Movies to Watch For (Round 2)

So, I still haven't seen all of the movies from Round 1. Particulary, "Upside Down," - which hasn't made its way to theaters wide yet - "Apart," and "The Five Year Engagement" - which is now set to record from HBO and I will watch hopefully in the near future.

Here's some new ones that look kind of rad.

1. "Knights of Badassdom" - Okay, so actually this movie looks disgusting. But I will see it for two main reasons: the great Steve Zahn and Jimmi Simpson (it's Mary from "Psych"!). I'm also pretty sure I can persuade my geeky guy friends to see it with my by uttering the magic words, "Summer Glau," as she seems to be at the top of every geek-guy's list. Some back up reasons to see this movie include, but are not limited to, the hot brother from True Blood, Peter Dinklage (he's an angry elf), Abed from "Community," and, of course, LARP.


2. "The Kitchen" - I'll admit it. I have a bit of a lady boner for Bryan Greenberg. And he and Laura Prepon already have some excellent chemistry pre-established from their roles on the sadly short-lived "October Road," so I'm looking forward to this one.


3. "Into the White" - RON I'LL FOLLOW YOU ANYWHERE! (Except maybe not in the snow. You understand).


4. "The End of Love" - Looks like I might need a box of Kleenex in the theater with me.


5. "Small Apartments" - It's so colorful. And I mean that in the literal snese. Also, Billy Crystal, James Marsden and Rebel Wilson. I've said it before: Rebel Wilson is my spirit animal.

Gatsby the Great

Happy Wednesday, everyone! You want to know why it's happy? Because the trailer for Baz Luhrmann's Great Gatsby adaptation is finally here! Yay! (Ok, that's enough exclamation points).

Ok, so I have to admit, I've been waiting for this trailer in both excitement and dread. Don't get me wrong, I really do love Baz Luhrmann. I love his style and his pace and his vividness. But...when I read Gatsby, I read it as a slow, melancholic ballad that just did NOT seem to mix with anything like "Moulin Rouge" or "Romeo + Juliet."

Look at that Gatsby smile.

There was a film made in 2000 starring Toby Stephens as Gatsby and Paul Rudd as Nick Carraway. Sure, it's not as exciting as a Luhrman film, but it is a darn good faithful adaptation of one of my favorite books. It has the melancholy, the jazz, and almost a film noir experience. Also, Rudd made me not hate Nick. I'm not saying it should be compared to the new Luhrmann film, but I do think, if you liked the book, you should check out this one too.

That being said, now that I've seen the new trailer, I'm as excited as ever. It definitely has a freshness to it that I can't dismiss. Baz has not only adapted but transformed the classic in a way that is going to bring life to the 1920s (something that I haven't really seen before in a film). I'm not going to criticize if it's isn't as faithful an adaptation as the Stephens version, because then what would be the point in adaptations and remakes in the first place? Part of the wonder of transformative works is seeing how different people interpret and express the same initial idea or story. I, for one, am really looking forward to this experience.

So, without further ado, the trailer:



By the way, if anyone is interested...I wrote a lesson plan for teaching Great Gatsby to high school students, and I would be more than happy to share it.

Archery is Sexy

Archery has been really hot in shows and movies lately, and this makes me super happy. So, to prove to you all that archery is sexy sexy, I have compiled a list of awesomes that rock the sport.

1.The Huntsman.  Jamie Dornan plays the Huntsman - you know, the one that's supposed to kill Snow White? - on ABC's hit Once Upon a Time. He handles all weapons quite adeptly, but he's particularly rad with the bow and arrow. But I might be just a little biased. Also, his yummy Irish accent doesn't hurt. (Gotta love an Irish bloke).

2. Legolas.  To this day, it is Orlando Bloom's greatest role. I mean, I loved Pirates and I really loved Elizabethtowm - sup, Cameron Crowe? - but we all first fell in love with the elfish blonde with the wicked aim.

3. Hawkeye. Okay, so I'm only a novice Marvel lover. I've read Spider-man and loved all the recent Marvel movies (especially X-Men). But other than that, I'm pretty unknowledgeable. So, I didn't even know who Hawkeye was until the end of the Thor movie. And I know I've seen Jeremy Renner in other movies, but I can't really place him. Either way, when I realized that the Avengers included a kick-ass archer with the coolest arrows I've ever seen...well, you could say I was pretty excited. And he didn't disappoint.

4. Robin Hood.  There've been numerous Robins...but we all know Cary Elwes was the greatest. Just look at that mustache. A man in tights TIGHTS tights

5. Katniss.  When I read the Hunger Games, I thought it was so cool that its heroine was not only a crack shot archer, but shooting with handmade bows and arrows. I'd really like to make my own now. I've never shot barebow, so I was a little confused by the appearance of Jennifer Lawrence's form before I realized the difference. Apparently she trained pretty hard and became quite a good archer. Of course, posters and scenes from the film aren't going to represent her skills too well because they movie makers are more concerned with her just appearing bad ass.

6. Me.  I shot for about two years in college and it was awesome. If you haven't tried it, it's one of the most therapeutic activities. You can relieve so much stress, just make sure you turn your elbow out because if that string hits it at that high speed you'll be sure to regret it. Also, it can be cathartic if you're pissed off at someone because you can just imagine their face in the bullseye (or just tape a picture in there). Anyway, I had to leave archery behind when I left Cali. I miss my bow. I wish I had a huge backyard to set up a target on.

Happy Erg Valentine's Day

Like I said yesterday, I'm not the biggest fan of Valentine's Day. It could possibly have something to do with the fact that my last serious relationship pretty much ended on V-Day. But to be honest, I never cared much for the holiday in the first place. I hate pink. And I don't like the idea of going out to a fancy, expensive dinner when the food will probably be rush-cooked and restaurant will be crowded anyway. Just stay in and be comfortable and do the night-out thing another time.

Also, Cupid just creeps me out. I mean, who really wants a fat naked baby shooting them with an arrow? Hello, ouch. And that Cupid baby is just going to grow up to be a pervert and a sociopath anyway. And he will most likely be afflicted with delusions of grandeur, thinking he can just fly around wearing nothing but a pair of wings and a quiver.

Nuh uh, not having it.

What I do always appreciate about V-Day, however, is my dad. My dad is my forever Valentine because he always gets me a ludicrous amount of chocolate. And he's also just a good dad in general. (I swear I'm not sucking up. He doesn't even know I keep a blog and wouldn't read it if he did.)

(that's me, fyi)

So, in honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share a little blurb I wrote a few months ago after a writing prompt told me to. Mainly because I'm vain, and also because I just reread it today and still like it.

She touched the little box in her pocket and smiled. She knew she probably shouldn’t keep it. The right thing to do would be to put it back where she found it, which was in her step-sister’s second to bottom drawer. But she wasn’t interested in doing the right thing. Not this time. So she walked out of the house and turned the corner. Down the street she went, that little box along with her, until she reached her destination. The doors to the post office swung open and she stopped at the back of the line. She reached into her purse and found the slip of paper with the address scribbled on it. Her step-sister’s boyfriend’s address. Not her “local” boyfriend, who wrote her all the notes contained in that little box. No. The address was to her “real” boyfriend, the one she left back in Michigan with a promise to be faithful, who was about to be in for a rude awakening. Happy Valentine’s Day, sister dear. 


Also, here's a V-Day Haiku I wrote a few years ago that won a contest. 
My dear ex-boyfriend,
Thanks for dumping me before
You gave up showers.

 That is all. Have a great ahem holiday.

It's a Toss Up

Two weeks ago the Bears lost to the Packers at the championship. Tonight, the Packers went on to win the Super Bowl game. I was unsure of who I'd be rooting for since I don't like the Packers on principle (Bears fan) and, though I believe the Steelers are a better team, I am not a big fan of Roethlisberger (for obvious reasons.) However, I found myself cheering on the Steelers throughout the game and was let down when they lost. Not so much because I cared more about them, but because I really thought there was no way they would lose to the Packers.

(I did hear rumors that the Steelers were out partying a lot this week, so maybe that contributes, but they played a good game in the second half).

I was less impressed with the half time show. I'm not a big fan of the Black Eyed Peas and was even less a fan of Fergie's sparkly shoulder pads. Slash's appearance provided some redemption for the show but I can imagine the shame he must have felt to allow Fergie to butcher "Sweet Child of Mine." Usher's appearance was pretty cool, he maybe could have pulled his pants up a little more, but I'm honestly surprised we didn't see the Beiber pop up as well.

Anywho, I had a little Super Bowl party and I just have to say, I love my friends. Good food, good company, and an overall good game (even though I'm now going to have to put up with smug Packer fans until the end of time).

By the way, a coworker of mine had $1500 riding on the Steelers. Sucks to be him right about now, wouldn't ya say?

Black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow.

News of the Day

In the world: It’s Guy Fawkes Day! I know, it means pretty much nothing here. But whatever. I think it’s significant, and I wish I could be there sharing in the festivities. I love celebrations and it looks like fun. I posted signs around my workplace saying “Remember, remember the 5th of November…” I think people appreciated it...really, they did. This just goes to show how much I wish I lived in England...I really do.

In the Nation: We have a new president; the first African American president. Regardless of what you think of him, this is an historical moment.

And sadly, author Michael Crichton died today at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer. His death was unexpected and my heart goes out to his family and friends. I will always love him, because he brought me Jurassic Park, and opened my eyes to the wonders of dinosaurs at a very young age. Also Jeff Goldblum (Independence Day anyone?). Thank you Michael.

On the home front:  My NANOWRIMO word count is still at last night’s 1,020 because I haven’t had time to work on it yet today. (Stinkin’ homework). But,

“Big Boned” came in for me at the library today so I can look forward to reading it, more like devouring it, over the weekend.

I will be spending the weekend at my aunt’s house in San Diego to babysit “the boys” while the family attends a wedding up north. I am looking forward to taking some time away from campus to spend by myself doing whatever I want (i.e. writing my novel, reading Meg Cabot, and watching movies until my eyes hurt). Not to mention that I get to hang out with three of the coolest dogs EVER.

(Especially Louie, my good friend).