It's beginning to look a lot like award show season time....

If you heard a high pitch squeal yesterday morning that you weren't sure where it was coming from, it was probably me when I realized that the Golden Globe nominations were announced yesterday.  The Golden Globes signals the beginning of the award show season.  I love award shows.  I am not sure why, I just do.  I especially like the Golden Globes as they break the movie categories into Comedy/Musical and Drama.  Comedic films tend to not get the appreciation they deserve in other award shows.  That is a shame.

There were several things that excited me about this years nominations.  They include:

1.  Sandra Bullock gets 2 nominations - Sandra Bullock is nominated in the Best Actress in a Comedy for The Proposal and Best Actress in a Drama for The Blindside.  I saw The Proposal and she was absolutely hilarious in it.  I have not seen The Blindside but have heard from those who have seen it that she is wonderful in it.  I have been a Sandra Bullock fan since she first came on the scene in Speed.  These 2 nominations are highly deserved.

2.  Meryl Streep gets 2 nominations in the same category - Meryl Streep got nominations in the Best Actress in a Comedy for her roles in Julie and Julia and It's Complicated.  I haven't seen It's Complicated (I really want to) but I did see Julie and Julia and loved it.  She nailed the part of Julia Child.

3.  George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt all get nominations (well sorta) - George is nominated for Best Actor in a Drama for Up in the Air, Matt Damon got 2 nominations (one for Best Actor in a Comedy for The Informant and one for Best Supporting Actor in Invictus), Julia Roberts is nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy for Duplicity and Brad Pitt stars in the Best Drama nominee Inglorious Bastards.  If they all show up to the award show, it will be like a reunion of Ocean's 11 and 12.  Being a big Ocean's fan, this make me very happy.  George, Matt and Brad also bring the pretty so that doesn't hurt either.

4.  Anna Kendrick gets nominated - Anna Kendrick is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the movie Up in the Air.  Why would this excite me if I haven't seen the movie?  Well, Anna also plays Jessica in the Twilight movies and she is adorable in those.  So I am very happy for her.

One thing that did perplex me about the nominations.  Invictus was nominated several times.  It looks like I may have to go see it.  I really don't want to.

The Golden Globes will be presented on January17.  I can't wait.

Weekend Movie Viewing

I actually got to watch 2 movies this weekend.  One movie fits in the Christmas season.  The other has a connection to my Twilight Obsession.  We will start with the Christmas movie first.

The first movie I watched was National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.  I have probably seen this movie a zillion times and probably will watch it a zillion times more.  I guess there is just something about watching the Griswold's have a traditional Christmas and failing miserably that just cracks me up.  (Mom, who I was watching it with, was amazed at how hard I was laughing)  Could it be I myself have experienced some disfunctional Christmas's myself?  Possibly, but haven't we all?

My favorite character in the whole story is Aunt Bethany.  I see myself in the future, going to either my niece or nephews and acting the same way.  You will have to watch the movie to see what I mean.

Fracture was the other movie I watched this weekend.  How does this fit in to my Twilight obsession you may ask?  Well, one of the characters is played by Billy Burke, who plays Bella's dad in the Twilight flicks.  Fracture tell the story of a man played by Anthony Hopkins who shoots his wife after he finds out she is having an affair (with the character played by Burke).  Ryan Gosling plays the DA who is in charge of prosecuting him. 

This is a pretty good film.   Since the murder was revealed in the first 20 minutes of the film, I was wondering what was going to happen.  It didn't disappoint.  Gosling and Hopkins were good as always.  If you like a good courtroom drama, I would recommend this one.

Opening in Theaters 12/11/09

There are two new movies opening in theaters this week.  One I really want to see.  The other I am really conflicted about.

1. The Princess and the Frog (rated G) - This is Disney's latest animated release.  It puts a twist on the classic kissing a frog and it turning into a prince storyline.   I love all things Disney, but it has been a while since they have had an animated feature other than their Pixar stuff that I have been interested in seeing.  (The last non Pixar Disney film I really liked was Chicken Little.  I highly recommend that one).  It has also been a while since they have had what would be considered a "Princess" film.  The clips I have seen of this look really good.  I am really looking forward to seeing this.  So is my niece.

2. Invictus (rated PG-13) - Invictus tells the true story of how newly elected Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) used the sport of rugby to unite South Africa.  Matt Damon plays the rugby captain that joins forces with Mandela to get this done.  I am really conflicted about whether or not I want to see this film.  I am a huge fan of Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.  I am also a huge sports film fan.  What is it that is keeping me from wanting to see this film?  It's directed by Clint Eastwood.  I am sure Mr. Eastwood is a very nice man, but I just can't stand his movies.  I have tried watching his movies.  I really have.  I have had better times watching paint dry.  (If you like Clint Eastwood movies, please don't be offended.  This is just my opinion.  You are entitled to yours).  Will I bite the bullet and see it?  Maybe.  I think I will wait until I get it for the library so I don't have to pay to see it.

That's what opening this weekend.  I don't know if I will get to the movies this weekend.  Too much Christmas shopping to do.

The Fans Fight Back “He Doesn’t Want This, Neither Do We”

I am getting on my soapbox now.  I like watching movies.  I like watching movies a lot.  When I find a movie I really like, I tend to get enamored with the stars of those movies.  Obviously, I have done it with the Twilight series and I have done it with others in the past.  I read the magazine articles about them and look at their pictures.  But, do I need to know every sorted detail of their lives?  NO.  I would kind of like it if I knew a little less about their private lives.  Do I enjoy looking at pictures where celebrities are chased down the street by the paparazzi? NO.  In those pictures, the celebrities don't look happy.  Why would I want to see that?  The only thing celebrities owe fans is a good performance.  That's it.

What brought this rant on?  This weekend, paparazzi photos of Rob Pattinson surfaced that were truely digusting.   He had went to a concert of one of his friends and while leaving, the photographers, for lack of a better word, ambushed him.  In one photo, he was literally backed up against the wall.  It was truely sad. 

I wasn't the only one that was disgusted.  Several sites got together and started "The Fans Fight Back "He doesn't want this, Neither do We" campaign.  They had fans send in photos of themselves with their faces covered.  The photos are posted on the Thinking of Rob website.  They currently have 1000+ photos.  They also have a video of some of the photos one Youtube.

I think this campaign is really impressive.  If it just changes the mind of a few people not to look at the paparazzi picture or buy magazines that publish them, then it will be worth it.

In case you are wondering, yes, I did send my picture in.  Here it is:

My picture did make it on the part one of the video that was made.  I encourage you to watch it. (Not because I am in it)

I will get off my soapbox now.

Opening in Theaters 12/4/09

Please don't fall off your chairs, I am actually doing a post on what is opening in theaters this week for the 2nd week in a row.  I am so excited.  I may get into the groove of this blogging thing yet.

1. Armored (rated-PG-13)- This is the story of a bunch of armored truck guards who plan a robbery of their own trucks.  Like all good action movies, the plan doesn't go as expected.  Not sure if I really want to see this one.  The only thing that might make me want to see it is the fact that Matt Dillion is in it.  I am a child of the '80s.  Matt Dillion was pretty hot in the '80s.

 2.  Brothers (rated R) - Toby Maguire stars as a solider who gets shipped to Afghanistan.  An incident happens and he is presumed dead.  Jake Gyllenhal stars as his brother who steps in to help his wife (played by Natalie Portman) and kids.  You don't need to see the movie to know that no good is going to come out of that.  This movie looks mildy intriguing mainly because I am a huge Toby Maguire fan.  I don't know if that is enough to make me go to the theater to see it.  This may be a view on DVD movie.

3.  Everybody's Fine (rated PG-13) - Robert De Niro stars as a widower who sets out to get back in touch with his grown children.  What he finds is that kids are anything but fine.  Also starring Drew Barrymore, this film looks cute.  I am assuming since there is a Christmas tree in the background of the poster, that it may be set around Christmas time.  Since I am a Christmas movie fan, I might have to see this one. We will wait and see.



That is what is opening this week.  I hope that everyone has a great weekend.

Songs In My Head

I love music.  I took piano lessons as a child.  I would listen to my 8 tracks and albums (yes I am that old) for hours on end.  Much to the chagrin of my mother, I would listen to music at very high decibles (or at least she thought so).

I am still very much at music fan.  I like a broad range of music.   Harry, rock, soundtracks, country, disco.  You name I probably like it.  Unless it's rap.  I am just not into that.

I have noticed as I have gotten older, I tend to get a song in my head and I have to listen to it over and over again.  I just can't stop.  I will play it until another song takes it's place.  I know it's a little OCD, but what can I say.   I thought I would share the current songs that I are in my head.

This first song is came on recently on my Pandora Abba channel.  If you haven't heard of it you must visit the Pandora website.  It's an internet radio station that allows you to choose the music you like and it will pick out similar songs.  Anyway,  I remembered this song from when I was younger and have been playing it ever since.  Probably a good thing I live by myself.



The other song I have in my head is thanks to one of the movie previews I saw when I went to see New Moon.  The song plays in the trailer for the upcoming movie "Letter's to Juliet".  Since I saw New Moon twice, the song is really in my head.  I only play this in my car, so it's not as much in my head as the first one, but it's there just the same.



I am sure that there will be songs to replace these.  There always is.  So until then I will enjoy these.

Thanksgiving Weekend Viewing Part 2

I am back on bathroom monitor duty (otherwise known as manning the Nonfiction Reference desk) so I thought I would share with you the other DVD I watched this weekend.  This is the one with the Twilight connection.

Yes, I watched How to Be, starring my beloved Robert Pattinson.  I actually bought this DVD right before Thanksgiving.  I had heard good things about it and I want to make sure his career goes on for a while. 

How to Be tells the story of Art (played by Pattinson).  In his early 20's, Art just broke up with his girlfriend and has to move back in with his parents.  His parents aren't the most pleasant people.  Art works at a dead end job at a grocery store and volunteers at a local community center.  He desires to be a musician but is really bad at it.  Since he feels like he is having a quarter life crisis, he goes to the local book store and picks up a self help book.  He becomes so intrigued by the book that he takes all his money and hires the author to come be his life coach.  The author moves in with Art and his family and the rest of the movie deals with what happens.

At first, I was a little worried about whether or not I would like this movie.  From the preview I had seen, I thought it looked a little goofy.  I was wrong.  I found this film to be quite charming.  It was nice to see Rob in another role beside "Edward".  He does goofy really well.  There is quite a bit of talking in the movie so if you are into action, you probably won't like this movie.  There is also a lot of British humor so if you don't appreciate that, you probably won't like it either.  But if those things don't bother you, I would highly recommend How to Be.

Thanksgiving Weekend viewing part 1

I, like most people, had a very busy Thanksgiving weekend.  I had food to eat, bargains to find and Christmas decorations to get out.  In the middle of all this craziness, I did find time to watch 2 movies.  And neither of them had to do with the Twilight Saga.  Well, actually one of them had a connection to the Twilight Saga but we will get to that one later.

The first DVD I watched was the new Star Trek movie.  I have seen the majority of the Star Trek films that are out.  When I orginally heard about this prequel I was very excited about it.  I didn't get around to seeing it in the theaters so I had to wait for the DVD. 

This Star Trek movie tells the beginnings of the Starship Enterprise and all of the characters from the original series.  The film makers did a brilliant job casting these actors.  You could really believe they were the younger versions of the characters we have come to love.  It is absolutely eerie how much Zachary Quinto, the actor who plays Spock,  looks like Leonard Nemoy.  They could be father and son.

I enjoyed this movie a lot.  The plot was a little confusing, but I can't really say I understood any plot of a Star Trek film.  It didn't take away from the film at all.  I am a big fan of J. J . Abrams who directed this film.  He did a wonderful job.  The action was great.  I really wish I had seen it on the big screen.  I bet it was really cool.  I am eagerly hoping they will make a sequel to this film.  I would definately go see that one.

Opening 11/25/09

Thanksgiving is upon us.  Most people have the weekend off.  I do.  How did I manage that?  Don't know.  But I will not complain.  If you plan on going to movies and seeing something that isn't New Moon, the following movies are starting this weekend:

1.  Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Rated PG)  This is based on the children's book by Roald Dahl.  It tells the story of a reformed chicken thief "Mr. Fox" who returns to his former life of crime.  This movie basically sounds like an animated version of Ocean's 11, which is not a bad thing as I loved the Ocean's movies.  If you are going to do an animated Ocean's 11 movie, who better to cast as the voice of Mr. Fox than George Clooney himself.  Meryl Streep voice's his wife.  I saw a preview for this in the theater and it looks really good.  I may have to catch this.

2.  Ninja Assassin (Rated R) - Not entirely sure what this one is about.  But since it's about Ninja's, I think I will pass.  (This from the person who likes vampire and werewolf movies).

3.  Old Dogs (Rated PG) - Robin Williams and John Travolta play bachelors who have to take care of twins.  This one sounds like 3 Men and a Baby.  The movie is directed by Walt Becker who also directed Wild Hogs.  I loved Wild Hogs.  This movie has some potential but I may wait until I buy it on DVD for the library.






That is what is opening this weekend.  I hope everybody has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

New Moon

Friday night was a wonderful night.  I got to see New Moon.  It's been a long time since I have seen a movie on opening night.  Being a huge Twilight fan myself, I should have expected what I encountered.  It was nuts.  My 2 best friends and I went to the 6:20 showing.  I knew in advance it was sold out so we decided to meet at the theater at 5:30.  It's a wonder we found each other due to all the cars that were in the parking lot.  We did and we entered in the theater and were promptly "hearded" into our holding area.  I have never felt so much like cattle in my life.  I was pleased that when we finally made our way into the theater that we got on the back row (which is my favorite part of the theater).  I was really scared that we were going to have to sit on the front row and I wasn't really wanting to experience werewolves quite that close.  I only do the front row for buffalo.  

After my friends went to get our cokes (I had them sign the bank loan required to pay for the cokes for me as I saved the seats) the movie started.   I wasn't sure what to expect.  I had seen the numerous trailors several hundred times and it did look very good.  But out of the 4 Twilight books, New Moon wasn't really my favorite.  New Moon picks up where Twilight left off.  Bella and Edward are together and we find Bella is approaching her 18th birthday.  Knowing her 17 year old vampire boyfriend isn't going age, Bella isn't too eager to age.  She would rather be a vampire and Edward doesn't want to destroy her soul.  The Cullens do have a birthday party for her and since I don't want to give away too much of the plot, let's just say it doesn't end well. 

Because of the ill fated birthday party, Edward decides to leave.  This sends Bella into a deep depression.  She discovers that she can "see" Edward if she does dangerous things.  She gets some motorcycles that need fixed up and takes them to her best friend Jacob who is a mechanic.   She starts hanging with him and discovers she starts to feel better.  But like everybody in the series, he has a secret too.  He is a werewolf.  I did learn a interesting fact.  Werewolves run around without their shirts on.  And they look REALLY good without them.  This fact was not lost on a majority of the audience as they applauded EVERY time a werewolf came on the screen (this included the person I was sitting beside as well).  

Bella eventually does something really stupid and it gets back to the Cullens that Bella kills herself.  Because he can't live in a world where Bella doesn't exist and he is kinda hard to kill, Edward goes to Italy to visit the Voulturi coven to get them to kill him.  The Voulturi are the "ruling" coven over all the vampires.   The Voultri are really creepy looking.  I am surprised I didn't have nightmares of Dakota Fanning.   She was especially creepy looking.  Alice and Bella rush to Italy to save him.    Bella and Edward are reunited, a big fight happens, and to avoid being killed by the Voulturi, Bella needs to be turned into a vampire.  That's pretty much the story.

Did I like the movie?  Yes I did.  It followed the book pretty faithfully.  I thought the cinematography was beautiful.  It was much better than Twilight.  Everything in Twilight had a blue tint to it.  New Moon was much warmer, which probably had a lot to do with the werewolf theme (I'm just saying).  Chris Weitz did a great job directing.  I hope he comes back to direct Breaking Dawn.  I have read other reviews on the internet that said the middle part dragged (which really did in the book) but I didn't think this movie dragged at all.  I thought Kristen Stewart was wonderful as Bella.  She did Bella's depression very well.  I wasn't a big fan of Jacob, but I really liked him in the movie.  I am glad they didn't replace Taylor Lautner like they were talking about.  He was really good.  And I know this is a given, but I really thought Robert Pattinson did a good job.  I almost passed out at the scene where he quotes Shakespeare.  A lot of people were put off that he wasn't as much.  I was glad he wasn't because that would have deviated from the book and that would have bothered me. (I am a librarian you know).  And I thought the very ending of the movie was brilliant.  (I am not sure my friends thought so but oh well).  It definately makes you want to see Eclipse.

The only part I was disappointed with was I thought Bella and Edward's reunion was a bit rushed.  There was a lot of stuff in the book that they left out that would have been really good. 

Was New Moon predictable?  Yes  Will it win a Oscar?  Probably not.  Was I entertained?  Oh Yes.  When I go to the movies, that is what I am going for and I truly got it with this one.  I was so entertained that  I plan to go back tomorrow and see it with my Mom (a Team Jacob member).

My friends and I decided that we would not go see Eclipse on opening night.  We will give it a couple of days.

Duplicity

Today, I hung out at my Mom's house.  We started our afternoon watching Twilight.  My mom had recently purchased the DVD and we had to make sure the dvd was ok. (It was her 3rd viewing of the film, I have lost count on how many times I have seen it.  Let's just say, I can quote dialogue)  The DVD was fine and after we were done, we had some more time to kill before church so we decided to watch the movie Duplicity.

Duplicity stars Julia Roberts and Clive Owen.  I enjoy both of these actors.  In this movie, I think they were playing corporate spys.  I stress "I think" because it took me over half the movie to figure this out.  And even after seeing the entire film, I am not totally sure that was the case.  The plot was extremely hard to follow.  I am usually ok with complex plots if it all comes together in the end.  This didn't happen for me in this film.  I am not sure if it was the script or the editing that was the problem.  Either way, you really had to think to figure out what was going on.  When I watch a movie, I don't want to think that hard, I want to be entertained.  And entertained, I was not.   I guess I will have to wait patiently for New Moon to come out in the theaters.

Opening in Theaters 11/6/09

I am going on vacation next week and don't really have anything specific planned to do.  So I thought it would be a good time to get back to my "Opening in Theaters" posts to see what is coming out in theaters next week.

1.  The Box - (rated PG-13).  A couple (played by Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) received a "box" (thus the title) from a creepy old guy (played by Frank Langella).  If the couple pushes the button, they will receive 1 Million dollars.  In return somebody they don't know will die.  I have seen the previews for this film and it really looks creepy.  It may sound sick and twisted, but I would to see this film.  I don't know if I will see it at the theater.  Hopefully a certain AV Librarian will have enough money in her budget next year so she can buy it for the library and I won't have to pay to see it.  One can hope.

2. Disney's A Christmas Carol - (rated PG) - As I have said, I come from a family that loves Christmas movies.  My mother, brother and I all have extensive collections in our home.  One of our favorite tales is A Christmas Carol.  I was really excited when I heard about this remake coming out this week.  It stars Jim Carrey as Scrooge.  It's animated in the same style as The Polar Express (a movie that I don't get the appeal for.  Just my opinion).  It looks really cool.  I will definately see this on the big screen as all animated films should be viewed.

3. The Fourth Kind ( rated PG-13) - I honestly haven't heard anything about this film.  It stars Milla Jovovich and is about aliens.  Since I am not a big alien movie fan, I think I will pass.

4.  The Men Who Stare at Goats - (rated R) - This is a movie I really want to see.  It stars my beloved George Clooney.  It also stars Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges.  It's about a experimental US military unit that uses it's psychic powers to fight wars.  The previews look hiliarious.  An let's face it, with a title like "The Men Who Stare at Goat", the movie just has to be seen.

That's what is coming out this week.  I don't know if I will get to any movies this coming week but if I do, I will be sure to blog about them.

Decorating my office

In my office in the temporary location, I have a lot of empty wall space.  2 walls to be exact.  So to make my office more "homey", I decided to decorate them.  One wall is dedicated to my Robert Pattinson obsession.  Since I am the AV Librarian, I decided to decorate the other wall with movie posters.  But I didn't want to use just any movie posters.  I wanted to pick movies that held some significance to me.  I haven't finished the project yet, but the following are the movies I have used so far.  I have included a description on why I chose them.  I hope you enjoy.

1.  Disney's Robin Hood - This movie first came out when I was in Kindergarten.  I really wanted to see it.  Mom was going to take me and my brother but we had really bad weather that year and since we lived in the country, we didn't get to see it.  Mom did buy me the soundtrack album so I thought that was kinda cool.  Luckily I am old enough that back then, Disney re-released their movies on the big screen (instead of DVD like they do now.  I wish they didn't do that.  But that is a whole other blog post. ) and I eventually did get to see it when I was in the 6th grade.

2.  Grease - I do remember seeing this in the theater and loving it.  But I decided to choose this movie poster because of the soundtrack album.  I played it non stop.  I probably drove my parents crazy with it but I didn't care.  It was and still is a great soundtrack.

3.  Rain Man - This is the first movie my BFF Edie and I went to see together.  It was the start of a life long friendship that I will cherish forever.  We have seen many, many movies together and can tell you many many stories related to them.   She is and will always be my favorite movie going partner.

4.  Dances with Wolves - As I have mentioned before, I had and still have a Kevin Costner fetish.  Dances with Wolves is my all time favorite Kevin movie.  I went to see it in the theater 3 times.  One time we set in the front row.  Let me tell you, that is not easy considering it's a 3 hour movie.  But it was worth it. 

5.  Fried Green Tomatoes - I think this is a wonderful movie, but it's not why I picked it for my wall.  When I went to see it the first time, I didn't realize the 2 main characters were gay.  What can I say, back then, I didn't get around much.  So I went to that movie 3 more time (we had the dollar theater back then).  Needless to say, I finally got it.

6.  Much Ado About Nothing - I love Shakespeare movies.  Luckily, so does Edie.  Out of all the Shakespeare movies I have seen, Much Ado About Nothing is my all time favorite.  Beatrice and Benedict are one of the most romantic couples on fim.  When Edie and I went to see this in the theater, there were maybe 6 of us total in the theater.  By the time it was over, I believe we were the only ones left in the theater as everybody else left (Edie, you can correct me if I am wrong).

7.  Ghost - Edie and I used to go to Peru a lot to see movies.  It was cheap and a change of scenery.  Any way, I swear for a 6 month period all that was showing in Peru was Ghost.

8.  Beauty and the Beast - As I have said before, Beauty and the Beast is my all time favorite Disney movie.  So it had to go on my wall.

9.  When Harry Met Sally - There are many reasons I love this movie.  The screenplay was written by Nora Ephron.  I love all things Nora.  It stars Billy Crystal (the all time greatest Oscar host ever) and Meg Ryan.   And most of all, it has songs done by my beloved Harry Connick Jr.  It was this soundtrack that I was introduced to Harry and his music and boy was I hooked.  I have seen him in concert 3 times and have all his CDs.  He is the best singer ever, in my humble opinion.

10.  Monsters Inc. - I love all the Pixar movies so I couldn't decide which one to put on my wall.  Since Billy Crystal is in this one, I chose Monsters Inc.

11.  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - I have read and loved all (but the last one) of the Harry Potter books.  I have also enjoyed the movies ( although I think the books are better.  What can I say,  I am a librarian).  So I went with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire because Robert Pattinson is in it. (do you see a trend?)

That is all I have so far.  I will update you on any additions to my wall.

I'm Baaack!!!

After 3 long weeks of moving the library into it's temporary location, we are finally ready to open tomorrow.  During those 3 weeks, I have been dead tired so I didn't get around to updating my blog.  So tonight, I decided to start back up again.  I did watch a view movies while I was away.  Here is a short synopsis/reviews of what I saw.

I watched the DVD of Monsters Vs. Aliens that I checked out of the library.  It could be classified as "I am glad I didn't spend money at the theaters to watch this".  It had a few clever moments but nothing memorable.

A much better animated film is Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  Mom and I went to see this at the theaters last Sunday.  It was absolutely adorable.  The main character, would be inventor Flint Lockwood, reminded me of my nephew Aden.  The movie also had a monkey named Steve as a sidekick.  He was definately a highlight for me.  You can't beat a movie with a monkey named Steve. 

I bought the DVD  The Haunted Airman.  It stars Robert Pattinson which was the reason I bought the DVD.  (I wanted to do something to help his career along.)    It is set in WWII in England.  Robert is an airman that is paralyzed and taken to a hospital to recuperate.  Instead, he starts to go crazy.  I actually liked this film.  It was nice to see Robert in something other than Twilight.  It was done by the BBC, so if you like British stuff, you will probably like this.  If not, you probably won't.

Well that is all I watched.  Now I plan to be back on track with my reviews.

Favorite Movie Scenes/My Youtube obsession

After a long week moving the library to it's temporary location, (ok, it's wasn't that long for me as I took a day and a half of vacation time) I am back to my blog.  I have missed it so.

For those who don't know me (or for that matter, those that do) I have an obsession with Youtube.  I find myself watching it all the time.  If my mother knew about this, she would claim it's the reason my house looks like it does.  Any way, one of the things I love to do on Youtube (besides watching various clips of Robert Pattinson)  is view various scenes from my favorite movies.  I am now going to share some of them with you.  I hope you enjoy.

FAVORITE BEGINNING TO A MOVIE -  Beauty and the Beast Prologue

Beauty and the Beast, the only animated movie to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar,  is my all time favorite Disney movie.  I have the DVD, soundtrack CD and various related Beauty and the Beast paraphernalia around my house.  For a time, I even had a Beauty and the Beast shower curtain.  So you can tell I am a fan.  One of the things I love about this movie is it's prologue.  At one time, I even had it memorized.   Even today, it still gives me chills.



BEST KISS - Some Kind of Wonderful (Keith and Watts Kiss) - Some Kind of Wonderful is one of my all time favorite John Hughes movies (may he rest in peace).  It's the story of the unpopular Keith who gets tricked into taking out the most popular girl in school.  His best friend, tomboy Watts, has a thing for Keith herself but agrees to help Keith out on his date.  In this scene, she helps him with kissing.  I love it.



BEST MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH - Meatballs - This movie, starring the wonderful Bill Murray, is the story a summer camp that is in a competition with a rival summer camp.  They really don't have much hope of winning, but Bill's speech spurs them on.  Again, this is one of my favorite films.  It may be a little dated and cliche, but it's funny.  And someday I for see myself running through the hallowed halls of KHCPL chanting this speech.



SCENE FROM A KEVIN COSTNER MOVIE THAT STILL GIVES ME CHILLS - The Untouchables  The Chicago Way Scene - Before my Robert Pattinson fetish, there was my Kevin Costner fetish.  I have seen the majority of his films multiple times.  I even watched Dances with Wolves on the front row of a theater. (It's a 3 hour movie and let me tell you, that wasn't easy).  I find Kevin dreamy and probably always will.   There are many wonderful scenes I could list hear but the one that gives me chills every time is from The Untouchables.  It's a scene where Sean Connery's Jim Malone character give Kevin's Elliot Ness character a lesson on how to bring down Al Capone. 



FUNNIEST WEDDING SCENE - Four Weddings and a Funeral - This scene is from the second wedding in Four Weddings and a Funeral.  Rowan Atkinson (who I love) plays a vicar who is doing his first wedding.  Being extremely nervous, he blunders through the ceremony.  I remember watching this in the theater and laughing so hard I had tears running down my face.





These are just a few of my favorite scenes from movies.  I will continue to post ones that I come across.  And I want all of you that are concerned about my obsession with all things Twilight to note, none of the scenes I posted were from that movie.  I won't guarantee that will always be the case.

The Long, Long Trailer

Friday I had the day off.  I had a doctor's appointment in Indy, so Mom went along with me.  After the appointment, Mom and I decided to do a little shopping.  What does an AV/Reference Librarian go shopping for?  DVD's, CD's and Books.  What can I say,  I just can't get away from what I love best.  While we were at Barnes and Noble,  Mom picked up the DVD The Long, Long Trailer.  She remembered going to see it at the drive in.   Sunday I had to hang out at Mom's house waiting to go to choir practice (I didn't want to waste the gas driving across the county too many times) so we decided to watch it.

The Long, Long Trailer, which was released in 1953, stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.  I think Lucille Ball was one of the funniest ladies ever.  And an interesting side note, I was born on her birthday.  I just thought you would want to know that. :)  Anyway, this movie tells the story of Nick and Tacy.  They are getting married and instead of buying a house, they decide to buy a trailer.  Not just any trailer, but a long, long trailer.  After the wedding, they hitch it up to their car and off they go.  Needless to say, high jinks ensue.

This was a really cute movie.  I laughed out loud in several places.  One especially funny scene was when Tacy tries to cook dinner in the trailer while it's going down the road.  Mom was thrilled when she recognized that the woman who played Ma Kettle in the Ma and Pa Kettle movies, Majorie Main, was in this movie.  Mom loves the Ma and Pa Kettle movies.  I also enjoyed seeing Lucy and Desi together.  They were a good comic team.  You don't see that kind of chemistry anymore.

So if you are in the mood for a good old movie, I would recommend The Long, Long trailer.

X-Men Origins Wolverine

I am a huge fan of the X-Men movies (I own all 3 of them) and an even bigger fan of Hugh Jackman.  I was really excited when I heard they were making X-Men Origins Wolverine.   I didn't get around to seeing it in the theaters this summer.  I checked out the DVD and watched it this weekend with my Mom.  We actually had to watch the 3rd X-Men movie, X-Men The Last Stand as she hadn't seen that one yet. (good thing I own that one). 

X-Men Origins Wolverine bascially follows the story of how Wolverine became Wolverine.  He follows him from childhood until the time we see him in the first X-Men movie.  There are several characters that you will remember from the 1st 3 movies.  Those include Sabertooth, Cyclops, and Professor Xavier.  New characters to this movie include Gambit (who I will add is very cute), Deadpool, Bolt and Blob. 

I really liked this film.  It did a great job of telling Wolverine's story.  I was a bit concerned that certain things wouldn't be addressed in this movie that were in the 1st three.  But they were.  It tied in really nicely to the 1st 3 films.  Hugh Jackman is wonderful as always.  Liev Schreiber is also wonderfully evil as Victor Creed (ie Sabertooth).  The only thing I regret is not seeing this on the big screen.  The fight scenes would have been really cool to see there.

Mom liked the movie.  She had some reservations about the violence.  I told her it was a comic book movie and that was to be expected.  I don't know if she agreed with me.  But she liked it anyway.  

State of Play

State of Play is a political thriller starring Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck.  The story begins with a mysterious death of an aide to a Congressman (played by Affleck).  Crowe plays a journalist who also happens to be the Congressman's best friend.  I don't want to go too much into the plot because I am afraid I will give too much away.  I like surprises and this movie delivers.

I decided to watch this film by myself because my mom still blames Russell Crowe for the demise of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid's marriage.  (Mom loves her Dennis Quaid).  I do enjoy Russell Crowe and he does a great job again in this film.  Ben Affleck also does a great job and is very believable as a Congressman (what the film and you will know what I mean).  Also giving notable performances are Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren and Robin Wright Penn. 

The plot was very intricate and I was pleased that everything tied together in the end.  I also didn't see the ending coming.  I like that in my movies.  I would definately recommend this film.

New in Theaters this week

This week's new releases include several promising flicks.  They include:

1.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meat Balls (Rated PG) - Based on the popular children's book by the same title, Cloudy tells the story of inventor Flint Lockwood.  His one desire is to create an invention that will make everyone's life easier.  So far he hasn't had any luck.  He one day invents something that will solve the world's hunger problem.  What Flint actually causes is food to fall from the sky.

I am really looking forward to seeing this one.  The advanced reviews for it have been very positive.  The animation looks fantastic.  And you know, I love my animated movies.

2.  The Informant (Rated R) - This is about an upper level executive in a company who is called on by the FBI to spy on them.  Based on a true story, this film looks hiliarious.  It stars Matt Damon, who I love.  It also stars Joel McHale who is the host of E!'s The Soup.  (side note:  If you don't watch The Soup, you should.  It's the funniest show on TV)  It's also directed by Stephen Soderbergh.  The combo of him and Matt Damon (who worked together in the Ocean's films)  should make for a very good flick.  I am looking forward to seeing this one.

3.  Jennifer's Body (Rated R) - Girl gets posessed and starts killing boys in her town.  Even though there has been times I have felt like doing this in real life, I don't really want to go see a movie about it.  Plus I am not that big of a Megan Fox fan.

4.  Love Happens (Rated PG-13) - This sounds like your typical chick flick about a self help author that needs some help himself.  This looks pretty good.  I like most movies that star Jennifer Aniston.  And Aaron Eckhart is a hottie.  I am looking forward seeing this as well.






Well, there you have it.  I hope I have been of some assitance to your viewing pleasure.

Never Back Down

I figure I have 2 ways to summarize this film.  The short way would be cute teenage guys beat the tar out of each other.  A longer summary is Jake Tyler (played by Sean Faris), a teen with a reputation for fighting, moves to Miami with his mother and brother.  They recently lost their father to a drunk driving accident that Jake feels responsible for.  After a video on the Internet is leaked of  him fighting at his previous school, Jake is sucked into the world of ultimate fighting.  The local champ (played by Cam Gigandet) goads him into fighting in the local fighting championships. 

I am not a real fan for violence in movies, but I will have to say I actually liked this movie.  I could feel for Jake and loved the relationship that developed between him and Jean Roqua (played by Djimon Hounsou, who is wonderful as always) the mixed martial arts master Jake trains with.  Cam Gigandet was great as the villian of the piece (as he was when he played James in Twilight.  I know, I know, I am obsessed.  At least it wasn't another Kristen Stewart movie).   I would definately recommend this movie.

Random thoughts on the VMA's

I have a confession. I am an award show junkie. I watch them all. Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, Golden Globes, it doesn't matter. If they had an award show for the street department, I would probably watch it. I even tried to watch an award show in Spanish once. Unfortunately, my 3 years of high school spanish and 1 year in college wasn't enough. Well, last night, the MTV VMA's were on, and I needed a fix, so I watched it. Here are some random thoughts on the event.


1. Even though I thought he was weird, the Michael Jackson tribute at the beginning of the show was really impressive. Those were the songs I liked. It was also good to see Janet perform.

2. Kanye West is a jerk. Interrupting cute little Taylor Swift's acceptance speech was just uncalled for. So you thought Beyonce should have won. Get over it. I have watched many an award show and the person I thought should have won didn't. If I could get away with it, I would withdraw all his CDs from the library's collection. I can't so I won't but I just may not replace them. Also, I am now officially a Taylor Swift fan.

3. Lady Gaga is just plain weird. I like her music. I even have one of her songs as my ringtone on my cell phone. After her performance last night, I just might consider changing it. Also, her date for the evening was Kermit the Frog. I am not kidding. I am really surprised Jim Henson's company would want to be associated with that.

4. Pink's performance was actually kinda cool. She did some acrobatic thing while singing. And from what I could tell, she was actually singing and not lip-synching. That was impressive.

5. Russell Brand, the host for the evening, just wasn't funny. You would have thought MTV would have gotten the hint last year when he hosted, but I guess they didn't. Hopefully they will pick another host next year.

And now for the best part of the evening, and really the only reason I was really watching this fiasco. The unveiling of the extended New Moon trailer. This movie looks soooo good. And I got to see Robert Pattinson for about 30 seconds. But what a 30 seconds it was.


After this was on, I lost interest and started doing something else. I did see the end when Beyonce won Best Video and called Taylor Swift back out on stage to make her speech again. That was a very classy move on Beyonce's part.

I got to remembering VMA's of the past. And it brought to mind one of my favorite VMA performances. This is the way you put on a performance. Please note: If you are easily offended or have little kids, I wouldn't watch this. Just warning you. It's not bad by Madonna's standards.
I think it's pretty cool though.




Alert the media, I posted a Madonna video. Garry will be proud.

In Theaters This Weekend

Guess who forgot about doing this part of her blog?  Yep me.  So since it's Friday, I thought I would go ahead and do it.  Plus it will keep me busy as I work the AV Desk. 

Here we go:

1.  9 - From what I can tell, this animated feature deals with machines taking over the world and killing all the people.  I know I have said in previous posts I like animated features, but just by the description, I think I will pass.

2,  Sorority Row -This remake appears to be your typical slasher flick.  Sorority prank goes awry and girl gets killed.  Other girls try to cover it up and low and behold, they get stalked by a serial killer.  Sound a tad too predictable to me.  I will pass on this one too.

3.  Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself - This is another of Tyler Perry's movies that have the character "Madea" in it.  All those movies have been exceedingly popular here at the library.  This one will probably be popular as well.  I personally have never seen a Tyler Perry movie.  I probably won't go see this one in the theater.  If I decide to, I will catch it on DVD.

4. White Out - This movie stars Kate Beckinsale as a US marshall stationed in Anarctica.  She is called on to solve Anarctica's first murder.  She only has 3 days to solve it as winter is coming.  This looks kinda interesting, but I don't think I will spend the money to see it in the theater.  This is a catch on DVD flick for me.








Well there you have it.  Luckily I have killed enough time to make my time on the AV desk go a little quicker.

Adventureland

I am on my Kristen Stewart kick again.  I spent the morning watching the DVD Adventureland.  Set in 1987, Adventureland is the story of a recent college graduate named James Brennan (played by Jesse Eisenberg).    He was supposed to go to Europe during the summer but finds out at graduation that his parents don't have the money to pay for it.  He instead has to stay home and find a job to help pay for graduate school in New York.   The only job he can find is as a carney at the local amusement park, Adventureland.  The movie follows James and the quirky people  he meets thoughout the summer.

This is a very good movie.  Jesse Eisenberg is adorable as James.  Even though he seems to be having a run of bad luck, he never looses his positive attitude.  Kristen Stewart plays Em, James's love interest in the film.  She does a good job.  Ryan Reynolds goes against type and plays a cad but does it convincingly.

This is a very good quirky movie.  And the fact that it was set in a time I can remember (YEAH for the 80's) I could relate.

Sunshine Cleaning

I spent part of my day off today watching the DVD Sunshine Cleaning.  It was billed as a comedy.  After watching it, if this is what the filmmakers think is a comedy, I hate to see what their depressing movies are like.

Sunshine Cleaning is the story of Rose who is a single mother who is working a cleaning job.  She used to be really popular in high school but hasn't made much of herself.  She is having an affair with a married man.  In need of money after her son gets kicked out of school, she and her sister Nora set up a crime scene cleanup business.  Nora is not one to be reliable so you know where this is going.

Nothing good happens to these people.  I don't care to watch movies like this.  It's a good thing I was in a reasonably good mood today, because this film might have pushed me over the edge.  The movie did have a happy ending, but by the time it got there it too little too late.  

I would pass on Sunshine Cleaning.

Fall Movies I am looking forward to seeing

I must be honest, I have started this post several times.  I keep looking at Entertainment Weekly's Fall Movie Preview issue (the one with Jacob and Bella's picture on the front)  and am amazed at how many movies I want to see. Anybody who know me knows the big movie I am anxiously awaiting.  We will leave the obvious one to last.

Here is what I am looking forward to seeing this fall:

1.  Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (Sept.18) - I love animated movies.  I have a collection on DVD that would make you think I have children.  This animated feature is based on the children's book by the same title.  I have never read this children's book, but I have seen the trailer a zillion times this summer and it really looks cute.

2.  Whip It - (Oct. 9) This is Drew Barrymore's directoral debut.  She, along with Ellen Page from Juno, also stars in this movie about roller derby.  I love Drew Barrymore.  My interest was also peaked after seeing the following article on line (thanks Edie for bringing it to my attention)  http://www.happynews.com/news/8312009/librarian-roller-girl-breaks-stereotypes.htm

3.  Nine (Nov 25) - This is the latest musical by Rob Marshall who directed Chicago.  I liked that movie and I like musicals.  So I would be willing to give this a try.

4.  The Men Who Stare at Goats (Nov 6). - I love quirky titles.  When I used to select the travel books at the library, I always got the books with the quirky titles.  If I ever write my memoirs, I am going to entitle it "It All Started the Day My Grandfather Got Hit by a Car".  The title of this movie caught me eye.  The fact that the ever hunky George Clooney is in it will also make me want to see it.

5. A Christmas Carol ( Nov. 6) -  My family loves Christmas.  We especially love Christmas movies.  My mom, my brother (even though if asked, he would probably deny it) and I all have a huge collection of Christmas movies.  I was really excited to see this new adaptation of Dicken's A Christmas Carol.  It stars Jim Carrey as Scrooge.  It is done in performance capture animation.  I am not quite sure about the technology but if you have seen The Polar Express, it's like that.  I can't wait to see it.

6.  The Princess and the Frog ( Nov. 25). - This is Disney's latest animated feature.  They haven't had a "princess" movie in a long time.  This will get  a lot of press because this is Disney's first African American princess.  Disney hasn't had much success with their non Pixar animated films.  The last one I really liked was Chicken Little (which if you haven't seen, it's a hoot)   But I will give it a shot.

7.  Old Dogs ( Nov. 25) - This is by the director of Wild Hogs (which was hilarious).  I saw the trailer this summer and it looks hilarious.  Hopefully they didn't show all the funny parts in the trailer.

8. The Lovely Bones (Dec. 11) - This movie is based on the book by Alice Sebold.  I tried to read the book but couldn't get past the first chapter.  It wasn't because it was poorly written book, it was the subject matter.  I have heard from others that have read the book that once you get past that, it's a wonderful book.  I saw a trailer on the internet for this film and it looks wonderful.  It's directed by Peter Jackson.   Being loyal to people from the LOTR franchise, I may have to give this a try.  I may even give the book another shot.

9.  I'ts Complicated (Dec. 25) - Meryl Streep is in a love triangle with Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.  I loves me some Steve Martin so I am definitely in for this flick.

10.  Sherlock Holmes ( Dec. 25) - I am looking forward to this for one reason.  Robert Downey Jr.  He plays the title role.  Since he cleaned up his act, his acting has just been brilliant.

11.  Did You Hear About the Morgans?  ( Dec. 18)  - This has Hugh Grant in it.  Since I have an obsession with cute guys with accents, why wouldn't I want to see this film?  (The fact that it is a romantic comedy doesn't hurt either).

12.  Alvin and the Chipmunks:  The Squeakquel (Dec. 25) - I was introduced to the first Alvin movie by my nephew and niece.  It was actually a really good movie.  This one looks cute as well.

And now, the movie I am most looking forward to this fall....

13.  New Moon - This is the second film in the Twilight saga.  New Moon wasn't my favorite book in the series (I would be giving too much of the plot away if I told you why.  If you have read the book and know me, you will know my reasons).   I have seen the previews a zillion times on Youtube and this movie looks awesome.  You can tell the studio put more money into to this one.  The "look" of the film is more what I imagined as I read it.  I already have plans to see it with Mom on Black Friday.  (I refuse to see it the first weekend it's out.  I want to avoid the crowds of teenage girls).  I will probably go see it several times in the theater (I haven't done that since Kevin was popular).  Have I said I can't wait to see it?

Well, there you have it.  Will I get to see all this films?  With my schedule, probably not.  But I will give it the old college try.  Hopefully a certain corporation will pay their property taxes so I can purchase the titles I didn't get to see for the library.

Vacancy

I started watching the movie Vacancy as I was washing my dishes this evening.  I like having the TV on for noise.  That is about all this film was good for.

Vacancy is the story of an estranged couple that are on their way back from the wife's (played by Kate Beckinsale) parent's anniversary party.  The husband (played by Luke Wilson) gets off the interstate and is on a back country road.  Do people in horror films ever learn?  He hits a raccoon and has to have their car fixed.  So they pull up into a sleepy little town and have the mechanic in the local garage look at their car.  That's another bad move by the couple as they get 2 miles down the road, the car breaks down again.  They go back to the sleepy little town and low and behold, there is a run down motel.  They end up getting a room for the night and proceed to get tortured throughout the night by the local crazy people.

This film did make me jump a couple of times.  However, it was quite predictable in others (especially when the older, heavier cop comes to save them.  You knew he was going to get killed.  They always do).  I just don't like to watch movies where people get the crap beat out of them.  If you are thinking about seeing this movie, I wouldn't bother.

Julie & Julia

I love Nora Ephron movies.  It started with a little film she wrote entitled When Harry Met Sally.  It continued with Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail.  One of my guilty pleasure movies is Mixed Nuts.  And I am probably one of the few people who liked Bewitched.  I am not sure what it is about Nora's films that makes me love them so.  It could be her quirky characters.  It could be that they make me laugh.  Whatever it is, all I know is I love them.  I went to the theater this afternoon and saw her latest film, Julie & Julia, and let me tell you, Nora has done it again.  I absolutely loved this film.

Julie & Julia is about a woman named Julie Powell.  She and her husband are living in New York in a small apartment over a pizza place.  She is nearing thirty and works at a job she hates.  She had at one time wanted to become a writer but long gave up that dream.  All of her friends are highly successful in their given fields and Julie feels like she isn't accomplishing anything.  The only thing that brings her joy is cooking.  Her husband gives her the idea to start a blog about cooking.  She decided to take on the task of cooking all the recipes out of Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Since Julie has a habit of starting things and not following through, she decides to cook the 524 recipes in 1 year.  The film depicts not only how Julie accomplishes this task, but also how Julia Child came about writing her cookbook.

Amy Adams, who portrays Julie, is wonderful.  She had me cracking up.  There is a scene where she has to cook lobsters that is absolutely hilarious.  She also portrays Julie's angst about not accomplishing anything significant beautifully.  Having gone through times like this in my own life, I totally connected with her. 

Meryl Streep is absolutely perfect as Julia Child.  She had her down perfectly.  After the last few films I have seen her in (Mamma Mia and Doubt), I am beginning to think she can do no wrong.   I also thought Stanley Tucci was excellent as Julia's husband Paul Childs. To be quite honest, I had no clue that Julia Child was married.  I dearly hope that I can find a man one day that is totally devoted to me as Paul was to Julia.

This movie is based on the true story of Julie Powell who actually cooked her way through Julia Child's cookbook.  Her blog was titled The Julie/Julia Project.  She eventually wrote the book entitled Julie and Julia.  The movie also is based on Julia Child's autobiography,  My Life in France.

I really loved this movie. (Did I say that already?)  I would highly recommend it.

An American Carol

I watched an interesting DVD last night.  It was "An American Carol".  It is a spoof on Dicken's A Christmas Carol with a right wing political twist.  The Scrooge character in this film is "Michael Malone" (obviously meant to be Michael Moore) who is a documentary film maker who's films don't always show America in a positive way.   He is planning on holding a protest at a July 4th Trace Adkins concert for the troops hoping to abolish the 4th of July.  Malone is then visited by the ghosts of JFK, General Patton, George Washington, and the Angel of Death (who just happens to be Trace Adkins.).   One of the highlights of the film for me was when General Patton showed Malone what would have become of America if certain war's had never been fought.  I thought it was funny.

This film was directed by David Zucker who also directed Airplane and the Naked Gun films.  You could definately see similarites in this film to those.   This is a very right wing conservative film.  I am what some would call a right wing conservative, so I liked it.  If you aren't, you probably won't.  The only thing I could can against the film is it used too many curse words.  I am by no means a prude, but I could have done without it.

In Theaters this weekend

I had a co-worker suggest I blog about upcoming new releases in theaters.  So I thought I would give it a try.  I was very suprised when I looked at what was opening this weekend and found only 3 new releases.  I figured since it was a holiday weekend, there would be more.  Oh well, what do I know.  Here is what is opening this week.

1. All About Steve (Rated - PG-13) - This stars Sandra Bullock as an eccentric single lady set up with Bradley Cooper on a blind date.  She becomes obsessed and starts following him.  Sandra is the queen of romantic comedies and is riding high from her last film, The Proposal (a great film by the way).   I am anticipating it to be very funny (the majority of her films are).  I will be seeing this in the theaters.  I was informed by this by my mom.  She called me this morning to specifically tell me she had see this preview and really wants to see it.

2.  Extract  (Rated R) - This is a workplace comedy about a guy (Jason Bateman) who is getting ready to sell his factory that produces flavor extracts when a catastrophy prevents him from doing that.  I figure this will do pretty well at the box office as it is directed by Mike Judge.  He directed the film "Office Space" which is a cult classic.  I will probably skip this in the theater and catch it on DVD.  Hopefully Chrysler will pay their property taxes so I can have the money to buy it for the library.

3. Gamer (Rated R) - This movie stars Gerard Butler.  It evidently has something to do with gaming.  Since I am not that big of a "gamer", this doesn't really interest me.  I think I will pass.









That does it for this weeks movie.  I hope to keep this up every week.  I hope you enjoy.