So what'd you do this weekend?

Me, oh not much. Saw THE INFORMANT (eh- not bad, not great. interesting story though), hung out with the Danisons & the nieces and nephews on Saturday, then at night went over to Lindsay and Fernando's house...AND RAN INTO A SCREEN DOOR. Yup, I ran full force into a screen door that I didn't realize was open. Let me tell you, not a pleasant experience. For one thing, it's pretty damn jarring and I seriously wounded myself in a few areas. The other obvious side effect is embarrassment, especially when the force of you running into it means you pulled the screen from the door at the top and the bottom. sigh....I'll set it up for you.

We're playing a rowdy game of Pictionary with boys v. girls and I decide during the boys turn I'm going to run out to the car to get some sweat pants. I grab the keys and go to head out of the front door, which has been left open since it's a warm night. But little do I see that there's actually a screen door that comes across the front entryway and since I'm kind of still paying attention to the game going on, I only turn to look in front of me just as I run into the screen. And you know what I think JUST before I hit it, "wow, it looks a little misty outside."

OMG to the MAX!!!

Check out the new NEW MOON trailer. holy crap it's awesome!! I think Chris Weitz will redeem the Twilight movie franchise after such a disappointing beginning...

CLICK HERE to see!!

OH- and if you wanted to see the "extended version", which I believe only has 4 extra snip-its/shots in it, you can see it here

Summer Movie Wrap Up

Here is the MUCH delayed (what else is new) Summer Movie Wrap-Up from yours truly...

Let's start with the winners:

STAR TREK

By far, this was probably my favorite summer movie...Yes, possibly because of my geek-ish upbringing and long love of the ST franchise, but also because J.J. Abrams gave this reboot a hip, glossy and fun flavor that even non-trekkie fans could embrace. Plus it introduced us to Chris Pine, who will surely be a star.

JULIE & JULIA

Just because I'm biased doesn't mean this wasn't a terrific, delightful and yummy treat for adults that are tired of movies for kids driving the summer box office. At $80 mil and counting, I know I am not alone in this. (Plus Meryl Streep just kills it.)

UP

Pixar continues to get it right with this bittersweet tale of an old man and a young boy on a tremendous adventure together in South America. While I thought they may have gone a bit far with the dogs in the end, I loved this movie and cried at its moving and poignant first act montage.

DISTRICT 9

A thoroughly original sci-fi movie with a great anti-apartheid message, this movie takes CGI aliens to a new level. The talented filmmaker and actors made you feel for both the abused creatures, as well as for Vickas, a desperate, weasel of a man, as they struggle for freedom. I had no idea the movie would be so emotional and I think that is precisely why it succeeded. Good lesson to screenwriters and moviemakers in all genres, don't shy away from the emotion! Give your movies a bit more depth!

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Quentin Tarantino is back in theaters with another violent, comedic look at a group of resistance fighters during WWII. The movie's riding a delicate line because of its subject matter, but Quentin bursts through it at the end with an unforgettable finale. Controversial for sure, but pure Tarantino from the first moment to the last. (And the acting was incredible! ...except for Eli Roth)

Movies that I definitely enjoyed:

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE

As with all the Harry Potter movies, they are good- but the book is way better. I enjoyed most of this adaptation, but since I had just recently read the 6th installment, I felt more irritated by the changes the filmmakers made. I just didn't understand why they needed to tweak the ending (SPOILER ALERT) and not have a bigger fight at Hogwarts. Also, why skip Dumbledore's funeral and make less of Ginny and Harry's romance. I wonder if they will address that in the first movie of the 2-part book 7 adaptation. We shall see.

THE PROPOSAL

A charming and surprisingly well made romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as a work duo forced to fake an engagement to keep Bullock stateside. A ridiculous premise? Of course. But the physical comedy and great performances keep you locked in for the ride. Reynolds is charming, handsome and on point. Bullock resurrects herself in this film and reminds us why we all thought she was the next Julia Roberts so many years before. (sadly, ALL ABOUT STEVE will prob undo this.)

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER

Truth be told, I was a little disappointed by this movie, but only because the script was one of my favorites in the last five years. It's a great way to do a romantic comedy that feels young, fresh and surprise- it's not a happily ever story! And no, that's not a spoiler. They say it in the first five minutes of the movie. Support "indie" filmmaking and go see this!

Middle of the pack:

AWAY WE GO

Sam Mendes directs an incredible performance out of Maya Rudolph, mostly known for her SNL gags and not much else. But in this small, quiet movie about a couple trying to find a place to put down roots before their first child comes into the world. Though some of the characters they come across are a bit cliche and over-the-top, Maya's naturalistic performance is worth the viewing. Be sure to get on DVD.

THE UGLY TRUTH

Okay, okay - I know it's not a great movie and I know Katherine Heigl appears to be a biznatch of the highest order due to her constant gum-flapping in public...But this was a cute movie! It's totally predictable and maybe a bit insulting if you read into the female/male dynamics that are in it, but truth be told they had good chemistry onscreen and I enjoyed it!

ANGELS & DEMONS

It's better than DaVinci Code, let's put it that way. Not a great movie, but it's not bad either. If you are a fan of the book, it's worth a DVD rental.

MY SISTER'S KEEPER & TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE

Both of these adaptations were okay- not great. I loved both books and was definitely more disappointed by TTW, but felt that they weren't complete failures either. Both managed to get you to experience the emotional weight of the stories, even if they didn't quite get the stories quite right. If you want a tear-jerker, rent SISTER'S KEEPER. If you loved TTW and are just curious, it's worth a rent. If not, don't bother with these. You aren't missing that much.

As Chris would say, "Worst-Movie Ever":

TRANSFORMERS 2

I can't believe this movie made $400 million at the box office. It makes me sick and very very sad. DON'T see this movie if you don't have to.

TERMINATOR SALVATION

Ugh, there was no point whatsoever to this movie and it irritated me throughout. Again, another movie to skip. T-3 was WAY better than this, and most people didn't like that so you can imagine what this is.

G.I. JOE

"Kill all the Joes!" This is one of the worst scripts I've ever seen come to life and rather than killing the Joes, I want to kill the filmmakers and the studio execs that greenlit this piece of crap.

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST

I love bad romantic comedies and I couldn't even stomach this one. It's TERRIBLE!! Seriously, nothing redeeming about it at all. (and that's coming from someone that could watch Jennifer Garner do almost anything.)

FUNNY PEOPLE

While I was watching this movie, I didn't hate it...but the more I reflected on the characters and the story, I saw what a mess it really was. I think the movie doesn't have a clear focus, especially after the hour and a half mark, and our main guy (Sandler) is totally unlikeable throughout. While Seth Rogan is pretty good, and his friends (Jason Schwartzman and Jonah Hill) make the comedy bearable, I'm not sure it's even worth your time as a rental unless you're just curious.

So that's it. I hope you find this somewhat helpful as you prepare your netflix lists for this fall. I may have forgotten a few, but I will come back and add some as I think of them. :)

Mandate picks up 'Dream On'

Check it out! The first time my name's been in the trades!!

Mandate picks up 'Dream On'

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29 for the first time

So as a friend of mine said to me about this year's birthday, I'm 29 for the first time. Sigh. Is it weird that I think this birthday is almost harder to swallow than 30 will be? I just feel a bit blah about turning 29...and thinking about my 20s. It's true that I'm still young and I have so much ahead of me, yadda yadda yadda, but I can't help feeling like 29 is a year of reflection and re-evaluation. Sort of taking stock of where I am in life and what plans do I have to make sure that I'm doing what I want and getting the most out of my upcoming 30s.

With work, I feel torn. I certainly am at a good place all things considered in terms of the state of the business right now and by how I believe my co-workers feel I'm doing. I can't help feeling a bit stuck right now and like I wish I was doing more...but I also know that most summers I feel this way and I'm almost at the 2 year mark for my job. My mother once noted that at a year and a half at any given job, I start to do this. What's next? Am I in a rut? Am I working hard enough? So maybe I just need to push through and get past that two year mark and I will see a difference. (the only job I was at so far more than two years was Imagine, and I was interviewing like crazy at that point to get the heck out!) Also, it will help when things pick up and the movie I set up gets closer to getting made. [Btw- stay tuned, the press release should be coming in the next couple of weeks - and the studio quoted in it that they are putting the movie on the fast-track for 2010 production. woohoo!]

In my personal life, things couldn't really be much better. Chris and I are doing great and we're excited to see our first anniversary rapidly approaching. [sidenote, can you believe it's been a year?! I can't!] We're hoping to find him employment again this fall and then start really saving towards a house or a condo to buy in LA in the next two years. We figure realistically that's what it will take us, and the housing market in not likely to have rebounded much by then....we hope at least for our sake! We're very much getting anxious to have our own place where we can entertain and have a yard and a real guest bedroom! Our cats will like a home much more too, since they won't have so many weird noises in the apartment building to startle them all the time. Seriously, the term scaredy-cat really does apply.

That's it for now. Not much of an update other than to say, "Hi! I'm alive and still blogging." I'll try to start updating a couple times a week now that summer's over.