an education

i've been wanting to see this film for such a long time.  i adore carey mulligan.  she makes me want to cut my hair again, to the REALLY short length.  i've heard such great things about it- the film.  i mean, rotten tomatoes gave is a 94%, so that's something.

i thought it was so lovely.  the filming, the costumes, the music.  all of it.  my only problem with the film was that the main girl- jenny- blames everyone around her for her mistakes.  she blames her parents for "pushing" her to make the mistakes she made, even though she's the one that made them... but she was only 17, so that's understandable. 

here are a couple of lovely shots from the film.

what i watched this past weekend...

i would like to start off by explaining that i am home alone, my family is in spain,  all of my friends over here are either ill or have gone home to visit their families... so, i've been watching plenty of stuff...

(click on the title to learn more)
someone like you: **** (it's good to be reminded that not all men are cows)
the wedding date: ** (did you realize that he only fell for her AFTER they slept together?)
the invention of lying: *** (since when was honesty and turrets synonymous)
fantastic mr. fox: ***** (i love literally EVERYTHING in this film.  if i could have a film describe my life, i would want it to be this one)
general conference: **************************(amazing.  these men and women are truly inspired)

film weekend

some weekends i just watch films.  sorry.  that's just who i am.

friday night, i went out to dinner and saw "bounty hunter" with a couple of friends.  i did not like this film, not even for a chick-flick (and i have lack standards on that).  the film was altogether unbelievable- the characters, the plot lines, the timeline... everything. boo.  also, jennifer a looked SO old.  it wasn't very appealing.

saturday night i rented two films from iTunes.  the first was "two for the road" with audrey hepburn and arnold finney.  i've never seen this film before, and i'm on a quest to see ALL of audrey's films.  i can't say that i liked it, but i didn't not like it.  i was just "emph" about it.  the ending was a little ambiguious and the timeline was a little confusing.  but the wardrobe was awesome.  go 60s!

 

and then, i watched "all the days before tomorrow."  i actually really liked this one.  at first, i was really confused, because they leave interpretation up to you as far as the ending goes.  but it was good.  it was kinda slow, but i didn't mind.  and it had these hilarious little "dreams" for the main character to discover little bits about himself.  i couldn't find a clip of the one that i wanted, but i found a compilation of clips, including a couple that i love.


[if you are at all interested in the films i've mentioned, check out the recent films column on the right and click on the title to watch a trailer... cool, huh?]

how i spend my nights

so, last night, i couldn't sleep.  you know what i did instead? i watched "you've got mail."  i know this movie gets a lot of crap for being really cheesy, but i actually like it... like a lot.  tom hanks is adorable.  and i think the plot is great... i like a story where the guy fights and changes for a girl.  girls do a lot of work...

3-D = my archnemisis

let me tell you a little bit about my day yesterday:

i went to the steinway & sons factory in london.  man, i love those pianos. -note to future husband: buy me a steinway- i played on three historic pianos.  the first was the original steinway.  the no. 1.  or at least an exact replica of one.  i couldn't find any pictures of it online and i was an idiot not to take my own piano.  but i got a t-shirt that says i played it! then i played the famous red or ferrari piano.  the last that i played was my favorite.  it was wagner's piano.  yes, as in THE wagner.  litz also played a little on this baby.  man, that was a good piano.  the soft pedal was so perfect.  and the keys... oooh.  anyways.  there you go.

then, that evening my family went out to westfield mall to see ALICE IN WONDERLAND in 3-D.  we accidentally bought tickets to see it in their "vip" theater.  think private bar, lounge, and reclining leather seats.  yeah, it was pretty comfortable.  still, i hate 3-D.  EVERYTHING was in 3-D: the previews, the ads, the film.  and sometimes they just used it to use it.  after about ten minutes, i already felt ill... vertigo perhaps.  anyways.  i enjoyed the film, just not the 3-D-ness.  then, when we went home, we went by bus.  yeah, and we sat in the back.  anyone who's ever gone my british bus before understands that that plus my existing nasuea would be a disater.  and it was. 

don't worry.  i'm alive and feeling much better.

the brothers bloom

i just saw this film with a star studded cast.  it was everything i want in a movie: witty, clever, atheistically pleasing, a little bit retro, and romantic.  this is a film you don't want to miss.  besides, bang-bang is hilarious!

just check out these stills:

seriously, watch this film. now.

the september issue

 

i just saw this movie today.   i loved it.  anna wintour's hair amazes me.  i want it when i'm as old as she.  i love grace and that '20s photo shoot she did.  i want her grace and creativity.

now i want to go shopping.  is that related?

It's Official

I've officially decided that my favorite Jane Austen stories are "Emma" and "Persuasion."

My least favorite: Mansfield Park
the most overrated: Pride and Prejudice (sorry ladies. maybe it's because there hasn't been an AMAZING version of it that makes me want to watch it 14 times over. i love the Colin Firth one, but I don't like the Lizzie in that version. I love the filming and the music of the newer one, but i didn't like the adaptation or kiera knightly. sorry.)

"Northanger Abbey" and "Sense & Sensibility" are also good ones, but still not my favorites...

that's all.

just another chick flick

confession: i enjoy the stupid, predictable, lusty chick flicks. (maybe lusty is the wrong word. i'm not a scank... but you know what i mean.) this trailer for "leap year" starring amy adams (my girl crush) and the guy from "brideshead revisited" looks really charming and chick-flicky. i know it's cheesy, but using my friend liana's term, it looks "cheestastic."

If

if you are a fan of BBC adaptations of Jane Austen books, you MUST see this version of Emma. It is the closest to the book I've seen. It has an amazing soundtrack (my personal favorite is the song that emma and knightely dance to.)

it's available on youtube or through the british iTunes.

big, but adorable mistake

i'm watching lady and the tramp right now. big mistake. i miss my lady and tramp, and their furry little bodies that used to cuddle with me on cold nights like these.



Bo. he acts like lady



kess. she looks like lady, but acts like tramp.

don't worry puppies. i come home in less than two weeks.

TREND ALERT: Domestic Violence

I just read this article, mocking Twilight. (If you are going to read it, i caution you: there are a couple of f-bombs. beware.) If you don't want to read it, I'll just summarize it for you. Basically, Twilight promotes domestic violence. You may think it's crazy, but it isn't. The love interests in Bella's life are violent. Edward throws her across a room. Jacob has no control over his temper. He even talks about it. If you want more details, read the article. It, despite being funny, also brings up some really good points. There is a weird trend of domestic violence... thank you Chris Brown.

(I got this article at the same place where I got the previous Twilight article.)

New Movies

here are a couple of movies that i want to see:
nobody: i'm jumping on the "sam rosen is attractive" wagon.
paris: who doesn't love a foreign film about paris?
humble pie: looks amusing enough
la danse: ballet and french. perfect.
bright star: doomed love.
the imaginarium of dr. parnassus: health's last film. should be interesting, even if the trailer makes NO sense.
princess and the frog: a really fun idea.

New Moon

Just saw New Moon yesterday. Here's what i thought:

- acting: better, but i still don't like stewart's voice.
- special effects: sweet. much better.
- music: good.
- story: much clearer and easier to follow
- characters: i don't like being manipulated into being attracted to someone younger than my brother. i'm no cougar. so, i thought jake was a little disgusting. ed needs to tone up, and pull his pants up. bella needs to suck it up, be a man, and not just stand there and take it. fight girl. you have no issue slapping a half-naked indian with biceps the size of your torso, but when a guy tells you he all the sudden doesn't love you anymore, what? you freeze up? please.
- humor: i actually laughed when i was supposed to, for the most part. i couldn't hold it in during alice's vision though. anyone else have flashbacks to sound of music?

i saw this for free, and i only went because i wanted to spend some time with my friends. although, i thought it was good, i don't really have any interest in seeing it again. i just can't STAND bella!

anyways. well done summit movies.

ps i decided chris pine is who i envisioned as edward while reading the books. anyone else? he's super fine. ahh... don't get me started on Star Trek! AHHH!

CAUTION: Long Post

so, i decided that in order to mock Twilight without being hypocritical, i would first have to see it. so i gave in and watched it.

here's what i thought:
- acting= terrible. i can't STAND stewart's voice. anyone else want to duct tape her mouth shut? she sounds like a bad lindsay lohan.
- music= pretty good. except i thought "flightless bird, american mouth" was a poor choice for the end. yes, it's a pretty song, but it's also about political disillusionment in america... not quite a love song...
- story= weak. (someone would've had to have to book for it to make sense.)
- dialog= sometimes i laughed aloud, when i wasn't supposed to.
- cinematography= indifferent. wasn't bothered either way.
- special effects= ...special.
OVERALL: hmmm... not the best use of my time.

i read this on in an article, found here. i thought it was pretty funny.

"I have provided a little cheat sheet for adults who might want to see Twilight New Moon this weekend for some reason, but who don't want to actually sit through the unbearable two hours that is Twilight Old Moon.

• Teenage vampires travel from high school to high school pretending to be incestuous siblings, because that is just a smart cover story.
• Teenage vampires always sit in a semi-circle around their cafeteria lunch table facing away from each other, it just makes it easier to give everyone "[screw] me" eyes.
• Vampires know just where to find rays of sunlight in an otherwise gray forest, FACT.
• When you transfer to a new school, it will somehow be prom right away.
• Vampires of all ages love to play Vampire Lightning Baseball.
• Although vampires can hit baseballs very, very far, the outfielders must remain at a regulation distance from home plate during every at-bat, and then run fast into the woods to find the ball.
• If you're a bad vampire, wearing shirts is optional.
• It only takes two hours to drive from coastal Washington to Phoenix, Arizona.
• Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) can read everyone's mind except Bella Swan's (Kristen Stewart)--perhaps a "she is clinically brain dead" twist in future episodes?
• Werewolves used to be really awkward and goofy looking when we didn't know they were werewolves, but then werewolves put on 30 pounds of muscle and somehow that also fixed the werewolves' face?
• Vampires cannot go out in the sun because their skin sparkles and everyone will know they are vampires (or extras in a Lady Gaga video), but vampires CAN live in giant glass houses that let in as much sunlight as possible, no problem.
• Vampires never go surfing because surfing belongs to the werewolves.
• In a town of 3,000, you know that at least eight of them are going to be rapists, and they are all going to try and rape you together.
  
• Vampires drive their hybrid cars like Vin Diesel drives his dinner trays.
• You can throw off a Tracker Vampire by rubbing a hoodie on a tree.
• There are Tracker Vampires.
• Some vampires have psychic visions that can only be transcribed in charcoal drawings, you just never know, different vampires have different powers, sometimes, apparently.
• If you are a bad vampire who hangs out in a crew of bad vampires, and one of those bad vampires is black and has dreadlocks, watch out for him, because he will betray you for no reason, right away.
• Although in times of distress it would probably be faster for vampires to use their superspeed to get away, sometimes they just like to drive!
• Sometimes vampires have venom and sometimes they don't?
• If you are a good vampire and you are about to kill a bad vampire, you should try and restrain yourself and remember that you are a good vampire. The easiest way to do this is by letting other good vampires kill the bad vampire.
• Going back to Vampire Lightning Baseball for a second: it is important to wear a non-denominational "baseball" hat in a way that makes you look like a special needs child.
• Werewolf dads are very concerned with whether or not their human friends' daughters are dating teenage vampires, and will pay their teenage werewolves human money to try and break up these relationships that have nothing to do with them."

if you like mocking Twilight (or at least the first movie), read the article. it's pretty funny.

August Rush

is an amazing movie. i can't believe it took me this long to watch it. i'm a fool.

(500) Days of Summer

I saw this movie. And I liked it.

Coco Avant Chanel

I would like to start out by saying that I just adore Audrey Tatou! She is just such an amazing actress. Also, I adore Coco Chanel's sense of fashion. Every outfit she wore, I wanted. Especially her fisherman inspired top. Yum!

The story was incredibly sad, but then again, most geniuses' stories are sad: Vincent Van Gogh, John Constable, Nick Drake, etc. The movie seemed real, though. Some biographical movies don't seem all that real. But this did. I loved how cynical she was, but then how she became so happy because of her love for "Boy." I didn't think he was especially cute, but I loved their relationship: how he wasn't ashamed of her, when they'd quote philosophers, ect. It was sweet.

All in all, I liked the movie. A lot. I'll probably buy it when it comes out, and add it to my "Beautiful Memoirs" collection. (which is currently Miss. Potter and Finding Neverland.)







My favorite outfit


Compare this picture with the one below. They could be sisters.


The woman, herself.

What A Nice Surprise!

Yesterday my mom and I were completely exhausted from feeding 40+ missionaries for their zone conference lunch, so we curled up on the couch with the leftover chicken salad sandwiches, and we rented 17 Again. I was pleasantly shocked. I had no idea Zac Efron could act when he didn't have to dance or sing, or look brooding (think Hairspray.) I thought the movie was cute, and, like my Mom said, it's so NOT Hollywood, which was a nice change.



Point Efron. (Still two up on you for all the HSMs. Sorry.)

*Random observation: he was quite attractive with his shades, but as soon as he took them off, I was no longer attracted... I just don't like his eyes, they're too young... or something.*

Best Movie

Alright, I've decided. Audrey Hepburn's best movie is Charade, where she stars face to face with Cary Grant. Classy. Intense. Witty. Fun. Lovely.







Runners Up:
Roman Holiday with Greggory Peck
How to Steal a Million with Peter O'Toole
and of course, Breakfast at Tiffany's with George Peppard