det. James ‘Sonny’ Crockett: No, viero. That was José Yero. Got splattered all over his own wall
Nice use of popular culture art references to put the fear of god into a druglord (Jose Yero), dontcha think? (yes, please note that does say Crockett is holding a live hand grednade), but it sure does also show their softer more intelligent side for all the ladies watching. To say “look at me ladies, I know art”. Date movie anyone????
I’m also now quite sure that I totally understand the mechanices of a Ferrari’s paddle shift since I saw close ups of it like 5 times with the Miami skyline behind it. I felt like I was in a Sisqo video a couple times, and really how often can you say that a movie transcends art forms like that??? Not too often, I bet. On top of all that, there were some interspersed soapy tits with really great synthesized music in the background. Now that’s quality. I also enjoyed this line:
José Yero: I like you. You are tough. But I didn’t like your partner. [shows Det.James Crockett]
Det. Ricardo Tubbs: Do you wanna fuck my partner, or do business with us?
I mean…hello??? You tell em Jamie Foxx (with 2 X’s) WORD!!! (Although frankly I don’t really prefer Colin Farrell with a semi-bleached blond mullett either…so I feel Yero on that one)
I would recommend this movie to others.
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