Netflix

So now that I have all this time before I start school I've been watching movies like a crazy person. I upped my netflix to getting three movies at one time and guess what? I'm keeping up with watching them - hey no one is more surprised than me! Some of the movies I've seen are:
Oceans 12 (cutie Brad Pitt and George Clooney)
Oceans 13 (same as above)
Hairspray (Christopher Walken singing and dancing - John Travolta as a woman - very funny)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (hysterically funny with yummy Robert Downey Jr.)
Dexter Season 1 (can't wait for season two!!)
Waitress (SEE THIS MOVIE - it's FABULOUS)
Knocked UP (cute and funny, score one for the goofy guys)
Stranger Than Fiction (Probably my favorite Will Farrell movie- great concept)
3:10 to Yuma (should have been 3:10 to YUMMY Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. Great story, great movie)
Velvet Goldmine (fabulous)
Gone Baby Gone (fabulous)

But it hasn't all been good
Into The Wild (BIG disappointment- the lead actor simply wasn't good)
I tried to watch The Tudors but it was like watchin soft porn and frankly I'm just not into that period of history enough to want to figure out what the hell is going on. I mostly got it to look at Jonathan Rhys Myer.
Lastly and probably the biggest disappointment was Nine Inch Nails All That Could Have Been. Now you all know how I feel about Trent - but the Trent at that period of time was just sad. High on whatever and acting like as asshole. Seen enough of that in person, I don't need to see it on DVD.

My next three movies that are coming are:
Rescue Dawn (I like war movies and westerns and it's Christian Bale again!)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (supposed to be good)
Bend It Like Beckham (I've seen this a million times and I just love it)

OK well it's getting late and I was up until 3am last night so I've off to bed. I'll leave you with a little more Big Head Todd.

Movies, Movies, Movies

With school over for the time being I have this thing called time. Time do whatever I want, time to sit and do nothing if I want. I've never been that great at having unstructured time. What I mean by that is I can literally waste away an afternoon not doing anything. I guess that's not too bad these days but when I had stuff to get done for school it was not a good "talent" to have.

So with all of this time I've been catching up on my movie watching. In the past week or so I've seen The Darjeeling Limited (I loved it, I know a lot of people who didn't). I rewatched Talladega Nights with my niece Friday night which is always hysterical. I watched Gone Baby Gone which I commented on in my last post but I have to say again was so good I'd watch it again tomorrow - Casey Affleck was tremendous. Yesterday I watched Velvet Goldmine with Jonathan Rhys-Myers, Christian Bale and Ewan McGregor. It's movie I've always wanted to see and it did not disappoint. There is a a David Bowie like "character"(Rhys-Meyers) and an Iggy Pop like "character" (McGregor). Everyone is bi-sexual and I don't think McGregor wears a shirt for the entire movie. In the end it's a love story but a sad one. Eddie Izzard plays the manager and he of course is fantastic. I highly recommend this to anyone who is into the whole glam rock thing of the 70's.

Last night I watch Runnin Down a Dream: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. 4 HOURS of uninterrupted Tom Petty that starts way back in the Mudcrutch days. For a complete fanatic like me this is like heaven. They didn't get into any personal stuff that didn't directly have to do with the band - if it effected the band they talked about it. It was FABULOUS. No narration just interview after interview. It walks you through every step of his career, shows the progression of who he worked with (The Willbury's, Cash etc) and sadly shows the untimely death of bass played Howie Epstein (heroin).


Even if you are just a casual fan - I think this is a movie you will enjoy. And I have to say it was a nice break from all of the Iraq War movies I have been watching for my research. I'll continue to watch those too, just not in large blocks as I was doing before.

Fur

It took five days but I'm finally feeling human. I actually thought I might make it into work today for a little bit but then common sense kicked in. Why overdo it on the first decent day. Monday is soon enough...the work will be there.

I couldn't do much but watch tv or dvd's which was kind of a treat because I don't ever watch movies because of school. I had picked up the first season of Bones at Target on Sunday so I watched all 22 episodes (I love that show) - that's right - all 22 episodes and I never got bored.

The real highlight though was the movie Fur. My friend Maria had been trying to get me to watch this for months and I simply just didn't have the time. So to make it easier for me she bought it for me for Christmas. I watched it Wednesday night and watched it again today. The movie is brilliant. Watch the trailer:


Now before I go any further with this let me be clear. This is a fable type movie. The woman that Nicole Kidman is portraying is Diane Arbus. She was a very famous photographer who photographed people on the fringe of society. This movie is portraying something that could have happened in her world - something that may have pushed her out of her everyday life and into the life she wanted. It is in no way a true story.

Robert Downey Jr plays a man with hypertrichosis named Lionel who looks like this. He moves in upstairs from Diane and her family. For reasons she doesn't yet understand Diane is immediately interested in her new neighbor. She goes to his place with the intention of taking his portrait but instead he introduces her to another whole side of life.

The movie is a fascinating study in intimacy. Real, true intimacy between people who completely get each other. If you saw the director's other movie Secretary, with Maggie Gylenhall and James Spader then you get what kind of stories this director is attracted to.

I loved everything about this movie - the character portrayal, the way it was shot, the music - everything. BUT this is not a movie for everyone. It's definitely an "art house" type film. That being said it's a beautiful love story - one that I think everyone could enjoy if they just suspend belief for 90 minutes.

I am a little bias because I am a HUGE Robert Downey Jr fan - all the way back to Weird Science (what a great flick).


I think he's fabulous and damn sexy - even covered in fur

I am however NOT a Nicole Kidman fan but she is great in this movie - and the two of them together are just perfect.

Really...just see the movie. I think you'll like it.

Soldiers & The Holidays

Last night I watched The Ground Truth. This is a documentary that talks to 6 men and women about their service in Iraq. It'll break your heart. The stories are so different but in the end the same.





I highly recommend this movie to everyone. It doesn't matter if you are for the war or against the war - there is something to be learned for everyone.

One of the most unbelievable parts is when one of the men who has lost his hand is asked but someone how he lost it. He answers "the war" and the person asking says "what war" and the soldiers answers patiently "the war in Iraq". The other person then asks him "Oh that is still going on?" How is it that we have reached this level of apathy? It's disturbing and disgusting.

While I was on the The Ground Truth website I came across a website called anysoldier.com. This is way for people to be involved directly with the troops. You can send as little as a postcard or as much as a care package. There are pretty specific directions but I think making a soldiers days is worth a little reading. Don't you?

Oh - and this is important. Any of you have received that email about sending cards to "A Recovering American Soldier" should know that it's not a valid message. According the Dept. of Defense Walter Reed cannot accept any mail that isn't addressed to a particular person. Go the website above and send them something!

Lastly - my friend Tyler has posted this very moving video. Take 5 minutes to watch it.

Speaking of...
more days!!