This is Where I Leave You

I just finished this book while on my vacation and I'm totally looking forward to the movie.  Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Connie Britton... What???  How does it get better than that?

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I'm trying to unload some things from my apartment, for various reasons.  One thing that I wanted to get rid of is old VHS tapes that I haven't watched in a million years/since I got a DVD player.  I decided since I still have a working VCR, I'd keep just my favorites.  But then I barely whittled them down because I love so many of them.  Here's the list of the movies I kept:

Swingers
When Harry Met Sally
Office Space
Annie Hall
Home for the Holidays
Shag -- the movie
You Can Count on Me
Return to Me
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Remains of the Day
Mansfield Park
Stripes
Meatballs
Bridget Jones' Diary
Groundhog Day
Moonstruck
Seems like Old Times
Good Will Hunting
About a Boy
Out of Sight
Next Stop Wonderland
Made
One True Thing (really only because it's filmed in my hometown)
Superstar
High Fidelity
Ghostbusters
She's Having a Baby

Now, you may be asking yourself if I actually got rid of any movies, but the answer to that is yes. 

One thing that I was able to lose, which I forgot I even had, was a bunch of VHS tapes with "thirtysomething" taped from BravoTV.  So, at least that's something, right?

Sons of Perdition

I saw this movie last night called Sons of Perdition.  It is about boys that leave the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, AKA Warren Jeffs' throw-away boys (so that he can marry the teenage girls). 

It was really interesting, heartbreaking, disturbing.  Here's a link to their website and you can watch on Netflix or buy the DVD. 
They are also showing at some film festivals, including one in Norway. 

 

Searching for Sugarman

Go see it (or save it in your queue)!!

The summer of Mark Duplass

About an hour ago, someone said, "Isn't summer the season of blockbuster movies? There really haven't been any this year." I was so confused by this statement, I had to ask what the F she was talking about. When she repeated the question, I replied, "I guess you haven't heard of The Avengers, Spider-man or Batman...."

Whatever.

I don't care about any of those movies. This is the summer that I discovered Mark Duplass. (how cute is he?)

 First I saw this one:




Then I saw this one:





I think my mom would like both, but Safety Not Guaranteed is the best bet. 

Enough already

Last week's cover of EW

This week's cover of EW

Oslo, August 31

If you are up for a really depressing movie, I have the perfect one for you.  I went to see this movie this week and it was great.  It takes place in Oslo, where I lived for four months when I was 21/22 years old.  Just watch the trailer... it's really stunning. 

Best of 2011

It's the end of February, but with the Oscars coming up on Sunday, it's a perfect time to post my Best Of list for the previous year.
Uff! What a bad year for movies. I complain about this a lot, but truly, this year was not good. I can't even decide which to put at the top, so I'm just going to make a list in no particular order.

• Beginners


• Win Win


• Crazy Stupid Love (minus all the parts with the stupid babysitter and ridiculous teen-age son)


• The Artist


• Moneyball


• Tree of Life


• The Help


• Bridesmaids


• Martha Marcy May Marlene

Biggest disappointment: The Descendants (I know I'm alone in this, and I'm okay with it.)Another disappointment, but not a big one: The Muppets (I so wanted to love this movie, but it was just okay.)

Biggest surprise: The Artist (see previous post)

Best Actor: the guy from A Better Life.

Best Actress: Meryl Streep (Iron Lady)

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer (Beginnings) / Ryan Gosling (Stupid Crazy Love)

Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain (nominated for The Help but I liked her better in Tree of Life)

Best Director: Terrence Malick (Tree of Life)

Best Original Screenplay: Bridesmaids
Best Adapted Screenplay: Moneyball

Worst accents ever in a movie: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Best scenery in a movie: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Hey, I'm Swedish, what can I say?)

______________________________

The good news is that Television had a great year

Best drama: Parenthood

Best comedy: 30 Rock

Best new discovery: Louie (also fits in best drama and best comedy categories )

Best return of a character: Mr. Cyr to Parenthood

Worst return of a character: Seth, off the wagon, to Parenthood

Best character on an increasingly disappointing show: Blaine on Glee

Bummer: No Mad Men in 2011

Best mini-series: Downton Abbey (love it, love it, love it!)

Most improved: Parks and Recreation

New shows to love: Suburgatory, Happy Endings, New Girl

Still the best 22 minutes of each day, Monday-Thursday: The Daily Show

________________________
As usual, I'm pretty much in the dark about new and/or popular music. But...

Adele, 21 -- totally jumped on the bandwagon with this one.
The only other CDs I got this year were Foo Fighters (thumbs up) and Beastie Boys (thumbs down -- no offense Estee)
Best concert -- Foo Fighters at Meadowlands & Prudential Center (Newark NJ)
Concerts to recapture my youth -- RUSH at MSG, Duran Duran at MSG
the only other concerts I saw -- Maroon 5 at Jones Beach and Bon Jovi at MSG

_____________________________
Theater
The Book of Mormon -- yes, I saw it. yes, I loved it. I wish I could link a video to this song, but there is only the song.



Best Books I read this year
(two memoirs, but very different): Say Her Name-- Francisco Goldman
Bossypants -- Tina Fey
Fiction: The Ghost Writer ( I know I'm not supposed to like Philip Roth, but I so do)

Best Personal

• My tour of Scandinavia. So many wonderful memories of Norway and I am now able to forget all the bad stuff. I loved seeing Sweden, the land of my peeps, and Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the coolest cities. I hope to return soon (the plan is 2013).


• Also, I hate to say it, but I'm a convert. My iPhone has changed my life. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I love it.


• Discovering podcasts.


• Having two wonderful sisters help me through the hardest thing I've done in my life.


• Reunions with mission friends. 1) my two favorite comps, Anne Lise & Sara in San Diego and 2) Jeremy, Pete, et al. in Utah. 3) Bowcutt in Bergen.

last post on fall movies

I'm so disappointed in movies this year that the Oscar nominations have been out for a few days and I didn't even bother to find out who got nominated.

But I'm still going to post about the last few movies I've seen...

The Iron Lady -- Meryl Streep, are you kidding me? I wish Viola Davis had a chance to win against her, but I'm afraid she doesn't. Meryl -- amazing. Movie -- pretty good.

Young Adult -- All the best parts were in the commercial. Highly disappointing movie.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close -- This is one of my all time favorite books. I love it. There is no way that the movie could live up to the book, and it didn't. Still, it was an okay movie. I felt that Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks were miscast. I don't know who I would have cast if it were up to me, but I didn't think either one of them felt right. The old guy was perfect. The kid was pretty good, for a child actor carrying a whole movie, that is. New York was awesome.

Top ten coming soon... (although there won't be ten.)

Other movies

The movie I was most looking forward to for the fall season was The Descendants, which was getting lots of buzz for a few months before it was even released and made it on a bunch of top ten lists and it just got nominated for a Golden Globe. The only thing I can say about this movie is that I don't get it. It did nothing for me. I did enjoy seeing Hawaii, however, since I have been dreaming of living there for years.

Another movie that I've been hearing about for years (literally) is My Week With Marilyn. The praise has been about Michelle Williams' performance as Marilyn Monroe. Again, I don't get it. I did not buy her as Marilyn Monroe and I did not think this story was interesting enough to make a whole movie about. I did quite like the guy, though. You know, the one who spent a week with Marilyn and then apparently wrote, not one, but two books about it, and then one of those books was made into a movie.

And the movie that is perhaps getting the most buzz this season is The Artist. If you have not heard of it, it is a silent movie... as in, a real silent movie with people talking without sound and sometimes they tell you what they are saying and sometimes you just guess because of the context of the scene. I was quite skeptical about this movie because I once saw a silent movie and it was the MOST BORING MOVIE EVER. So, despite the great reviews and talk of Oscar nominations, I had super low expectations. But I liked it a lot. The two main actors were great, but I especially loved Berenice Bejo. She was adorable and I could not take my eyes off of her. My only complaint is that it was a bit too long, but as I often say, that's my main complaint about most movies. I would definitely recommend this one to my mom.


Tonight, despite my negative experience with the original Swedish movie, I'm going to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Because nothing says Christmas like anal rape. (sorry, but it just had to be said and if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about.)

Won't get fooled again

I saw He's Just Not that Into You, and although I admit that it was a lightweight film, I liked it. So I went to Valentine's Day with low expectations, but even then, was disappointed by how incredibly terrible it was. So... now New Year's Day has come along, but I won't get fooled again. I'll be sitting this one out.

Fall movies

Tis the season for the best movies to be released. Here are some of them....

Moneyball -- I admit that the only reason I saw this movie is because (a) I have (at least) one friend who tries to be wholesome and pure (unlike me) and does not see movies that carry an R-rating, and (b) because Moneyball was the only movie that I wanted to see in that category, solely because it was on EW's Must List. But, I wasn't excited about it. As much as people kept saying, "You don't have to like sports to like this movie," I still kept thinking, "Well, it's a sports movie. How interesting will this be to me?"

So, all of that said, I loved it! As soon as the end credits started rolling and I saw that Aaron Sorkin was one of the writers, I knew why. I thought the story was interesting, the acting was good, and there was some suspense that kept me tuned in.

Ides of March -- I think because this one has been getting good reviews (also on EW's Must List), some people's expections may have been raised and therefore they may have been disappointed. However, I loved this movie. I thought it was really interesting and compelling. It was an interesting look at our political system, as well as my usual interest in interpersonal relationships.

Like Crazy -- One day in October, we had a conference that was over at 4:00 pm and I was so excited to have an early evening, so I went to see this movie with the matinee crowd. The acting was just as good as you've heard. It has been called an anti-romance and also "the most annoying part of relationships." I might have had my expectations a bit high, but still, really liked it.

Martha Marcy May Marlene -- This one is about a young woman who joins a cult and then escapes a few years later, so the story goes back and forth between her life in the cult and how she tries to make sense of those years afterwards. Naturally, I was intrigued by the charasmatic character who somehow draws these young people into the cult. And as we get little hints into her life before, it's interesting to speculate on what would have been her reason for being there. The Martha character was so well-acted and she was so real to me, as she reminded me of some clients I've worked with over the years (not that I've worked with people that have joined cults, but vulnerable people who get sucked into crazy situations). I would have trouble recommending this to very many people, especially people who see movies that I love and then come back to me and ask me, "Why did you tell me to see that? That was so depressing!" Although my mom is not in that category, you should definitely not see it.

This one is going back a bit, but Tree of Life is still in one theater here and may be playing near you (although I think it's already on DVD). It's everything you've heard -- strange, confusing, long, and visually stunning (I love the 50's-60's feel, clothing, furniture, etc.). I liked it a lot.

Next movie on my list is The Descendants.

Recent movies

I went to see Super 8 this weekend... loved it! Although it dragged a bit in the beginning, for the most part, I thought it was great, the kids were great, and I especially liked this character...



And of course it did not hurt to have Coach Taylor, AKA Kyle Chandler...



Another movie I really liked from this spring was Win Win.

And of course, Bridesmaids, which was hilarious. As usual, I would say that Judd Apatow needs to remember that comedies are 90 minutes for a reason. But really funny, and one of the funniest endings I have seen in a while. Kristen Wiig. She can do no wrong.

I couldn't be less interested in the superhero and comic book movies that are coming out now... but I am very excited for this one...



It looks cute and funny, and I love....



LOVE...



Really LOVE...



Really like...



But... unfortunately...really can't stand....



She's in Anne Hathaway territory for me. But I'll still see it. No blue make-up involved, so I hope it is good.

Living on a lighted stage

Now that I have fulfilled my adolescent dreams of seeing Bruce Springsteen perform several times, it's time to go back even further. When I was 10 years old, the album Moving Pictures by Rush was released. At that time, I decided that Rush was my favorite band. When you're 10, you can say things like that, even if you only know two of their songs.

Thirty years later, I began to appreciate them again... mostly because of Jason Segal. Exhibit A: Freaks and Geeks



Exhibit B: I Love You, Man



One of the things I was most looking forward to was experiencing the notoriously nerdy audience. When Shauna and I walked in to take our seats, two men sitting behind us said, "Are you Canadian?" We were initially confused by this question until they clarified that the only women that they know that like Rush are Canadian. The next question was, "Did your older brother get you into Rush?" Later, "What made you decide to come to this concert? Was it a 'bucket list' kind of thing?" I knew that we were going to be in the minority in the audience, but I didn't know we would actually blow people's minds in the process.

Anyway, it was a really fun show, and there was almost no line for the ladies' room. I'd definitely go again, if I had better seats. Here are some pics (I know these pictures are no good, but here they are anyway).

Best of 2010

Tomorrow is Hollywood's big night, which means I can get my "best of" list in just under the wire.


Once again, I don't have a top ten, and to be honest, don't really have super strong feelings about any movies this year. Probably the best reviewed movie of the year was The Social Network, which was just okay for me, despite my usual love of Aaron Sorkin scripts. The Kids are All Right was so overrated (although I did think Annette Benning was good, and Mark Ruffalo was adorable). Winter's Bone is the type of movie I normally adore, but I couldn't get into it. Maybe it was because I was on pain killers when I watched it. I could never sit through 127 Hours because the whole time I would be thinking "What an idiot!!" not to mention it would gross me out too much. I didn't have any interest in Black Swan either. Bad year for movies!


Anyway, so here's my list of the best movies of 2010
1. Blue Valentine (don't see it, mom!!)
2. The Town
3. The King's Speech
4. The Fighter
5. The Social Network
6. Inception

Best performances
Best Actor -- Colin Firth, The King's Speech
Best Supporting Actor -- Jeremy Renner, The Town
I don't even have a pick for Best Actress or Supporting Actress.


Best of TV
best comedy -- 30 Rock (still love it)
best drama -- Mad Men and Parenthood
best new show -- Parenthood
best episode -- Mad Men "The Suitcase" (Peggy's birthday episode)
amazing TV moment -- "Whip my hair" by Jimmy Fallon as Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen as himself in the 70's
favorite character -- Blaine, "Glee"
best performance on two different shows -- Michael B Jordan on Parenthood & FNL
best TV on DVD -- thirtysomething
kind of disappointing -- Friday Night Lights season 5

Best concerts
1. John Mayer in Seattle
2. John Mayer in NJ
3. John Mayer in MSG
Favorite song -- "Teenage Dreams" by Katy Perry (but really, by Blaine on "Glee")
Best album -- Bruce Springsteen "The Promise" (and I'm not saying that because I'm old. It's an awesome album!)

Best books I read
Non-fiction -- Half the Sky
Fiction -- One Day by David Nicholls

The King's Speech

I totally recommend this one...

Exit through the Gift Shop

Over the summer, when the movies that came out were mostly boring, there was this little film that I read about and decided to see.






I liked the movie (though, of course, it was a little too long) and then started looking for street art around the city. Of course, I have seen this guy's work around for years, but you start to pay attention more after you kind of put it into context.

Then when I was in San Diego, I spotted this on a bridge!! Lise was a good sport and drove around in circles for several minutes because of one-way streets and traffic lights so that I could get a good shot of it. I don't know why... just thought it was cool.

One Day...

...after posting my book recommendation of One Day, I got a super long email from one of my friends telling me what she did and didn't like about the book. We got into a bit of discussion with a third person. One thing I learned from this email book club of sorts is that they are already in the process making the film version. Yay!!

Starring Anne Hathaway! BOO!!

Here're the detes. Just seeing her in those glasses and Dr. Marten's makes me want to punch her in the face.

As much as I like this book, she will ruin the movie for me. I am so disappointed. They couldn't find an actual British actress to play this role? I think there are a few out there.

I'm a fan, but....

Okay, so I've seen every episode of "Sex and the City" a million times, I sometimes quote the girls in regular conversation (e.g. "we're doing this now?"), and I saw the movie opening weekend despite the annoying bridge and tunnel audiences in my favorite theater on 34th St. I was a little annoyed by the movie because I felt that the series ended perfectly and did not think that they needed a follow up. Then what did they do but break up Carrie and Big AGAIN?? But all's well that ends well, and it was a perfect ending again.



I was really skeptical when I heard another movie was coming out. The first rumor I heard was that Big maybe cheated on Carrie and they broke up again, and I refuse to see that. Refuse. But now that the release date approaches, several versions of trailers have been on TV. First it just looked like it's more of a girls' trip, which I can be on board with. It looks like that they took my advice and have addressed Charlotte's stress at being a mom. But then I saw that they are bringing Aidan back? Come on! How desperate can you be? I may actually sit this one out.

To sum up...

The highlight of my short little vacation was John Mayer, of course, but the rest pretty much sums up my friendship with Esther and all the things we like to do together....

We went to the Tulip Festival, with better results than last year. They were beautiful!

Cupcakes.... (Sweet Lorraine -- chocolate w/white chocolate ganache, red velvet, chocolate w/raspberry filling)

Mac and Cheese (It was very similar to my #7 on this list)

Star sightings... ( Sir Mix a Lot)

and a movie (The Runaways, which we all liked a lot).