The Blind Side (2009)

Folks, I finally saw The Blind Side. To cut to the chase, I enjoyed it. I really did. But it’s not my favorite movie.6/10 possibly. I even watched it twice. So here’s the quick facts.

LIKE:

• They used real-life coaches. Although I’m terribly under-educated on the goings-on of college football, my mom kept me informed so that was fun.
• Sandra Bullock was, indeed, good in the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy. She knows how to chew someone out.
• Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher was (surprisingly) pretty good.
• All of his rugby striped shirts. Especially the only that looked like Gryffindor.
• It gave me that warm fuzzy feeling. The world had a beautiful pink Mary Richards bow around it. (Don’t worry if you don’t get it).
• It was fast-paced, there were funny moments, a moving story, kept my attention etc.

DISLIKE:

• It’s a freaking Hallmark movie. I can’t believe people are buying into its simplistic and superficial plot. Do you honestly believe that the ENTIRE Tuohy family just welcomed Michael in with open arms including a teenage DAUGHTER? And no one was even pissed that Michael nearly killed their son in a car accident? Who taught him to drive anyway?
• To go along with being too simplistic, they could have delved into soooo many interesting facets of Michael’s story including his challenges and struggles, his character growth, his background, how he dealt with becoming a charity project… etc.
• Instead, Michael is pushed to a supporting character IN HIS OWN STORY! The movie tells us about what a saint Leigh Anne is, how wonderfully Christian Leigh Anne is, how kind and charitable she was to save this poor good-for-nothing black boy and teach him to be something out of the goodness of her heart. Wtf.
• I’m sorry, but, it was pretty racist too.
• This may seem paradoxical, since I did say that Sandra Bullock was good but I honestly thought she was over-the-top. The whole don’t-mess-with-sexy-mommy attitude taken so far that a gang of young, fit black kids are actually scared? Not buying it. She’s bossy. To everyone.

If we’re talking sports movies, give me Hoosiers or Remember the Titans any day. But on the whole it was enjoyable. (Sure, what I dislike outweighs what I like, but there is something to be said for enjoyability). It may have been a little too perfect, but I liked it. I have my issues with it, but I would recommend it to someone.

Is it anywhere NEAR Oscar material? Heck no! Not everyone may have liked Julie & Julia, but I honestly find it to be a far superior movie to Blind Side – and Meryl Streep SHOULD have won. (I can honestly say that with NO reservations now). I mean, it wasn’t even like they were nominating her just because she’s elite and she’s “Meryl Streep.” She was good in that role, just watch footage of the real Julia Child and you’ll see what I mean. Count your blessings, Sandra, that America loves you so much.

Ten years down the road? People will look back at this and say “What WAS the Academy thinking!” You heard it here first.

master of suspense

If you know me AT ALL, you would know that I have a slight obsession with director Alfred Hitchcock.

(Think screeching violins if you don’t know who he is).

I love everything Hitchcock. Someday, maybe, I’ll post up a top ten list or something.  We have a few box sets of some of his super old stuff and my mom keeps saying “if you were a true Hitchcock fan you’d be watching some of these…” and I realized: she was right.

So I took the plunge. I watched a bunch of Hitchcocks over the weekend. I’m nowhere near finished but I made a good dent. Of his old British ones I watched these:

2+2=4. Heavy Irish accents+horrible sound=necessity for subtitles. (Which were absent). Moral of the story? This film should be reserved for Hitchcock students only. I had a really hard time following and it wouldn’t have been worth my time were it not for fulfilling my OCD requirement of watching and paying attention to all Hitchcocks. So I watched. Sara Algood plays Juno, a struggling housewife with a drunkard for a husband (Edward Chapman, “The Paycock”) during the Irish revolution. I tuned out during quite a bit of it… ha. But I read a synopsis afterwards and really the plot isn’t as boring as I thought. It’s unfortunate that this adaptation of Sean O’Casey’s play is so… old. It’s one of the first talkies, yo. But it was interesting. And now I can say I watched it. Yes!

On the other side of the spectrum… I found this to be a hidden gem that I had somehow never seen. It’s very similar to The 39 Steps – convicted innocent man inlists help of resilient woman and they fall in love and solve the mystery. Oops I think I gave away the ending. But I was impressed with some innovative and unique camera work, good solid characters/acting (Nova Pilbeam and Derrick de Marney) and a good musical score. Worth watching.

You’re probably wondering why I even write this junk up, right? I would wonder too. It’s for myself. Why publish it on the internet? Because on the internet there is always the off chance that someone will, you know, read it which forces me to edit, and learn more about what I’m writing. So yes. You don’t have to read my lame movie reviews. I like to keep track of the movies that I watch, and this is the best way.

kbye.

lazy movie weekend

Last week we had a few hectic things happen and by the end of the week we had EARNED a vacation. My dad was on another island (like usual) and my mom and I decided to play it lazy and watch some movies. The best part was we weren’t even completely lazy. We even got some cleaning/organizing done at home too! Go us.

I was automatically drawn to this by stars Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson – but I didn’t realize just how endearing and magical this movie would be. The plot is nothing to go wild about (reforming man meets lonely woman blah blah) but there’s a real-life quality to the nonsense. The beauty of story telling is that it isn’t always about who’s the most innovative or the most risky. Sometimes it is the same plot over and over again, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the watch. (Yes. Avatar is Pocahontas. But Avatar demonstrates something that Pocahontas, obviously, doesn’t).

I’d recommend this movie. See it for the leading couple. See it for London scenery. There are a few painful moments, it’s a little sad, but it ends well. And it’s Dustin Hoffman. Seriously.

My mom as always talked of this as her favorite James Dean movie. (you know… one of his THREE..) I watched it for the first time this weekend and loved it. Like, seriously. WHAT AN AMAZING PERFORMANCE. Adapted from John Steinbeck's novel this Elia Kazan adaptation brings this tragic story to life. It’s really sad to think of what James Dean could done with his career had he not died. He’s so spontaneous and believable. He shows raw emotion. And let's not forget Jo Van Fleet in her Oscar-winning performance. It's so good. New favorite movie? probably.

Okay. This is pretty much all I have to talk about right now. Peace.

82nd Oscar Picks and Predictions

Welcome to the 2010 Let’s-See-How-Predictable-We-Can-Be-Movie-Awards. AKA the Oscars. It’s not even fun anymore! You walk in and EVERYONE knows EXACTLY what is going to win. There is zero fun in that. Zero. Okay, maybe a little for the ones who win. But what’s life without a little surprise, huh? Not only is that totally messed up… but this year they eliminated song performances, they ALREADY presented the honorary awards, and don’t get me STARTED on ten nominees for Best Picture.. They’re messing with sacred stuff, here.

Here is what I would REALLY like to happen Sunday night…

1. Meryl Streep wins. Definitely number 1. She’s been nominated SIXTEEN times. For real. And she’s only won twice? That’s ridiculous. She should have won last year. She should have won for Out of Africa or Silkwood. She should win THIS YEAR! Sandra? Why the heck are you even nominated? You’re cool and all but… get out.

2. Up… wins Best Picture. Out of the blue. Up rocked. It should just win best picture. Beating Avatar… and Up in the Air… and all those others. Realistically? I’m pulling Up in the Air.

3. Kathryn Bigelow wins Best Director. This one actually could happen. She is the favorite lately. First woman director to win, that’d be the shiz.

4. Best Actor? Okay, so Jeff Bridges is going to win. Which is cool. He’s cool. Morgan Freeman rocks. And we all know that I love George Clooney… But honestly? I’m pulling for Colin Firth! It’s his first nomination. He’s incredibly underrated.

5. Harry Potter wins Best Cinematography. For kicks and giggles.

6. Stanley Tucci wins. Because he’s awesome, and I hope he wins someday, and I really liked him in Devil Wears Prada and Julie & Julia.

I’m sure Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin will be hilarious. I like hilarious people. Too bad I can’t watch it huh?

For the record though. Here are my official (and not very original) predictions.

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart

Best Actress: Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia (I have FAITH!)

Okay. Maybe Sandra Bullock.

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique - Precious

Best Animated – Up
Best Adapted Screenplay – Up in the Air
Best Original Screenplay – The Hurt Locker
Best Score – Up
Best Original Song – The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)
Best Makeup – Star Trek
Best Visual Effects – Avatar
Best Art Direction – Avatar
Best Sound Editing – Avatar
Best Sound Mixing – Avatar

celebrity crush

I mentioned that I’m a Lost Addict, right?

Well. I’m also in love with this man:

He’s the epitome of sexy bad-A. But he’s a total softy. And I totally love him.

BUT.

I love this couple like real people. Half the reason I still watch this show is to make sure they end up together. (Okay, that’s sort of a lie. There are many reasons I watch this show).

So then there’s:

Totally in love with him too. (And The Office).

But.

Yeah, I love this couple like real people too. They DID end up together. And even worse:

Real life girl. But I love them both. So I guess I can forgive them.

But! (Yes, there’s another but).

This fictional character, Neal Caffrey from White Collar, is totally single. Sure he’s SEARCHING for his girl.. but he’s totally available right now. Ha.

Too bad fictional characters are so much better than real people.

Oh. Just for good measure:

This is my favorite fictional TV couple of all time. They’re so wonderful together, I’m not even jealous.

L-A-A

My name is Lauren. And I am a Lost addict.

Evidence? Plenty.

1) It all began with a killer fifth season finale that suspended my attention for 8 months straight.

2) Serious countdown until February 2nd.. when the world would finally know what happened when Juliet set off Jughead… Me: “Guess what?” My friend named Mike: “What?” “Lost starts in two weeks.” “REALLY?? You NEVER told me…”

3) I spend up to 4 hours (sometimes) searching for a website that will stream internationally to my lonely island of Tahiti. Because I’m not a quitter.

4) After watching an episode, I go to an awesome blog called Popcandy… and I read 3-400 comments featuring other Lost-addicts opinions and theories on episodes.

5) And finally, I hit the instant replay button… and recount the ENTIRE episode to my mother.

But you know what? I don’t even care. That show is the best. And I will wait it out until the end no matter how many alternate time lines they create. If  only so I can see Sawyer and Juliet back together!

That’s the end of my story. Except, contrary to AA groups, I have no intention of overcoming my addiction. Go Losties!

so addicting

I do a great many things that waste time. Facebook is probably number 1 on that list, but as I’m beginning to feel my brain cells ooze out of my ears every time this boredom-fest occurs, I’m trying my level best to replace it with other time-wasters. It has recently been replaced with a new website. (Consequentially, this is probably much worse for my brain since I merely click the mouse every ten seconds, but somehow I enjoy it much more. It’s great while talking on the phone). This website is Flickchart.

I, being the movie buff that I am, could find nothing more awfully addicting. It’s all very simple: the screen pops up with two movie posters (occasionally they’re funky international ones) and you choose which one you prefer between the two. So say it comes up with Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times and Confessions of a Shopoholic you would, without question, choose Modern Times because everyone knows that Modern Times is a beloved classic and Shopoholic is one of the worst films ever made. It then creates your top 20 list based on your choices. My top 5 currently stand as: 1) Glory 2) Up 3) Batman Begins 4) Star Wars and 5) Master and Commander.

It gets (relatively) tricky when it’s something like Saving Private Ryan and The Breakfast Club. These are two of my favs, and Saving Private Ryan is clearly a better movie but I’d probably be more apt to re-watch The Breakfast Club over the weekend. So you see how much thought needs to go into such decisions. And… how much time. Oh it’s fun, yes it is.

new blog... again?

For those who are good at math.. this would equal up to my third blog. I left the first one on blogger because the google account system prevented me from signing in about a year ago. This sounds like a lame excuse (because it is) but although I probably could have kept blogging a few months later… this remained my constant excuse.

My second blog was lame. Beyond all lameness. I chucked it into the void of internet trash. So here I am, starting fresh. My feeble attempts shall continue once more. If anything, maybe I can publish every once in a while when I hear of a new killer band, or see a much-talked of flick, or watch a new epic LOST episode (that could be every week). Until then – I welcome myself back into the blogging world.

You know what? I better just get this out of the way right off the bat: I live in Tahiti. No, I’m not lying, I’m sorry if you think I should be tanner.  I speak French. The end.