I’m Finally Doing It

This was going to be a comment on Jen’s previous post, but I thought it’d be too long & I should just write an entry about it…  I’ve decided to finally Netflix the BBC 2-disc, 5(?)-hour-long version of Pride and Prejudice! Are you guys proud of me??  It always seemed so daunting before.  I haven’t had the attention span or time for movies lately, but Jen’s post put me in a British mood, and man, am I up for anything with Colin Firth right now.  And according to Netflix, I’m going to LOVE it.  :)

But do I need to re-read the book first?  I read it my senior year of high school, but I don’t think I got much out of it then.  Hmm, I really do sort of want to read it now.  Well, I can’t get the movie until after Halloween anyway, so maybe I’ll try to read it first.

Why do I have to wait until after Halloween?  Because you HAVE to watch scary, thrilling, and/or suspenseful movies on Halloween!  I’m trying to decide what I should watch.  I’m already planning on Wait Until Dark, a very suspenseful movie from the ’60s starring Audrey Hepburn & Alan Arkin.

Who doesn't love old movie posters?

I have a lot of Hitchcock movies on tape that I’m considering, but do you have any suggestions?  Feel free to suggest super-scary films, but I’ll admit in advance that I can’t watch any of those because I live alone.  I can only do those during the day.  And sometimes not even then.  I watched The Exorcism of Emily Rose one day last year in broad daylight & it freaked me out.  But I really liked it and I watched it again when I wasn’t alone.

So to sum up this very rambly post, BBC Pride and Prejudice after Halloween = a go!  Halloween movie suggestions?  Leave a comment!

- Jill

My REAL Favorite Movies #3

I am going through a phase now where I love all things British.  Actually…..it isn’t really a phase, because I’ve been obsessed with the UK ever since I went there eight years ago.  Well, if there is one thing the British know how to do, it is comedy.  Well, one of the funniest movies I have ever seen is Death at a Funeral.

It came out a few years ago, and I am really sad that I didn’t get to see it with a theater full of people, because that would have been an experience to remember.  I originally checked this out from the library because it has Mr. Darcy in it (Matthew MacFadyen not Colin Firth), and it was totally worth it.

Not only does it have the very gorgeous Mr. MacFadyen in it, but his real life wife, Keeley Hawes, plays his wife in the movie.  She is totally adorable and they are so cute together (she was also pregnant when they were filming so you’ll notice she hides behind a lot of pillows and is shot from the neck up).

Alan Tudyk is also in it for all of you Firefly fans out there.  He shows off his great British accent skills (which I first discovered when he was in A Knight’s Tale a million years ago) and walks around naked for most of the movie.  It also has the guy from Love Actually who goes to America and hooks up with all those Wisconsin girls.  He looks sooooo much cuter in this movie with his shaggy haircut.

Kris Marshall from Love Actually

This movie is so hilarious it is hard to describe.  I think one of the best parts about it is that everyone is so proper and British (and of course it does take place at a funeral) but there are so many outlandish things that happen.  There’s nudity, a bad drug trip, attempted murder, blackmail, and a very disgusting bodily function joke.

I think one of the reasons this movie is so hilarious is that it is directed by Frank Oz.  For those of you who don’t know, Frank Oz is also known as the voice behind Miss Piggy.  I can only imagine how much fun it must have been to be on that set.  There is an excellent gag reel at the end that shows just how fun it probably was.

I love this movie because it is nice and short so it is a good one to pop in if I am in need of a good laugh.  It also gives me my British fix for the day, which is much needed.  Here is the gag reel that I mentioned earlier.  It is funny how unprofessional and giggly the British actors are (I’m looking at YOU Matthew!!).  Oh, and it is not suitable for all audiences because British people like to curse (or maybe it’s actors).

Also, just on a side note, I ADORE the house that it is set in.  I’ve decided that when I make my millions being a children’s librarian I am going to live in a house just like it in the English countryside.

Jen

My REAL Favorite Movies #2

Every single week I clean my apartment.  I am actually becoming more and more anal about it as I get older.  While I clean, I always put in a movie as nice background noise.  One of my favorites to put in, but always a dangerous choice is Sky High.  It’s dangerous because I find myself stopping to watch certain parts and inevitably end up sitting through the whole last half not cleaning at all.

I am actually one of the few people who can admit to seeing Sky High in the theater.  I went with a friend to the Brickyard 400 a few years back and we stayed with her aunt and uncle.  We entertained her little cousin one day by taking her to town and going to the movies.  Sky High was the kid’s movie that sounded the least boring.  I was not excited because from the commercials on tv I thought it looked cheap (see: the costumes and cheesy special effects) and a total rip off of all the big superhero movies that had just come out.  Well, my friend’s cousin loved it, my friend hated it, but I secretly adored it!!!!

The story is about Will Stronghold, the son of the two greatest superheroes ever, going off to Sky High for his freshman year.  Will is played by Michael Angarano who is (or was, I can never keep up with these things) famous for being Kristen Stewart’s real life boyfriend, and being in the same movie as Lindsay and Amber: The Final Season.  The only problem is he doesn’t have any powers yet.

First of all, this movie is hilarious!!!!  The adult cast is pitch perfect.  Kurt Russell as Will’s dad is so great!  He is clueless and arrogant and kind of dumb and it is wonderful.  Dave Foley as Mr. Boy is soooooo funny, but Dave Foley is funny in everything he does.  But best of all is that Farva from SuperTroopers plays Ron Wilson, Bus Driver!!!  (By the way, did you know there is going to be a SuperTroopers 2!!!!!)

Those lucky sidekicks

I also love all the kids in the movie.  Zack who glows, Magenta who turns into a guinea pig, and Ethan who melts are all so cute!  But Layla is probably my favorite.  She gets to wear really cool clothes, her power is manipulating plants, and her mom can talk to animals!!!  I totally want to be Layla.  But if I could pick any power, I would probably want to have the ability to duplicate another person’s appearance and masquerade around as them.  Hmmmmm, who would I be……..?

Layla and her totally sweet Homecoming dress

The one thing I really love about this movie, and it is kind of silly, but I can’t help it, is that when Will gets his powers and is swept up in the popular crowd, he doesn’t become a jerk.  The standard formula in these movies is to have the main character get all popular, abandon their old friends and start to act like a total asshat (see: Mean Girls).  Will doesn’t do that, which is so refreshing.  He does get a little overwhelmed by everything, but he never acts like a jerk.

Mr. Warren Peace

I think that everyone should watch this movie because it is so fantastic!!!  If you like high school movies, superhero movies, or funny movies, this is something you will enjoy.  It also has the best character name ever: Warren Peace (who also happens to be really hot, and WELL over 18 so it’s okay).  Here are some of my favorite quotes from this awesome movie!

“There’s trouble downtown (duh duh DUH) Big. Trouble.”

“There is no smoking on school grounds…….or freezing or bursting into flame.”

“Sidekicks will please stop ordering hero sandwiches.”

“Way to go Popsicle.”

While watching a dummy get sliced up during the save the citizen game: “Do you remember when we used to use real citizens?”

“Oh. My. God.  I made out with an old lady.”

And then, probably one of my favorite last lines from any movie ever (a little spoiler-y, but if you don’t know what’s going to happen after the first 15 minutes then you haven’t been paying attention): “In the end, my girlfriend became my arch enemy, my arch enemy became my best friend, and my best friend became my girlfriend.  But hey, it’s high school.”  Truer words were never spoken.

Here’s the trailer:

Jen

My REAL Favorite Movies #1

Everybody has a list in their head of their favorite movies.  If someone were to ask me I would probably say The Lord of the Rings movies, the Harry Potter movies, Moulin Rouge, The Little Mermaid, Wall-E, My Man Godfrey, and A Little Princess.  But really, these are movies that I don’t watch all that often.  The Lord of the Rings movies are just too long and there are not enough tissues in the world for me to watch Wall-E on a regular basis.

But there are certain movies that I never seem to remember when thinking about my favorites, but they are ones I LOVE and watch all the time.  So for these blog posts I am going to talk about some of my secret favorite movies.  I will start off with one that I watch when I am in a weird mood and don’t know what I am in the mood for.  This movie is perfect because it literally has a little bit of everything.

Stardust is a totally awesome movie!!  I don’t think anybody ever saw it in the theater (including me) but my parents did and they made me sit down and watch it and I am SO glad they did.  Now as a little side note, I’ve read the Stardust graphic novel and was not a fan.  I did not enjoy the fact that the two characters that were supposed to be falling in love barely communicated and then were like, “oh, it’s the end?  maybe we should make out?”  That is only okay in Last of the Mohicans.

But I adore the movie!!!!  It is pretty complicated to describe, but I will try.  It has a very similar feel to The Princess Bride.  Tristan is a shopboy (oh, sorry, he is a boy who just happens to work in a shop) who is in love with Victoria.  He tries to win her love by promising to bring her a star that has fallen to the earth.  In order to get the star, Tristan must cross the Wall which is the boundary between regular old England and the magical world.  When Tristan finds the star he realizes that it is actually the beautiful Yvaine.  He decides to take her back to Victoria anyway, and along the way they encounter evil witches, pirates, and dead princes.

It is actually a pretty complicated movie with a lot of different things going on, so you have to pay attention while you are watching, but it is so good that why would you not be paying attention??!!  Here are my favorite things about this movie.

1.  Claire Danes was actually likable.  Ever since the “incident” a while back I can’t help but think of her as the wench who stole a pregnant woman’s boyfriend…..but I think she is adorable in this movie and I totally forget that I don’t like her as a person.

2.  It has all the things I love in a movie: romance, comedy, magical stuff, a hint of adventure, and a happy ending.

3.  It has Prince Caspian in it!!!! (Otherwise known as Ben Barnes)

4.  It also has some of my favorite British actors like Mark Heap, Rupert Everett, and David Walliams.  Also some random other celebrities like Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Ricky Gervais.

5.  It has a great main character makeover!  I love me a good makeover, and this one is tricky because it is a boy.  Boy makeovers are hard to pull off, but Tristan truly goes from a dorky guy that you probably wouldn’t look twice at to a “Whoa, who is that gorgeous hunk of man???”

Dorky Tristan

Hunky Tristan

6.  I love the fact that Tristan gets all confident and awesome and has no problem facing down stuffy old Humphrey (Victoria’s other suitor) but that his hand still shakes when he is going off to fight the epic battle with the evil witch.  He is a rock star sword fighter, but still scared when the situation calls for it.

7.  The movie is awesome visually…..great costumes and a very gorgeous British countryside.

8.  The big bad guy (well one of them) Prince Septimus is really hot in a Snape-y kind of way.

The Evil Prince Septimus

9.  Also, the blooper reel is very very funny.

Here’s the trailer, which does a pretty good job of capturing the feel of the movie:

I would definitely recommend this movie for anyone who likes fantasy or a good love story.  I will probably have to buy a new copy pretty soon because mine is getting all worn out.  So that is just one of the many REAL favorite movies that I will be sharing in the future.  What are some of your REAL favorites?

Jen

Percy Jackson Movie What What???

One of the first things I did upon starting my new life back in Iowa (Yippee!!) was to read the whole Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan.  I had listened to the first book a looooooong time ago and was kind of meh? about it.  Then I decided to give it another chance and LOVED them all!!!!

So of course I was excited to see that The Lightning Thief is being made into a movie!!!  (Is it just me, or is that the hardest title in the world to spell……I never get lightning right and then I have to pause before I can spell thief.)  I am very excited, but also very wary about this.  Here are some things that make me very VERY nervous and/or upset.

**I am worried that they will just make one movie.  If they do the first book, I am going to want them to do all the rest because they are awesome!!!!  But the chance of that happening is very slim.  If this movie does not do Harry Potter sized business, they will forget about the franchise and leave everybody hanging.  Now, I am not basing this on actual facts (for all I know they could be working on Sea of Monsters right now) but on past movie experiences (The Golden Compass anyone??).

**Ummmm, why isn’t Annabeth blonde???????  I am really upset about this!  Maybe it is silly and stupid, but I hardly remember anything about characters physical descriptions……but I specifically remember all the times Percy referred to Annabeth’s blonde CURLY hair.  Ummmm, she also looks like she is 26.

**Where is Grover’s hat?????  Isn’t he supposed to have horns sticking out of his head that his big curly hair and hat are supposed to cover up???  Hmmmm.

**I guess Percy looks okay.

Anyway, even with all of these little annoyances, I think the movie is going to be waaaaay cool.  The people playing the grown ups in Percy’s world are incredible…..Pierce Brosnan, Catherine Keener, Steve Coogan, Sean Bean, and Uma Thurman just to name a few.  I am hoping it will be a fun movie and I don’t get too nitpicky about all the stuff that has changed, but we shall see.

Here is the trailer to get you excited too:

Jen

Why I Loved Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

I love all the Harry Potter movies, but usually they have to grow on me before I feel this way.  I remember after I saw the fifth movie I sat in shock, staring at the screen shouting “What the *#%& was that?  How could they leave out EVERYTHING!!”  Luckily I was in an empty theater with my sister at a special screening, so it was okay to shout those things.  But after I saw it a second time I was able to approach it with more of an open mind and enjoy myself.

I assumed it would be the same way with movie 6, but I was so, so wrong.  I loved it!  I truly truly loved it!!!  It was the best movie of the series by far and has worked its way into my top ten favorite movies.  I can’t quite figure out  why my reaction was so dramatically different than normal, but I have tried to come up with a few reasons.  My thoughts that follow contain spoilers for the movie and the book.

I already knew the Gaunts and Dumbledore’s funeral were cut out of the movie.  If I had been blindsided by this while watching the movie, I would have been very upset.

After I thought about it, I was really happy they didn’t include Dumbledore’s funeral in the movie.  It is one of my favorite scenes in any of the books.  I can recall it more vividly in my mind than just about any other part.  I remember Hagrid being comforted by Grawp, all of the characters from previous books showing up to pay their respects, Hermione silently crying while Ron comforted her.  It is so special and perfect that no amount of skillful moviemaking could capture it.  Let’s face it, if they had done it, they wouldn’t have done it right.  It would never have lived up to my expectations and so I am happy that I still have the pure form of his funeral from the books without a pale imitation movie version.  I feel like Dumbledore’s funeral is something that the fans of the books can cherish as their own without having to share it with the “movie fans” who would never have appreciated it the way we do.

Also, the Dumbledore from the films is not the same as OUR Dumbledore from the books.  He is Harry’s mentor and professor, but not his friend.  This is not due to any particular writing, acting, or directing…….there is just not enough time to establish the grandfather/friendly Dumbledore that we know from the books.  The impact of his death is not felt the same way in the movie as it was for the characters in the books.

One thing that I loved about the movie that hasn’t really been present in any of the other movies is kind of hard to describe.  Some of my favorite moments in the Harry Potter books are the “walking in between classes/conversations in the halls/discussions during class/hanging in they Gryffindor common room” scenes.  The only time the other movies include these scenes is when they involve PLOT PLOT PLOT (oh things are getting bad, Voldy is getting stronger, blah blah blah).  There are hints of it in movie 5 (the trio laughing in front of the fire after Harry kisses Cho), but movie 6 has so many great scenes like that!!!!!!  After 5 movies of nothing but action, battles, and climactic scenes, I was willing to lose some big stuff in order to gain these fun little glimpses into Hogwarts.  I thought all three actors did an excellent job of portraying the trio and I truly bought that they were best friends.  This was definitely worth losing the battle at Hogwarts.

Speaking of the Battle of Hogwarts, yes it’s too bad that it wasn’t included, but in the book we didn’t even get to see it.  We only saw the aftermath, and the only really important thing was Bill’s condition, and oh yeah, that’s right, Bill isn’t in the movies (grrrrr) so it was kind of unnecessary.  Plus, it sounds like they are really going to do the Battle of Hogwarts justice in movie 7 so I am okay with that.

I am to the point of just rambling now, but I just wanted to quickly point out some things that I loved!

1.  Young Tom Riddles you were awesome!!!  Totally gave me the heebie-jeebies.

2.  Oh Rupert, you were amazing…..hilarious and clueless and wonderful!

3.  I liked the way Harry protected Ginny at the attack on the Burrow.  He really stepped up and looked like a grown up.

4.  I loved the hospital scene with Ron and Hermione……….pitch perfect!  Bravo Emma!!!

5.  I adored how they played the scene with Harry touching the Ring/Horcrux.  There is a moment when you can tell that Dumbledore realizes Harry is a Horcrux.  Nice foreshadowing.  Bravo Mr. Gambon!  I tip my hat to you!

6.  Thanks for not cutting out Fred and George!!!!!!!!!!

7.  Felix Felicis was phenomenal!  Oh Dan, you make me laugh!

Phew!  That post really exhausted me!  I hope everybody else liked the movie, or will grow to like it in time.

Jen

New (To Me At Least) Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince Posters

Meg Cabot recently showed me some new HP6 posters.  Maybe you’ve seen them before, but I had not.  I have mixed feelings.

This one = cool

Hello, new love interest I've been predicting since Book 2! (Ok, to be fair, who didn't call that?)

This is so not how I imagined Lavender. She reminds me too much of Moaning Myrtle

Oh, Luna...

I think Hermione's angst looks are pretty good. The scene with the birds should be awesome.

Ominous...

Can someone PLEASE tell me who besides Ron is in this? I feel so stupid!

Only a few more weeks!!

- Jill

I Have Seen the Hannah Montana Movie!!

I have been looking forward to this day for a long time and it totally lived up to my expectations…..tonight, along with a theater full of kids (all ages, girls and boys) I saw the Hannah Montana Movie.  Thanks so much to Abby for going with me so I was not the creepy old lady sitting by myself.  I really enjoyed the movie and will probably see it again.  Since my mind doesn’t work well in paragraph form, I will make a list of the things I loved and some I didn’t so much love.

Things I loved!!!

**Miley’s acting.  Not once did I look at her and think, “there’s that sixteen year old with a skeezy 20 year old boyfriend,” or did I hear “It’s Miley” from The Soup.  The whole movie I saw her as nothing more than Miley Stewart and cute as a button Hannah Montana, which didn’t always happen with the tv show.

**The songs.  I liked the new stuff that was in the movie, and was happy to hear a new version of “Best of Both Worlds.”

**Jan from “The Office” was in it.  I liked seeing her as something other than crazy trophy-weilding Jan.  Although I was sad that she didn’t sing because apparently she has an amazing voice and I think she even has CDs or something like that.

**Travis.  Oooooh Travis.  He plays Miley’s little love interest, and wow, he is pretty fantastic (I can say that because he is 18 so it is not illegal……….kind of disturbing, but not illegal).  The little girl behind me literally hyperventilated everytime he showed up on screen.  Or maybe she was just making shrieking sounds too high for humans to hear.

**The end credits are awesome…..actually beyond awesome.  Every movie needs to end with a dance number.

**I love how Rascal Flatts is randomly hanging out at Miley’s grandma’s house.  Apparently in Tennessee famous country singers spend their time traveling from porch to porch singing their most well known songs.

Things I didn’t really love:

**Vanessa Williams’ character.  I hate it when they cast “stars” in these types of movies that have absolutely nothing to do with the tv show.  I’m pretty sure no one in the theater was there to see one of the stars of “Ugly Betty.”

**Spoiler Alert!!  Miley and Lily’s fight gets resolved too quickly.  Miley did something really horrible to Lily and after two weeks of not speaking Lily completely forgives her for the sole reason that she wouldn’t be in the movie if she didn’t.

**Speaking of that……where were Oliver and Rico??????  They are in the movie for 5 minutes total………and that includes three minutes of the end credits.

**Not enough Jackson!!!!!!!!!!  He didn’t really do anything in the whole movie except fall down………but he does really know how to fall down.

All in all, I really loved the movie.  It made me laugh, almost cry, and even dance around in my seat a tiny bit.  The best part was being in a full theater where people clapped along with the songs, sang along to “The Climb,” and screamed like they were at a Hannah concert when the movie ended.  When Travis finally admits that he has a crush on Miley, all the girls in the theater went “Awwwwwwww” (I was totally one of them).  That is what makes a fantastic movie experience.

So if you even halfway enjoy the tv show, or like horses, or cute cowboys, go see this movie!!!

Jen

Is Anybody Else Excited?

I am way excited for a little movie called Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.  I read the book last fall and was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved it.  When I found out Michael Cera was going to be in the movie, I knew that I would be first in line to see it (even though he is completely wrong for the part of Nick, but I would watch him in anything so it doesn’t matter).  It’s been a pretty crappy couple of weeks, but watching this trailer makes me feel all better and also forget for a few minutes that I have to work tomorrow.

Jen