I always suggest movies that I know I want to see, and then can't get anyone to accompany me. Luckily, I know there is at least ONE PERSON out there willing to go see this schlock-fest in a theater, and we call that man "The Arm."
So what do you say Arm? The President's Book of Secrets? C'mon, you KNOW you want to go... It has THE SAME CAST! The hot/bookish blonde, the plucky computer geek, the estranged father, and the QUEEN OF ENGLAND (well, Helen Mirren, but you get the point.)
1) Yes, I did read the declaration
2) Jerseyfresh made "Freedom Cookies"
3) I spent the morning productively:
Oh yes, I did go and see it.
5. "The Ring" - I know, pretty standard stuff really. But that movie single-handedly turned me back OFF horror movies. I now watch anything scary through the curtain of my fingers.
4. Loogies - You know, that harsh throat clearing/nasal sucking and then smashing it together with saliva in your own mouth that then gets spit onto the floor? It's disgusting and I'll punch you in the face if you do it around me.
3. My cousin Kristy telling ghost stories. If you've ever had the pleasure of listening to her experiences in the haunted maternity wing of her hospital, I'm sure she's on your list too. Just THINKING about it freaks me the F out.
2. Dome-Headed-Aliens... You know, the ones that they kept talking about on Unsolved Mysteries in the late 80's? The ones that snatched you out of your bed while you slept and performed tests on you? HEEBIE JEEBIE CENTRAL from ages 10 till now. The fear has lessened over the past few years, but god help me if one EVER shows up at the end of my bed in the middle of the night. It will be sprayed in the face with a combo of vomit and man-tears as I scream my holy guts out.
1. The Death Cottage - A summer beach rental shared with friends that resulted in two trips to the emergency room. While there was a ridiculous amount of harm that resulted in our stay there, the creepy part occurred when people began investigating other things that had been going on...
Messages in the fogged mirrors from what appeared to be a previous guests. Wrist-watch LCD screens mysteriously shattering in dresser drawers... and entries from previous rental guests in the cottage journal detailing similar experiences. One example, an entry of from a CHILD about the place "feeling scary" and sometimes seeing a man who wasn't part of the family in the house.
When we realized this, it was like the scene in a movie where the parents take a child to a specialist to figure out why she has scratches all over her body:
Psychologist: Hi little Sandy! Can you draw a picture for me?
(Sandy draws picture of family in front of a house complete with smiley faced sunshine)
Psychologist: Oooo! Very impressive, who's that? (pointing to stick figure with tie)
Sandy: That's Daddy! He just came home from work!
Psychologist: Mmm-hmm, and who is this? (pointing to stick figure with a dress)
Sandy: That's Mommy and me, we're holding hands and singing!
Psychologist: Very good! And who is this? (points to a very large stick figure with enlongated hands, bacon fried lips, and what appears to be bones hanging from his neck)
Sandy: That's Edwin... We play GAMES TOGETHER, and HE DOESN'T LIKE YOU.
(Mirror shatters across the room)
END SCENE.
You get the idea. I'll never rent there again.
In an interesting twist of fate I both love music yet really dislike musicals***. I don't know why, and no I can't explain it. I mean, I totally get it, it's just not my preferred method of musical reflection.
Yet... now don't kill me for saying this... Yet, I really liked Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge. It's fantastic. Most people I ask either turned it off in the first 5 minutes or liked it too. Initally I was also repulsed, but also intrigued: had you ever seen ANYTHING like that movie before in your entire life? No probably not, so shame on you for turning it off!
ANYWAYS, since I tacitly agreed to liking that "musical", I have slowly been trying to expand my repitoire. Which brings me to the next movie must see of the year: Across the Universe.
The songs I already like (I'm a Beatles man, not an Elvis man), and it has a really strong visual element that no doubt will make me assign it 4-5 stars on Netflix. AND it's a love story about kids during the Vietnam war. So a Vietnam-War-Love-Musical with pop songs. I can dig it.
So, if anyone is interested in seeing it, let me know.
***Singing in the Rain while a musical has strong sentimental attachment and thus is an exception to the rule.
For some reason I really like Luc Besson's movies. They always have this super cinematic-cool element that you just don't see anywhere else. Okay, not Arthur and the Invisibles, but his other (under the radar release) this year looks EXACTLY like what I'm talking about: Angel A. Too cool for school Frenchie.
In the two minutes of the preview it tells more story than in two hours of Smokin' Aces. Unfortunately, this little masterpiece will fall by the wayside and it's styles and techniques will be borrowed, soiled, and riffed to death by hacky commercial directors for the next ten years. *Sigh*... C'est la vie.
I really wanted to see Marie Antoinette when it came out. I really wanted to see it in the movie theater... I mean whomever cut the trailer had my number. Sadly it had the release of an obscure Kung-Fu flick in the area and I never got the chance. DAMN IT.
Alas, there is a new film coming soon that I hope I'll be able to convince someone, ANYONE, to go see with me: Factory Girl. (Or just view the trailer here.)
The story of Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick's "romance" in the era best known for pop art, pot, and vietnam. (I wonder how many times the word "relevant" came up in pitch discussions.) This is the kind of movie that draws me in with the promise of insight into a cultural period I will never EVER understand (see 24 Hour Party People).
In the preview, Guy Pearce looks gross and Seinna Miller looks hot. !And! H. Christiansen is in it... as is Jimmy Fallon. PLEASE DON'T RUIN THIS FOR ME ANAKIN SKYWALKER OR LAUGHY MC LAUGHERTON.
Does anyone else want to see this? Or should I go ahead and already add Factory Girl to my netflix queue?