winter passing

The first movie I have 100% loved in a long time.

A+

fall movie line-up

Not that I ever actually go to the movies, but if I did:


INSANITY


I stopped watching when he hit a nerve.



The Crush + Center Stage + Virgin Suicides = A+



This seems like a birthday present to me from the universe. I love owls, I love IMAX, and I love 3-D. Plus, Emilie de Ravin is in it & I like to support Lost alumni.

newark library

Four Christmases


I thought it could go either way, and I liked it more than I expected.
B+

The Last Kiss.

Less RomCom, more serious relationship thought-movie. It was ok. I like Zach Braff, Rachel Bilson's face, and the soundtrack. It wasn't all that fresh, insightful, or stylish though. But I do love that Zach Braff loves Turin Brakes & my favorite part was the end credits because of this song:

C

dear john

I hate it when movies change the endings of the books that inspired them. However, in this movie's case, I preferred the movie ending over the book ending. Which was an unsettling realization to make.

B

where the winter ducks go

So I took that movie Chapter 27 out of the library. $2 wasted. It was terrible; when a movie has you just wanting John Lennon to get shot already, something is very very wrong. Also why would you cast

to play

when there is


D

the other other sister

First off, I liked it more than I thought I would. It looked like a straight-up Lifetime movie, but it did seem like one that could hold it's own in the theatre too. I initially thought Joan Cusack would be playing the mother. It was a good & different interpretation of the book to have her playing the judge, but she would have been better than Cameron Diaz as the mother. She wasn't bad in the part, but something about it just never rang well with me. The girls were well-cast. Both the brother and the dad had their storylines sliced out, so they were forgettable. My main issue was the complete changing of the ending. I just don't see the point of basing a movie off of a book unless you try to hold true to the actual storyline.
C+

woody & larry

Woody Allen + Larry David = the best combo since PB & honey

Whatever Works: My thoughts
1. Woody Allen uses the best fonts for his credits.
2. I might never be able to wash my hands ever again without singing Happy Birthday 2x
3. It was nice to see John Gallagher represent the homeland


A

one week!

can't hardly wait

hard candy

Gill and I had a baby obsession with How to Catch a Sexual Predator. I always wanted to play the girl decoy since I can pass for a kid, plus I love justice AND acting. This movie looked like it could have been lame, but I heart Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson AND their little movie.



And I think it'd be an awesome play.
A

sunshine adventures

1. Sunshine Cleaning: Booooring. I love Emily Blunt and Amy Adams but not when I'm asleep.
C+

2. Adventureland: So nice, I watched it twice. I want Santa to bring me the DVD.
A+

3. Mysteries of Pittsburgh: Misleadingly boring from the previews & hype. Can Sienna Miller play anything but a sassy, party-girl muse? And if that is the typecast she hangs her hat on, she should at least do it well. I love her TopShop stuff, she should stick to the clothes. Take a lesson from the Olsens, lady friend.
D

4. The Jane Austen Book Club: I Love Emily Blunt & Maggie Grace (especially MG with dark hair). Seemed like a better movie than a book, and Jenny confirmed this (which is ironic considering the topic).
B

blockbustation

Blockbuster offered this deal where you get unlimited movies (2 at a time) for a week, and I have been trying to be on top of getting my $$$'s worth. And the lucky ducks who got to come home with me so far have been:

1. Wendy & Lucy
I loved it inside out upside down. A girl with bad luck who is on the road and loves her dog, it felt very familiar.

A+

2. Confessions of a Shopaholic
Felt just like the Devil Wears Prada. I liked the idea of really addressing shopping addicts (which it seemed to do at the beginning), but then it got too slapstick at the end. There was a bride in fur in NYC, which I love. But there was also a moment involving the line, "The bidder on the phone was you?" Which I did not love.
C+

3. He's Just Not That Into You
I never saw a preview for this movie, but I did see the commercials, which are mini-previews. And the movie was just a way longer version of the commercial. It felt like Love, Actually in the structure of the plot and a way watered down SATC overall. I like Ginnifer Goodwin but her character was pathetic. Drew Barrymore's part was small, but she was the techno-savvy faghag, and she had a line that said, "People don't meet each other organically anymore." I think that can be true, but I'm glad it's not the case in my life.
C

4. The Education of Charlie Barlett
So boring, everyone mumbled. Fred Durst should not direct anymore. I lasted about 40 minutes before I took it out and watched.....
F

5. The Office Season 4
Makes my heart soar.
A+

the last emperor

Milton, Molly, Margot, Maude, Monty <3


i love beauty, it's not my fault.

E the G

Elizabeth the Golden Age is my new favorite movie ever. I was first introduced to this movie by the NYPL and have since become a missionary for it.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Threat | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

but that does not compare to the speech:

Oh, Elizabeth!
How blessed am I to stand in your fabled presence, warmed by your greatness as by the rays of the sun.

Oh Elizabeth! To speak your name is to hear celestial music. May that sweet sound guide me through my life to come -

Elizabeth! Elizabeth! I have travelled here, to this illustrious court, in the hope that our two great nations might be joined in love. But now that I am bathed in the radiance of your glory, I am overwhelmed. I am conquered.

I die.
Only your love, great Elizabeth, can restore me to life.

there's a reason my daughter's middle name is elizabeth.

saturday in york

rachel gets married
huge disappointment. i have no idea why anyone thought anne hathaway's acting was anything but obvious and the script was anything a notch higher than a lifetime movie. and i was really expecting this movie to be the one that makes me question my opinion on her. i stopped paying attention towards the end and didn't even notice when the credits began to roll.

F

nick & nora's infinite playlist

I have a love/hate relationship with main girl but this created more love than hate. With michael cera, its been a consistent level of decent appreciation, and that has been maintained. The script was well-written; I feel like writing the almost-post high-school version of 200 cigarettes meets Adventures in Babysitting couldn't have been easy to do and completely avoid WB-style humor. I found certain jokes both funny and personally relavent, which means whoever the screenwriter was, he was at least somewhat in touch with the reality of his setting. Overall, I'm more inclined to say that my relationship with the playlist is more love than hate.

A-

from the zito basement

I spent the days after my dad's memorial service in the zito basement with wilmington's finest food, the oceanic six, and dvds.


1. 300: I fell asleep.

No grade.

2. Hancock: so good I watched it three times [off and on] in a 48 hour period.

A+

3. I am Legend: zombies are lame.

C-

4. the others: i'd seen this before but forgot, so it was brand-new to me. i likes.

B

5. GI Jane: very serious movie about why women should not be allowed in the army.

C+

6. laguna beach season 1: i was a LB virgin and am very glad to not be anymore.

A

the movie critic herself

Rented me some more movies.

1. Vicky Christina Barcelona: Liked it & would recommend it, but that may be because it was the perfect prescription for my mood at the time. Woody Allen somehow always has a cheery tone to apply to any mood. I liked having a narrator because it establishes character in a way that is [in theory] non-biased & is just a refreshing change of pace in the movies I've seen lately. I can see why Penelope Cruz won the Oscar because her part was one that could have easily become a caricature & she did make it memorable/believable. I liked that the ending was abrupt. No matter how good a movie is, I'm always kind of glad to see it end.

A

2. Atonement: I am not a Kiera Knightley fan, but I think this is her most well-acted and most-attractively stylished role yet. The part of the younger sister was played by three actresses, all of whom were very well cast. I always like stories about two sisters because they hit home. I wish I hadn't known the ending before I watched it (ironically, which I knew because of my sister) because I think it would have been surprising/salvaging. Slow-moving, well-acted, good story, but another period peice that was not all that exceptional.

B

3. Definitely, Maybe: First off, the soundtrack was a guilty pleasure that was much more pleasure than guilty. I love the mid-early 90's music, and am always a fan of Nirvana getting a nod. It was one of those movies you have to watch twice to appreciate, and sitting through a movie twice (which I did) is a feat to be accomplished. Rachel Weisz & Kevin Kline were impeccable, I don't like Abigail Bresin's face too much, I liked the blonde girl because she was on Scrubs, and the guy seemed like a somewhat random leading man but was fine (and seemed like a very appropriate 1990s type).

B

changeling

I rented Changeling. I like to watch all the big oscar type movies before the ceremony so I can be opinionated.

It felt a lot like Capote/Million Dollar Baby [i.e. the Clint Eastwood stamp of quiet awesomeness]. Angelina Jolie was great; for everything else that woman is, I think she is one of the better mainstream actresses out there. Considering that she is so distinctive in appearance, she is such a chameleon when it comes to the physicality of her roles. I'm beginning to have a little crush on her. The story line was kind of more sick/uncomfortable than I expected, but the violence was not as gratuitous as the reviews indicated.

A

crush

half.com is my new favorite website.
today the mailman brought me two of my favorite movies of the same name.

blockbusted

If there is one thing I learned from my hours in the attic of 242 E. 3rd street, it is that I need to catch up on movies and quality television. So in occupying some of my York hours, I have managed to sit through three movies:

1. Charlie Barlett: if you saw a preview or commercial, it was pretty much exactly what you would imagine. Enjoyable, but forgettable.
2. 2 Days in Paris: written, directed, and starring Julie Delpy. I love her because she is such a one-woman powerhouse and she is always involved in every aspect of the productions of her movies. I liked this movie a lot. Adam Goldberg played her boyfriend, and he is one of those random actors that always rings well with me.
3. The Dark Knight: obviously heath ledger was crazy great, but I had a hard time keeping my head in the game.

i have my certainty

I can't wait for Doubt the movie. I can't think of three people who could have been better cast in the roles. I'm so glad Natalie Portman turned down the role of Sister James because Amy Adams is gonna be perfect with her sweet little voiced self.