Burn After Reading

Could this be the funniest movie all year?



I love Coen Brothers movies, Brad Pitt & George Clooney so I think it stands a good chance of being Hi-larious. The trailer sure is. Enjoy & Happy 4th of July.

Rom-Com Results

Well, thanks for hangin' out twiddlin' your thumbs while I tallied all the results from the romantic comedy movie survey I started back in May. As July dawns, I am finally ready with the results:

58 of you were kind enough to respond and a total of 40 films received at least one vote. The 40 films in alphabetical order are:

10 Things I Hate About You
6 Days, 7 Nights
A Fish Called Wanda
The American President
As Good As It Gets
Benny & Joon
Big
Blast from the Past
Bridget Jones's Diary
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Bull Durham
Continental Divide
Dangerous Liaisons
Enchanted
Fools Rush In
Goodbye Girl
House Calls
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
It Happened One Night
Love, Actually
Moonstruck
Much Ado About Nothing
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Pretty Woman
Pride & Prejudice (1940)
Princess Bride
PS I Love You
Serendipity
Shakespeare in Love
Shallow Hal
Sliding Doors
So, I Married an Axe Murderer
Sweet Home Alabama
Under the Tuscan Sun
The Wedding Singer
What Happens in Vegas
When Harry Met Sally
The Wiggles (children's film)
While You Were Sleeping
You've Got Mail

As for the "winners", in 3rd place were Love, Actually and Moonstruck.
2nd place was a 3-way tie between How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Pretty Woman and When Harry Met Sally.

And the winner -- beloved by men and women alike -- The Princess Bride!! This 1987 film directed by Rob Reiner from the book by William Goldman, stars Robin Wright (before she added the Penn) and Cary Elwes as the romantic couple. It also includes a bevy of classic comics such as Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane and Christopher Guest. All, in all, a witty script, inventive action, an adorable child "narrator", and just a smattering of romance made this film the clear winner.



My personal favorite was Sweet Home Alabama. How could I not choose a movie the begins at Tiffany's where Reese Witherspoon gets to pick out an engagement ring. Both of the male protagonists are very likable -- Patrick Dempsey is um, er "dreamy" and Josh Lucas's southern accent gets me every time. Reese makes an engaging, sympathetic heroine and there are lots of cross-cultural laughs along the way.

Thank you again all for participating in this interesting experiment. If you would like to have a copy of my Excel spreadsheet listing many additional romantic comedy films, as well as the year they were released and the romantic leads please email me.

Til then, see you at the movies. We'll laugh, we'll cry and maybe someone will fall in love -- at least on the silver screen.

Mariah Carey Math

Today I have some math equations to share w/ you:

Way back on 7/14/1949 Tommy Mottola was born, making him 58 today. Then on 3/27/1969 Mariah Carey was born, making her 39 today. Next on 8/26/1971 Thalia was born, making her 36 today. Finally on 10/8/1980 Nick Cannon was born, making him 27 today.

Keeping with my chronological timeline, on 6/5/1993 Tommy Mottola and Mariah Carey were married. By my calculations, Mariah is just under 20 years younger than Tommy. Alas, Mariah and Tommy divorced on 3/5/1998, meaning their infinite love only lasted 6 years and 9 months. Fortunately, .00 children resulted from their divided union.

Happily, Tommy found love again w/ Thalia, and they married on 12/6/2000. Tommy is almost 22 years older than Thalia, but this did not stop their family from multiplying when daughter Sabrina was born on 10/7/2007. This only makes Tommy 58 years older than his daughter, so there is a chance 1 of her lucky classmates could be wife #3+ someday. For now, Tommy and Thalia are still married.

We all know that Mariah has had her ups and downs, and worn very little, since subtracting Tommy (and the clothing). For the past 6 weeks or so, she has been dating the 11 years younger Nick Cannon. Their blessed union began on 4/30/2008, making it IX days old today. As of this blog entry they have a total of 0.0 children.

What do all these statistics mean? My thoughts: Mariah needed an older man at the beginning of her career, namely the head of Sony Records. She also needed someone of means to give her the Princess Di modeled wedding of her dreams. When she hit 29, she decided to reduce her immediate family by 50%; she divorced the mogul and apparently lost 100% of her full-coverage clothing in the settlement. Now that she is as chart-topping as Elvis(!?) she can afford to have a low-key wedding in the Bahamas to a younger boytoy. As Napoleon Dynamite would say, "Lucky!"

In addition, Tommy could marry Thalia because he was still a rich music mogul, and she appears to be a younger singer/actress/trophy wife. Sabrina must be the product of a 6 & 5/6-year itch, or a way of adding $000s to any future divorce settlement.

Only time and math will tell what is next for these 3 beautiful adults, the baby, and Tommy.

Math sources = Internet Movie Database and People Magazine
Buy People Magazine, which I have read since I was 11 years old (that would be 32 years of continuous reading for the math geeks and curious among you).

PS: Check my figures!

Bush used to be a band

The other day my co-worker bought some Red Stripe for a St. Patrick's Day party she was planning to attend on Saturday. I asked about Red Stripe being Irish and she said it's Jamaican. I said that one of my favorite groups named Bush had a line out of a song that was "Red Stripe & vicodin" and I'd always wondered what Red Stripe was. My pop culture sadness is that when I mentioned Bush she looked at me all blankly and I could tell she was wondering why I liked a band named after our president. Now she grew up in Seattle, and was down w/ the music scene back in the day. She is 5 years younger than me but still! How did Bush go from being a major 90s band to lead singer Gavin Rossdale becoming known as Mr. Gwen Stefani? With all that talent, and those great songs, it just doesn't seem right. I mean, they made it commercially. I saw them in two sold out concerts - one in Missoula and one in Seattle. Even now when they want to allude to the mid-90s the show Cold Case plays their songs - a lot. My theory is the fanbase just got too old and since the band broke up @ the height of its fame, today's tastemakers just don't remember them. I think if Pearl Jam, Chris Cornell and others weren't still creating new music all of the grunge scene would be "dead". Nirvana is still known because Kurt Cobain really is dead. It's still great music. I'm sad. Your thoughts? Also who, if anyone, even comes close to that type of music these days? And don't even say Daughtry. They are fine, but they are no Bush, Pearl Jam or Soundgarden.

Old business

Finishing up slightly old business, I promised you a photo of my Oscar ensemble w/ details. Don't say you weren't warned!

Shoes by Propet from onlineshoes.com
Socks by Hot Sox from Obsidian Collection
Jeans by Chic from Pamida
Oregon Coast tee from Rick
Rhinestone bracelet from Cookie Lee
Turquoise/Lapis cocktail ring from Ebay
Blue topaz cocktail ring from QVC
Turquoise earrings and star rhinestone earrings from Obsidian Collection
Silver ball earring from Ebay
Eyewear from Liz Claiborne
Lipstick in Red Stiletto from Lancome w/ Clyde lipgloss from tarte
Eyeshadow from NYX
Bag by Hello Kitty from Ross Dress for Less

As to the results, I'm thrilled No Country for Old Men rocked the house. Much deserved win for Coen Bros. I was jumping up and down happy that Falling Slowly from the wonderful film Once beat out the Enchanted drivel. Katherine Heigl had a fantastic retro-looking red dress on. Mom made excellent potstickers and other goodies.

Now its bad movie season for until fall. I am a bit concerned that the Nielsen numbers were down for the live telecast. After the writer's strike uncertainty I would've thought the numbers would be up. Several of my movie loving friends didn't even watch live or at all because they believe the movies nominated aren't relative to what the movie going public actually watches. I could go on a long diatribe about how people are so used to mediocre movies, they won't take the time for excellence. But instead I will just say that I'm finally going to watch Into the Wild this afternoon, so am still enjoying nominated movies almost a month later. See you at the movies!

Oscar Fever Ramble

Yes the above picture does have something to do w/ today's post. Plus it makes me grin like a big 'ol doof to look @ it. Before I forget to tell you, the reason the pic is relevant is that when they weren't busy making Ocean's Thirteen, George & Brad found time to make a couple of little gems entitled Michael Clayton and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Have you heard of them? If not check your Oscar nominee list.

Today should be a national holiday as far as I'm concerned. It is Oscar day and preparing for tonight's telecast has been a labor of love for movies. Below is the list of nominated films I have seen in anticipation of the festivities that are Oscar:

3:10 to Yuma
American Gangster
Atonement
Charlie Wilson's War
Gone Baby Gone
Juno
La Vie En Rose
3/4 of Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
Once
Sweeney Todd
There Will be Blood

I wish I had seen The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Savages, Into the Wild, I'm Not There, Lars & the Real Girl, Bourne Ultimatum and In the Valley of Elah. To the best of my knowledge Jesse never came to Bozeman or Livingston and even though it has been released on DVD, it is not at Movie Gallery & is a "long wait" at the top of my Blockbuster.com queue. I don't understand this predicament as it is a western and this is Montana? Blockbuster sent me Elah, but it was the blu-ray version and it won't play in a regular DVD player, so I learned something new, but didn't see the movie!

I watched a smattering of Ratatouille w/ my beloved nephews Sullivan and Maxwell at Christmas, but really as a cat person, should a rat be ANYWHERE near a kitchen? I had given the film to brother Ira so he could remember the first movie he took Sullivan to the theater to see. I figure after they've watched it 100 times or so he won't forget hehe.

After watching the Independent Spirit Awards yesterday on IFC, there was a glaring omission to films that should have been nominated. I haven't seen Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (although I did try, but I got too hungry), but from the clips I've seen and what I've read how could it not have found a place on the same ballot that found a slot for Norbit. If you don't believe me about Norbit get your own ballot at http://www.oscar.com/

So you are probably dying to know what I would be tickled my favorite shade of pink to see win tonight:

Original Song: Falling Slowly from the little gem Once;
Original Score: The Atonement score by Dario Marianelli for inventive use of a typewriter as an instrument;
Makeup: La Vie En Rose's makeup because those Edith Piaf eyebrows kept me mesmerized throughout Marianne Cotillard's entire performance. I could NOT stop looking at them;
Cinematography: No Country for Old Men's bleak modern west photography, although I sure wish I'd seen the old west landscape of Assassination of Jesse James to compare. [Film geek note: Roger Deakins was the cinematographer on both movies as well as In the Valley of Elah, so he really deserves to win];
Adapted Screenplay: No Country for Old Men as I have heard the original book by Oprah darling Cormac McCarthy was as cheerful as watching baby seals being clubbed!;
Supporting Actress: Saoirse Ronan since she was by far the most interesting person in all of Atonement;
Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War. Javier Bardem was excellent in No Country, but Phil single-handedly stole the movie from always overrated Tom Hanks, was a sheer joy to watch in the talkety-talk, political movie, and was probably robbed of nominations for his performances in The Savages and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead;
Actor: George Clooney for Michael Clayton because he rocked as the off-his-game corporate fixer and will lose to histrionic Daniel Day-Lewis;
Director: The Coen Bros for their much deserved turn as directors of No Country for Old Men. I watched Fargo the other night since No Country isn't on video to watch again yet. They have been preparing for No Country since their first film Blood Simple, honed their craft in Miller's Crossing and darn near got it right in Fargo. Note to the brothers: The only lame movie you were ever accused of making had Tom Hanks in it;
Picture: Hands down for me the film of the year was No Country for Old Men. If it doesn't win it will be for the same reason one of my favorites Pulp Fiction lost 14 years ago to CGI filled overhyped Forrest Gump - violence. If it can't win my preferred order is: 1. No Country, 2. Juno, 3. Michael Clayton, 4. Atonement (at least it was pretty) & 5. There Will Be Blood (so "great" Mom and I had the whole theater to ourselves last Sunday).

I'm off for now for a pre-event nap, bath & accessory pick. We are scheduled to have potstickers & frozen pizza for our Oscar party at Chez Sháron (aka Mom's house). I'll check back very soon w/ a pic of my Oscar ensemble and reaction to the actual award winners.

With all that said, let the pre-awards show fashion trashin' begin.

G'Day Heath

Maybe I should call this the three day weekend blog, since I don't seem to be able to update it unless I have an extra day off. As a result today's topic is a bit belated, but very important to me nonetheless.

You may remember last time I mentioned that I have a weakness for high school movies and television. Because of this predilection, I was in severe shock the whole week surrounding Heath Ledger's untimely, tragic and supposedly accidental death. It took me until Saturday to watch my favorite film of his again. Yes, he packed a brief wallop in Monster's Ball, was brave and brilliant in Brokeback Mountain and much anticipated in The Dark Knight. But, my favorite movie of Heath's was his first real American movie. . . . 10 Things I Hate About You.

As a matter of fact 10 Things is on my list of top 3 high school films, along with She's All That and Drives Me Crazy. I literally could watch those three movies nonstop once a week or so.

Thanks to the website http://heathledger.piwko.pl/index.html I can remember Heath as he was above with screenshots of his 10 Things movie scenes. In the press that came out about his career after his passing, toward the end of his life, Heath had pretty much dismissed this movie as the first film someone would cast him in. Knight's Tale notwithstanding, he actively shunned the teen dream image in favor of more serious, artsy fare. However, 10 Things undoubtedly put him on the map and was a great start of a career cut too short.

Watching the film on Saturday, it has stood the test of time in that I still get a kick out of the Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew reworking. Heath was fresh, cute as heck and even sings in the film. Since initially seeing the film I have kept an eye on him as well as several other cast members: Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Susan May Pratt, David Krumholtz, Gabrielle Union and even Allison Janney. Joseph has also turned into an incredible indy actor with Brick and The Lookout to his impressive credit. Susan was in two out of the three hs movies mentioned above, since she also played a not-so-true friend in Drive Me Crazy. Julia has been in the Bourne trilogy, the first of which made me begin to re-evaluate Matt Damon. Allison was superb in The West Wing and the new recent classic Juno. David is doing Numb3rs on tv, but I remember him more for the memorable bit part he had on ER back in the Dr. Carter days. And finally, Gabrielle was also in She's All That.

So, my point is that 10 Things was a great starting point for several actors, with the brightest star being Heath. He will be missed by me and I'll always wonder what kind of work he would have treated us to in the future. I saw The Dark Knight preview yesterday in the theater and I will be seeing the movie this summer because of Heath. It looks like a creepy end to a career that started with a little big high school movie. I bet its THE blockbuster of the summer.

R.I.P. Patrick Verona