City of Angels

This is way late, but I don't want to forget it so I'm sharing my favorite stories from our trip out West. For those that don't know, Autumn, Betsy and I ventured to the city of angels to visit Autumn's dearly departed roommate Sam, who left New York to pursue her dreams of working in the film industry. She now works at Entertainment Tonight.

I had been to L.A. twice before. Once with my family when I was probably in middle school or a freshman in high school. Needless to say, when I first came here, I was not a fan. The traffic combined with the fact that my family was staying downtown and didn't venture that far (except to Beverley Hills, of course). The second time I went to L.A. it was for the exclusive reason of going to The Price is Right. And while waiting on a street at four in the morning is a fine way to see any city, I was ready to give L.A. its final chance.

Highlights:
Sam lives in what is known as "The Valley," where Cher and Tai go to the party and dance to Rollin' with the Homies. Although in Clueless, it is considered a rough part of town to live in, I found the area where Sam lives to be charming. Lots of restaurants and little boutiques abound, and an easy commute over the hills, where you get to drive by Mulholland Drive, to the rest of Hollywood. We also spotted the liquor store where Cher was held up on our first night.

Betsy's cousin Mirtha is an actress in L.A. and she seems to know everyone. We happily abused her connections to get into Paramount Studios back lot. She is friends with a producer there and he let us drive around a little golf cart and check out the stages. It was a Jewish holiday, so the studio was pretty dead. Autumn and Betsy infiltrated the set of the CW's Privileged. It was awesome.

Mirtha was also able to get us in to Les Deux, which is a club the ladies of MTV's The Hills go to all the time. But she didn't just get us in, we went to the front of the line VIP-style. It was pretty cool. Until the club was so crowded that I wanted to kill someone, then I was happy to leave.

Sam's friend Ren, who also used to live in New York, booked us a surfing lesson for early the morning after our Les Deux adventure. While I had gone home at a reasonable hour, you can't keep Autumn and Betsy down when there is fun and drinks to be had. Although, they'd had little sleep, we all still made it to Santa Monica in time for our lesson. Our surf instructor, was of course, smoking hot. So first things first, we had to get our wet wet suits on. While this was an easy task for me (he gave me on that was too big) the others weren't so lucky, especially considering their respective hangovers. So I helped yank the suits on and we went down to the beach for our lesson. After a few practices jumping up on the board, which was a comedy of errors on many levels we made it out in the water. While it was incredibly cold, after awhile it felt amazing. He told us to just dive right in and Autumn took that to heart. She dunked her head under and when she came back up, days of makeup came running down her face, confirming our instructor's hunch that some of us had been out late the night before. We each took our turns, some more successful then others. One of my favorite moments was when Sam was straddling her board, like all cool surfers do. She had her long hair cascading down her shoulders and looked right out of a surfing movie. Ren, noticing how great she looked, said "Sam you look like such a surfer girl." She enthusiastically replied, "I know!" and she flipped her hair over her shoulder. As she made the sharp movement her board (and her) flipped completely upside down. It was priceless. I managed to stand up on my board for the briefest of seconds, otherwise the ocean kicked my ass. It was so much fun but also very hard work. We all were very sore for about a week afterwards, or at least I was.

All in all, I no longer will use the word hate when referring to L.A. I actually felt like I learned the city, especially since I did a lot of the driving. Other highlights: We saw Benji and Joel Madden at brunch in Beverly Hills, sitting a table over from us. Overall, a fun-filled trip.

Vote for Leo!

Oh man, Jonah Hill is amazing. I'm pretty sure I tried on the glasses he's wearing. Go me!

Yeah, yeah. What do celebrities know? They shouldn't get involved in politics. Whatev. I'm all about voting, Re-elect John Ramsey! Because if you don't vote, you're not allowed to complain. So for the sake of complaining, vote! But first you've got to register. But these guys clearly can say it better.

Oh Leo, 10 years later and you've still got me.

Seagulls love pizza

I work by the water, which I usually forget about until the wind coming off it is cold enough to kill a man.

However, it is not uncommon to see seagulls lazily floating by on the breeze. I was walking to get lunch one day and I saw a seagull diving toward the street. I slowed to observe his keen plan and saw him make a clean landing right at the curb.

He was obscured from my view for the briefest of moments and then he emerged victorious—complete with a full size slice of pizza, and like any true New Yorker, the slice was folded in half. His prey captured, he flew off into the murky mist of lower Manhattan. Chuckling softly and inspired, I made my way to get some pizza of my own. I love this city! (and pizza)

American Teen

Billed as a modern day, real life The Breakfast Club, I went into American Teen with apprehension. But first a shocking confession: I've never seen The Breakfast Club. My mother's hatred for Molly Ringwald, especially in Pretty in Pink, which I have seen, prevented me from seeing most John Hughes movies in my youth. As I got older, I started to make up for lost time, but I have still yet to watch The Breakfast Club, or Sixteen Candles for that matter. I know, I know, I'm a film major. I'm on it.

ANYWAY, I know the gist of The Breakfast Club so that's all that mattered in watching American Teen. It's weird to think about how long I've been out of high school, because I feel like I can remember every day of it, when in reality, I remember relatively little. American Teen made it all come rushing back to me.

The film is a documentary of a few students in one high school's senior class. They, I'm sure, were chosen because they seemed to embody a certain iconic high school persona, yet as the film goes on those stereotypes are broken down to unveil the real humans underneath. We have the jock, the popular bitchy girl, the artsy alternative girl, the heartthrob, the geek and various other hangers-on. As the film progresses we see what motivates them (usually pushy parents), what hurts them (breaking up via text message) and what makes them happy (finally finding a date for the prom).

My favorite storyline, predictably, was that of Hannah, the artsy alternative girl who dreamed of moving to California after graduation. As the film goes on Hannah is dumped, not once, but twice. One of those break-ups pushes her into a fit of depression, which she struggles to get out of, but she still manages to come out of her senior year prepared to handle the next step.

The movie made me think about myself at that age and how far I've come. Like I said, it's weird to remember when my life revolved around yearbook, newspaper, my car and pining for a guy that never would like me. I'm weird in the sense that I still have my core group of friends from high school, some I see every day, others that are just a phone call away. And while the movie didn't make me miss high school exactly, it did make me think about it in a way that made me realize how charmed my high school days were. I had no pushy parents, no mean girls making fun of me (to my knowledge) and no heartbreaks like Hannah did. True, I didn't have a date to prom, I never got THAT guy and I did write "September 11th" as "September 1st" in our yearbook, along with other errors that haunt me to this day, but I also had incredibly caring and funny friends that are still there for me whenever I need them.

Whoa! Got sappy there for a second. The movie is good. You should see it.

Edit: Also, it had to be said that I was way too attracted to "The Heartthrob" in the movie. Then I remembered, he's 17. And then I realized, I don't care. So that's uber-villians and 17-year old boys (Harry Potter included), if anyone's keeping count.

There is a God

McCarren Park Pool

We ventured out to the capital of hipsterdom to see a free show at the famed McCarren Park Pool. Alison, Cichelli and I left, in what we thought was plenty of time. When we got to Williamsburg, we found our way to McCarren Park. We started our trek to find the end of the line. Probably about a half hour later we found it. It stretched for at least 10 blocks. Two and half hours later, and one quasi-severe thunderstorm later, we still were not even close to the front of the line.

Nick and his friend Hyeku had met us and waited with us for a little while longer. At this point, the band we really wanted to see (The Ting Tings) were already well into their set. Cold, wet and frustrated, we decided to just go to the front of the line and just listen. We made our way up there and then Hyeku got feisty. She worked some magic, told a little white lie, and poof! We got inside for the end of The Ting Tings, of which I enjoyed immensely.

The venue was really cool. I was never clear if the "pool" in McCarren Park Pool was an actual pool and it turned it was. "Was" being the operative word. The concert was literally in the basin of a HUGE pool. It was big enough to hold a solid concert pit of people, along with a dodgeball game and a slip and slide. We grabbed a seat on backside, upon the fence that encircled the pool, so we had a great vantage point form which to judge the concertgoers. And we did.

We are funny.

Later on I found out that this is the last summer for concerts at the pool. They are closing it and turning it back into an actual pool, so I'm really glad we made the journey when we did. Even if the rain, the crowd and ineptitude all threatened to ruin it for us.

The Dark Knight

I'd waited through opening weekend to see it. I was foolish and waited too long to get my tickets and all the IMAX shows for opening weekend were sold out. So I had to grit my teeth and wait until Monday. Luckily, I had Alison to wait with. So we waited...I saw Mamma Mia instead. Not a worthy substitute, FYI.

IMAX...I've only seen two other movies on it. Batman Begins and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry was worth it because at the end it went 3-D, which was awesome, in my opinion. The first Batman, eh, but this one was definitely worth the $16 (yes, that price is right, this is New York). From the first scenes, those floating "beauty" shots of Gotham, I was off-kilter and I think that was the point.

From that point on, I don't know if my mouth closed. I haven't seen many movies that literally make my jaw drop. This one did, over and over. In case you are late to The Dark Knight party, the film picks up where the last left off. Gotham has begun to be terrorized by Batman's most infamous villain, the Joker. I'll get my praise for Heath Ledger out of the way now. I remember seeing the first teaser for The Dark Knight, last year, when Ledger was still alive. I remember the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, seeing a shot of him against a wall looking up in the most classic case of rapist face I've ever seen. So I'm going to go ahead and say that my critique of his performance was not colored by his untimely death. Say what you will, but it is a masterpiece. I sat there in awe the entire time, especially in a scene where he has been captured and is being questioned in his cell. He owns the movie from the very beginning, when you can only see the back of his head. He is remarkably creepy, twisted, funny and yet, still attractive.

(Side note: this isn't the first time Alison and I have found such an evil character attractive. We're both hold a hankering for Ralph Finennes as Voldemort (re: suit in the train station, film 5). After seeing this film and realizing we were both attracted to the Joker, green hair, well-cut purple vest and all, we feared what level of evil would next attract us. I said, at the rate we were going, it would probably be the inevitable biopic of Hitler.)

I could go on and on about how much I loved Ledger as the Joker, but you can go elsewhere for more poetic praise. As for the plot, the Joker is using the mob as a backer to wreak chaos on Gotham. Meanwhile, Gotham's newest hope is new D.A. Harvey Dent, who Batman hopes can clean up Gotham enough to allow him to hang up his batsuit so he may pursue his one true love, Rachel (Maggie Gyllenhaall), who happens to be dating Dent, naturally. I don't want to give a lengthy plot summary, honestly, just go see it and pay close attention. In the words of Michael Caine as Michael Caine, er, Alfred, "some men just want to watch the world burn." That's the Joker and that's what he does for the entirety of the movie. There are some cool twists, nifty chases, ahem, flipping over a semi and unexpected deaths.

In short, although, I absolutely loved this movie. It was one of the best examples of art and commerce working seamlessly. I loved it so much, I went and saw it again the following Friday. I haven't done that since a movie that shall remained unnamed (Leo!). I left the theater thinking about it and I was still thinking about and marveling at it the next day and now anytime someone mentions it. I have some negative critiques (Batman's voice) but they were so few, they're not even worth getting further into. Since Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince has been moved to next summer, the race is on to replace The Dark Knight as my favorite movie of the year.

Disagree? Discuss.

The Dark Knight

So. Fucking. Good.

More to come.

Celebrity Sighting #4

Celebrity Sighted: Jason Alexander

Location: Washington D.C., Marriott Hotel

Info: I am in D.C. for a work conference. I leave early tomorrow and am missing the big gala tomorrow evening. According to the schedule, Alexander is going to be performing but I assumed I'd miss him. However, as I returned from dinner tonight, I was walking through the automatic door and was blocked by a group of men. Then I saw him, watching me try to maneuver through his group. He looked right at me.

Notes: He was short (of course), wearing a baseball cap, jeans and a plaid shirt that I'm pretty sure my Dad has.

Hancock

What attracts you to see a movie? What about a trailer or ad campaign will get your hard earned money out of your pocket?

Apparently for me (and Alison), it is relatively simple. In the case of Hancock, we were watching trailers and as a laugh we decided to watch Hancock. From the first few glimpses, it seemed mediocre and then . . .

MOVE! Bitch, get out the way, bitch get out the way... (ah Ludacris)

That song set to images of Will Smith flying into a highway sign? SOLD!

So when opening weekend came around, it was with trepidation that we followed through on our excitement to see the film by attending opening night, in the hope the song made an appearance in the actual movie. But we were not disappointed.

First action sequence, there it was. Said song accompanied by said image. Then to completely convince we had made the right decision, during the fight scene the bad guy breaks Hancock's bottle of rum or whisky or whatever (He's an alcoholic superhero, hi jinks ensue) and Hancock looks directly into the camera (i.e. the bad guy's face), holds the bottle up and simply shakes his head. It's that kind of simple comedy that we fall for every time. So things we're looking up. Will Smith was in top form, Jason Bateman showed up to remind us to watch Arrested Development reruns, inexplicably Charlize Theron was there, but we didn't mind.

Our love for the movie started to decline after a particular high note. Hancock, having just saved Jason Bateman from an oncoming train, derailing it and making a huge mess in the process, encounters an angry mob of people who are ungrateful for his heroics. One woman in particular engages in the following exchange:
Lady: "You smell like alcohol."
Hancock: "That's cause I been drinking, bitch!"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Then it was all downhill from there. (SPOILER) Something about Charlize being Hancock's long lost superhero wife or some such nonsense. Lame. But had the film continued it's first hour of brilliance, we might have a had a favorite new superhero on our hands.