2009

I'm feeling down on 2009. It's been a rough year. So inspired by Jacky, I decided I want to try and participate in the Best of 2009 blog challenge. Mostly to try and remember some good things about this year and perhaps even reflect on the bad things. I've never done anything like this before with this blog, but perhaps it will inspire me to start posting more, which is an area where I'm lacking in inspiration as of late. I'm just a few days to this party, but I still want to write the prompts I missed so those will come soon.

For now, just the announcement of things to come because I have four interviews to transcribe and one more to do today.

Because why not?

The Greatest Update Ever: Part 2

Adventureland
I love this movie. I hadn't seen a movie multiple times in the theater in awhile. It's harder to justify it in New York. But I did it for this one. Romantic and genuinely funny are hard to come by. Adventureland does both very well. I wasn't even that annoyed by Kristen Stewart's mouth. Well . . . most of the time.

Star Trek
I've always maintained my position of Star Wars over Star Trek. This was an uneducated preference really. I remember watching Star Trek with my parents but never really understanding or liking it that much. But then J.J. Abrams had to go and direct it, thereby forcing my interest to be piqued. Going completely ignorant of the original Star Trek was kind of cool. Although instantly I wanted to watch all that came before it.

The Taking of Pelham 123
This is what happens when you just want to go to a movie theater, no matter what's playing. You find yourself watching a completely unbelievable , laughable performance by John Travolta. It's pretty sad when you realize the highlight of a film is when you recognize the MTA headquarters as being by your office. Lame.

Whatever Works
Larry David and Woody Allen together? Match made in heaven. Or so you would think. What was the problem? I'm not quite sure. Maybe it was because I've watched too much Curb. I could actually see Larry David thinking about his lines as he said them. Evan Rachel Wood was incredibly annoying. Plus the script just didn't feel fresh. I want these guys to try again, next time with a little more feeling
.
Public Enemies
Disappointment. Johnny, you've never looked better. Too bad it wasn't in a better movie. And I had such high hopes.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
I reached my height of crazy this summer when I went to the midnight IMAX showing of Harry Potter and then went again the same day. Was it worth it? Clearly. However, I do have criticisms. Why in the world did they change how Ginny and Harry get together? I can't see any possible reason. But overall, you still got me Harry. Although I did not cry and that was upsetting in and of itself.

(500) Days of Summer
It happened again. I fell hard for a movie and wanted to see nothing else for weeks. Amazingly I only saw it twice, but not for lack of trying. I loved everything about this movie. Acting, soundtrack, pacing, editing, everything. I hadn't been hit this hard since Garden State. And anyone who knows me, that means something.

Funny People
Another disappointment. Seth Rogan, you look great skinny. Keep it up. Jason Schwartzman, I had higher hopes for you but always glad to see you. Jonah Hill, you're always solid, be in the movie more. As for Adam Sandler, I appreciate the effort to branch out, but the sheer amount of penis jokes ruined any new depth of emotion you tried to reach.

Julie & Julia
Yum. Well, the Meryl Streep part is great. Amy Adams just tries to make to make do with the unfortunate haircut they gave her. Plus they filmed in my new hood!

District 9
One of the few movies I saw this summer that lived up to its hype. Compelling, grotesque, exciting and awesome. Well done Danny Boyle.

The September Issue
Oh magazines. I still adore you. Even as you die a slow and painful death. But this film, which follows the creation of the September 2007 issue of Vogue (the biggest issue the magazine ever put out). The filmmakers got unprecedented access to Anna Wintour and she's better for it. It shows her being tough on her colleagues—creative director Grace Coddington bares the brunt but luckily she's one of the few who can take it and dish some herself—as well as showing why she's one of the most respected editors of all time.

Films I couldn't muster the energy to recap, therefore grades:
Duplicity: B-
I Love You, Man: B
The Proposal:D
Angels and Demons:D
Up: A+
The Hangover: B

The Greatest Update Ever: Part 1

So remember when this blog was supposed to be an outlet for me to write about movies? I write about non-commercial foodservice all day, so I created this blog so I'd have a place to write about movies and other things that inspire me, but movies primarily. However, life intervened. The last movie I wrote about in length was American Teen, more than a year ago.

I am ashamed.

Apart from my post about the Oscars and the extensive list of my feelings on the movies of the year, I haven't written in present tense about a movie I've seen in more than a year?! This stops now. So to catch you all up, and in the interest of brevity, I will detail the movies I've seen since the post about favorite movies of the year with my feelings on each. I want to share with you all what I've seen but I know, as all writers should, conciseness is key.

Bride Wars
Sometimes you need a mindless chick flick. Sometimes you need one with one of your oldest friends. Yes, this was terrible. Probably everything that is wrong with movies made for women. But Anne Hathaway is a girl crush of mine. And she wore a really cute dress/cardigan pairing, so it was almost worth it.

He's Just Not That Into You
Again, another bad choice made for reasons of mindless entertainment. But hey, the early part of the year is movie dumping ground. So when the urge strikes, you go see drivel like this. However, it wasn't as terrible as Bride Wars, so that's a plus. I still will watch Jennifer Aniston in almost anything and this is one of her lesser crimes. Although I do dislike Justin Long and don't buy him as a cool guy at all. Overall, I agree with one Adrienne Aggen's assessment of, "not terrible."

Gomorra
For those not familiar, Gomorra is a film about organized crime in and around Naples. Praised highly in the pages of the NY Times, I am struggling to remember anything about it besides a ::yawn:: AND IT'S ABOUT GANGSTERS. Come on Italy, you can do better than this.

Two Lovers
Better known as the movie Joaquin Phoenix was supposed to be promoting when he went crazy on David Letterman, Two Lovers is actually a sweet little movie. Set in Brighton Beach, land of Russian immigrants, the film follows Leonard as he juggles two romances. One with a parent-approved good girl and one with a manic-depressive hottie (Gwyneth Paltrow). Needless to say, Leonard doesn't do the male gender any favors in his actions, but the film is still really interesting to watch, both in regards to performances but also as an example of a type of a movie that isn't made much anymore: a smart and simple New York romance.

Watchmen
Full disclosure: I knew very little about Watchmen before I went to see it. I had read a few things about it (Patrick Wilson sex scene! Billy Crudup blue and naked!) and seen the trailer (Smashing Pumpkins song!) but otherwise I'd only heard raving fanboys (Chris Raine) talking about how great the comic is. I pride myself on being a girl who likes this sort of thing (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc), so I was hoping for the best. To say I wasn't impressed would be a lie. It's visually a beautiful movie. But I just didn't care about any of the characters or particularly like any of them. And it's hard to watch a three hour movie where you don't have anyone to root for. Even if they are played by Patrick Wilson and Matthew Goode (Chasing Liberty!).

Coming soon...Duplicity, Adventureland and more.

Patience is a Virtue

Yes, I've been MIA for more than a month. But I have good reasons.

1. One, Corinne Fetter became Corinne Kritikos and attention had to be paid.

2. I moved from Morningside Heights/Harlem to beautiful Park Slope, Brooklyn after a hellish apartment search and the latest movers in the history of the world.

3. Two other Uglies are in the throws of wedding planning and attention must be paid.

But, I'm working on a new blogging vigor. I want to return this blog to its true purpose so I have some drafts in the works. Until then, thanks for checking in and stay tuned.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

OK, OK! My fans are clamouring for an update (although I think you just want a new post for new opportunities to make fun of me). I was planning on doing one tonight, but then I got carried away with bridesmaid duties. So I'm in process of writing the update to beat all updates.

You'll need a few days to prepare for what's about to happen.

Celebrity Sighting #5

Celebrity Sighted: Michael Imperioli

Location: Tribeca/Chinatown border

Info: Dave and I were returning from an excellent Chinatown feast when he hit me repeatedly on the arm as we were crossing the street. Thinking it was just his normal behavior, I was slow to catch on that he was calling the sighting to my attention. There he was, Christopher Moltisanti from The Sopranos! A show I have recently completed watching and absolutely LOVED.

Notes: He had long hair (for Christopher) and we saw him meet a young lass on the corner, gave her a kiss on the cheek and disappear into the night.

Unwigged and Unplugged: Beacon Theater

An amazing thing happened yesterday. I was completely spontaneous and it all worked out perfectly. Having read that the lead players of Spinal Tap were going to be performing sans costumes and electric instruments, I thought I might like to go but funds for such things are low on my list as of late. However, when the show presented itself again, day of show, for some reason I flew into action. I went to Craigslist, found cheap seats, e-mailed and secured tickets in one hour's time. It couldn't have been easier. So to my joy, that is how I found myself sitting in the incredibly beautiful Beacon Theater for a night of comedy/rock. The trio did songs, all acoustic, from This is Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind and some choice cuts from Waiting for Guffman.

Highlights:
•An earlier promise of famous faces was doubly paid off when the trio was clearly gearing up to play the classic, "Gimme Some Money"—choice lyrics: "Don't get me wrong. Try getting me right. Your face is OK. But your purse is too tight." Instead of launching into the song themselves, they brought out a guest vocalist in the person of ELVIS COSTELLO. Elvis sang the entire song with gusto as the trio backed him up. The entire theater was shocked and elated.

•As a breather between songs, the trio read verbatim the original censorship notes made when NBC decided to air the film in its entirety for the first time. Sample notes: "The lyrics 'my baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo, I'd like to sink her with my pink torpedo' are unacceptable." "The entire song 'Sex Farm' is unacceptable."

•I feared Stonehenge wouldn't be as wonderful without the mini-Stonehenge and dancing midgets. However, I was proven wrong when on the screen behind the trio, an even smaller mini-Stonehenge was lowered down on a string while two disembodied hands (which I later found out belonged to Jamie Lee Curtis) made two Troll dolls dance around. It was the Spinal Tap equivalent of the dancing manatee. Brilliant!

•I wasn't expecting any songs from Waiting for Guffman since the other two gentlemen weren't involved in that movie, however, I was pleasantly surprised when Christopher Guest and a guest female vocalist sang a touching rendition of "A Penny for Your Thoughts," complete with toe touch at the end.

•I also wasn't expecting to hear my favorite song from A Mighty Wind, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow, since it's Eugene Levy's shining moment in the film. However, apparently Michael McKean and his wife wrote the song and so fittingly performed it, complete with kiss at the end.

•The performance of "Big Bottom" was done with just bass and snapping fingers, which is probably how I'd prefer to hear the song from now on.

•They took some time between songs to share two of their favorite fan-made music videos to Spinal Tap songs. Here is my favorite:


•The evening ended on a high note with "Old Joe's Place," reminding me how much I enjoy A Might Wind and must rewatch it as soon as possible.

•Overall, I was really impressed with how talented the men were as musicians. Christopher Guest can play guitar as well as anyone I've seen. And although they are all in they're 60s, they played for two hours including two encores. That's more than I've seen much younger musicians do.

Lowlight:
The definition of douche that was sitting a row ahead of us. Not only were they clearly wasted and talking over the music so loud that the girl next to us loudly (and rightly) called them douches, when the trio was introducing the song "Corn Wine," the douche felt it appropriate to yell out "Cornhole!" Not amused. Thankfully, they stumbled out (or were kicked out) shortly after this incident.

Sigh

Sorry for all the trailer stuff. I've been crazy at work, traveling, sick, hurt back and now eczema. Perhaps too much information. But some of the only pleasure I get these days is from trailers like this. Enjoy.

P.S. I heart Arcade Fire.

Oh hey Harry