Monday, February 23, 2009

Punjab! Buy out the eight o'clock show

I adore going to the movies.

Did you know that about me?  

I went by myself to see Napoleon Dynamite opening weekend at the Broadway Theatre, along with about eight other people (nobody was there because nobody knew what it was when it first opened) and I laughed my guts out.  Gosh.

"Sitting in the darkness, popcorn on my knee, welcome to the movies, Rosie, wait and see!"

I'll go see almost anything, I love it all.  Slapstick comedy?  Yes.  Heartbreaking tragedy?  I'll bring the tissues.  Action/Adventure complete with car chases and gunfights?  You bet.  I'll take your romantic comedy, your family fun, your zombie infections, and your brilliant animation, hollywood, and I'll enjoy watching every minute.  Even if the movie is terrible, I love cataloging what was bad about it and figuring out how I would make it better.  

If it's bad, I usually blame the editors.  They can make or break a movie, in my opinion.   The movie editors are the unsung heros and villains of film making.  (Except in the case of The Happening.  How M. Knight Sham-a-lam-a-ding-dong could turn Mark Wahlberg and Zoey  Deschanel into bad actors is beyond me.)

But I also love the soundtracks (Hello?  Vanilla Sky is unpredictable and enchanting in its use of music.  "I'm pickin' up good vibrations, she's givin' me exite-ations . . . " so, so good.)  I adore a well choreographed car chase or action sequence.  I get chills as I watch sweeping shots of landscape to set the scene for an epic story of love, good vs. evil, or historical triumph and despair.

Are you convinced?   I love the movies.  And last night I thought Hugh Jackman* was flawless, Anne Hathaway was gorgeous, and I didn't like Nicole Kidman's feathers by her boobs.   

I'm so glad the musical is back*.  Man, I'm a sucker for a musical.  

Thank you, Hollywood, for a return to good old fashioned entertainment, gorgeous gowns, and a few hysterical moments.  

Did you watch?  What did you think?

*If you missed it, just go to www.youtube.com and search for "oscar opening" and "hugh jackman oscars."  Hopefully you can find the clips because they are so worth watching.

10 comments:

jamirodana said...

I agree! I love the movies! I thought Hugh did a fabulous job.......so smooth and cute and just the right amount of funny.
Loved the Ben Stiller being Joaquin, random and hilarious.
Wish I would watch some R movies because I really want to see Slum Dog Millionaire, but oh well.
I also enjoy the musicals, it reminds me of doing Stake Musical's growing up(although not quite as good as the real stuff) and reminds me of my Dad, who was a HAM on stage.
I enjoyed the Oscar's!

diana said...

I think I will always have to refer to him as M. Knight Sham-a-lam-a-ding-dong from now on! That's perfect.

I missed the Oscars but I heard that Heath Ledger won. Did someone in his family accept for him? I thought that might be a powerful moment.

You've got me in the mood to go see a movie! Time to check out what's playing at the $3 theater so Marley and I can go on a day date!

That's Ms. Amy to You... said...

Nice Annie reference. I enjoy the movies, but see FAR fewer now that I have kids. I just don't have the energy to sneak out to the 9pm show after they've gone to bed (with my husband at home safely watching the kids).

I watched the last half hour of the Oscars & was appalled at Kate's appearance. Seriously, she needs to fire her stylist and hairdresser. They aged her by about 15 years. But I'm glad she won & fully intend to sneak out & see The Reader. Sometimes you can't let an R rating keep you away from good cinema. And Meryl & Anne were LUMINOUS.

Christie said...

Here's the weirdness that is me:

I feel EXACTLY the same way you do about movies. But I cannot force myself to watch the Oscars. All the political statements the actors make in their speeches drive me CRAZY. I do buy People mag and study all the dresses, but I can't bear the actual Oscar night.

Still want to be my friend?

Liz said...

I fully agree with Ms. Amy: Poor Kate! She looked terrible. As far as ratings go: I use my own good judgement.

And Christie: I couldn't care less about their political statements, but I love the performances (honestly, click on my links to watch their musical numbers. They were great)

and Dana: Ben Stiller doing Joaquin Phoenix on the Late show was hysterical.

Diana: Coraline was great, is Marley old enough to get scared? If Despereoux's tale is being told at the $3 theatre, that's a good one too. The art direction in both movies was fab-o.

Anyone else?

RyanH said...

I watched! We DVR'ed it so that we could skip the thank yous (except for the people we wanted to watch, could have skipped Sean's commentary).

But I agree, Hugh did a fantastic job, Stiller was brilliant, and I'm glad Slum Dog did as well as it did, I loved the movie.

I also love the musical, but I really wish they would have cast someone else instead of Pierce Brosnan in Mama Mia. Oh well...

Oh, and I'll second the Coraline comment, that movie was brilliantly done, and if you can watch it in 3D, do it :)

Linette Smith said...

here's a segway into a bad dream - katie's friend is here whose husband works for UPS. i guess i had a nightmare once where a young mother (who looked a lot like you) was throwing boxes at UPS in the middle of the night. I'm glad that was a nightmare that i could wake up from. In my dream this young mother was keeping up with the guys.

The Yarn Queen said...

Okay you can have all of my movie tickets. Well almost I will need one about one every other year.

The White House said...

Okay I think you should get an award for your hillartities(thats I how I spell it). I love the way you put your experiences, you keep it real and oh how I can related to the child dramas and the love of watching movies. Or the ability to escape and have your very own drink and popcorn. About the Oscars it was fabulous they kept it funny and personal/intimate. Hugh Jackman was like a little kid on stage fulfilling his dreams. Loved loved looking at the amazing creations walking down the red carpet. Penelope Cruise had a dress that she purchased years ago and saved it for such an occation.

CJ, The Purple Diva said...

Well, until I read this I hadn't even thought about checking out youtube for videos of the night.
But now, I must say, I did enjoy the Musical and I've posted it. And yes, Hugh and Anne were great in the opening as well! Thanks!