10 Noms 10 Days - Day Five

The Kids Are All RightI believe this film ties Toy Story 3 as one of the oldest films nominated. This was a smaller summer release and it took awhile for it to gain steam. While some people had issues with how this storyline was handled, I forgive its flaws and comfortably say it was one of my most enjoyed flicks of 2010. As fabulous as Benning and Moore were, I must give it up to Mark Ruffalo was his kick ass performance. If he wasn’t in the toughest category, Best Supporting Actor, he’d have this wrapped up. It’s sad that his wonderful performance has to be over shadowed in a year with Geoffrey Rush and Christian Bale. It’s almost unfair. If you missed this on in the theaters, please give it watch on DVD. Here’s my original glowing review. By the way, it had a great soundtrack too.

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Day Two
Day Three
Day Four

10 Days 10 Noms - Day Four

The Social Network will not win Best Picture. I enjoyed this film and I thought it was well done for what could have been very boring subject matter. Admit it, when you first heard about the “Facebook movie” you thought it would be crap. It’s a thoughtful look at what defines ownership and how our society is more connected yet alone all at the same time. Like Catfish, I think it’s an important film to watch, it’s just not a fantastic as everyone is making it out to be. This was my original review.
Day One
Day Two
Day Three

Avatar

Spending the WHOLE day at the movies

I did not want to be the first to see James Cameron’s epic Avatar. To be honest, after I sat through the quite confusing trailer all summer, I was convinced it would be a huge flop. However, since he’s the king of the world and all, I was wrong.

The beginning of last week, we decided that Sunday would be the day to finally take in this two hour and forty five minute offering. At first the kids didn’t want to go, but by Sunday, six of us plopped down a whopping $60 bucks, (it was a bargain showing, thankfully) received our ginormous 3-D specs and settled in for a long ride.

Yes, it was visually stunning, and I actually did enjoy the story line. Thankfully it was not as confusing as it appeared in the previews. I liked some of the messages that underscored the film, but once again I wanted to yell for an editor! Trimming 30 minutes of this film would clock it in at two hours and fifteen minutes, and that’s still a long movie!

The backs of my ears hurt, the glasses were weighing heavy on my nose and I found myself holding the glasses out in front of me for the last twenty minutes. I understand that you want to show all your cool tricks of technology and that when investors pony-up millions of dollars, you want to make them feel like they got their money’s worth. However, I hardly doubt that James Cameron screened this flick wearing the same clunky glasses I did, while on the first day of his period! So, suffice to say, it was a chore to sit through this thing, but in the end, I’m glad I saw it.

I appreciated that Na’vi people had full knowledge of the humans’ presence. I don’t agree with the notions that the film had racist undertones. The lead actor could have been any nationality; unfortunately, Hollywood still tends to go white more often than not. You’re looking at it the wrong way though if you view the message as the white male lead needs to save the Na’vi people. He has to lead the way because only someone from the enemy side could understand the magnitude of the attack that was about to come down. The Na’vi people did their own ass kicking! How could they comprehend that anything so reprehensible would take place? It was not in their belief system that other beings could be so cruel.

See this on the big screen. Block out a whole day, because you’ll probably have a headache afterward. Now, I didn’t walk away thinking this was an Academy Award Winning Best Picture, but maybe I’m wrong again!

One Day - Book/Movie Combo

Welcome to a new feature at Collenie’s Couch, Movie Book Combo. So many films are made from books, right? Well, I always wonder what is better. Should I read the book first? It’s common knowledge that the movie never seems to live up to the book, but what are we going to do? I’m sure readers of this blog equally love books and movies. I’ve decided to dissect both in this feature. I actually started this with Never Let Me Go, but I didn’t quite finish that post. Look for it in the near future. I’m trying to finish up all my summer movie reviews first and then I’ll back track to some posts I never completed.

Instead, we’re going to kick this off with David Nicholls book and the current film starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess…One Day.

First, the book.


My daughter read this first and passed it on to me. It was one of the few books that sucked me in immediately. We meet Emma and Dexter on July 15th, the day they graduate from college 1998. The book checks in on them every July 15th through 2006. It’s a wonderful premise and Nicholls handles it brilliantly. Since it’s always the same day, important life milestones can’t always happen and this creates a very different path for a book. You may think small snippets of a large period of time would make it difficult to feel a deep connection with the main characters, but this is not the case. We hear Emma’s story and Dexter’s story. Sometimes they are in each other’s lives and other times they are not. The dialogue is biting and witty and I often laughed out loud no matter where I was reading. Also, their inner dialogue with themselves was often funnier than what was being spoken. It was also fun to read all the UK references. Emma didn’t wear glasses, she wore spectacles! Characters snogged and shagged, for me it was a wonderful change. I loved spending time with the characters, the story was well fleshed out…it really was one of the best books I’ve read in quite a while.

Now, the movie.

Well, my daughter and I were already worried that this would not transfer well to screen. Yet, how could we not see it? This film was basically a shining example of why some books should never be brought to the screen. As far as Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess go, they were wonderful! They had great chemistry and were completely believable as Emma and Dexter. The problem was trying to cover almost twenty years in less than two hours. I hope someone reading this has seen the movie without reading the book. It’s hard for me to know, because I feel if you didn’t read the book, you find it all very confusing. I’d like to know what you thought if you saw it. Minor characters were very miscast. Ian had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, Sylvie wasn’t quite cold enough and Suki was way too tall. The whole point of her was how loud she was in comparison with her small size. None of it really matters though because you saw such brief moments of them, they had no impact. Also, I realize you have to pick and choose when you transfer a book to screen, but a major event that happened to Emma’s character was taken out. This really made a difference as to who she was as a person and thus changes your perception of the character. Some scenes and dialogue were lifted straight from the book and they were great. The visualization of Dexter’s TV show “Largin’ It” was spot on. Sadly, the scene was so brief, I don’t think viewers even got a chance to digest it.

In the end, the book works. The movie does not. What are your thoughts? Have you read One Day, or seen the movie? Sound off. What do think of this new feature? Am I asking too many questions?

10 Noms 10 Days - Day Three

True Grit was a worthy remake. I enjoyed some of the changes made to this John Wayne classic, others I question. While I’m sure this stayed more faithful to the original novel, I feel the original filmmakers made good choices. Read my original review here. I recommend watching both. Jeff Bridges doesn’t stand a chance after winning last year. Hailee Steinfeld has a good shot at winning Best Supporting Actress, but since she was clearly the main character of the film, a supporting win takes a bit of the shimmer off.

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Day Two

10 Noms 10 Days - Day Two

I was so excited to see Inception. I enjoy all the actors involved with this film and I love plot lines that make you think. I ended up being disappointed. Here’s my original review. This film is currently available on DVD and I do feel like I should give it another chance because honestly, I did sleep through a large portion of it. On the other hand, I feel if it was riveting enough, it should have kept me awake! I mean it’s not like I was drunk, or got of super early that day, or worked twelve hours. I never fall asleep in the theater. So I’m sorry Inception, you have to accept some of the responsibility for that!

Day One

365 Seinfeld - Day Two

1-2-10

Often there is a fear that when you make something “official” it will disintegrate before your eyes. Hours floated by today with no Seinfeld references. Did I curse myself? Would it all end now? By 9 p.m. I was blessed with not one, but three. Here’s the breakdown:

I was grocery shopping with my husband and we picked over the 50% off Christmas items shelf. I look over at my hubby, who’s holding up a red knitted cap…in the grocery store? He says to me, “I like this hat.” He used this weird voice. I crinkled my nose: “What?”
“Remember when Kramer wanted those Cuban cigars and he had to trade his jacket? That guy touched his jacket and said, ‘I like this jacket.’”

I was done. Whew! This experiment was going to work. I relaxed and prepared for my son’s evening basketball game. During the game, I sat next a co-players dad and daughter. The daughter was playing some weird video game for her Nintendo DSI. She was able to take pictures and stretch them or place obscure templates around them. She took I picture of her dad and placed his face on a king playing card. When I looked over, the dad said to me, “Look, I’m the King!” I laughed and said, “I’M THE KING!” In the same tone as “I’m THE WIZ!” Wow, twice in one day!

On our return home I began making muffins to take to my friend’s house tomorrow. I pulled out some muffin paper liners. I grabbed the first ones I found. They were Winnie the Pooh. When my daughter came over to see what I was making she saw the muffin liners and exclaimed, “Pooooh!” Just like Elaine when she’s stupid and she’s trying to do the crossword puzzle.

Since I was bombarded with so many references today, I thought I should post this. If I wait till the end of the week, it will be WAY too long!

Summer Movie Wrap Up

Happy Labor Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying a day of leisure. I know Fall doesn't officially begin until September 23rd, but we all know that after Labor Day most of shed our summer fun and go back to school and busy days crammed with errands, meetings and overall busyness. So it's sad to say that yesterday's viewing of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark will be the last movie I can officially include in my summer viewing. Personally, I thought this summer was the best in awhile. Let's take a look back at what I managed to make it to the theater for.

Bridesmaids
Captain America
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
Cowboys and Aliens
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark
Green Lantern
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two
Horrible Bosses
Midnight In Paris
One Day
Project Nim
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8

Bully - Movie Review

There are a swarm of summer movies out now, but I’m going to back up a bit and review a film I saw a couple of months ago.

Bully, opened in limited release and seems to have disappeared too quickly. I’m hoping the more people talk about the more it will be requested in schools, theaters and special screenings.

Despite an important message, this is a wonderfully done documentary that keeps the viewer engaged throughout. You may have heard of this film because of its ratings controversy, which in my opinion was a load of crap. The ratings board wanted to slap an R on this film because the “F-word” was used a couple of times and other colorful language. It’s important for adults and kids to see the bullying in its full, uncensored context and I’m pretty sure there’s not a kid out there today that hasn’t heard curse words.

I have to be honest and tell you that I put off seeing Bully. See, I was one of those kids. I don’t mean that I’ve been bullied once, or I had a short period of bullying growing up. No, I was the kid that was picked on almost everyone single day from second grade to eighth grade. The worst of course, was 6th through 8th grades. I know why I was a target. I was and still am short. As an adult, I still don’t hit the 5 feet mark and in school I was the smallest kid in class every single year. I was stick-skinny, pale and had huge glasses. Kids would chant “midget” at me and medium sized kids were always picking fights with me. Believe it or not though, I was lucky. Tall kids, boys and girls always managed to come to my defense just before I might actually have to “throw down.” I wasn’t meek, I vocally stood up for myself, but I was so much smaller than everyone else that I was never a threat to anyone. Needless to say, I didn’t want Bully to remind me of those days. I didn’t want to feel those emotions again. Still, I know what a huge problem this is for kids today and I thought it was important to see the film.

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Kick Ass

DVD Review

I really wanted to see this in theaters. I even tried to go. I took a vacation day when my son got his braces on. I took him back to school after his appointment and found myself with a couple of hours to myself. For me this always means, “Do I have time to see a movie?” I was soon standing in front of the theater only to see that Kick Ass already started. It wasn’t the worst thing to happen because I ended up seeing Hot Tub Time Machine instead.

Needless to say, I’ve been anticipating the DVD release for months. Invisible high school student, Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) wonders why no one has ever made an effort to be a super-hero. Fate does not step in here, and that is what makes this story refreshingly different. Dave does not develop special powers, nor does he have dramatic circumstances happen to him. Instead, he is driven, mostly by boredom, to begin to pursue his dream of becoming a super-hero named Kick Ass.

It doesn’t take long before Dave finds himself in a lot of trouble as he comes closer to the underbelly of the city. He also finds out that he’s wrong. Other “regular” people are becoming super-heroes in the form of Big Daddy and his pint-sized killing machine daughter, Hit Girl. However, these two have an ax to grind. Big Daddy wants to take down Frank D’Amico, the city’s Crime Boss, for ruining his life. Big Daddy has trained his daughter Mindy, aka Hit Girl, for this task. They have spent a considerable amount of time plotting and building their arsenal. After meeting these two, Dave begins to realize that he’s bitten off more than he can chew, but getting out may not be so easy.

During one of Dave’s “rescues,” he was recorded on someone’s cell phone. Kick-Ass has become an internet sensation. There’s Kick-Ass merchandise in the local comic book store, thousands of hits to Dave’s Kick-Ass website, and impersonators popping up like Red Mist (Christopher-Mintz Plasse).

Watching this movie made me immediately worry that parents took kids that were way to young to see this; this not some cutesy movie. This movie was super violent and the most relentless of them all was little Hit Girl. Chloe Moretz is taking over as the new Dakota Fanning. With turns in 500 Days of Summer, and the upcoming Let Me In, she’s certainly picking eclectic roles.

It’s also nice to see that Christopher Mintz-Plasse was not just a flash in the pan. He’s actually shaping up to be a halfway decent actor. Aaron Johnson was quite the cutie and made Dave/Kick-Ass a guy you could root for.

This film kept me thoroughly entertained throughout, unlike so many other movies lately. The story was interesting, I cared about more than one character, it wasn’t too long or too short, and basically, I totally want to be Hit Girl when I grow up! Who could ask more of a movie? I guess I’m not alone because I just found out they are making Kick-Ass 2: Balls To the Wall. I’m not sure they should do that, as it’s usually too much of a good thing, but maybe I could be pleasantly surprised a second time.

Lastly, it was pretty funny to see Clark Duke show up in this since he was also in Hot Tub Time Machine, which was the film I ended up seeing the day I planned to see this.

The Avengers - Movie Review

So what does a movie loving mother want to do on Mother’s Day? See The Avengers of course! The family gathered together, which is a challenge with one teenager and one young adult. I couldn’t think of a better crowd pleasing movie to take the whole family too.

I’ve seen and enjoyed all the movies leading up The Avengers except I never saw Thor. I planned to see it, but sometimes you can’t get them all in. I even had Thor on hold at Blockbuster for Friday night. I didn’t pick it up though. I had a long work week and I wasn’t up to it. It was my one regret. Though it was not necessary to have seen Thor in order to follow The Avengers plotline, I did feel some pivotal points would have been further enhanced if I did.

If you’ve been following all the movies leading to this, you know that there will be an inevitable threat to the world and all the avengers will be forced to work together. Guess what? You’re right!

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) must find a way to band together S.H.I.E.L.D in order to save the world from the Tesseract. This small, glowing green cube is an energy source and possesses mind controlling ability too. It’s now in the hands of the evil, Loki, Thor’s half-brother. Of course he wants to rule the galaxy, blah, blah, blah. As usual, this all doesn’t really matter because you just want to see super heroes fighting and on this The Avengers delivers big time!

At first you would think this movie packs in too many super-heroes, but fine writing and the comedic abilities of the actors, keep it fun and easy to follow. Maybe because everyone does have such a strong personality, no one is fading in the background and they all get their moments to shine. The always hard working, Mark Ruffalo, does a fabulous job stepping into the thrice cast role of The Hulk. Robert Downey Jr. has many great lines, but doesn’t over take the film. Younger actors, Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Chris Evans (Captain America) do a fine job holding their own with the more experienced actors.

The fun part of this movie was it got me so excited I found myself yelling things at the screen! Hey, I’m a 44 year old mom and I can usually control myself, but first the movie started with a new character, Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), this came out of left field for me and as a huge, How I Met Your Mother, fan, I couldn’t help but shout out, “SCHERBATSKY!”

Then Hulk was awesome. Believe me the mother of two teenagers certainly knows a thing or two about controlling rage, but when Hulk finally busts out, there I was yelling, “You go Hulk!”

Ah, then there’s Iron Man. What can I say, he’s sooo cool. How could I possible contain myself? I had to shout a few time, “Get em’ Iron Man!”

Maybe this was not how the typical mom would want to spend Mother’s Day, but for me it was a wonderful time with my whole family together and the perfecr summer flick before summer has even started.

You go Avengers!

Oscars 2013

Well, some time ago I wrote that I was back and as you can see, I was jumping the gun a bit. I’m getting better each day, but I still can’t push my luck. Lately, I’ve been busier than usual at work, so I’m still searching for the right balance.

What’s hard is, this is my favorite time of year…OSCARS!

Yes folks, this is my Superbowl. Sunday is my day, I do not make plans, I do not make dinner, it’s all Oscars, all day. Since movie watching doesn’t hurt my arms or neck, I did manage to see all nine Best Picture nominated films. My goal was to take the nine days leading up to The Oscars and write a review for each. Since the telecast has started, that’s obviously never going to happen. Maybe the best way to get back into the swing of these is to give my reviews in a nutshell, sit back, enjoy the show and then let’s try to get back to regular posting soon.

I saw Beasts of the Southern Wild in the summertime. I heard great buzz about this film and its young star Quvenzhane Wallis. While this film was visually stunning and the young star certainly earned her Best Actress nomination, this is the type of film that is somewhat wasted on a simple moviegoer like me. Much like last year’s, Tree of Life, I appreciate the artistry and effort to do something different, but I can’t help but feel a little dumb when I see these kinds of films. Some of the content really does go over my head. I often have foreign and independent films high on my watch list, but a film like Beasts of the Southern Wild is best appreciated by those with a more sophisticated film palate than mine.

Les Miserables was a film I had hesitation about. I have a long love/hate relationship with musicals. Films like The Wizard of Oz and West Side Story are some of my all-time favorite films, but then films like Moulin Rouge, I can’t make it past 5 minutes! Les Miz was a risk for me because I don’t mind when characters sing an actual song, I despise sing songy lines of simple conversation and actions. This film had to work hard to win me over and it did. The opening scene blew me away visually. This is a film that should be seen in the theater. Not only are the visuals best enjoyed on the big screen, it’s a favor to yourself to be in a sequestered setting. This movie is long and it feels long, but since you’re in the theater, you have no choice but to give yourself over completely. As far as the knocks the actors received for their singing ability, I will say this. I felt the point of this project was to hire actors who could sing, not the other way around. I respect this decision that this was being adapted into a movie not simply filming a stage production. Everyone who signed on to this took such a chance and singing live and in the moment had to be so scary for all involved. So, do I wish Russell Crowe had a more commanding voice? Sure I do, but it took a lot of guts to do what he did. As for Anne Hathaway, she continues to “bring it” in roles people think she won’t be able to pull off. I think she’ll win tonight and all I can say for those who felt she desecrated “I Dreamed A Dream” with all her crying, it worked on me. It was gut-wrenchingly emotional and I felt completely destroyed when she was done. I wanted reach into the screen and save her.

I remember seeing a trailer for Silver Linings Playbook and thinking that Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence will probably want this film to be quickly forgotten. Honestly, these days you’re not even guaranteed a movie is good because Robert DeNiro is in it, that man makes a lot of crap! So what a pleasant surprise it was to get a film with strong writing and acting performances. Once in while a feel good movie works. This one does because of the pull no punches character development which is beautifully executed by superb acting performances. It’s no surprise that this is the only nominated film that snagged nods in all the acting categories. I think Lawrence really has a shot here and I don’t think her Golden Globe exclamation of, “I beat Meryl!” will hurt her one bit.

To be perfectly honest, the only reason I saw Amour is because it was one of the Best Picture nominees. I have nothing against subtitles or foreign films, however this subject matter was depressing. If making you feel completely deflated and hopeless is what the director was trying to achieve, then mission accomplished. Now, I will say this film was brave it how it dealt with aging and illness. This was, arguably, the most vividly honest film to deal with challenges of growing old and caring for those we love. That is why this film is nominated, but what a downer!

I’m a fan of Quentin Tarantino and Pulp Fiction is one of my all-time favorite films. My level of excitement was already pretty high for Django Unchained and boy did it deliver! I’m not a fan of gore, yet Tarantino always delivers a huge bloodfest and I love every minute of it! Jamie Foxx was made for the role of Django and he brought the maximum level of cool needed to pull off Taratino’s outrageous storylines. The real gem here though is Christoph Waltz. He was so complex, funny and badass cool. If he manages to wrangle the win away from Tommy Lee Jones, it will be my loudest yell of the evening.

You can yell at me but even though I write a movie blog, I never saw The Hurt Locker, okay smack my hand. I just never felt in the right mood to sit with that subject matter for two hours. I did break down though and see Zero Dark Thirty. Riveting and emotional for sure, but I feel as if something was missing because of our lack of knowledge. Jessica Chastain turned in a wonderful performance, as she always does, but she was so limited in what she could do with her character because we are not allowed to know these people as real people. As much as a liked this film, I felt a distance from it.

This was not the case with the wonderful Argo. This shows the different time can make. Whereas the subject of Zero Dark Thirty may still have been too fresh for a film adaptation, the de-classified records for Argo seemed to scream to be made into a film. Ben Affleck really knows his way around as a director not to mention how many fine character actors he peppered this film with. You can’t imagine how great it was for me to see Bryan Cranston and Philip Baker Hall in the same scene. As a Seinfeld maniac I couldn’t even hear what they were saying because I was thinking, “Oh my God, Bookman, The Library Cop and Tim Whatley, DDS are in the same room!” This movie was so intense, yet fun. To know this was a true story really added to the enjoyment. It was great to know what some people will put on the line to do what’s right. I think Lincoln is a lock for Best Picture, but I have to say, I would not be shocked to see this one pull it out of left field.

Life of Pi was a pleasant surprise. So many films this year proved how important it is to still see movies in the theater. Life of Pi was a visual treat and lent itself great to the revived and trendy 3-D format. When it seems like so many films are in 3-D just because they can be, for this film, it actually added a special quality. To feel as if you too where trapped on the boat with the Bengal tiger really helped you buy into the film. I loved the overall message and I have to say Ang Lee did have one of the toughest director challenges this year.

Lastly, Lincoln was a collaboration of A-listers: Spielberg, Day-Lewis, Field, Jones and the most wonderful movie music maker of all time, John Williams. Why this movie garnered the most nominations is because it accomplished the task of taking someone who is an iconic legend and making him a very real, relatable person. My honey since the 80’s, Daniel Day-Lewis deserves the Oscar for bringing Abraham Lincoln to life. This movie really has no action and may be boring to those not interested in this part of history, however you would do yourself a disservice to miss this wonderfully executed biopic. I started crying in the opening scene. There were so many beautiful tiny moments that you felt to your core. I think this will walk away with the Best Picture award. Although some may think it’s because it’s tailor made for awards, not true. This is an example of the wonderful magic movies can give us. Taking us back to the Civil War Era and making us feel everything that was on the line was a monumental feet and it delivered.

This is going out a bit late. It was quite a task when I haven’t posted in so long, but hey everyone….enjoy the Oscars!

Night Ranger

I recently found two old cassette tapes. I began making a summer mix tape in 1983. Over the years, this went from a cassette to a disk and now a playlist on my iPod. Some summer mixes were better than others. Often, I included an entire soundtrack from a summer blockbuster movie.

The two tapes I uncovered were the first two I ever made: Summer 1983 and Summer
1984. I thought it would be fun to re-construct these as playlist on my iPod. The Prince songs and big 80’s hits were easy. A large portion of the songs I already owned and merely had to move them over to a new palylist. Then there were some sucky songs I don’t want to remember listening to like, How Do You Keep the Music Playing. Oh well, most songs I still enjoy, even if they are considered tacky now.

Case in point: Night Ranger’s, When You Close you Eyes. First of all this was not even my type of music. I always referred to bands like Night Ranger as “white boy bands.” From time to time though, these songs sneak onto your playlist and there’s little you can do but to embrace them. I did not own this song anymore, but I easily found and downloaded it from iTunes. I have to admit, I’m once again hooked on this song. I’m going to lose all musical creditability! It washes me over with nostalgia and I keep listening to it over and over again.

The weather hasn’t been as hot a usual this summer and I’ve been able to take walks on my lunch hour. This is prime iPod time for me. I found myself walking on a sunny day, feeling the Night Ranger and reminiscing about summertime when I was young. I kept hitting replay, just so I could hold on to that feeling a bit longer. Oh that chorus:

When you close your eyes, do you dream about me?
When you close your eyes, do you dream about me?

I love the emphasis on the second your.

So my mind is lost somewhere in a 1984 haze when suddenly a mini van whizzes by me. It’s going way too fast on a suburban neighborhood street. I was far enough away, but I was on more of a dirt path than an official sidewalk. Faced instantly with my own mortality, I had a flash of that van taking the turn just a smidge too fast and possibly wiping me out! I would be laying there and, you guessed it, the papers would say I was listening to Night Ranger right before I bought the farm! Oh the horror.

Warhorse - Movie Review

I wasn’t too interested in Warhorse. It looked pretty boring to me. Horses are beautiful creatures, but they don’t quite come off on screen as well as dogs. That and the World War I backdrop did not put this one high on my list. Still, it was getting some pretty good buzz and it did seem like a film that should be experienced on the big screen.

A few weeks back, I took in three movies in one day. I saw Hugo, My Week with Marilyn and the showtimes enabled me to fit in Warhorse, so I decided to go for it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen three movies in one day (except for a special screening of the three original Stars Wars flicks in 1985) and Warhorse and Hugo both clocked in over 2 hours. It was quite an accomplishment and luckily my neck and back did not suffer from my over indulgence.

Although I feel Warhorse was not good enough to garner a Best Picture nomination, it still exceeded my expectations and I’m glad I saw it.

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The Amazing Spiderman - Movie Review

If you’ve noticed my posts being a little light for a couple of weeks, it’s because I’ve been on vacation. Of course the week leading up to vacation caused me to be extra busy at work and then, the writing I planned to do while in beautiful Carmel, California, was met with intermittent internet access. It’s all good though, because a real vacation should be from everything. So, I’m heading home soon. I thought while everyone is packing around me, I could maybe knock out this review.

Even though I was surrounded by the calming sea and gorgeous nature, I still couldn’t wait to see The Amazing Spiderman. Yes, I went opening day, expecting a large crowd, but it was just a normal amount of people.

I’m a huge fan of the original Spiderman (2002) films and I’m of a certain age, so I grew up with the 70’s cartoon and Spidey showing up on The Electric Company was normal for me. I waited my whole life for a Spiderman film and I was so excited when they made the first film. Tobey Maguire, Kristen Dunst and James Franco were a rare event of perfect casting. As satisfied as I was with the first Spiderman film, all my expectations were far surpassed with Spiderman 2!

As you can see, I really didn’t need a Spiderman reboot. Luckily, they cast two of my favorite young actors and that alone put my butt in the theater.

There’s some story tweaking in the re-boot. Peter Parker’s love interest is Gwen Stacy, in the comics this was an earlier love of his so it fits well with the high school setting. Although they are not teenagers in real life, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are a bit more believable of the young age then Maguire and Dunst. And the chemistry between these too is hot! Their budding relationship is really the core of this new edition. Stone and Garfield sizzle in their scenes together and being directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer), guarantees that the viewer is going to have a great time watching this relationship blossom.

I would have to say that the overall casting is probably some of the best I’ve ever seen. Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben and Sally Field as Aunt May, are simply wonderful to see in action. It’s nice to see these roles given to heavy weight actors. They deliver on really making you feel their love and concern for the young Peter. Denis Leary has come along way in his career and it’s awesome to see a former stand-up comedian in a huge blockbuster film. We know he has his tough cop act down pact, but he’s so believable as Captain Stacy, that he still manages to impress.

If Andrew Garfield was looking for his break out role, this is certainly it. He brings his awkward, hyper, pent up anger of Peter Parker to a new level. I’ve recently found out that a lot people did not like Tobey Maguire in the Spiderman role. While that shocks me, I don’t see how anyone can complain about Garfield. He embodies the role with sarcasm, innocence and the arrogance of youth.

What I found interesting about this installment was that the special effects seemed to focus more on how Spiderman could move about and less about huge action sequences. Don’t get me wrong, there are big effects and smashing and all that, but there didn’t seem to big any “wows” in the effect department when it came to Spidey taking on bad guys.

I really liked The Amazing Spiderman and I would definitely buy another ticket to see Garfield and Stone again, yet there was still this emptiness I felt at the end. Something was missing. Then I came home and FX was showing Spiderman 2. I have to say, I think it’s my all time favorite super hero film. I sat down and re-watched the whole thing. That fight scene on the train? Phenomenal! Then when the people on the train carry Spiderman…it’s a scene of sheer beauty. Maybe it’s unfair to compare the two. Maybe the second installment will also blow me away. Time will tell.

Lastly, I did appreciate the filmmakers showing that pic of a young Martin Sheen on Peter Parkers wall. It’s important that a new generation gets to see how hot he was!

Oh I lied, one more thing. Why was I they only one to shout “Ponyboy” during the bridge scene? How soon we forget.

Can You Believe I Haven't Seen - The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski

Well, I wrote almost this entire post and then I thought, “Hey I haven’t saved this yet.” So I hit “SAVE” but it opened another window so I said “no” to saving document 2, but then it erased both! I know this has nothing to do with my movie review, but I must vent. Seriously, I was 90% done!

It’s the last day of the month and time for my review of another flick that I really should have seen by now. I’m realizing that I missed a lot of films that came out in the 1990’s. My kids were small then so it’s understandable. What’s funny though is I had Showtime and HBO, but it was before the DVR pause feature, so an entire film was a challenge.

This month I watched The Big Lebowski. I like The Coen Brothers and every actor in this film so it’s amazing I still never found the time for this one.

Jeff Bridges plays schlub Jeff Lebowski who is mistaken for millionaire Jeff Lebowski. This mistaken identity turns their lives and everyone around them completely upside down.

It was great to see John Goodman in such a sizable role as Bridges’ lunatic friend. I must admit to being disappointed in Steve Busemi’s role. He was wasted! He barely had a dozen words in the whole film!

I have a hard time judging this movie fairly. I enjoyed it and I loved the whole “Dude” persona. I was surprised that bowling did not play as central a role as I thought, however, this film has gained such a cult status over the years that a lot of expectations have built up since its original release in 1998. I’m not sure it would have stuck with me the way it has with others. I’ve also heard it’s a love it or hate type of film and I must day I can’t agree with that. I had a good time, but I wasn’t rolling around with laughter. It didn’t strike the same chord with me as Fargo or O Brother, Where Art Thou?. Time will tell if certain things stick with me, or if I feel compelled to watch it again.

I’m not sure what’s in store for September. Maybe I’ll let you guys decide. Here are two films that couldn’t be more different, but the one thing they have in common, I haven’t seen them! So next month, should I check out Babe or Easy Rider?

Away We Go!

I had an independent film buff’s dream by seeing Away We Go and 500 Days of Summer on the same day.

Away We Go touched my heart more than I ever expected, and that’s in large part to Maya Rudolph’s understated yet beautiful performance. She is a wonderful actress that brought rich texture to her modern mom-to-be character of Verona. Maya can be completely goofy, as clearly illustrated from her SNL years, but there’s no problem taking her performance and her character seriously. However, there is one scene in which Verona is telling a bedtime story to her boyfriend’s niece. She’s talking through the girl’s stuffed frog, and John Krasinski is the stuffed crab; their comedy backgrounds are exposed because both their voices had me in hysterics!

This is a simple story about a couple (John Krasinski of “The Office” and Maya Rudolph) expecting their first child. They travel around the U.S. and Canada, looking for the perfect home to raise their family. The screenplay was written by the writing couple, Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. These two are pretty hip cats in the writing world, and I hope they have more movies in them. Their screenplay subtlety touches on our definition of what makes a family and true meaning of love, commitment and parenthood.

Do not misunderstand; most of this movie is a complete crack-up. The family and friends they visit are one of the nuttiest groups you’ll ever encounter in such a short film. Allison Janney almost steals the whole movie as Verona’s completely inappropriate ex-co-worker, whose mothering of her two young children should never be emulated by anyone!

At first, Krasinski and Rudolph seem like an odd pair, but by the film’s end, the viewer believes this couple is the real deal, and you’re rooting for them to make it.

This film avoids clichés. There are no characters misunderstanding each other, a scene that puts the pregnancy in danger and a false breakup just to have the main players dramatically reconcile in the third act. This is a quiet movie about a family finding their place and I’m glad this movie can find its place too. Amongst the big special effect-laden blockbusters and raunchy comedies, it’s a treat to see this well thought out, smart, funny little film going to battle with the big boys.

The Productive Writer

Book Review - The Productive Writer by Sage Cohen
If you’re reading this blog you probably have a blog of your own. If you have a blog of your own then I’m sure you’re constantly looking for ways to find more time to write. Well after reading this book by Sage Cohen, it’s going to be difficult to make excuses.

The Productive Writer breaks down all of your writing time and leads you down the path of productivity. In 20 Chapters that cover everything from scheduling your social media to using your commute time, no stone is left unturned. One great tip was to have a workstation in a box. A pre-prepared box of everything you need to set up shop is a great solution to those of us that are space challenged. I personal have a desk, but it’s in the living room and it’s a shared space with other family members.

Overall, I found most of the tips and ideas very useful and I look forward to incorporating them into my life. However I do find that these types of books forget how many hours a traditional job takes up. I often feel like I’m not accomplishing enough, then I remember that my full-time job is not eight hours a day. For starters, people don’t get paid for lunch hours. I’ve been working for 26 years now and I’ve always had to be at work for nine hours because of the lunch break. Now if you factor in travel time, cooking dinner, clean up, homework assistance, weekday errands, prepping for the next day…yeah, there’s not a lot of time left. I leave the house at 7:15am, use my lunch hour to pick my son up from school, go back to work, get home at 5:30 (if I don’t have to go to the library, grocery store, bank, hospital pharmacy or lord knows where else!) then start dinner, eat and proceed to do whatever million items need to be tended to. Don’t forget that if you have children they seem to have endless evening functions you must attend. I have two this week alone. All these disruptions make it difficult to stick to a schedule. When I finally do have a free evening, I want to sit on my butt and do nothing.

Yet, we are all here so we must be driven by that force we can’t control. We need to create and we’ll constantly try to find ways to stretch out that same 24 hours. If I didn’t feel guilty for sitting on my butt, I would have never purchased this book in the first place, right?

One great addition with this book is online downloadable charts and schedules. I’ll definitely start using the social media schedule right away.

I’ve tabbed many sections of this book and it’s one that I will keep close by, even though I still feel I’m a ways away from calling myself a productive writer. The tips are practical and useful and the tone of the book is very encouraging. I felt like Ms. Cohen is on my side trying to help me make the most of my scarcely available writing time.

Bret and Jermaine are My Sweetie Pies!

The last tour stop for Flight of the Conchords was tonight at the Berkeley Community Theatre here in the San Francisco East Bay.

My budget does not allow for many concerts these days, but in one of my most fortunate strokes of luck, I won two tickets from KFOG 104.50 FM.

My daughter happily accompanied me. It was her first concert and I’m afraid she’ll have to spend a long time trying to top tonight’s show.

We had some major delays because of fire alarm issues. There was also weird organizing of “will call’ ticket holders, regular ticket holders, a women trying to get in with her dog and a man shouting, “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD” from the sheer frustration of all the different things we were being told to do.

Once we were finally inside it was refreshing to see affordable merchandise, (rockin’ cool tote bag for $15 and underwear for $10) a mellow crowd and an intimate, if not slightly run-down, auditorium.

Our opening act was Arj Barker who plays Dave the pawn shop owner on the HBO show. The TV does not do this Marin native justice. He was hysterical! I did not realize till tonight what a funny guy he is. He’s a great edition to the tour.

When Bret and Jermaine took the stage in their homemade robot costumes, it was instantly worth the wait. They were so laid back and cool. Each song took about ten minutes, between all the talking and joking. But make no mistake, these two are top-notch musicians and there instrumental and harmonizing abilities were amazingly impressive. Just because their funny doesn’t mean they lack anything in the musical talent department. All their songs are catchy and well written, spanning across many different genres.

Their easy banter with the audience really gives an organic feeling to the show. Even though they are becoming wildly popular with each passing day, you have the feeling the guys are the same on stage as they were before all the YouTube hits and HBO series.

I can’t think of a better way to kick off my summer. Great show, talented guys and a number one fan forever!

Song of the Week

Moon Over Bourbon Street – Sting

Everyone is on the Twilight bandwagon these days. Well, this old gal loves her ol’ school Anne Rice vampires. I’m not talking about the movie with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, that was a bit disappointing. I’m talking about the mid 80’s when the book became very popular and all possibilities were in the future. This Sting song was inspired by the novel. I recommend the original version off The Dream of Blue Turtles album. My dream casting for the flick was always Sting as Lestat and Daniel Day Lewis as Louis. That would’ve been very hot indeed. Maybe you’re young and you don’t realize how hot these two were back in the day. Here you go…