Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Two pieces of business this morning...
And the Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day trailer...
October 30th, y'all!!! WHY SO FAR AWAY?!?! (I know it's because they want it to be close to All Saints Day, but still...)
Friday, September 04, 2009
Wow!
Fillings went fine.
I was linked to this today by a friend. It is an impressive rant calling the Republicans on their hypocrisy and corruption. It's awesome! Usually something this vehement would get me all stirred up and pissed off at the Republicans too, but this time that didn't happen. I'm just a bit blown away...
In unrelated news, I saw "Inglorious Basterds" last weekend. Meant to mention that before. I liked it okay... Wasn't the greatest movie ever, but wasn't the worst either and it had some good moments. I thought all the actors, with the possible exception of Mike Myers (while I generally love him, all I could think of during his scene was his SNL sketches and other goofy movies... I suspect it was the make-up they had on him), did an amazing job. The movie did pique my interest in learning a bit more about the Nazi higher-ups. Got as far as the people who were in the bunker at the end before I was just too disgusted to go further. Sick, sick people. Like we didn't know that. I think looking at these people as human beings makes them all the more monstrous and horrible rather than looking at them in more abstracted ways, as many movies do.
(Pardon my language below. It couldn't be avoided.) Did not know this: Hitler probably carried on some kind of highly inappropriate relationship with his niece Geli for a number of years, beginning in her teens, which ended with her suicide at the age of 23. He started seeing Ava Braun socially when she was only 17, and she tried to kill herself twice at 20 and 23 respectively for reasons that are unknown to history, but possibly the attempts were staged to manipulate Hitler, who was still reeling from Geli's death when she made her first attempt. When Adolf and Ava finally did kill themselves, Ava was only 33... Hitler also had his German Shepherd, her four puppies (less than a month old) and Ava's two Scottie dogs killed the night before Ava and he committed suicide. This seriously bums me out. It wasn't the dogs' fault who owned them... and... and... puppies! Hitler also saw another German movie actress who killed herself, or was murdered by Gestapo (it was never clear apparently), when she was 31. So, on top of being a mass-murdering fuckhead, a racist and bigot to the nth degree, a megalomaniac, and head of the original fucking Nazis (and I'm sure I'm leaving out a number of horrible things that he was here, but for the sake of brevity, let's just leave it at that), he also very likely was an incestuous pedo, who killed his own dogs and drove women to suicide. Just when you think Adolf Hitler couldn't get more fucked up as a person, he does. Seriously, NO ONE should EVER be compared to this guy.
I was linked to this today by a friend. It is an impressive rant calling the Republicans on their hypocrisy and corruption. It's awesome! Usually something this vehement would get me all stirred up and pissed off at the Republicans too, but this time that didn't happen. I'm just a bit blown away...
In unrelated news, I saw "Inglorious Basterds" last weekend. Meant to mention that before. I liked it okay... Wasn't the greatest movie ever, but wasn't the worst either and it had some good moments. I thought all the actors, with the possible exception of Mike Myers (while I generally love him, all I could think of during his scene was his SNL sketches and other goofy movies... I suspect it was the make-up they had on him), did an amazing job. The movie did pique my interest in learning a bit more about the Nazi higher-ups. Got as far as the people who were in the bunker at the end before I was just too disgusted to go further. Sick, sick people. Like we didn't know that. I think looking at these people as human beings makes them all the more monstrous and horrible rather than looking at them in more abstracted ways, as many movies do.
(Pardon my language below. It couldn't be avoided.) Did not know this: Hitler probably carried on some kind of highly inappropriate relationship with his niece Geli for a number of years, beginning in her teens, which ended with her suicide at the age of 23. He started seeing Ava Braun socially when she was only 17, and she tried to kill herself twice at 20 and 23 respectively for reasons that are unknown to history, but possibly the attempts were staged to manipulate Hitler, who was still reeling from Geli's death when she made her first attempt. When Adolf and Ava finally did kill themselves, Ava was only 33... Hitler also had his German Shepherd, her four puppies (less than a month old) and Ava's two Scottie dogs killed the night before Ava and he committed suicide. This seriously bums me out. It wasn't the dogs' fault who owned them... and... and... puppies! Hitler also saw another German movie actress who killed herself, or was murdered by Gestapo (it was never clear apparently), when she was 31. So, on top of being a mass-murdering fuckhead, a racist and bigot to the nth degree, a megalomaniac, and head of the original fucking Nazis (and I'm sure I'm leaving out a number of horrible things that he was here, but for the sake of brevity, let's just leave it at that), he also very likely was an incestuous pedo, who killed his own dogs and drove women to suicide. Just when you think Adolf Hitler couldn't get more fucked up as a person, he does. Seriously, NO ONE should EVER be compared to this guy.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Movies and other things...
I've decided on the Victory Shawl on Ravelry. I found yarn at the local LYS's five-years-in-business sale that will be perfect for my sister, so I bought it and am making this shawl for her for Christmas. YAY! I still need to figure out something to make for myself, but I can at least put off making those decisions for a few more weeks.
I'm already on the 11th "module" of pattern repeats (the pattern is in French - thank goodness for my high school French teacher and babelfish!). So far, it's looking good!
Don't scroll down if you haven't seen Wolverine or Star Trek and you don't want any spoilers for either movie. Because spoilers, they are abounding below... Wolverine is first, then Star Trek, so if you're clever with your mouse, you could read about one without reading about the other...
And for those of you who haven't seen Star Trek yet... I'm just gonna leave this here to tempt you a bit (and as awesome as the trailer is, it still doesn't quite capture just how amazing the movie itself is):
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Wolverine was awesome, despite what they did to Deadpool. Lots of people have objections about what was done to Deadpool's character, but I thought it worked for the purpose of the movie and the plot. Others might disagree. Overall: bone claws, backstory, general awesomeness, pimp cane wielding Gambit. I'm a happy girl. Also, I'm easy for Hugh Jackman. I even liked Kate & Leopold because of him and I greatly dislike Meg Ryan as a general rule.
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Saw Star Trek on Thursday at 7pm in an advanced screening. My first reaction was basically that it's THE MOST AWESOME RESET TO EVER BE MADE IN THE HISTORY OF EVER! BAR NONE! NO, I DON'T CARE!
Seriously, I couldn't get out of my seat even to stretch after the movie was over until the credits had completely finished and the houselights came up and even then I was on a cloud of happy for the next three days. That has never happened to me before, even with LOTR: ROTK, and I cried through the last 45 minutes of that movie the first time I saw it. So. This is saying something. I think I also hyper-ventilated due to awesomeness-overload a few times.
It was really great.
James T. Kirk is a badass. Who likes 20th century rock music, vintage cars, motorcycles and leather. I approve. Spock is pretty badass too. Together they are unstoppably badass. As it should be.
Sulu kicks ass and takes names. Really, really, loved his character in this.
McCoy... OMG, Karl Urban is an amazingly underrated actor. He became McCoy more than any other new actor became their character in this movie. He had down the way DeForest Kelly spoke as McCoy, his facial expressions, the way he walked... Everything! It was incredible. Also, he had some of the best lines. Really quite funny and I loved him.
Scotty and Chekov and Uhura are completely brilliant. Uhura could have been given more to do other than being a love interest for Spock, but there were a lot of other characters and she is, after all, a language specialist. She translates. So... yeah... she's important, but not exactly necessarily in the thick of things a lot of the time. Also... Spock is her former professor... making their relationship a little... questionable on the ethics scale, imho (and if I understood that situation right), because he's still has authority over her at Starfleet Academy. However, I can see why they did it given how much Uhura flirted with him in the early days of TOS.
Others have complained about a few things and I'll tell you why I think these complaints are nit-picky and dumb.
Also didn't have a problem with:
Things I did have a problem with:
Other than that, I think I loved every nanosecond of the movie and can't wait for it to come out on DVD, and can't wait even more for the sequel(s? - please, I pray).
I'm already on the 11th "module" of pattern repeats (the pattern is in French - thank goodness for my high school French teacher and babelfish!). So far, it's looking good!
Don't scroll down if you haven't seen Wolverine or Star Trek and you don't want any spoilers for either movie. Because spoilers, they are abounding below... Wolverine is first, then Star Trek, so if you're clever with your mouse, you could read about one without reading about the other...
And for those of you who haven't seen Star Trek yet... I'm just gonna leave this here to tempt you a bit (and as awesome as the trailer is, it still doesn't quite capture just how amazing the movie itself is):
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Wolverine was awesome, despite what they did to Deadpool. Lots of people have objections about what was done to Deadpool's character, but I thought it worked for the purpose of the movie and the plot. Others might disagree. Overall: bone claws, backstory, general awesomeness, pimp cane wielding Gambit. I'm a happy girl. Also, I'm easy for Hugh Jackman. I even liked Kate & Leopold because of him and I greatly dislike Meg Ryan as a general rule.
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Saw Star Trek on Thursday at 7pm in an advanced screening. My first reaction was basically that it's THE MOST AWESOME RESET TO EVER BE MADE IN THE HISTORY OF EVER! BAR NONE! NO, I DON'T CARE!
Seriously, I couldn't get out of my seat even to stretch after the movie was over until the credits had completely finished and the houselights came up and even then I was on a cloud of happy for the next three days. That has never happened to me before, even with LOTR: ROTK, and I cried through the last 45 minutes of that movie the first time I saw it. So. This is saying something. I think I also hyper-ventilated due to awesomeness-overload a few times.
It was really great.
James T. Kirk is a badass. Who likes 20th century rock music, vintage cars, motorcycles and leather. I approve. Spock is pretty badass too. Together they are unstoppably badass. As it should be.
Sulu kicks ass and takes names. Really, really, loved his character in this.
McCoy... OMG, Karl Urban is an amazingly underrated actor. He became McCoy more than any other new actor became their character in this movie. He had down the way DeForest Kelly spoke as McCoy, his facial expressions, the way he walked... Everything! It was incredible. Also, he had some of the best lines. Really quite funny and I loved him.
Scotty and Chekov and Uhura are completely brilliant. Uhura could have been given more to do other than being a love interest for Spock, but there were a lot of other characters and she is, after all, a language specialist. She translates. So... yeah... she's important, but not exactly necessarily in the thick of things a lot of the time. Also... Spock is her former professor... making their relationship a little... questionable on the ethics scale, imho (and if I understood that situation right), because he's still has authority over her at Starfleet Academy. However, I can see why they did it given how much Uhura flirted with him in the early days of TOS.
Others have complained about a few things and I'll tell you why I think these complaints are nit-picky and dumb.
- #1. That the make-up they used for the Orion (the would be the green girl who was Uhura's roommate) Kirk was trying to bone looked fake and was jarring.
Dude, she's supposed to be that color green. That species looks like that. They have green skin, just that color with bright eyes and often times (any more) brightly painted lips so that there's somewhat of a - what I like to call - radioactive cats effect. It's not supposed to look like Rebecca Romijn did when she played Mystique in the X-Men movies, even though you might think that's a "cooler" effect. Just no. Orions always look pretty much just like they did in TOS. Always. It's the way it is. Accept it or GTFO. And if you still thought it looked like the most fake effect ever and you were startled by it so much you laughed and thought she looked ridiculous, I suspect you're not really a Star Trek fan to be perfect frank about it. - #2. Tyler Perry's cameo.
I didn't even notice it a little bit, and I've seen it twice now. The second time, I knew he was in there somewhere and still didn't notice. I think someone's been watching too much Madea. - #3. Kirk and Spock Prime were suspiciously marooned on the same planet.
Delta Vega is what it is. It's the planet that people get marooned on apparently (see TOS episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before"). Go with it. Also, one can easily see that Kirk and Spock would have been put on the same planet since there probably aren't that many M-class planets near Vulcan... Delta Vega being one of the planets in the Vulcan system. Also... It's the planet that Nero and his crew were mining when Romulus was destroyed. So, yeah, makes sense Spock would get dumped there by them.
My little issue with this: Why is Scottie necessarily on the same planet? That was a bit convenient. And I find it a wee-bit coincidental that Kirk and Spock were dumped off close enough together to actually find each other just by chance before making it to the base, but I guess since they were in proximity to a Starfleet station, they were both probably intentionally placed there so that, after trudging through the ice and snow for a while, they would eventually find shelter and not die of exposure. But really, I'm more than willing to let these points slide.
Also didn't have a problem with:
- Winona Ryder being Spock's mom
- Any of the casting
- The new look for the ship
- That Kirk became captain at 25. If you saved Earth from being imploded, I think Starfleet would give you your own ship too.
Things I did have a problem with:
- I have no logical explanation for why there would be water on the floor in some parts of Nero's ship. Were their bilge pumps not working or something (not that they'd have bilge pumps on a space ship as opposed to a regular floats-in-water ship)? I really want an explanation for why they wade through ankle-deep water in space...
- The Nokia thing being in the car, and the "Budweiser Classic" at the bar... Because Earth in Star Trek is supposed to be post-capitalism. I'm not sure they really have brand names in the Trek universe. I'm not sure what explanation there could be for it other than product placements are "the thing to do" in these kinds of movies these days, and personally, that just doesn't fly with me completely when we're talking about STAR TREK for the love of all that's holy in science fiction. I certainly have never seen them in any other Trek movies or shows. So that did give me pause once I thought about it. But, really, I'll let it slide...
Other than that, I think I loved every nanosecond of the movie and can't wait for it to come out on DVD, and can't wait even more for the sequel(s? - please, I pray).
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Oscars...
Meant to post about the Oscars last night, but was so tired and it was so late! So now...
I really enjoyed the show. I'll tell you what I enjoyed the most (other than Hugh Jackman... seriously, I think I'd watch him read the dictionary if someone cared to televise it): I really enjoyed how as they were announcing the nominees for the acting awards, the presenters told each nominee what was so special about their performance. I could see that the nominees seemed genuinely touched by the complements and it just struck me as very special. Kate Winslet's was my favorite acceptance speech. YAY!! She won! :D (I <3 Kate!) Anyway, it seemed to me that this year's Oscars was a more intimate show... I don't know if it was just me, but I got that there was a sense of camaraderie and affection and... family really among a lot of the celebrities there, and I really liked that...
If you've got no idea what I'm talking about, watch this clip... It's good anyway (It's Kate! :D):
And OMG! I can't tell you how thrilled and moved I was that Heath was honored.
I cried. I won't lie...
Also - YAY! Sean Penn! I'm not a huge fan of him, but he gave a great speech:
Also - YAY! Penelope Cruz! I didn't see the movie, but I hear she is amazing in it and I loved her in Woman on Top years ago. And OMG! That DRESS!!! Did you hear the story? She saw it in a vintage clothing store 8 yerars ago and didn't buy it. She told herself that she'd go back for it when she needed it, and if it was still there, it was meant to be. She went back recently, and it was still there! 8 YEARS LATER! O.O Dude! The odds! The dress is 60 years old. *is amazed* Also, her speech rocks too...
On a completely different note: Today I started my 3 week long job. The teachers they have covering the classes really want me to actually teach instead of having them do it, but seriously, it's math and the FCAT (a standardized test in this state) is in a few weeks and I wouldn't want me preparing them for it if I were them. I know it's 6th grade math, but... still... Plus, they don't pay me enough to actually really teach 5 classes a day 5 days a week for the next three weeks. That's what the permanent teachers are getting paid to do.
Also today: My handcards arrived in the mail! YAY! *dances* Now I can start in on all the raw spinning fiber I've got laying around waiting to be processed.
I really enjoyed the show. I'll tell you what I enjoyed the most (other than Hugh Jackman... seriously, I think I'd watch him read the dictionary if someone cared to televise it): I really enjoyed how as they were announcing the nominees for the acting awards, the presenters told each nominee what was so special about their performance. I could see that the nominees seemed genuinely touched by the complements and it just struck me as very special. Kate Winslet's was my favorite acceptance speech. YAY!! She won! :D (I <3 Kate!) Anyway, it seemed to me that this year's Oscars was a more intimate show... I don't know if it was just me, but I got that there was a sense of camaraderie and affection and... family really among a lot of the celebrities there, and I really liked that...
If you've got no idea what I'm talking about, watch this clip... It's good anyway (It's Kate! :D):
And OMG! I can't tell you how thrilled and moved I was that Heath was honored.
I cried. I won't lie...
Also - YAY! Sean Penn! I'm not a huge fan of him, but he gave a great speech:
Also - YAY! Penelope Cruz! I didn't see the movie, but I hear she is amazing in it and I loved her in Woman on Top years ago. And OMG! That DRESS!!! Did you hear the story? She saw it in a vintage clothing store 8 yerars ago and didn't buy it. She told herself that she'd go back for it when she needed it, and if it was still there, it was meant to be. She went back recently, and it was still there! 8 YEARS LATER! O.O Dude! The odds! The dress is 60 years old. *is amazed* Also, her speech rocks too...
On a completely different note: Today I started my 3 week long job. The teachers they have covering the classes really want me to actually teach instead of having them do it, but seriously, it's math and the FCAT (a standardized test in this state) is in a few weeks and I wouldn't want me preparing them for it if I were them. I know it's 6th grade math, but... still... Plus, they don't pay me enough to actually really teach 5 classes a day 5 days a week for the next three weeks. That's what the permanent teachers are getting paid to do.
Also today: My handcards arrived in the mail! YAY! *dances* Now I can start in on all the raw spinning fiber I've got laying around waiting to be processed.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Updates and news...
Short bit of business first! My sister, Lara, now has a blogspot blog... It may be found here. :D Be sure to check it out...
Also, Ilana, she's in love with the pumpkin soap you made. As part of her Christmas gifts, I gave her half of what you sent me this past summer and she's clamoring for more already. LOL!
On to updates and news:
So I worked my first day as a sub yesterday. I subbed for my mom while she had to go to a professional meeting downtown. 8th grade, physical science honors. Boy, was it ever exhausting! I slept for 14 hours after I got home... Kids, man- Oy! It wasn't bad though. I think it was mostly just that it was the first day and whatnot that it tired me out so badly... Still don't have another job lined up. But it's early yet...
I saw My Bloody Valentine 3D on Wednesday night with Joe. I loved it. I had never seen a movie in 3D before and I thought the effect was pretty cool. I don't usually like horror movies, despite my love of Supernatural, but it was precisely because of my love for Supernatural that I couldn't pass up the chance to see Jensen Ackles in the 3D on a big movie screen. (Slight spoiler here) His character in this, "Tom," was similar in many ways to his character in DeVour, "Jake," although MBV was much better. (End of spoiler.) Jensen can do no wrong in my eyes. I thought he did a fantastic job. Kerr Smith - who I last saw in Dawson's Creek - also was pretty amazing. Overall, a typical slasher flick, which lives up to the "Bloody" in its title... so if you go in for that sort of thing, or if you love Jensen, make sure you see this in the theater. I - being a bit of a wimp when it comes to this sort of thing - did not watch the death scenes, but I enjoyed the movie nonetheless.
I also have been spinning... the superwash alpaca-merino blend I got from etsy. It's very soft, but not so easy to spin. It's like a merino roving I got several years ago now that put me off spinning merino for the longest time. The fibers are so smooth and slippery that they have a tendency not to draft very easily, so it's a bit fussy... I can't tell you the number of times that the yarn has broken between the bobbin and my drafting hand and I've had to stop and pull it back out through the orifice and try to get it joined to the roving again... So totally not my favorite thing to spin. The resulting yarn, however, is very nice, and I think it will make some very yummy socks. I've spun 210 yards from 3 ounces, and now am on my 4th of the 12 ounces I bought. Pictures will be up on Ravelry, if not here, as soon as I take them.
Also, Ilana, she's in love with the pumpkin soap you made. As part of her Christmas gifts, I gave her half of what you sent me this past summer and she's clamoring for more already. LOL!
On to updates and news:
So I worked my first day as a sub yesterday. I subbed for my mom while she had to go to a professional meeting downtown. 8th grade, physical science honors. Boy, was it ever exhausting! I slept for 14 hours after I got home... Kids, man- Oy! It wasn't bad though. I think it was mostly just that it was the first day and whatnot that it tired me out so badly... Still don't have another job lined up. But it's early yet...
I saw My Bloody Valentine 3D on Wednesday night with Joe. I loved it. I had never seen a movie in 3D before and I thought the effect was pretty cool. I don't usually like horror movies, despite my love of Supernatural, but it was precisely because of my love for Supernatural that I couldn't pass up the chance to see Jensen Ackles in the 3D on a big movie screen. (Slight spoiler here) His character in this, "Tom," was similar in many ways to his character in DeVour, "Jake," although MBV was much better. (End of spoiler.) Jensen can do no wrong in my eyes. I thought he did a fantastic job. Kerr Smith - who I last saw in Dawson's Creek - also was pretty amazing. Overall, a typical slasher flick, which lives up to the "Bloody" in its title... so if you go in for that sort of thing, or if you love Jensen, make sure you see this in the theater. I - being a bit of a wimp when it comes to this sort of thing - did not watch the death scenes, but I enjoyed the movie nonetheless.
I also have been spinning... the superwash alpaca-merino blend I got from etsy. It's very soft, but not so easy to spin. It's like a merino roving I got several years ago now that put me off spinning merino for the longest time. The fibers are so smooth and slippery that they have a tendency not to draft very easily, so it's a bit fussy... I can't tell you the number of times that the yarn has broken between the bobbin and my drafting hand and I've had to stop and pull it back out through the orifice and try to get it joined to the roving again... So totally not my favorite thing to spin. The resulting yarn, however, is very nice, and I think it will make some very yummy socks. I've spun 210 yards from 3 ounces, and now am on my 4th of the 12 ounces I bought. Pictures will be up on Ravelry, if not here, as soon as I take them.
Monday, December 15, 2008
O.O *meep*
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD
Dude, May 1st, I am so there! *loves Wolverine*
In Hugh Jackman related news: I saw Australia last weekend and it was awesome! I really loved it. I usually hate Baz Lurhman films, but Australia instantly became one of my favorite movies ever.
Dude, May 1st, I am so there! *loves Wolverine*
In Hugh Jackman related news: I saw Australia last weekend and it was awesome! I really loved it. I usually hate Baz Lurhman films, but Australia instantly became one of my favorite movies ever.
Friday, December 12, 2008
40 Motivational Speeches in 2 minutes...
To inspire those of you who might need it in getting all holiday preparations done before Chanukah/Yule/Christmas (or perhaps just to make you smile through the stress):
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Captain America
So... I love comic book movies. I'm not crazy for them, I don't analyze them, I don't freak out if they mess things up (generally speaking), I don't read the comic books they're based on, but I see pretty much every one that's released. I enjoy them. My favorites are The X-Men Trilogy (pretty much only because of Hugh Jackman - he saved it I think - and the amazing Patrick Stewert and Ian McKellan), Spiderman 3 (cause I thought it was a really good way to end the trilogy and that they knocked it out of the park), and Iron Man (cause Robert Downey Jr. is completely AMAZING! in it and I adore him to pieces).
Iron Man, of course, started something new though... It was the first of the many films that studio will produce about The Avengers. The second, of course, was The Incredible Hulk. The next will be Thor and then in 2011, Captain America. The Captain hasn't been cast yet. Fan boards are abuzz with suggestions and speculations. I have two suggestions... I'm sure neither will be listened to... as is usually the case, but until official word comes down from the studio, I hope anyway. I've heard that they want someone younger than both of my fav's, but honestly, I can't imagine anyone in their early-to-mid twenties playing the part. We're not talking Private America... it takes a little time at least to get promoted to Captain, you know. Early 30s seems more reasonable to me than early-to-mid 20s.
So Jensen Ackles would be beautiful and amazing, and he's my number 2 choice.
But my number one - simply because he exudes this amazing energy like he does CO2 when he exhales and just as easily and I find that incredibly hot, I don't care what, and I think that would serve him well as Captain America - John Barrowman. For real and true. I know he's 41 years old, but I defy anyone who doesn't know that to guess a single day over 33 on one of his bad days! Seriously, he's so young looking, it's superhuman.
And when I first heard they were doing Captain America as a movie, I thought of John Barrowman in the role instantly. Jensen is freaking gorgeous and amazingly talented too, and would do an amazing job. I don't mean to slight him in the least by picking John Barrowman over him. I wanted him for the young Captain Kirk in Star Trek 11 so bad and was so disappointed that he wasn't cast. But yeah, John Barrowman for Captain America. *nods*
Seriously, check him out:
Isn't he SO Captain America?!?!?! He is. *nods sagely* And he said at ComicCon when asked that he would love to do it, so yeah... *hoping so much*
And this gorgeous man can sing too (not that that has anything to do with Captain America, but God I love to listen to him sing!):
*passes out from his smokin' hotness*
Iron Man, of course, started something new though... It was the first of the many films that studio will produce about The Avengers. The second, of course, was The Incredible Hulk. The next will be Thor and then in 2011, Captain America. The Captain hasn't been cast yet. Fan boards are abuzz with suggestions and speculations. I have two suggestions... I'm sure neither will be listened to... as is usually the case, but until official word comes down from the studio, I hope anyway. I've heard that they want someone younger than both of my fav's, but honestly, I can't imagine anyone in their early-to-mid twenties playing the part. We're not talking Private America... it takes a little time at least to get promoted to Captain, you know. Early 30s seems more reasonable to me than early-to-mid 20s.
So Jensen Ackles would be beautiful and amazing, and he's my number 2 choice.
But my number one - simply because he exudes this amazing energy like he does CO2 when he exhales and just as easily and I find that incredibly hot, I don't care what, and I think that would serve him well as Captain America - John Barrowman. For real and true. I know he's 41 years old, but I defy anyone who doesn't know that to guess a single day over 33 on one of his bad days! Seriously, he's so young looking, it's superhuman.
And when I first heard they were doing Captain America as a movie, I thought of John Barrowman in the role instantly. Jensen is freaking gorgeous and amazingly talented too, and would do an amazing job. I don't mean to slight him in the least by picking John Barrowman over him. I wanted him for the young Captain Kirk in Star Trek 11 so bad and was so disappointed that he wasn't cast. But yeah, John Barrowman for Captain America. *nods*
Seriously, check him out:
Isn't he SO Captain America?!?!?! He is. *nods sagely* And he said at ComicCon when asked that he would love to do it, so yeah... *hoping so much*
And this gorgeous man can sing too (not that that has anything to do with Captain America, but God I love to listen to him sing!):
*passes out from his smokin' hotness*
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Can't wait! Can't wait!!
Hellboy 2 is released tomorrow! *does a dance of joy*
Moviefone's Hellboy 2 Unscripted Interview
Also, I'm feeling better and better all the time about Del Toro directing The Hobbit.
Moviefone's Hellboy 2 Unscripted Interview
Also, I'm feeling better and better all the time about Del Toro directing The Hobbit.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
I'm supporting the WGA
So the Writers' Guild of America is on strike... as I'm sure everyone has heard by now... I support them in their efforts and hope that the studios submit to their demands quickly so that everyone can get on with entertaining America and the world... and so that the support staff who don't get paid outrageous saleries, the grips and techs and make-up people and assistants, don't start loosing their homes and cars, etc because if they aren't making tv and movies because the writers are on strike, all these poor people aren't getting paid either... from their jobs or their unions... so... I do hope it ends quickly...
In an effort to support the strike, I've decided to join the Reality TV boycott. The studios hope to maintain their ratings shares and advertising revenues by showing new Reality TV shows when the new episodes of their scripted shows run out... probably around late-January to February for most shows... So I'm boycotting... If they don't maintain their numbers and start loosing advertisers, they will be more likely to deal fairly with the writers.
For more information...
In an effort to support the strike, I've decided to join the Reality TV boycott. The studios hope to maintain their ratings shares and advertising revenues by showing new Reality TV shows when the new episodes of their scripted shows run out... probably around late-January to February for most shows... So I'm boycotting... If they don't maintain their numbers and start loosing advertisers, they will be more likely to deal fairly with the writers.
For more information...
Two Movies Everyone Should See...
Walker... It details the story of William Walker, who in the 1850s led a group of Americans into Nicaragua in order to "bring democracy and civilization" to Nicaraguans... they were financed by Vanderbuilt who wanted the trade routes through Nicaragua to be stabilized at all costs. The things that occur so closely resemble things that have continued to occur in the course of American history. The movie was made shortly after the Iran-Contra business in the mid-1980s, but the same exact rhetoric that was used in the 1850s and 1980s is being used today by President Bush and his cronies in support of the war in Iran. The movie is delightfully blatent in it's connection between the past and the present... look out for automobiles, automatic assault rifles and Newsweek magazines... Seriously, everyone should see this movie... and keep it in mind when writing your elected officials and voting.
Iron Jawed Angels... I don't think any other movie in the history of cinema can make people appreciate the right to vote more than this one... or indeed all other rights and protections that we enjoy every day. Iron Jawed Angels is the story of the courageous women who stood up to President Wilson and demanded all women be given the right to vote. They were imprisioned under false pretenses for it because WWI made protests against the government extremely unpopular. They were denied their constitutional rights and gravely mistreated in the prison. These events are portrayed very well in this movie, which was produced by HBO. If you find any of the actual photographs of the protests (such as the one to the left), you can see just how close to life the film comes. It's impressive.
Iron Jawed Angels... I don't think any other movie in the history of cinema can make people appreciate the right to vote more than this one... or indeed all other rights and protections that we enjoy every day. Iron Jawed Angels is the story of the courageous women who stood up to President Wilson and demanded all women be given the right to vote. They were imprisioned under false pretenses for it because WWI made protests against the government extremely unpopular. They were denied their constitutional rights and gravely mistreated in the prison. These events are portrayed very well in this movie, which was produced by HBO. If you find any of the actual photographs of the protests (such as the one to the left), you can see just how close to life the film comes. It's impressive.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
The New World
Was watching "The Making of 'The New World'" this evening, and had to share. I'm not an expert, but it looked fairly accurate from what I could tell. The war paint on the Natives is a bit of... a stretch. The Native American actors who portray them collaborated with the makeup artists to create "their own look" basically. They wanted the war paint to be an "extension of the individual" and for them to be "walking works of art." ... So basically, it probably has little basis in history because the director and the art director wanted things to look interesting and exotic over historical as far as the Natives' war paint was concerned... and if there's a justification for that, I suppose it would be to contrast the Natives with the englishness of the settlers. So when you see warriors wearing small snakes literally as earrings... that's not CG and they are *real* living snakes.
However, the sets of the Powhatan village and the Jamestown fort were meticulously reconstructed with the assistance and supervision of the archaeologists who dug up and mapped the real things about 7 miles from where the filming took place. Both sets are the actual size of the real historic places and they are 360 degree sets... basically *real* villages constructed with the same materials as the originals. They shot everything as close to where history sets the events as they could without stumbling over real historic sites or modern cities, and all daytime scenes were shot using only natural light to give it a clean, real look. The actors found it very freeing because they could take the scenes essentially anywhere on the sets they wanted to go in that moment, and they didn't have a difficult time staying in the moment because besides the crew and one or two cameras there wasn't any equipment to avoid or to distract them from being in early 17th century Virginia. I have to give them kudos for going to all that trouble.
Everybody went through boot camp. All of the natives did exercises not only to learn how to use the weapons and get in shape, but also to learn the physicality of the Powhatan people... how to move in a non-modern way... How to walk, all the dances, how to move silently while stalking, the way of speaking and all the little idiosyncrasies that have been lost to time. One of the actors who played a warrior said it was like learning a new language... a language that was dormant in their blood. That's beautiful...
The Englishmen went to boot camp to learn how to build the fort, what daily life in the fort was like, and how to fight, basically... and some of them had dialect lessons.
Apparently, the director likes using spontaneous moments and there will be quite a few scenes that are almost entirely improvised in the movie... One of the crew says the director was trying to "capture life on the whim." Looking forward to seeing that. Oh, and he's also not afraid of letting silence speak. Some scenes will have no music and only natural background noise... birds, water, etc. So that when the music is there it's more meaningful and when there is no sound it's more meaningful. Kinda makes me want to see more of this guy's movies. (Oh, and the guy who did all the music is James Horner, the guy who did "Titanic"'s music.)
And, I just have to add, Colin Farrell cooing over and playing with the babies in the Indian village is just about the cutest thing ever...
However, the sets of the Powhatan village and the Jamestown fort were meticulously reconstructed with the assistance and supervision of the archaeologists who dug up and mapped the real things about 7 miles from where the filming took place. Both sets are the actual size of the real historic places and they are 360 degree sets... basically *real* villages constructed with the same materials as the originals. They shot everything as close to where history sets the events as they could without stumbling over real historic sites or modern cities, and all daytime scenes were shot using only natural light to give it a clean, real look. The actors found it very freeing because they could take the scenes essentially anywhere on the sets they wanted to go in that moment, and they didn't have a difficult time staying in the moment because besides the crew and one or two cameras there wasn't any equipment to avoid or to distract them from being in early 17th century Virginia. I have to give them kudos for going to all that trouble.
Everybody went through boot camp. All of the natives did exercises not only to learn how to use the weapons and get in shape, but also to learn the physicality of the Powhatan people... how to move in a non-modern way... How to walk, all the dances, how to move silently while stalking, the way of speaking and all the little idiosyncrasies that have been lost to time. One of the actors who played a warrior said it was like learning a new language... a language that was dormant in their blood. That's beautiful...
The Englishmen went to boot camp to learn how to build the fort, what daily life in the fort was like, and how to fight, basically... and some of them had dialect lessons.
Apparently, the director likes using spontaneous moments and there will be quite a few scenes that are almost entirely improvised in the movie... One of the crew says the director was trying to "capture life on the whim." Looking forward to seeing that. Oh, and he's also not afraid of letting silence speak. Some scenes will have no music and only natural background noise... birds, water, etc. So that when the music is there it's more meaningful and when there is no sound it's more meaningful. Kinda makes me want to see more of this guy's movies. (Oh, and the guy who did all the music is James Horner, the guy who did "Titanic"'s music.)
And, I just have to add, Colin Farrell cooing over and playing with the babies in the Indian village is just about the cutest thing ever...
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Brokeback Mountain
Warning: Spoilers abound! Don't read further if you don't want to be spoiled. If you don't care, or you've seen the movie, read on...
I had not and have still not read the short story on which this movie is based, so all impressions given here are based solely on the movie and nothing else.
This is one of those movies that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next. And the end feels like an unexpected punch to the gut. Bring tissues when you see it! Some people have said that "Brokeback Mountain" reminds them of "The Bridges of Madison County"... I might agree with that. I've never seen all of "TBOMC", just a few scenes... I was quite young when it was in theaters and they don't air it on tv very much. But I know my mom liked it. From what I have seen of it, yes, it probably has a similar tone.
Ang Lee did a magnificent job with directing his cast. He really is the master of repression and hidden emotional pain, and it comes through in "Brokeback Mountain." You can see the progression through his movies from "The Wedding Banquet" to "Sense and Sensibility" to all his more recent stuff to this. Heath, Jake, Michelle and Anne are at their very best. The cinematography is indescribably beautiful... as if that would be difficult with the vistas available in Calgary and Montana... I really appreciated the stark contrast between all the natural beauty surrounding the run-down, economically near-dead towns of rural Montana in the 1960s and 70s. And the music just adds so much. Thank you very much Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson. Thanks to them, Maria and I just cried through the credits... (Zinzi being Zinzi was already out of the theater and looking for the bathroom when the credits started rolling.)
Ennis Del Mar, Heath's character, reminds me of John Wayne or the Marlboro Man in a lot of ways... Doesn't talk much, classic cowboy. He has an interesting way about him when he actually does talk. I don't know if it's just the Montana accent or what, but his jaw doesn't move very much. Ennis also can't dance to save his life and has no rhythm at all. Heath was really making those late-1960s/70s sideburns look really good though! Didn't think that was possible... Ennis is the side of the duo who is full of repression and restraint.
Jake's character, Jack Twist, is a little more open, but comes off as your typical Montana rancher's son turned Texas rodeo cowboy... pretty much what you might expect that to be. Jake said he loved working with the sheep, which they were really herding for real throughout much of the film up and down the mountains in Calgary, Canada, because they were such stupid but lovable animals. He said it was pretty neat how all you had to do was lift up your arms near them and walk toward them, and they'd run away in fear. Made him feel quite powerful. As for the character of Jack, he's a bit more easy-going. He can dance and though he can't sing, he still tries. He doesn't care if he makes a fool of himself, and he doesn't like to be pushed around, although he'll take it to keep the peace. Jack would be the side of the duo who's full of longing.
I really like Ennis and I really like Jack. They both make valid points, and it was unfortunate for them that they had to come about in the 1960s and 70s in the rural West. Even another part of the country at the time would have worked better... or if Ennis' dad wasn't such a psycho and hadn't traumatized him when he was nine, things might have been much easier for him, and therefore for Jack.
Anne's hair as Lureen Twist gets progressively more blonde. She starts with her natural color and by the end is as platinum as Marilyn Monroe. The story moves from 1963 to about 1980, and you can kind of tell how much time has supposedly passed by watching her hair get more blonde, and Jack's mustache get thicker. I'll need to pay better attention to her character the second time around to really figure her out because like Jack says, most of the time we see Lureen, she's just sitting there at her desk, crunching numbers for her father's tractor business, asking why Jack doesn't have Ennis come down to Texas to fish instead of him always having to drive 14 hours to Montana. The only thing that really changes is her hair... until the end... when we actually see some emotion behind the mask of calm indifference.
Michelle's character, Alma Del Mar, moves the story on quite a bit, and she's the strongest female presence on screen... Her life is hard, living with Ennis, with all the secrets and lies between them, and yet, I still don't feel sorry for her because she's better off at the end. She fuels his paranoia a bit, and his carelessness fuels her suspicion... It was a very tense onscreen relationship.
I really liked Ennis and Alma's elder daughter, Alma Junior. She's a lot like her dad, doesn't talk much and knows more than she let's on she knows. And she's very well adjusted despite her surroundings, which surprised me quite a bit. Her relationship of silent understanding with her father is very telling, especially closer to the end of the movie. The part was very well cast as well because not only was the actress very capable, but she also bore a resemblance to Heath. Her eyes and nose are of a similar shape and she has a squarish jaw line... not in an unfeminine way though. She just looked like she could be his daughter were he old enough to have a 20 year old daughter.
You have to pay attention while watching this movie. You might miss something if you close your eyes. A lot of the story is told through looks and body language because the main character, Ennis, talks so little.
I really liked how nature was used in the movie. It was similar to how in "Tristan & Isolde" (the medieval story, not the movie... haven't seen the movie yet.), nature seems to be on the lovers' side, protective and a haven, while society/religion/humanity disapproves. This is also perhaps why the contrast between the town and the mountains is visually emphasized in "Brokeback Mountain" - for the same reason. Ennis and Jack almost always escape into the wilds of Montana for their trysts, and whenever other people come around, that's when bad things happen. In "Tristan & Isolde," the point of nature being on their side is that love is a natural thing, to be protected and celebrated, and that society and religion, which are human constructs, disapproves of their love is unnatural and dangerous... and essentially wrong... This is why "Tristan & Isolde" was so controversial in the 13th century when it was composed. But it wasn't an unusual piece at the time. Much of the romantic literature of the Middle Ages was extremely controversial because it covertly or not-so-covertly criticized the Church and therefore all of Medieval society. So to with "Brokeback."
I recommend the official webpage: http://www.brokebackmountain.com/home.html . The soundtrack plays on every page, and on the soundtrack's own page, you can listen to clips of all the songs. Even if you don't like the movie, or don't want to see it, I recommend the soundtrack. The music is lovely. The site also gives a good impression of what the film looks like.
I had not and have still not read the short story on which this movie is based, so all impressions given here are based solely on the movie and nothing else.
This is one of those movies that will have you laughing one minute and crying the next. And the end feels like an unexpected punch to the gut. Bring tissues when you see it! Some people have said that "Brokeback Mountain" reminds them of "The Bridges of Madison County"... I might agree with that. I've never seen all of "TBOMC", just a few scenes... I was quite young when it was in theaters and they don't air it on tv very much. But I know my mom liked it. From what I have seen of it, yes, it probably has a similar tone.
Ang Lee did a magnificent job with directing his cast. He really is the master of repression and hidden emotional pain, and it comes through in "Brokeback Mountain." You can see the progression through his movies from "The Wedding Banquet" to "Sense and Sensibility" to all his more recent stuff to this. Heath, Jake, Michelle and Anne are at their very best. The cinematography is indescribably beautiful... as if that would be difficult with the vistas available in Calgary and Montana... I really appreciated the stark contrast between all the natural beauty surrounding the run-down, economically near-dead towns of rural Montana in the 1960s and 70s. And the music just adds so much. Thank you very much Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson. Thanks to them, Maria and I just cried through the credits... (Zinzi being Zinzi was already out of the theater and looking for the bathroom when the credits started rolling.)
Ennis Del Mar, Heath's character, reminds me of John Wayne or the Marlboro Man in a lot of ways... Doesn't talk much, classic cowboy. He has an interesting way about him when he actually does talk. I don't know if it's just the Montana accent or what, but his jaw doesn't move very much. Ennis also can't dance to save his life and has no rhythm at all. Heath was really making those late-1960s/70s sideburns look really good though! Didn't think that was possible... Ennis is the side of the duo who is full of repression and restraint.
Jake's character, Jack Twist, is a little more open, but comes off as your typical Montana rancher's son turned Texas rodeo cowboy... pretty much what you might expect that to be. Jake said he loved working with the sheep, which they were really herding for real throughout much of the film up and down the mountains in Calgary, Canada, because they were such stupid but lovable animals. He said it was pretty neat how all you had to do was lift up your arms near them and walk toward them, and they'd run away in fear. Made him feel quite powerful. As for the character of Jack, he's a bit more easy-going. He can dance and though he can't sing, he still tries. He doesn't care if he makes a fool of himself, and he doesn't like to be pushed around, although he'll take it to keep the peace. Jack would be the side of the duo who's full of longing.
I really like Ennis and I really like Jack. They both make valid points, and it was unfortunate for them that they had to come about in the 1960s and 70s in the rural West. Even another part of the country at the time would have worked better... or if Ennis' dad wasn't such a psycho and hadn't traumatized him when he was nine, things might have been much easier for him, and therefore for Jack.
Anne's hair as Lureen Twist gets progressively more blonde. She starts with her natural color and by the end is as platinum as Marilyn Monroe. The story moves from 1963 to about 1980, and you can kind of tell how much time has supposedly passed by watching her hair get more blonde, and Jack's mustache get thicker. I'll need to pay better attention to her character the second time around to really figure her out because like Jack says, most of the time we see Lureen, she's just sitting there at her desk, crunching numbers for her father's tractor business, asking why Jack doesn't have Ennis come down to Texas to fish instead of him always having to drive 14 hours to Montana. The only thing that really changes is her hair... until the end... when we actually see some emotion behind the mask of calm indifference.
Michelle's character, Alma Del Mar, moves the story on quite a bit, and she's the strongest female presence on screen... Her life is hard, living with Ennis, with all the secrets and lies between them, and yet, I still don't feel sorry for her because she's better off at the end. She fuels his paranoia a bit, and his carelessness fuels her suspicion... It was a very tense onscreen relationship.
I really liked Ennis and Alma's elder daughter, Alma Junior. She's a lot like her dad, doesn't talk much and knows more than she let's on she knows. And she's very well adjusted despite her surroundings, which surprised me quite a bit. Her relationship of silent understanding with her father is very telling, especially closer to the end of the movie. The part was very well cast as well because not only was the actress very capable, but she also bore a resemblance to Heath. Her eyes and nose are of a similar shape and she has a squarish jaw line... not in an unfeminine way though. She just looked like she could be his daughter were he old enough to have a 20 year old daughter.
You have to pay attention while watching this movie. You might miss something if you close your eyes. A lot of the story is told through looks and body language because the main character, Ennis, talks so little.
I really liked how nature was used in the movie. It was similar to how in "Tristan & Isolde" (the medieval story, not the movie... haven't seen the movie yet.), nature seems to be on the lovers' side, protective and a haven, while society/religion/humanity disapproves. This is also perhaps why the contrast between the town and the mountains is visually emphasized in "Brokeback Mountain" - for the same reason. Ennis and Jack almost always escape into the wilds of Montana for their trysts, and whenever other people come around, that's when bad things happen. In "Tristan & Isolde," the point of nature being on their side is that love is a natural thing, to be protected and celebrated, and that society and religion, which are human constructs, disapproves of their love is unnatural and dangerous... and essentially wrong... This is why "Tristan & Isolde" was so controversial in the 13th century when it was composed. But it wasn't an unusual piece at the time. Much of the romantic literature of the Middle Ages was extremely controversial because it covertly or not-so-covertly criticized the Church and therefore all of Medieval society. So to with "Brokeback."
I recommend the official webpage: http://www.brokebackmountain.com/home.html . The soundtrack plays on every page, and on the soundtrack's own page, you can listen to clips of all the songs. Even if you don't like the movie, or don't want to see it, I recommend the soundtrack. The music is lovely. The site also gives a good impression of what the film looks like.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Blogger Posts while Blogger was not working...
Here's all the stuff I tried to post in December when the Blogging programs weren't working for me. I'd try and end up with blank posts. So I back-logged them and now that Blogger is working for me again, here they are.
12/08/2005 - All but done with the semester! WooHoo!!
12/09/2005 - "The Straight Dude's Guide to 'Brokeback Mountain'"
posted here in it's entirety from: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10342237/
The straight dude's guide to "Brokeback"
Our intrepid gay columnist has sage advice for his straight brethren
COMMENTARY
By Dave White
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 7:26 p.m. ET Dec. 8, 2005
You are a heterosexual man. And you have no personal beef with gay people. You're educated and fairly socially liberal and occasionally listen to NPR and you don't like to see anyone bashed or discriminated against. You're no homophobe. You're proud of yourself.
But your girlfriend/wife/common-law/female or whoever loves that adorable Jake Gyllenhaal has already stated her intentions. When it's her turn to pick the Saturday night date-movie, you're seeing "Brokeback Mountain."
"But I am a heterosexual man," you''' thinking, "very, very, very, very straight." And you're kind of freaking out as the release date quickly approaches, and even the expression "release date" is making you kind of jittery. You're hoping to remind your female life partner that, while you feel gay people are very wonderful, colorful, witty additions to the human population and that Ellen sure is fun to watch dance in the credit card commercial and that Tom Hanks really deserved that Academy Award for whatever that movie was where he died at the end, that you are very, very, very, very straight and that it should exempt you from seeing Adorable Jake... um... do "it" with Heath Ledger. You really don't even want to know what "it" entails because you've lived this long without finding out. You're thinking the words "red-blooded," as in "I am a red-blooded American male, etc," don't sound so retro anymore.
And yet, you're still going to see it whether you like it or not. This necessarily presents a dilemma: how to make her happy and endure your first gay-themed movie where guys actually make out on a very big screen right in front of your face? And that's where I come in. I'm a red-blooded American male homosexual movie critic who's already seen "Brokeback Mountain." And I could just tell you how great the film is, that it's really powerful and moving and all that, but that isn't what you want to hear. So I have some viewing tips for you, my straight brothers. I promise I'm only here to help...
1. Accept the fact that this is all your fault in the first place. You were the one who was all excited to take your ladyfriend to "Jarhead" anyway and when you got there and saw that it consisted of lot of AJ (how this article will refer to Adorable Jake from here on) running around all sweaty, muscular and shirtless in the desert, doing a sexy dance wearing nothing but a Santa Claus cap over his "area" and then simulating a big gay orgy with his fellow grunts, you were like, "When does the killing start in this movie?" while your woman thought, "Oh yes, more Santa Dancing please." You brought it on yourself.
2. Realize now that you have to shut up. You kind of have no idea how important it is for you to shut up. But it's crucial. I was recently at a press screening for another movie and I overheard four guys in the theater lobby talking about "Brokeback." They were resolute in their refusal to go see it and they couldn't stop loudly one-upping each other about how they had no interest, were not "curious," and were, in the words of the loudest guy in the group, "straight as that wall over there." Oh, the wall with poster for the Big Gay Cowboy Movie on it? That straight wall? Well here's something that everyone else now knows but that guy: he's probably gay. Being silent marks you as too cool to care about how other men see you. It means you're comfortable and not freaked by your own naked shadow. Did Steve McQueen go around squawking about how straight-as-a-wall he was? No, he didn't. He was too busy being stoic and manly.
3. The good news - there's less than one minute of making out. It's about 130 minutes long and 129 of them are about Men Not Having Sex. So yes, maybe it will be the longest almost-60 seconds of your life, but there it is. Less than one minute. In fact, it's 129 minutes of really intense longing and sadness and unabashedly weepy, doomed love story. In a very real way that's a lot more porny than any of the man-on-man canoodling that made it past the editing room. But if you're going to be a big sissy about it then you can go get her that Diet Coke and jumbo popcorn during the first major sex scene. And no plugging your ears and singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb," either. All singing is inherently gay, is why. Plus you'll be in a movie theater and some big bruiser gay guy might kick your butt. Then you'll feel even more emasculated.
4. Remember that it's a western. And the script was adapted by none other than Total Dude Larry McMurtry. That guy is the coolest western writer in the country. He wrote "Lonesome Dove." You love "Lonesome Dove." In fact, the only problem with remembering that it's a western is having to ignore the fact that most westerns are about 1000 percent gay. If you think I'm making that up, just go watch "Red River" again.
5. They're tortured and you get to feel sorry for them. Just like in that Tom Hanks movie, these gay guys get kicked around a lot. It's set in the 1960s and the characters played by Heath and AJ don't even know they're gay. They think they're just regular straight guys who suddenly find themselves all turned on by each other and, honestly, don't even really understand why they're awash in yucky, hypnotic love feelings. Actually wait... you know what? Don't think about that too much. Better if you just forget about the "why" of it all and start rooting for these underdogs. Pretend they're like Sean Astin in "Rudy."
6. Anne Hathaway, who plays AJ's wife, gets topless. The End. I think it's fair to report this and here's why: as a gay man, the only reason I even agreed to sit through the really stupid remake of "The Longest Yard" was because one of my friends told me you get to see the wrestler Goldberg in the shower. In one scene. That's it. I sat through the whole thing for one scene. In that respect, my hetero pals, we are all brothers deep inside... it's just a different brand of naked flesh that ignites our prurience.
7. And finally, it's just your turn. Really, it is, and you know it. Imagine how many thousands of hetero love stories gay people sit through in their lives. So you kind of owe us. Now get out there and watch those cowboys make out.
Dave White is the film critic for Movies.com and has a not-all-that-gay blog at www.livejournal.com/users/djmrswhite.
© 2005 MSNBC Interactive
********
I am most amused... I saw this movie last weekend, and while it is almost completely wrong, wrong, wrong... Matt MacFayden was really hot as Darcy, and Keira wasn't as bad as I thought she'd be. This is what happens when I go in with expectations that couldn't be lower, I am usually pleasantly surprised. I thought Matt put in some subtle little looks on Darcy's part when Elizabeth's back was turned that were very telling and a good addition to the smouldering that Colin gave us. It was an interesting interpretation of Darcy at least. And of course, the script comes near to butchering the story... And I don't know what the costumers were thinking. The dress that Bingley's sister is wearing at their ball has straps just slightly wider than spaghetti straps - that can't be right. The women don't even have corsets on for half the movie, and at least half of the time they do, they are the wrong corsets... And there's a line where one of the girls is complaining that the corset being tightened is painful... again... It wasn't Keira this time, but for pity's sake! And there are some distinctly Bronte-esque scenes. And the last scene, while it had me grinning like a mad fool, was total invention of the script writers... But miracle of miracles, Zinzi saw it with us and she *loved* it! Anyone who knows the kinds of movies she usually has that reaction to knows just how amazing that is! 'Cause usually she'd have to be tied down and her eyes would have to be pried open to get her to watch a traditionally romantic movie, let alone something based on one of Jane's novels, but she really liked this, and was even asking me questions about what was going on during certain scenes cause she really wanted to know... Which is something that the filmmakers should have done better! There are parts where I know if I didn't know the story so well, I wouldn't have a clue what was going on, and the dialog is several scenes was unintelligible. On to the amusing article!
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9995610/
The importance of being Darcy
Matthew MacFayden has a tough job filling Colin Firth's smoldering shoes
COMMENTARY
By Mary Beth Ellis
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 10:24 a.m. ET Nov. 11, 2005
I was speaking to an older colleague about the latest essay I was writing; I informed her it concerned a new movie based on "Pride and Prejudice," which she last read at approximately the same time the Earth was first cooling.
And first words out of her mouth were: "Oh! Mr. Darcy!"
Yes, Mr. Darcy. Thanks loads, Jane Austen, for ruining generations of perfectly good women with your ballgowns and your rolling barouches and your Mr. Darcy. Many are the ladies who wait in vain for their own personal, portable Darcy, complete with estate in Derbyshire.
The number has increased since 1995, when Colin Firth took on the role for a BBC miniseries. Colin was Action Figure Darcy. He fences! He swims! He bathes! Naked! He gives and fixes and scowls and rides his horse and just in general Firths all over the place, and we are much the better for it.
He also stares, a lot. There is a great deal of staring on the part of Darcy, mostly at Elizabeth Bennet, who occasionally stares back, which in the Regency era I suppose was the equivalent of text messaging.
A difficult act to follow
Primarily, what sets Colin apart from all other Darcys is his hair. It truly is wonderful hair. The man rides thither and yon - sometimes yon twice in the same scene - and not once does he suffer hathead.
You kind of get the feeling that Darcy, in college, was not a frat boy. He wasn't showing up at your doorstep with Game Cube and a 12-pack of Natural Light and calling it a romantic evening. Darcy would at least change out of the ball cap he had been wearing for the past eight consecutive days first. He's a difficult act to follow.
But now the Lord has now bestowed upon us a new incarnation of Darcy, now played by Matthew MacFayden, which' good luck, Matt. Sometimes actors simply define roles; I cannot imagine Professor Higgins without Rex Harrison, Harold Hill without Robert Preston, or, of course, Larry Gigli without Ben Affleck. So has Colin's stare enamored any number of Austen fans.
It's all in the smolder, you see. For in today's culture, there is little time to smolder; the next episode of "The Apprentice" is roaring down the pike, or the plane is circling the airport yet again, or our cell phone is insistently informing us, via a tinny version of "La Bamba," that our best friend is currently standing 10 feet away - where are we? I don't think modern society loves Elizabeth and Darcy as much as we covet their spare time. House parties would last up to six weeks at a time in the 1880s. Who, outside of Paris Hilton, has that much alcohol on hand?
Among his other fine attributes, Colin Firth's Darcy possesses the ability to selectively bilocate. It really is quite extraordinary; one moment he's brooding on horseback, the next his face is floating to the forefront of Elizabeth's mirror or carriage window, issuing dark, repetitive, and sonorous pronouncements about how very icky he finds her family. "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you - but your mother is horrid and will have to stay in the basement. Dad needs to go too, and I seriously hate your sisters. And how attached are you, really, to the family dog?"
Darcy also maintains quite the respectable crib, and, it's safe to imagine, the most pimped-out carriages available. The driveway alone could serve as a landing strip for the space shuttle. And the pond - all proper estates require a pond. All I have is a sad puddle of warm beer beneath the refrigerator.
And you just know that Darcy gets into all the best clubs, too. He really is the ultimate date. There would be no standing at the hostess station, light-up seating alert device limply in hand for Darcy. No, he walks into Friday's, and he sits right down!
Shall we dance?
Impressive, too, is this whole business of dancing. I welcome any new adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice," Firthed or un-Firthed, so long as the dancing is done properly. People in Regency England didn't dance quite the way we do. There was, for example, precious little grinding. Smoke machines were rarely used. I doubt lasers made much of an appearance. On the other hand - fortunate generation! - everyone was spared the Electric Slide.
Physical contact between unmarried men and women was pretty much limited to a lot of bowing and fan fluttering. In dancing there was a great deal of twirling, which - and I say this as a square dancer from way back - is a lot harder than it sounds. I've thrown off the rotation of the planet with a poorly directed alamand left. But Colin manages this admirably, and with a remarkably small amount of dorkiness. He even skips in a manly manner.
Darcy, however, may not be well suited for the long haul. Once all the smoldering is done - what is there to burn after, really? A really excellent pot roast on Michaelmas, or whatever in the world people yearned for once plights were trothed? I mean, Pemberly is quite the hizzy, but how many chandeliers does one person need?
And is he really the best judge of character? Look at his friends: He hangs out with Wickham, who is the leading candidate as a spokesman for Rohypnol, and the overly smiley Bingley, who never met a pile of dog poop he didn't like. "Colin-as-Darcy," I would say - for I'm sure Colin Firth prefers to be addressed as nothing but - "Colin-as-Darcy, you may stay for as long as you like, but your friends are only allowed inside when I'm off at Pilates class."
However, given the bilocation and the preference for pond-swimming, I suppose I could settle in for a nice life of horses and twirling. An 80-year-old Colin Firth is still far preferable to a 27-year-old Kevin Federline.
Freelance writer Mary Beth Ellis runs http://www.blondechampagne.com/, from whence she leads a merry chase, or plights her troth, or whatever.
© 2005 MSNBC Interactive
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After working really hard on my Cinxia sweater (pattern can be found here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/PATTcinxia.html ) for weeks and weeks I found today that it is undoubtedly going to look like crap. I don't know if I made a size too big or what, although I'm making the size according to my exact bust size. And my yarn is the *exact* same gauge as the one the pattern writer used... so I don't get it. I'm almost done with the collar, so I could try it on easily while it was still on the needles... It's not that the fabric is too bulky. It's that there's too much of it in the wrong places. The back of the sweater looks like it's a bed jacket, very loose, almost like a gathered skirt, with no shape at all (I know what you might say, that it was decreased wrong, but I was very careful and counted stitches the whole way at every step and sometimes in between. That is definitely not the issue). The front might look okay after it's blocked, but I can tell there is no hope for the back of it. Which sucks 'cause I was really hoping that it would look like the one pictured at knitty... I might try to make the next size down to see if that was the problem at some point in the future, but for now I have a lot of ripping to do and I'll just move on to something else.
12/13/2005 - Done with exams, thank goodness! I also got my second archaeology paper back from Dr. White. She gave me an 83. I do not think it deserved an 83. Her comments on it indicated that she only seemed to have a problem with one sentence, claiming that it was, in fact, not a sentence. Actually, it is a sentence. I don't write incomplete sentences in academic writing... I even have a hard time managing it in e-mails. Plus, Word would have picked up an incomplete sentence and I would have fixed it. So it is not an incomplete sentence. She also expressed that she would have liked to see me explain "cultural history method" more fully. Personally, I think we're beyond that, but whatever. Other than that, her comments said that it was "very good, but difficult to understand." This is one of the lowest grades I've *ever* gotten on a paper, let alone a paper in college. I admit it was not my best paper, but it did not deserve an 83. An 87 maybe, if one is being particularly nitpicky, but not an 83. I take it as further evidence that Dr. White doesn't like me. Every time I ask her a question, her face takes on an expression like she just tasted or smelled something nasty.
If that weren't enough, when I turned in my exam, there were two stacks of papers facedown in front of her on her desk of approximately the same height. I couldn't tell which one were the exams, so I asked, "Which are the exams?" with a smile. She rolled her eyes, snatched my test out of my hand and with a small disgusted noise, put it on the correct pile. I blinked and left the room. I may have slammed the door (I was the second to last to finish and the other person was handing her the test when I did that, so I didn't bother anyone but her). Her behavior was entirely uncalled for. I'm at a loss as to what I did that so offended her this semester. It's very true that she told me around midterms that she wanted me to participate more in class discussions and that I didn't really do that because I hadn't a thing to say, but honestly? Where's the professionalism on her part? So if I get a B in her class, I put it entirely on her because in any other professor's standards, I've given A work or near enough to it all semester.
I'm lucky that this is only the second prof that has been this unprofessional toward me. The first one was Dr. David Underwood, professor of Humanities. He was untenured and let go a semester after I had his class, I think it was because our entire class (and probably his other classes too) wrote very long complaints about him during the instructor evaluation. We were all very vocal about it, since he was not in the room while we were writing them and they went straight to the Dean's office for review, reminding each other of shitty things he had done, not missing a thing. But he was unprofessional with the entire class (although I do think I got a B in there specifically because he didn't like me). He was one of those sleazy kinds of guys who would flirt with the blonde sorority girls. I e-mailed him asking if he could let me know what grade he had given me on our class journal project and he never e-mailed me back. All other grades indicated that I should have had a solid A and the journal grade was supposed to be based on completion, not content, and it was complete, so I don't know what could have happened other than he gave me a B because he didn't like me or I was very blatant about my disgust for him. And since the only grade that prof's are prohibited by the school to give by e-mail are final exam grades, he had no legitimate reason not to e-mail me. To put it simply, he sucked.
I am *so* over all the bs at USF! Thank G-d this semester is over! ::sighs:: Now, on to preparing for the holidays!
*******
OMG! Joe Redner has just publicly announced to the Tampa community that he's gay and that that's why he's suing the county in Federal court for discrimination. He said that no one can prove that he is and no one can prove that he isn't, but that the reason that his previous suit over the County Commission prohibiting the recognition and funding of Gay Pride events was thrown out of court was that because the prohibition did not directly impact him... which is bs if you ask me... but since he's publicly announced this, the suit can't be thrown out for that reason again... So it's entirely possible and (knowing him) probable that he's just saying this so he can sue, although he says that he isn't lying about it because that would perjury. One might point out that he owns at least three all female strip clubs in Hillsborough County along with others in NYC and Las Vegas... Not to mention, this guy is like a hometown version of Hefner. Despite that, I still love this guy just cause he's such a thorn in a lot of conservative politicians' sides down here, and would have voted for him to get a City Council seat the last several times he's tried for it if I could have (unfortunately, I'm not a resident of the city). For more on that, see my post from earlier this year on this case.
In reaction, Rhonda Storms, the leading bigot on the Commission, said that the reason they can and should prohibit public money and authorities from supporting Pride events is because "[gays] are not a legally protected minority." Well, Rhonda, the Jews weren't protected by law in Germany either, but that sure as hell didn't make the Holocaust okay. (I know Jon Stewert has said that we really need to stop jumping to the Hitler/Holocaust analogy because it demeans the evilness of Hitler and the seriousness of the Holocaust, but it's the first analogy that pops into my head and one that is readily recognized by the most people. Sorry, Jon.)
In other news, there is a group of people trying to get Gay/Straight Alliances (a GSA) banned from high schools in Hillsborough County. They have petitioned the School Board to take care of that. The School Board however has put together a commission to study non-academic clubs at all high schools cause it doesn't want to get sued. Pretty much, it's looking like if they ban the GSAs, they will be banning the Chess Club, Star Trek Club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and all the rest too. I don't think that they will. I hope that they won't. If the Blake High School GSA is still as large and active as it was the year I left, they'll probably have representatives, at least, show up at the January School Board meeting, where the Board will be reviewing the commission's findings. I know Equality Florida and the local GLSEN people will be there.
The parents that are protesting it probably don't even know what a GSA is... They say that they don't want their minor children participating in a GSA and think no minor children should be in a club that focuses on sex. Well, I'll have them know that sex has nothing to do with it. It's about charity events, peer counseling, and awareness programs within the school to educate the student body that there really is no difference between gay and straight high school students and people in general, and most importantly, there is no reason to harass or make fun of students who are different. We had to fight for it at Blake, despite the school being affectionately known by some as "Bi High" and that students from other high schools at sporting events and the like would often ask students from Blake, "So, you go to Blake? Does that mean you're gay?" The principal did everything he could to block the GSA from forming, up to and including intimidating the faculty against sponsoring the club, and that I know is a fact because a faculty member admitted that to me. Finally, in my senior year, the efforts of Bryan (aka "Big Gay Bryan," the president) and Jorel (the VP and a total hottie) paid off and we found a sponsor that wasn't intimidated by our principal and we had at least 45 people at our inaugural meeting. Even in the 2000/2001 yearbook it said, "The GSA is not as new as some people would like to think." I don't remember ever talking about sex in that club. We didn't even take a census of which students were gay, which were bi, which were straight, and which were questioning, but we were supportive if it came up in the course of our usual activities. As far as I remember, the big thing that year was getting teachers to participate in our "Safe Place" campaign, which meant that they would put stickers in their front classroom windows next to the door to show students being bullied or harassed in the halls could feel safe about taking refuge in their classrooms. Now, that might sound like an obvious thing, something all teachers would want to be a part of, but it's not. We worked hard and only got a few out of dozens of teachers to post the stickers. We also had a number of members participate in the Tampa AIDS Walk that year. The year after I left, when I was a Freshman in college, the GSA at Blake grew to such an extent that they had to hold meetings in the cafeteria because there were no classrooms large enough to fit everyone who wanted to be a part of it.
12/14/2005 - Heard that Colin Farrell is in rehab for exhaustion and dependency on prescription drugs. Poor darling. He needs to sleep more. He's said before that he has had chronic insomnia since he was a child, it was only a matter of time before it caught up to him. He also works way *too* much and knows it. His publicist has released info on how the addiction came about. He injured his back several months ago and was prescribed pain killers for it and has become dependent. At least he was responsible enough to catch himself fairly early and didn't let it go on for years. In somewhat related news, 30 Seconds to Mars has had to cancel some of their show dates because Jared has injured his back. Poor darling... Probably climbed one too many towers or something...
12/08/2005 - All but done with the semester! WooHoo!!
12/09/2005 - "The Straight Dude's Guide to 'Brokeback Mountain'"
posted here in it's entirety from: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10342237/
The straight dude's guide to "Brokeback"
Our intrepid gay columnist has sage advice for his straight brethren
COMMENTARY
By Dave White
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 7:26 p.m. ET Dec. 8, 2005
You are a heterosexual man. And you have no personal beef with gay people. You're educated and fairly socially liberal and occasionally listen to NPR and you don't like to see anyone bashed or discriminated against. You're no homophobe. You're proud of yourself.
But your girlfriend/wife/common-law/female or whoever loves that adorable Jake Gyllenhaal has already stated her intentions. When it's her turn to pick the Saturday night date-movie, you're seeing "Brokeback Mountain."
"But I am a heterosexual man," you''' thinking, "very, very, very, very straight." And you're kind of freaking out as the release date quickly approaches, and even the expression "release date" is making you kind of jittery. You're hoping to remind your female life partner that, while you feel gay people are very wonderful, colorful, witty additions to the human population and that Ellen sure is fun to watch dance in the credit card commercial and that Tom Hanks really deserved that Academy Award for whatever that movie was where he died at the end, that you are very, very, very, very straight and that it should exempt you from seeing Adorable Jake... um... do "it" with Heath Ledger. You really don't even want to know what "it" entails because you've lived this long without finding out. You're thinking the words "red-blooded," as in "I am a red-blooded American male, etc," don't sound so retro anymore.
And yet, you're still going to see it whether you like it or not. This necessarily presents a dilemma: how to make her happy and endure your first gay-themed movie where guys actually make out on a very big screen right in front of your face? And that's where I come in. I'm a red-blooded American male homosexual movie critic who's already seen "Brokeback Mountain." And I could just tell you how great the film is, that it's really powerful and moving and all that, but that isn't what you want to hear. So I have some viewing tips for you, my straight brothers. I promise I'm only here to help...
1. Accept the fact that this is all your fault in the first place. You were the one who was all excited to take your ladyfriend to "Jarhead" anyway and when you got there and saw that it consisted of lot of AJ (how this article will refer to Adorable Jake from here on) running around all sweaty, muscular and shirtless in the desert, doing a sexy dance wearing nothing but a Santa Claus cap over his "area" and then simulating a big gay orgy with his fellow grunts, you were like, "When does the killing start in this movie?" while your woman thought, "Oh yes, more Santa Dancing please." You brought it on yourself.
2. Realize now that you have to shut up. You kind of have no idea how important it is for you to shut up. But it's crucial. I was recently at a press screening for another movie and I overheard four guys in the theater lobby talking about "Brokeback." They were resolute in their refusal to go see it and they couldn't stop loudly one-upping each other about how they had no interest, were not "curious," and were, in the words of the loudest guy in the group, "straight as that wall over there." Oh, the wall with poster for the Big Gay Cowboy Movie on it? That straight wall? Well here's something that everyone else now knows but that guy: he's probably gay. Being silent marks you as too cool to care about how other men see you. It means you're comfortable and not freaked by your own naked shadow. Did Steve McQueen go around squawking about how straight-as-a-wall he was? No, he didn't. He was too busy being stoic and manly.
3. The good news - there's less than one minute of making out. It's about 130 minutes long and 129 of them are about Men Not Having Sex. So yes, maybe it will be the longest almost-60 seconds of your life, but there it is. Less than one minute. In fact, it's 129 minutes of really intense longing and sadness and unabashedly weepy, doomed love story. In a very real way that's a lot more porny than any of the man-on-man canoodling that made it past the editing room. But if you're going to be a big sissy about it then you can go get her that Diet Coke and jumbo popcorn during the first major sex scene. And no plugging your ears and singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb," either. All singing is inherently gay, is why. Plus you'll be in a movie theater and some big bruiser gay guy might kick your butt. Then you'll feel even more emasculated.
4. Remember that it's a western. And the script was adapted by none other than Total Dude Larry McMurtry. That guy is the coolest western writer in the country. He wrote "Lonesome Dove." You love "Lonesome Dove." In fact, the only problem with remembering that it's a western is having to ignore the fact that most westerns are about 1000 percent gay. If you think I'm making that up, just go watch "Red River" again.
5. They're tortured and you get to feel sorry for them. Just like in that Tom Hanks movie, these gay guys get kicked around a lot. It's set in the 1960s and the characters played by Heath and AJ don't even know they're gay. They think they're just regular straight guys who suddenly find themselves all turned on by each other and, honestly, don't even really understand why they're awash in yucky, hypnotic love feelings. Actually wait... you know what? Don't think about that too much. Better if you just forget about the "why" of it all and start rooting for these underdogs. Pretend they're like Sean Astin in "Rudy."
6. Anne Hathaway, who plays AJ's wife, gets topless. The End. I think it's fair to report this and here's why: as a gay man, the only reason I even agreed to sit through the really stupid remake of "The Longest Yard" was because one of my friends told me you get to see the wrestler Goldberg in the shower. In one scene. That's it. I sat through the whole thing for one scene. In that respect, my hetero pals, we are all brothers deep inside... it's just a different brand of naked flesh that ignites our prurience.
7. And finally, it's just your turn. Really, it is, and you know it. Imagine how many thousands of hetero love stories gay people sit through in their lives. So you kind of owe us. Now get out there and watch those cowboys make out.
Dave White is the film critic for Movies.com and has a not-all-that-gay blog at www.livejournal.com/users/djmrswhite.
© 2005 MSNBC Interactive
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I am most amused... I saw this movie last weekend, and while it is almost completely wrong, wrong, wrong... Matt MacFayden was really hot as Darcy, and Keira wasn't as bad as I thought she'd be. This is what happens when I go in with expectations that couldn't be lower, I am usually pleasantly surprised. I thought Matt put in some subtle little looks on Darcy's part when Elizabeth's back was turned that were very telling and a good addition to the smouldering that Colin gave us. It was an interesting interpretation of Darcy at least. And of course, the script comes near to butchering the story... And I don't know what the costumers were thinking. The dress that Bingley's sister is wearing at their ball has straps just slightly wider than spaghetti straps - that can't be right. The women don't even have corsets on for half the movie, and at least half of the time they do, they are the wrong corsets... And there's a line where one of the girls is complaining that the corset being tightened is painful... again... It wasn't Keira this time, but for pity's sake! And there are some distinctly Bronte-esque scenes. And the last scene, while it had me grinning like a mad fool, was total invention of the script writers... But miracle of miracles, Zinzi saw it with us and she *loved* it! Anyone who knows the kinds of movies she usually has that reaction to knows just how amazing that is! 'Cause usually she'd have to be tied down and her eyes would have to be pried open to get her to watch a traditionally romantic movie, let alone something based on one of Jane's novels, but she really liked this, and was even asking me questions about what was going on during certain scenes cause she really wanted to know... Which is something that the filmmakers should have done better! There are parts where I know if I didn't know the story so well, I wouldn't have a clue what was going on, and the dialog is several scenes was unintelligible. On to the amusing article!
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9995610/
The importance of being Darcy
Matthew MacFayden has a tough job filling Colin Firth's smoldering shoes
COMMENTARY
By Mary Beth Ellis
MSNBC contributor
Updated: 10:24 a.m. ET Nov. 11, 2005
I was speaking to an older colleague about the latest essay I was writing; I informed her it concerned a new movie based on "Pride and Prejudice," which she last read at approximately the same time the Earth was first cooling.
And first words out of her mouth were: "Oh! Mr. Darcy!"
Yes, Mr. Darcy. Thanks loads, Jane Austen, for ruining generations of perfectly good women with your ballgowns and your rolling barouches and your Mr. Darcy. Many are the ladies who wait in vain for their own personal, portable Darcy, complete with estate in Derbyshire.
The number has increased since 1995, when Colin Firth took on the role for a BBC miniseries. Colin was Action Figure Darcy. He fences! He swims! He bathes! Naked! He gives and fixes and scowls and rides his horse and just in general Firths all over the place, and we are much the better for it.
He also stares, a lot. There is a great deal of staring on the part of Darcy, mostly at Elizabeth Bennet, who occasionally stares back, which in the Regency era I suppose was the equivalent of text messaging.
A difficult act to follow
Primarily, what sets Colin apart from all other Darcys is his hair. It truly is wonderful hair. The man rides thither and yon - sometimes yon twice in the same scene - and not once does he suffer hathead.
You kind of get the feeling that Darcy, in college, was not a frat boy. He wasn't showing up at your doorstep with Game Cube and a 12-pack of Natural Light and calling it a romantic evening. Darcy would at least change out of the ball cap he had been wearing for the past eight consecutive days first. He's a difficult act to follow.
But now the Lord has now bestowed upon us a new incarnation of Darcy, now played by Matthew MacFayden, which' good luck, Matt. Sometimes actors simply define roles; I cannot imagine Professor Higgins without Rex Harrison, Harold Hill without Robert Preston, or, of course, Larry Gigli without Ben Affleck. So has Colin's stare enamored any number of Austen fans.
It's all in the smolder, you see. For in today's culture, there is little time to smolder; the next episode of "The Apprentice" is roaring down the pike, or the plane is circling the airport yet again, or our cell phone is insistently informing us, via a tinny version of "La Bamba," that our best friend is currently standing 10 feet away - where are we? I don't think modern society loves Elizabeth and Darcy as much as we covet their spare time. House parties would last up to six weeks at a time in the 1880s. Who, outside of Paris Hilton, has that much alcohol on hand?
Among his other fine attributes, Colin Firth's Darcy possesses the ability to selectively bilocate. It really is quite extraordinary; one moment he's brooding on horseback, the next his face is floating to the forefront of Elizabeth's mirror or carriage window, issuing dark, repetitive, and sonorous pronouncements about how very icky he finds her family. "You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you - but your mother is horrid and will have to stay in the basement. Dad needs to go too, and I seriously hate your sisters. And how attached are you, really, to the family dog?"
Darcy also maintains quite the respectable crib, and, it's safe to imagine, the most pimped-out carriages available. The driveway alone could serve as a landing strip for the space shuttle. And the pond - all proper estates require a pond. All I have is a sad puddle of warm beer beneath the refrigerator.
And you just know that Darcy gets into all the best clubs, too. He really is the ultimate date. There would be no standing at the hostess station, light-up seating alert device limply in hand for Darcy. No, he walks into Friday's, and he sits right down!
Shall we dance?
Impressive, too, is this whole business of dancing. I welcome any new adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice," Firthed or un-Firthed, so long as the dancing is done properly. People in Regency England didn't dance quite the way we do. There was, for example, precious little grinding. Smoke machines were rarely used. I doubt lasers made much of an appearance. On the other hand - fortunate generation! - everyone was spared the Electric Slide.
Physical contact between unmarried men and women was pretty much limited to a lot of bowing and fan fluttering. In dancing there was a great deal of twirling, which - and I say this as a square dancer from way back - is a lot harder than it sounds. I've thrown off the rotation of the planet with a poorly directed alamand left. But Colin manages this admirably, and with a remarkably small amount of dorkiness. He even skips in a manly manner.
Darcy, however, may not be well suited for the long haul. Once all the smoldering is done - what is there to burn after, really? A really excellent pot roast on Michaelmas, or whatever in the world people yearned for once plights were trothed? I mean, Pemberly is quite the hizzy, but how many chandeliers does one person need?
And is he really the best judge of character? Look at his friends: He hangs out with Wickham, who is the leading candidate as a spokesman for Rohypnol, and the overly smiley Bingley, who never met a pile of dog poop he didn't like. "Colin-as-Darcy," I would say - for I'm sure Colin Firth prefers to be addressed as nothing but - "Colin-as-Darcy, you may stay for as long as you like, but your friends are only allowed inside when I'm off at Pilates class."
However, given the bilocation and the preference for pond-swimming, I suppose I could settle in for a nice life of horses and twirling. An 80-year-old Colin Firth is still far preferable to a 27-year-old Kevin Federline.
Freelance writer Mary Beth Ellis runs http://www.blondechampagne.com/, from whence she leads a merry chase, or plights her troth, or whatever.
© 2005 MSNBC Interactive
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After working really hard on my Cinxia sweater (pattern can be found here: http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall05/PATTcinxia.html ) for weeks and weeks I found today that it is undoubtedly going to look like crap. I don't know if I made a size too big or what, although I'm making the size according to my exact bust size. And my yarn is the *exact* same gauge as the one the pattern writer used... so I don't get it. I'm almost done with the collar, so I could try it on easily while it was still on the needles... It's not that the fabric is too bulky. It's that there's too much of it in the wrong places. The back of the sweater looks like it's a bed jacket, very loose, almost like a gathered skirt, with no shape at all (I know what you might say, that it was decreased wrong, but I was very careful and counted stitches the whole way at every step and sometimes in between. That is definitely not the issue). The front might look okay after it's blocked, but I can tell there is no hope for the back of it. Which sucks 'cause I was really hoping that it would look like the one pictured at knitty... I might try to make the next size down to see if that was the problem at some point in the future, but for now I have a lot of ripping to do and I'll just move on to something else.
12/13/2005 - Done with exams, thank goodness! I also got my second archaeology paper back from Dr. White. She gave me an 83. I do not think it deserved an 83. Her comments on it indicated that she only seemed to have a problem with one sentence, claiming that it was, in fact, not a sentence. Actually, it is a sentence. I don't write incomplete sentences in academic writing... I even have a hard time managing it in e-mails. Plus, Word would have picked up an incomplete sentence and I would have fixed it. So it is not an incomplete sentence. She also expressed that she would have liked to see me explain "cultural history method" more fully. Personally, I think we're beyond that, but whatever. Other than that, her comments said that it was "very good, but difficult to understand." This is one of the lowest grades I've *ever* gotten on a paper, let alone a paper in college. I admit it was not my best paper, but it did not deserve an 83. An 87 maybe, if one is being particularly nitpicky, but not an 83. I take it as further evidence that Dr. White doesn't like me. Every time I ask her a question, her face takes on an expression like she just tasted or smelled something nasty.
If that weren't enough, when I turned in my exam, there were two stacks of papers facedown in front of her on her desk of approximately the same height. I couldn't tell which one were the exams, so I asked, "Which are the exams?" with a smile. She rolled her eyes, snatched my test out of my hand and with a small disgusted noise, put it on the correct pile. I blinked and left the room. I may have slammed the door (I was the second to last to finish and the other person was handing her the test when I did that, so I didn't bother anyone but her). Her behavior was entirely uncalled for. I'm at a loss as to what I did that so offended her this semester. It's very true that she told me around midterms that she wanted me to participate more in class discussions and that I didn't really do that because I hadn't a thing to say, but honestly? Where's the professionalism on her part? So if I get a B in her class, I put it entirely on her because in any other professor's standards, I've given A work or near enough to it all semester.
I'm lucky that this is only the second prof that has been this unprofessional toward me. The first one was Dr. David Underwood, professor of Humanities. He was untenured and let go a semester after I had his class, I think it was because our entire class (and probably his other classes too) wrote very long complaints about him during the instructor evaluation. We were all very vocal about it, since he was not in the room while we were writing them and they went straight to the Dean's office for review, reminding each other of shitty things he had done, not missing a thing. But he was unprofessional with the entire class (although I do think I got a B in there specifically because he didn't like me). He was one of those sleazy kinds of guys who would flirt with the blonde sorority girls. I e-mailed him asking if he could let me know what grade he had given me on our class journal project and he never e-mailed me back. All other grades indicated that I should have had a solid A and the journal grade was supposed to be based on completion, not content, and it was complete, so I don't know what could have happened other than he gave me a B because he didn't like me or I was very blatant about my disgust for him. And since the only grade that prof's are prohibited by the school to give by e-mail are final exam grades, he had no legitimate reason not to e-mail me. To put it simply, he sucked.
I am *so* over all the bs at USF! Thank G-d this semester is over! ::sighs:: Now, on to preparing for the holidays!
*******
OMG! Joe Redner has just publicly announced to the Tampa community that he's gay and that that's why he's suing the county in Federal court for discrimination. He said that no one can prove that he is and no one can prove that he isn't, but that the reason that his previous suit over the County Commission prohibiting the recognition and funding of Gay Pride events was thrown out of court was that because the prohibition did not directly impact him... which is bs if you ask me... but since he's publicly announced this, the suit can't be thrown out for that reason again... So it's entirely possible and (knowing him) probable that he's just saying this so he can sue, although he says that he isn't lying about it because that would perjury. One might point out that he owns at least three all female strip clubs in Hillsborough County along with others in NYC and Las Vegas... Not to mention, this guy is like a hometown version of Hefner. Despite that, I still love this guy just cause he's such a thorn in a lot of conservative politicians' sides down here, and would have voted for him to get a City Council seat the last several times he's tried for it if I could have (unfortunately, I'm not a resident of the city). For more on that, see my post from earlier this year on this case.
In reaction, Rhonda Storms, the leading bigot on the Commission, said that the reason they can and should prohibit public money and authorities from supporting Pride events is because "[gays] are not a legally protected minority." Well, Rhonda, the Jews weren't protected by law in Germany either, but that sure as hell didn't make the Holocaust okay. (I know Jon Stewert has said that we really need to stop jumping to the Hitler/Holocaust analogy because it demeans the evilness of Hitler and the seriousness of the Holocaust, but it's the first analogy that pops into my head and one that is readily recognized by the most people. Sorry, Jon.)
In other news, there is a group of people trying to get Gay/Straight Alliances (a GSA) banned from high schools in Hillsborough County. They have petitioned the School Board to take care of that. The School Board however has put together a commission to study non-academic clubs at all high schools cause it doesn't want to get sued. Pretty much, it's looking like if they ban the GSAs, they will be banning the Chess Club, Star Trek Club, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and all the rest too. I don't think that they will. I hope that they won't. If the Blake High School GSA is still as large and active as it was the year I left, they'll probably have representatives, at least, show up at the January School Board meeting, where the Board will be reviewing the commission's findings. I know Equality Florida and the local GLSEN people will be there.
The parents that are protesting it probably don't even know what a GSA is... They say that they don't want their minor children participating in a GSA and think no minor children should be in a club that focuses on sex. Well, I'll have them know that sex has nothing to do with it. It's about charity events, peer counseling, and awareness programs within the school to educate the student body that there really is no difference between gay and straight high school students and people in general, and most importantly, there is no reason to harass or make fun of students who are different. We had to fight for it at Blake, despite the school being affectionately known by some as "Bi High" and that students from other high schools at sporting events and the like would often ask students from Blake, "So, you go to Blake? Does that mean you're gay?" The principal did everything he could to block the GSA from forming, up to and including intimidating the faculty against sponsoring the club, and that I know is a fact because a faculty member admitted that to me. Finally, in my senior year, the efforts of Bryan (aka "Big Gay Bryan," the president) and Jorel (the VP and a total hottie) paid off and we found a sponsor that wasn't intimidated by our principal and we had at least 45 people at our inaugural meeting. Even in the 2000/2001 yearbook it said, "The GSA is not as new as some people would like to think." I don't remember ever talking about sex in that club. We didn't even take a census of which students were gay, which were bi, which were straight, and which were questioning, but we were supportive if it came up in the course of our usual activities. As far as I remember, the big thing that year was getting teachers to participate in our "Safe Place" campaign, which meant that they would put stickers in their front classroom windows next to the door to show students being bullied or harassed in the halls could feel safe about taking refuge in their classrooms. Now, that might sound like an obvious thing, something all teachers would want to be a part of, but it's not. We worked hard and only got a few out of dozens of teachers to post the stickers. We also had a number of members participate in the Tampa AIDS Walk that year. The year after I left, when I was a Freshman in college, the GSA at Blake grew to such an extent that they had to hold meetings in the cafeteria because there were no classrooms large enough to fit everyone who wanted to be a part of it.
12/14/2005 - Heard that Colin Farrell is in rehab for exhaustion and dependency on prescription drugs. Poor darling. He needs to sleep more. He's said before that he has had chronic insomnia since he was a child, it was only a matter of time before it caught up to him. He also works way *too* much and knows it. His publicist has released info on how the addiction came about. He injured his back several months ago and was prescribed pain killers for it and has become dependent. At least he was responsible enough to catch himself fairly early and didn't let it go on for years. In somewhat related news, 30 Seconds to Mars has had to cancel some of their show dates because Jared has injured his back. Poor darling... Probably climbed one too many towers or something...
Monday, October 24, 2005
Legend of Zorro
I got a ticket to the sneak preview of "The Legend of Zorro" tonight... It's good... Could have been better, was kinda predictable and had obvious jokes and gags, and was not as good as the first one, but it was good. And the movie is well worth seeing just for Antonio Banderas and that gorgeous Andalusian!
***Slight non-specific spoilers beyond this point... nothing one couldn't get from paying very close attention to the commercials and trailers***
I just have to say this is a movie is very obviously set in 2005 masquerading as 1850. In the movie there are terrorist sleeper cells throughout the world trying to destroy America and the American way of life, an evil Frenchman and crazy Bible-thumper, weapons of mass destruction, and a government organization that is behaving in a semi-illegal and suspiciously similar to Homeland Security kind of way... not to mention extremely independent and outspoken women who can kick butt in a corset and petticoats and Catholics doing things that good Catholics in 1850 would *so* not do... So in the end, this is another semi-historical movie that ends up just using an historical background to tell a modern story. ::yawn:: Next!
Oh! And can anyone tell me what Abraham Lincoln was doing lurking in the background at the ceremony to officially include California as part of the United States? And why were the "southern bad guys" wearing outfits that looked like Confederate Army uniforms in 1850?
***Slight non-specific spoilers beyond this point... nothing one couldn't get from paying very close attention to the commercials and trailers***
I just have to say this is a movie is very obviously set in 2005 masquerading as 1850. In the movie there are terrorist sleeper cells throughout the world trying to destroy America and the American way of life, an evil Frenchman and crazy Bible-thumper, weapons of mass destruction, and a government organization that is behaving in a semi-illegal and suspiciously similar to Homeland Security kind of way... not to mention extremely independent and outspoken women who can kick butt in a corset and petticoats and Catholics doing things that good Catholics in 1850 would *so* not do... So in the end, this is another semi-historical movie that ends up just using an historical background to tell a modern story. ::yawn:: Next!
Oh! And can anyone tell me what Abraham Lincoln was doing lurking in the background at the ceremony to officially include California as part of the United States? And why were the "southern bad guys" wearing outfits that looked like Confederate Army uniforms in 1850?
Thursday, September 15, 2005
O Romeo, Romeo!
I just found out through the grapevine that Francisco Bosch danced Romeo(?) in an English National Ballet production of "Romeo & Juliet" at the Royal Albert Hall in London earlier this summer (and if this rumor is correct, Andrea was right in her pronouncement that he *is* Romeo). It was an in-the-round production... which he said is quite challenging and that there's "no place to hide." In one article, which was in AMX magazine (whatever that is), it says that he has been promoted from a corp dancer to "an artist of the company." So "yay" for him! (article here: http://www.franciscobosch.com/AMXinterview.html but it's difficult to read, although there's a nice picture )
In the past, he's danced in, among other things, a reinterpretation of "Trapeze" with the English National Ballet, which he called the "highlight" of his dancing career (at the ripe old age of 22). Critics say he "smouldered" and I believe them after seeing his little dance in "Alexander"... (picture and article here: http://www.sprkfv.net/journal/three05/retrapeze.html )
Why, oh, why doesn't Tampa appreciate ballet beyond the annual run of "The Nutcracker" at Ruth Eckard Hall? ... But then, even if it did, I don't think that the English National Ballet would come here anyway... ::sighs::
Next year, he will play King Tut in "The Curse of King Tut's Tomb"... which is a movie that recently should have finished filming if IMDB is correct. Hopefully, all his lines won't get cut from this one ::glares at Warner Brother's::...
While trying to dig for confirmation ('cause I'm wondering and research for my own edification is my life), I found this posting on imdb.com's message board:
"Just watched Alexander tonight and noticed Francisco in it...how weird is this?!? About 3 years ago, I danced in English National Ballet with him - I actually have him recorded on my video tape in a red mouse costume that he had to wear for the show! He was pretty new to the company then, didn't know anything about the movie back then. I remember from the first time I saw him in the studio I fancied him, but he never noticed me. I was just a little extra kid, and the company members never really talked to the kids. But one time I was backstage with him and he had a pretend gun (as part of the costume) and he fired it at me! Ha, my heart skipped a beat for a second and I didn't know what to say, and in the end I just ended up saying "ah, you frightened me". lol, but still it's quite cool to think that I danced with him. On certain nights, he had to pick me up on stage - I always hoped that I would be performing the same night that he was and always got jealous when my friend got picked up instead! Just wanted to share that with you guys. If you think he's an amazing dancer, you guys should go check out some ballet - Francisco, as good as he is, was in the bottom ranks of the company, mainly because he was new. But check out the principals...whoa! Amazing. "
How cool is that!? ::squee!::
k... fangirl moment over...
In the past, he's danced in, among other things, a reinterpretation of "Trapeze" with the English National Ballet, which he called the "highlight" of his dancing career (at the ripe old age of 22). Critics say he "smouldered" and I believe them after seeing his little dance in "Alexander"... (picture and article here: http://www.sprkfv.net/journal/three05/retrapeze.html )
Why, oh, why doesn't Tampa appreciate ballet beyond the annual run of "The Nutcracker" at Ruth Eckard Hall? ... But then, even if it did, I don't think that the English National Ballet would come here anyway... ::sighs::
Next year, he will play King Tut in "The Curse of King Tut's Tomb"... which is a movie that recently should have finished filming if IMDB is correct. Hopefully, all his lines won't get cut from this one ::glares at Warner Brother's::...
While trying to dig for confirmation ('cause I'm wondering and research for my own edification is my life), I found this posting on imdb.com's message board:
"Just watched Alexander tonight and noticed Francisco in it...how weird is this?!? About 3 years ago, I danced in English National Ballet with him - I actually have him recorded on my video tape in a red mouse costume that he had to wear for the show! He was pretty new to the company then, didn't know anything about the movie back then. I remember from the first time I saw him in the studio I fancied him, but he never noticed me. I was just a little extra kid, and the company members never really talked to the kids. But one time I was backstage with him and he had a pretend gun (as part of the costume) and he fired it at me! Ha, my heart skipped a beat for a second and I didn't know what to say, and in the end I just ended up saying "ah, you frightened me". lol, but still it's quite cool to think that I danced with him. On certain nights, he had to pick me up on stage - I always hoped that I would be performing the same night that he was and always got jealous when my friend got picked up instead! Just wanted to share that with you guys. If you think he's an amazing dancer, you guys should go check out some ballet - Francisco, as good as he is, was in the bottom ranks of the company, mainly because he was new. But check out the principals...whoa! Amazing. "
How cool is that!? ::squee!::
k... fangirl moment over...
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Highlander 5?
::am skeptical:: I just heard today that Lions' Gate Films is trying to make "Highlander 5: subtitle yet to be determined" (although, it's rumored to be "The Source" or "The Journey Continues"... there is also a rumor that it will be the first of a trilogy arch of "Highlander" films) with Adrien Paul *and* Christophe Lambert (according to hsx.com - although they have been known to be wrong before)... No offense to Mr. Lambert, because Lord knows I thought he was awesome in the other Highlander movies, but playing a character who is immortal and totally immune to aging periodically over a 20 year period doesn't seem to be a great idea. He was starting to look a little long in the tooth in the last one. I ignored it as much as I could 'cause his character wasn't going to survive the film, but if he comes back for this one, I think it's going to be more than a little rediculous.
Filming is supposed to begin this month in Lithuania, and Adrien Paul is an executive producer, along with the production team from "The Series." I just hope Peter Wingfield is back to play "Methos" (and we see more screentime for him than the 15 minutes he got in "Endgame"), and the stupid continuity hiccup that was Kate MacLeod/"Faith" will be forgotten. They made a big deal in the series about Mac never having married and having been told by a gypsey woman that he "would bury many women but marry none." I'd much rather see Liz Gracen come back as "Amanda" and Jim Byrnes as "Joe" along with the rest of the gang rather than have another plot hole of bad writers. According to another source, moviehole.net, the rewrite of the script by David Abramowitz, which was just finished a matter of weeks ago, includes Methos and Joe, but I haven't found confirmation of this or of any of the other actors being connected with the film.
Anyway, more about "Highlander 5" will be posted here as info is released.
Filming is supposed to begin this month in Lithuania, and Adrien Paul is an executive producer, along with the production team from "The Series." I just hope Peter Wingfield is back to play "Methos" (and we see more screentime for him than the 15 minutes he got in "Endgame"), and the stupid continuity hiccup that was Kate MacLeod/"Faith" will be forgotten. They made a big deal in the series about Mac never having married and having been told by a gypsey woman that he "would bury many women but marry none." I'd much rather see Liz Gracen come back as "Amanda" and Jim Byrnes as "Joe" along with the rest of the gang rather than have another plot hole of bad writers. According to another source, moviehole.net, the rewrite of the script by David Abramowitz, which was just finished a matter of weeks ago, includes Methos and Joe, but I haven't found confirmation of this or of any of the other actors being connected with the film.
Anyway, more about "Highlander 5" will be posted here as info is released.
Reassessing
At the beginning and end of every semester, I tend to reassess my situation. Now is no different. Since I could only get in two classes this semester (thanks to USF canceling several classes that I needed for graduation, but apparently not enough other people did early on in the enrollment last spring), I have a lot of extra time on my hands. I'm trying to figure out how to fill it constructively.
I've ordered several patterns for costumes I need to make: the Georgian Stays and Quilted Pair of Bodies patterns from Mantua Maker, and the chemise pattern from Kannik's Korner. The stays and the chemise are for an historically accurate Colonial/Revolutionary War costume for reenacting events, and the pair of bodies is for the RenFaire. Hopefully, this will just be the tip of the iceberg where costuming and I are concerned.
I've started work on a very interesting knitting project... Well, several, actually... The first is a knitted purse that imitates wool tweed to some extent. It should look very nice once done. I don't know what I'm going to do with it though since I don't use that kind of handbag. Maybe I'll enter it in one of the contests at the State Fair in the spring? The second are several knitted belts that tie at the waist for my mom, upon request. I made up up in about 30 minutes the other night for Andrea's going away present and Mom liked it so much that she asked for several. Then I'm also thinking of making some dishcloths/facecloths. I got some 100% cotton worsted weight yarn the other day in a clearance sale and figured it might be a good idea for using it and a lot of other bits of similar cotton yarn that I have hanging about... Don't know what I'll do with those cloths right now, but I'm sure I'll think of something. I welcome suggestions however...
I'm continuing to work on the aran afghan that I started about a month ago. I have seven squares done and nine more to go. I'm also still working on the lace shrug that I started about two months ago. I really should probably concentrate on finishing that. It's only about another week's worth of work (if that) and then I can block it and it will be done...
(The Fall issue of Knitty has still not been released. I hope everything is going well with that and its delay is not a sign that anything unfortunate has happened.)
I've been looking at the upcoming movie released from now through January 2006. I do this periodically because my friends and I like to go in groups on opening night *a lot* of weekends and I'm the organizer. I've had to revise my list for the Fall/Holiday season because many movies have been moved around several times and some have been delayed as long as three months. "Beowulf & Grendel" has apparently been delayed until at least January. It was supposed to be released in October... ::sighs:: I'm still not sure what to think of "Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride." A new rendition of "Oliver Twist" will be released September 30th, the same day as Viggo Mortensen's film "A History of Violence." "The Legend of Zorro" with Antonio Bandaras will be released October 28th, and "Chicken Little," a very cute-looking animated film, will be released the next weekend on November 4th. "Walk the Line" (the story of the Man in Black himself), "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and (though notoriously inaccurate) "Pride and Prejudice" will be released on November 18th, posing a problem for our film group as to which we should see first. I think "HP" will win out. "Rent" will be released the following weekend on the 23rd. And December is just chock full of goodies! It's a good think the semester ends early in the month 'cause I think I'm going to want to be living at the theater for most of it. "Aeon Flux," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Chronicles of Narnia," "Brokeback Mountain," "King Kong" (!) "Fun with Dick and Jane," "The Producers" (remake with Matt Broderick and Nathan Lane), "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" (cause well... Tom Welling's in it...), "Casanova" (Heath Ledger!! In two romantic-type movies in one month! Catch me as I faint!), "Hoodwinked," "CSA" "A Good Woman," and "The Libertine" to name a few are all on the list of stuff we want to see. I don't know how we'll get them all in... Probably won't... Probably we'll have to democratically vote, see what we can or just *have* to and save the rest for the slump that will no doubt happen in January or wait to see them on HBO (since that's what it's for)...
Much to my dismay, not only has "Beowulf..." been moved, but so has the other thing I was looking forward to seeing this Fall, "The New World" with Colin Farrell as John Smith. Say what you will, I think he's a great actor (this is where my dad would point out that I say the same thing about Tony Curtis - seriously, say what you will, I think they are both more than pretty faces). Christian Bale is also in "The New World" as John Rolfe and he's right up their with Johnny Depp in picking great movies (maybe not the most popular or obvious choices, but the film quality tends to be there), so I'm expecting great things here. "The New World" will be released in NYC and LA on December 25th and nationwide on January 13th. Super-bummed at that, since I *was* counting the days til November 9th.
I was reminded today with the cooler morning air that Autumn will be here sooner or later. Probably later... knowing Florida it won't feel like Fall all day long until the first of October (not that I'm complaining... I'm not... much...). So I also need to start planning for preparing the ground for the Spring 2006 garden. I have to put black plastic down to kill the grass and weed roots wherever I can. And I need to get things in place for the installation of the water garden that Joe will be installing as soon as the weather begins to cool in ernest. I also need to find someplace for the three roses I still have in pots 'cause Florida might not freeze often, but when it does the plants suffer all the more because it's a sudden change and not gradual, so the roses will need to be used to their new situation long before that happens. I just can't figure out logical places for them to go! Maybe I'll have to create some logical places... And I have to remember that we have to order the fruit and nut trees we've been planning for in October.
FYI: There are several public lectures this semester that the Anthropology department at USF is doing. At least one of them is something I definitely want to go to. On September 28th (?) at 7pm at the Marshall Center (aka the Student Union), the guy who discovered the "hobbits" in Flores, Indonesia is going to be lecturing about them and how they were discovered. I can't miss that! (Nevermind that I also have to write a paper about it for my archaeology class.)
I think that's it for the moment... I'm sure I'll find even more to keep me busy as the semester progresses, but this is a good starting point.
I've ordered several patterns for costumes I need to make: the Georgian Stays and Quilted Pair of Bodies patterns from Mantua Maker, and the chemise pattern from Kannik's Korner. The stays and the chemise are for an historically accurate Colonial/Revolutionary War costume for reenacting events, and the pair of bodies is for the RenFaire. Hopefully, this will just be the tip of the iceberg where costuming and I are concerned.
I've started work on a very interesting knitting project... Well, several, actually... The first is a knitted purse that imitates wool tweed to some extent. It should look very nice once done. I don't know what I'm going to do with it though since I don't use that kind of handbag. Maybe I'll enter it in one of the contests at the State Fair in the spring? The second are several knitted belts that tie at the waist for my mom, upon request. I made up up in about 30 minutes the other night for Andrea's going away present and Mom liked it so much that she asked for several. Then I'm also thinking of making some dishcloths/facecloths. I got some 100% cotton worsted weight yarn the other day in a clearance sale and figured it might be a good idea for using it and a lot of other bits of similar cotton yarn that I have hanging about... Don't know what I'll do with those cloths right now, but I'm sure I'll think of something. I welcome suggestions however...
I'm continuing to work on the aran afghan that I started about a month ago. I have seven squares done and nine more to go. I'm also still working on the lace shrug that I started about two months ago. I really should probably concentrate on finishing that. It's only about another week's worth of work (if that) and then I can block it and it will be done...
(The Fall issue of Knitty has still not been released. I hope everything is going well with that and its delay is not a sign that anything unfortunate has happened.)
I've been looking at the upcoming movie released from now through January 2006. I do this periodically because my friends and I like to go in groups on opening night *a lot* of weekends and I'm the organizer. I've had to revise my list for the Fall/Holiday season because many movies have been moved around several times and some have been delayed as long as three months. "Beowulf & Grendel" has apparently been delayed until at least January. It was supposed to be released in October... ::sighs:: I'm still not sure what to think of "Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride." A new rendition of "Oliver Twist" will be released September 30th, the same day as Viggo Mortensen's film "A History of Violence." "The Legend of Zorro" with Antonio Bandaras will be released October 28th, and "Chicken Little," a very cute-looking animated film, will be released the next weekend on November 4th. "Walk the Line" (the story of the Man in Black himself), "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and (though notoriously inaccurate) "Pride and Prejudice" will be released on November 18th, posing a problem for our film group as to which we should see first. I think "HP" will win out. "Rent" will be released the following weekend on the 23rd. And December is just chock full of goodies! It's a good think the semester ends early in the month 'cause I think I'm going to want to be living at the theater for most of it. "Aeon Flux," "Memoirs of a Geisha," "Chronicles of Narnia," "Brokeback Mountain," "King Kong" (!) "Fun with Dick and Jane," "The Producers" (remake with Matt Broderick and Nathan Lane), "Cheaper by the Dozen 2" (cause well... Tom Welling's in it...), "Casanova" (Heath Ledger!! In two romantic-type movies in one month! Catch me as I faint!), "Hoodwinked," "CSA" "A Good Woman," and "The Libertine" to name a few are all on the list of stuff we want to see. I don't know how we'll get them all in... Probably won't... Probably we'll have to democratically vote, see what we can or just *have* to and save the rest for the slump that will no doubt happen in January or wait to see them on HBO (since that's what it's for)...
Much to my dismay, not only has "Beowulf..." been moved, but so has the other thing I was looking forward to seeing this Fall, "The New World" with Colin Farrell as John Smith. Say what you will, I think he's a great actor (this is where my dad would point out that I say the same thing about Tony Curtis - seriously, say what you will, I think they are both more than pretty faces). Christian Bale is also in "The New World" as John Rolfe and he's right up their with Johnny Depp in picking great movies (maybe not the most popular or obvious choices, but the film quality tends to be there), so I'm expecting great things here. "The New World" will be released in NYC and LA on December 25th and nationwide on January 13th. Super-bummed at that, since I *was* counting the days til November 9th.
I was reminded today with the cooler morning air that Autumn will be here sooner or later. Probably later... knowing Florida it won't feel like Fall all day long until the first of October (not that I'm complaining... I'm not... much...). So I also need to start planning for preparing the ground for the Spring 2006 garden. I have to put black plastic down to kill the grass and weed roots wherever I can. And I need to get things in place for the installation of the water garden that Joe will be installing as soon as the weather begins to cool in ernest. I also need to find someplace for the three roses I still have in pots 'cause Florida might not freeze often, but when it does the plants suffer all the more because it's a sudden change and not gradual, so the roses will need to be used to their new situation long before that happens. I just can't figure out logical places for them to go! Maybe I'll have to create some logical places... And I have to remember that we have to order the fruit and nut trees we've been planning for in October.
FYI: There are several public lectures this semester that the Anthropology department at USF is doing. At least one of them is something I definitely want to go to. On September 28th (?) at 7pm at the Marshall Center (aka the Student Union), the guy who discovered the "hobbits" in Flores, Indonesia is going to be lecturing about them and how they were discovered. I can't miss that! (Nevermind that I also have to write a paper about it for my archaeology class.)
I think that's it for the moment... I'm sure I'll find even more to keep me busy as the semester progresses, but this is a good starting point.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Movie recommendations
Since I'm watching it right now, while trying to catch up on my back-logged e-mail, I thought I should mention this little gem of a movie. It's called "The Last of the Blonde Bombshells." It's about a group of women and one man who, during the blitzkrieg on London, formed a lovely little swing band that they called "The Blonde Bombshells." The one gentleman in the band dressed in drag because he was trying to hide from the draft board. Years later, the youngest of them, played by Judi Dench, wants to bring them all together again to play for her grand-daughter's school dance, just for old time's sake. Also starring is Ian Holm, as well as Olympia Dukakis. Valentine Pelka has a small roll. I'm not sure what his role actually is, but he seems to be a very dorky yet cool kind of school-teacher/chaperone (He's an old favorite of mine. Played one of the best villains ever on "Highlander: The Series."). I highly recommend this movie. It really is just too cute.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
"Rome"
It is a series with 12 1-hour parts... They are still being somewhat ambiguous as to whether it will come back for a second season or not. It can be seen just about every night this week on HBO, and then new episodes will premiere on Sunday nights at 9pm, eastern time. Check your local listings for time and channel. I haven't seen it yet. It won't be airing on the West coast feed for another hour and 45 minutes in my time zone. I caught the last 5 minutes of the premiere airing a little while ago, just in time to see 14-year-old Octavian bludgeon to death this guy who was the lone survivor of a gang of men who had apparently kidnapped him and then the few scenes left after that. It looked pretty good, but I was a little confused about what was going on since I missed the first 55 minutes of the show.
The actor playing Octavian looked really familiar, so I looked him up on imdb.com. He's Max Pirkis and he played "Midshipman Blakeney" in "Master and Commander." Good actor! He had a really scary, vicious look in his eyes while pretending to bludgeon that guy to death. Strange thing though is that another actor of the same age, Aaron Johnson, is also listed as playing Octavian in "Rome"... So I don't know what's going on there... His mother "Atia" also looked familiar. I looked her up too, and found that I recognized her because she's Polly Walker, who played the elegant "Jane Fairfax" in "Emma" (the one with Gwyneth Paltrow).
This got me curious about who else is in "Rome" that I'm going to recognize, so I scanned through the list of actors, and this is what I found. Kerry Condon is in "Rome," playing "Octavia of the Julii." She was in "Ned Kelly" as Ned Kelly's eldest sister, "Kate." Lindsay Duncan is playing "Servilia." She played "Mrs. Price/Lady Bertram" in "Mansfield Park," and "Lady Markby" in "An Ideal Husband." Ciaran Hinds is playing "Julius Caesar." He's been in a ton of stuff, including "Calendar Girls" as "Rod Harper," "Lara Croft 2" as "Jonathan Reiss" (the bad guy), "Jane Eyre" (1997 TV mini) as "Edward Rochester," "Persuasion" (1995) as "Captain Wentworth," "Circle of Friends" as "Professor Flynn," and "Excalibur" as "Lot." The oh-so-lovely James Purefoy is playing "Marc Anthony"... And boy, if Anthony looked like that, I'm surprised it took Cleopatra so long... seriously... He played "Brendan" in "Bedrooms and Hallways" (opposite Kevin McKidd [who is also in "Rome"] and Jennifer Ehle - it's a very strange movie that is, I think, pretty much the product of British people coming out of their Victorian repression), "Tom Bertram" in "Mansfield Park," and "Sir Thomas Colville a.k.a. Edward, the Black Prince of Wales" in "A Knight's Tale." Kevin McKidd has done almost everything... except something set in ancient Rome, which he has now covered with "Rome" (and with "The Last Legion," which will be released next year). He's playing one of the "every man" Roman soldiers, "Lucius Vorenus." Other things I've personally seen him in are "Bedrooms and Hallways" as "Leo," "Hideous Kinky" as "Henning," "Topsy-Turvy" as "Durward Lely (Nanki-Poo)," "Nicholas Nickleby" as "John Browdie," and, most recently, in "Kingdom of Heaven"... where he was somewhat in the background as "an English Sergeant."
The official site can be found here: http://www.hbo.com/Rome/
Stay tuned for my review of the first ep.
The actor playing Octavian looked really familiar, so I looked him up on imdb.com. He's Max Pirkis and he played "Midshipman Blakeney" in "Master and Commander." Good actor! He had a really scary, vicious look in his eyes while pretending to bludgeon that guy to death. Strange thing though is that another actor of the same age, Aaron Johnson, is also listed as playing Octavian in "Rome"... So I don't know what's going on there... His mother "Atia" also looked familiar. I looked her up too, and found that I recognized her because she's Polly Walker, who played the elegant "Jane Fairfax" in "Emma" (the one with Gwyneth Paltrow).
This got me curious about who else is in "Rome" that I'm going to recognize, so I scanned through the list of actors, and this is what I found. Kerry Condon is in "Rome," playing "Octavia of the Julii." She was in "Ned Kelly" as Ned Kelly's eldest sister, "Kate." Lindsay Duncan is playing "Servilia." She played "Mrs. Price/Lady Bertram" in "Mansfield Park," and "Lady Markby" in "An Ideal Husband." Ciaran Hinds is playing "Julius Caesar." He's been in a ton of stuff, including "Calendar Girls" as "Rod Harper," "Lara Croft 2" as "Jonathan Reiss" (the bad guy), "Jane Eyre" (1997 TV mini) as "Edward Rochester," "Persuasion" (1995) as "Captain Wentworth," "Circle of Friends" as "Professor Flynn," and "Excalibur" as "Lot." The oh-so-lovely James Purefoy is playing "Marc Anthony"... And boy, if Anthony looked like that, I'm surprised it took Cleopatra so long... seriously... He played "Brendan" in "Bedrooms and Hallways" (opposite Kevin McKidd [who is also in "Rome"] and Jennifer Ehle - it's a very strange movie that is, I think, pretty much the product of British people coming out of their Victorian repression), "Tom Bertram" in "Mansfield Park," and "Sir Thomas Colville a.k.a. Edward, the Black Prince of Wales" in "A Knight's Tale." Kevin McKidd has done almost everything... except something set in ancient Rome, which he has now covered with "Rome" (and with "The Last Legion," which will be released next year). He's playing one of the "every man" Roman soldiers, "Lucius Vorenus." Other things I've personally seen him in are "Bedrooms and Hallways" as "Leo," "Hideous Kinky" as "Henning," "Topsy-Turvy" as "Durward Lely (Nanki-Poo)," "Nicholas Nickleby" as "John Browdie," and, most recently, in "Kingdom of Heaven"... where he was somewhat in the background as "an English Sergeant."
The official site can be found here: http://www.hbo.com/Rome/
Stay tuned for my review of the first ep.
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