Something Fun

I just used Paperless Post for the first time ever when I was sent this very elegant e-mail invitation to an event for next month. If you're looking for something nicer than an evite, but don't want to send regular invitations via the post, check this site out and see what they offer!

two small side notes

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!! Hope it's a happy, healthy and economically recovered 2010 for us all!

And second, I realize that I sound a bit like an airhead in some of my posts, but I hope most people remember I'm just rambling my thoughts here and that I am capable of constructing proper sentences. I promise I'm well educated.
I mean, like, duh! :)

Movie Update

So over the last week or so, I saw SHERLOCK HOLMES (really enjoyed!), YOUNG VICTORIA (um, beautiful and well-acted but hello- can we allow the threads of conflict to actually GO somewhere?!), BROKEN EMBRACES (i don't pretend to understand Almodovar's subtle messages at all, but it was pretty and well-acted), THE LAST STATION (loved it, surprisingly!), THE WHITE RIBBON (could Haneke please film an ending to one of his movies), and IT'S COMPLICATED (good, not great).

But what i'm really here to discuss is why on God's green Earth is INVICTUS getting so many people kissing its butt and putting it on all these top 10 lists? I mean, come on- Clint Eastwood is NOT a movie-making god. He's made some boring movies - hello, Gran Torino was one of the worst screenplays I've seen in awhile and most of it was poorly acted, in my opinion. CHANGELING was interesting but DEFINITELY flawed. And I'm sorry, but INVICTUS is a snore-fest of the highest order. If it gets nominated for an academy award in place of another movie that deserves the spot, I will be seriously peeved. UGH! I'm really over it. AND btw, I love Matt Damon as people are well aware, but he doesn't deserve a supporting actor nomination for this one at all. Not one bit. Sorry Matteo.

Holiday Movie Picks!

I've seen most of the holiday movies, save IT'S COMPLICATED, PRINCESS AND THE FROG and SHERLOCK HOLMES (and I've heard the first two are great and Sherlock is just an action movie). So here's my very brief - what to see and what to avoid - report.

MUST SEE:
AVATAR - I personally fell in love with this movie and I think it's quite an achievement in filmmaking. It looks AMAZING... and the 3D really makes the images richer and gives you more texture to the film. Whether or not you can empathize with the blue people is really going to be what makes this a movie you like or you love... I bought in. Wholeheartedly.

FANTASTIC MR. FOX - another great achievement in filmmaking, this time in stop-motion animation. It's clever, fun and something you can enjoy even if you aren't a Wes Anderson fan.

UP IN THE AIR - one of the year's best movies. Funny, poignant, and very touching. George Clooney manages to do a bit more onscreen than he normally does, but his performance doesn't quite lose the Clooney image. Anna Kendrick is a revelation, especially in one scene when she bursts into tears like any high-strung 22 year-old would. Loved that moment.

THE BLIND SIDE - I was very surprised this movie wasn't a total manipulative tear-jerker, but instead it's a really wonderful story and Sandra Bullock does pull off quite a character. I really bought into her performance and am glad she's getting recognized for it.

PRECIOUS - it's heartbreaking but it's a great film and a reminder for everyone who has had loving people in their life to give them big thanks, hugs and kisses this year at the holidays.

THE HURT LOCKER - It's still playing in some specialty theaters and this intense, on-the-edge-of-your-seat film about a bomb diffuser in Iraq is a must-see this year. It's not my favorite film of the year, but it's intense, it's emotionally engaging and it feels very honest about life for these guys.

AN EDUCATION - This is a very good film, though I was not as struck by it as many of my colleagues were. I think it's an interesting story and certainly well-acted, but it's third act was greatly lacking for me. Carey Mulligan's getting a lot of heat off of her performance, and it's true- she was stellar. So if you're an awards season junkie, you should definitely get to this one.

From what I've heard, also check out: THE YOUNG VICTORIA (which I plan to see this week), THE WHITE RIBBON, CRAZY HEART (if you are a Jeff Bridges fan) and THE MESSENGER (which by all accounts is fantastic!!)

WHAT TO AVOID:
INVICTUS - truly one of the most boring movies I've seen in a long time... even my sweetheart Matt Damon couldn't salvage this snooze-fest.

NINE - another snooze-fest. I couldn't believe they managed to make a big musical film THIS boring. I just didn't care about a single character or performance and turned it off about an hour and fifteen minutes in.

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS? - I hope I don't have to explain why this is terrible.

THE LOVELY BONES - Unfortunately, they missed the boat on this adaptation. I loved the book and therefore I think I was able to appreciate some moments of this film, but the story was a mess. Even chronologically certain things didn't make sense and though Sairose Ronan's (sp?) a great actress (with an amazing voice for voice-over work), it just misses the mark.

BROTHERS - Don't go see this watered down and sometimes forced remake of Suzanne Bier's amazing Danish film. (I think it's Danish...) Instead, get on Netflix and rent the original - it's far superior and one of my favorite movies.

MIXED EMOTIONS:
THE ROAD (playing in a few specialty theaters still and soon to be on DVD)- it's a film that is certainly committed to its dark vision and is a relatively faithful adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's portrait of a father trying to get save his son's life after the apocalypse, but it's also relentless and difficult to get through. I thought Viggo Mortensen is fabulous and there is something beautiful about the movie, but I also found myself fast-forwarding through a fair bit of it b/c I couldn't handle it.

Happy Holidays!

So I've totally neglected the blog, I know, but it's been a busy winter and I've been feeling kind of "eh" about what I've got to share.

But I hope everyone has a happy and healthy holiday with their families this year!! I'll be here in Cali for the first time ever for the whole break since Chris' new job means no vacation this year. So I am definitely jealous of all the snow the East Coast is getting right now and hoping that it gets cooler again for Xmas.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, back to work he goes!

A friend reminded me that I haven't done a post dedicated to Chris' new job yet! First off, Yay Chris!! Congrats to my fabulous hubby for finding a great job in this crappy market within three months. woohoo!!

So as most of you remember, Chris was working in the Hilton Honors marketing department for Hilton corporate, which oversees all the brands. NOW, Chris will be doing something similar but at one specific Hilton property - the LAX Embassy Suites. His official title is E-Commerce Marketing Manager, so as you can guess by the title, his focus will be on all internet marketing and online partnerships for the hotel. So far he's enjoying the new job (this is week 2), though he has to wear a suit everyday. (Boo!) One of the great things about the job is that the hotel ownership group (Sunstone Hotels) has a number of hotels in SoCal, so this may turn into something of a regional position as well.

As much as I am sad to lose a house-husband and to go back to helping out with household chores, I'm thrilled Chris has found something that he's enjoying!

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

So I'm doing a separate post to review this movie b/c ever since I saw it on Saturday, I've been thinking a lot about it, about childhood, about movies and about entertainment value.

Let me begin by giving you my immediate thoughts in reaction to seeing the film, which were "boring, bloated and depressing... though it looks great." The movie is only an hour and a half (approx) but it feels MUCH longer. The time issue stems from the storyline, which never feels like it has momentum, especially while Max is on his adventure with the Wild Things. I kept thinking, "Is this the moment it turns?" Or, "Is this when we get an idea of what's coming?" While being surprised in a film is a good thing, and I'd never say I want to always know the direction a story is taking, you do want to get a feel of pacing and direction as you are watching a story develop. But here, because the film is an exercise in understanding a child's complex emotions and inner life, there is little to no plot. [SPOILER ALERT] What IS clear, is that things are going to go well in this new civilization that Max has become King of for awhile, and then things will go badly, and then hopefully they'll get better again... And that is sort of what happens, except for the last turn towards happiness. Max leaves the Wild Things virtually as miserable as when he found them. Is the lesson that we cannot fix anyone else, but just ourselves? Or that it's not our job to go into someone else's life and fix their problems? Or is this simply a more realistic vision of how deep-seeded emotional problems in groups and communities never really change. Because, in truth, the latter is what I took away at the end of his journey, and that is freaking depressing. At least when Max goes back to his mother, they share a heartfelt moment, during which we assume Max does understand that his mother loves him and that he doesn't need to be so angry all the time.... though you leave the theater knowing that the anger under the surface will surely bubble to the top again unless he goes to see a therapist to talk it out.

However, when I saw the movie, I was in awe at how

beautiful it looked - both the surroundings and the creatures. Plus, the child playing Max was incredible and his acting so naturalistic, that I understand why the head of Warner Bros production has been quoted as finding the a movie disturbingly realistic portrait of childhood angst. So overall, I didn't think it was a "bad" film, I just thought it was an expensive, adult movie that wasn't very enjoyable to watch.

So those were my initial thoughts... and as I kept thinking back on the movie and reading some more interviews and reviews, I came across one person's interpretation that the movie is divisive because it's very "personal" and "intimate", which I think is very accurate. The movie really deals with the unseen and often unreported disillusionment and frustration and rage that exists in adolescents. Hurt feelings and rage at the unfairness of life is such a part of growing up. And Max embodies all of those difficult emotions in his character, and in fact, he seems to be experiencing them simultaneously during the first act climax, when he runs away and heads off on his adventure. I've been there. I've felt those things. I've been scared and angry and confused and totally out of control. And I would wager that most adolescents have too... that's why the movie is interesting, but not entertaining. While I don't believe every movie should be all popcorn and mindless entertainment, I think part of a film's purpose is to entertain. And sometimes tear jerkers can be enjoyable b/c they are cathartic. And other movies deal with difficult material because you want to experience something out of your own reality and be touched by it. In the case of this movie specifically, I don't think it succeeds because it highlights all of this child's emotions without working through them to a satisfying ending. I guess we're supposed to be happy at the end when Max leaves and comes home to his mom, having dealt with his feelings with the Wild Things... but the truth is, he hasn't! At least, I didn't think he did. So in the end, I sat through this boring adventure to wind up with a hero that didn't make things better for his new friends, hasn't truly worked out his own issues, and simply gets a hug from his mom and some soup to make it better. Is that a more "realistic" ending? Sure. Is it satisfying? Nope.

So I'm sorry Spike Jonze and Dave Eggers - you're very smart and very talented, but sometimes that's not enough.