I was looking at upcoming movies and stumbled upon the trailer for The Young Victoria starring the very talented Emily Blunt. It doesn’t open until mid December, but I am happy with the trailer for now! Ah-mazingly enough the trailer had TWO of my favorite scores as underscore. There are three pieces total: I believe the first is a piece composed for this trailer specifically, the second is a piece titled Here Comes the King, again by X-Ray Dog (previous post), and the final piece is PM’s Love Theme from the film Love Actually, composed by Craig Armstrong! Quite the epic selection for this epic period piece. I’ll be honest, I will be making the trip to see it in theaters.

Take a look at the trailer!

I’ve just seen this article and had to share. I love Bridget Jones and indeed the two films are integral to our Christmas movie viewing; an annual event in the Briston-Hill household it has to be said. It brought a smile to my face to see the below photographs and of course the illustrious Apple Mac product placement to boot. Well, how else will Bridget write up her thought evoking diary now-a-days?!

You can read the article here

Cx

some days, i wonder what
it’s like to not be the
odd girl dining alone
in a restaurant or coffee shop
scribbling notes.

i can feel that tinge
of loneliness in the
cold breeze and bright
city lights.the longing
for something you never had…

to hold hands with someone
while looking up at
the fireworks…

 still on my wish list, waiting to be crossed out.
 

Christmas is my favourite time of year. I have fantastic memories of Christmases past. I knew as a little girl that I wanted to get married at Christmas time and on December 20th, Alec & I will celebrate 6 years of wedded bliss – well, probably a combined total of 3 years of bliss interrupted by relationship growing pains and learning tolerance for each other…but those moments are rewarded by more bliss.

I’m nauseating myself.

Back to Christmas. It’s in one month. I’ve started the shopping, tomorrow we start the decorating…I need to figure out when I will be baking – won’t be a grand haul of baked goods as in years gone by, but it will be enough to keep guests and Santa happy.

One of our Christmas traditions is watching movies. As much as I love watching classic movies like “An American In Paris” - which I can recite line by line because I’m that corny, when it comes to Christmas, I’m not that refined. Here’s my top 5 Christmas movies – in no order as I actually can’t put a value on them.

1. A Christmas Story. I wish I had nephews to send pink bunny costumes to. And I want a leg lamp.

Seriously.

2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Any Christmas movie with the line “Bend over & I’ll show you” is an automatic winner for us. Plus, when we have a bigger house, I know Alec’s new nickname is going to be Sparky – I’ll have the town’s emergency vehicles standing by to catch him when he falls off the roof with his staple gun. Also, it probably bears mentioning that I’ve had a serious crush on Chevy Chase probably since I saw him in The Three Amigos when I was 10 – and I learned what a plethora was.

3. Mickey’s Christmas Carol. That Scrooge McDuck gets me every time.

4. It’s a Wonderful Life. Probably the only true classic, but I really, really, love Jimmy Stewart – and although I love him best in Harvey, he is great as George Bailey. Another bonus with this flick is that Statler doesn’t get it. She watched it for the first time last year & thought it was boring – the moral of the story was completely lost on her. While living in California I think Jimmy’s house was the only picture I took on the celebs house circut….well also Jeff Goldblume’s house but that’s another story – he has a nice green Jag & buys his toilet paper at Costco.

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas. It’s hard to find a Christmas special or movie these days that have anything to do with Jesus. This one is fantastic. I love Mr. Schulz.

And honourable mention goes to Love Actually, just because I do love chick flicks and Alan Rickman is in it. I am sure that if velvet had a voice it would be that of Alan Rickman.

I also think I should get a gold star for not using any fuck words in this post.

Shit.

Its about that time when I give into the powers that be, and begin to play my favorite winter tunes that keep me warm despite the cold (or, not so cold in the case of this winter). I’ve created ‘A Snowy Playlist’ of recommendations in my iTunes that I want to share with you.

(Both songs and original movie scores are included, as I am a sucker for a good compilation)

A Snowy Playlist:

All That I Want- The Weepies

Wish You Well- A Fine Frenzy

PM’s Love Theme- Craig Armstrong from Love Actually

Men of Snow- Ingrid Michaelson

2000 Miles- Coldplay

Winterlove- Parachute

Winter Song- Sara Barielles & Ingrid Michaelson

Cry- Hans Zimmer from The Holiday

The Heartache Can Wait- Brandi Carlile

Christmas Time is Here- A Fine Frenzy

There was an emotional void, and it needed filling:

♦ Brittani’s romantic life has suffered some … setbacks … lately
♦ I hadn’t seen April in weeks
♦ We’d all been working too hard, and I for one have been far too much of a homebody lately

Solution?

A good old-fashioned Girls’ Night.

Whilst preparing to add the whipped cream topping: "Here, you stir, I'll get it ready ... Oh, get it? Because it's 'Reddi'-Wip!"

Brittani and I agreed that there are various must-haves for an authentic Girls Night:

♦ A happy, crowd-pleasing movie
♦ Unhealthy victuals
♦ Booze
♦ Nail polish

I searched valiantly for little umbrellas, but to no avail ... I did find neon bendy straws, however.

We purchased all the ingredients needed for spiked faux-Italian soda, and Brittani crafted delicious concoctions for us. I also found some blackberry cobbler ice cream … heaven on earth.

Heaven. on. earth.

We lamented the lack of Pretty Princesses or Mall Madness – it would have completed the joyous archetype, but unfortunately/fortunately, none of us owned either.

We were quickly hungry, but as April started to put the pizza in the oven, Brittani stopped her in horror.

“You can’t put it in like that!” she said, aghast. She quickly started re-arranging the pepperoni slices haphazardly bunched in the middle of the pizza. “It has to be modular!”

After rampant giggling thwarted her first two attempts, Brittani coached herself, saying "Focus .... FOCUS ... " as her legs slowly rose into the air.

While we waited for the pizza and fries to bake, we started painting our nails.

Apart from an indistinguishable shade of light pink for my sister’s wedding two winters ago, I hadn’t painted my nails since I was maybe 16. Not surprisingly, I ended up begging April to help … and so did Brittani.

April was our lifesaver -- she only painted her toenails, and so as we waited for our fingernails to dry, she patiently performed any task we couldn't ourselves ... even fastening my belt for me after I used the bathroom.

(Photo by Brittani) I'm actually really digging my nails. It was distracting at first, but I'm enjoying the "girliness" of it. It's a fun change of pace to have something so frilly.

Brittani: "Men WISH they could have that mustache."

As for the movie, we went with a tried-and-true feelgood classic.

It was a wonderful night, all in all. Let’s do it again soon, yes?

I was watching “Love Actually” the other night and when the opening scene came on, I realized how true (and appropriate) it was for my blog. So I searched and searched for it on YouTube and finally found it. I apologize for the shotty quality of the video, but the words and message are the most important part.

I’m not sure exactly how many films I’ve seen in my lifetime.

It is probably over a thousand, the list below barely scratches the surface of all the films I’ve seen and it was surprisingly easy to come up with. Rather than systematically list films by era or genre I got my brother’s girlfriend Dawn to call out any films she could think of.

I thought of this idea about five minutes before I began typing and Dawn rattled off films as they came to her while I typed out brief verdicts for each one. I initially intended to create a system for rating but found it too restrictive so I just wrote a brief instinctual verdict for each one.

I have included a link to Rotten Tomatoes and the score of each film, I haven’t seen some of these movies in a very long time…

NOTE: The percentages at the end are not my scores but the percentage of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

1. Men in Black (1997) – meh (91% – seriously?!)
2. Fight Club (1999) – brilliant (80%)
3. Unforgiven (1992) – immense (96%)
4. Shaun of the Dead (2004) – decent (gets worse every time I watch it)
5. Memento (2001) – pretty good (93%)
6. The Departed (2006) – good (92%)
7. Aliens (1986) – the best sequel ever made (100%)
8. Reservoir Dogs (1992) – great characters and dialogue (95%)
9. American Beauty (1999) – uplifting, brilliant (the stupid bag scene apart) (89%)
10. Goodfellas (1990) – excellent (96%)
11. Predator (1987) – one of Arnie’s best (76%)
12. 12 Angry Men (1957) – captivating (100%)
13. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) – meh (78%)
14. Shawshank Redemption (1994) – really, really good (88%)
15. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – better than I expected (90%)
16. Sin City (2005) – flashy trash (78%)
17. Toy Story 2 (1999) – yep, it’s good (100%)
18. Bambi (1942) – I remember it being good (much to the amusement of Dawn and Sean, many gay jokes followed) (89%)
19. Final Destination (2000) -guff (30%)
20. Edward Scissorhands (1990) – pretentious crap (90%)
21. Stranger than Fiction (2006) – Surprisingly good (72%)
22. Shallow Grave (1995) – okay (71%)
23. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1996) – facepalm (49%)
24. Man on Fire (2004) – underwhelming (39%)
25. Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – meh (81%)
26. 28 Days Later (2003) – meh (88%)
27. Casino Royale (2006) – surprisingly really good (94%)
28. Psycho (1960) – I was expecting it to be better (98%)
29. The Flintstones (1994) – Jesus wept (18%)
30. Aladdin (1992) – good (92%)
31. Jackass: The Movie (2002) – hard to class as a film really, hit and miss(48%)
32. E.T (1982) – good (98%)
33. Independence Day (1996) – a glorified B movie (61%)
34. Titanic (1997)  – Good (81%)
35. Ring (2002) – fairly decent (71%)
36. Pulp Fiction (1994) – Tarantino’s best film by a long way (97%)
37. Hot Fuzz (2007) – fun (90%)
38. Monty Python: Holy Grail (1975) – classic (94%)
39. Good Will Hunting (1997) – good (97%)
40. Heat (1995) – pretty good, not great (89%)
41. Zodiac (2007) – boring (87%)
42. Little Mermaid (1989) – decent (90%)
43. Ghost (1987) – crap (80%)
44. Dirty Dancing (1987) – utter shit – that women like this film makes me wonder if they actually deserve equal rights (67%)
45. The Terminator (1984) – the best Terminator (100%)
46. Bean (1998) – a test of mental endurance, awful (41%)
47. The Mask (1994) – rubbish (76%)
48. Frailty (2002) – ridiculous (74%)
49. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) – shite
50. Donnie Darko (2001) – overrated pish (84%)
51. Apollo 13 (1995)– crap (96%)
52. Deep Impact (1998)– more crap (46%)
53. Volcano (1997) – even more crap (40%)
54. I know what you did last summer (1997)– yet more crap (36%)
55. The Matrix (1999) – first half decent rest shite (86%)
56. Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (2002)– boring (96%)
57. Addams Family Values (1994) – some good moments (74%)
58. Nightmare before Christmas (1993) – overrated, largely guff (97%)
59. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) – (see earlier blog) (75%)
60. Three Men and a Baby (1987) – sickening  (78%)
61. Transformers: The Movie (1986) – decent (haven’t seen it in 10 years) (50%)
62. Cruel Intentions (1999) – trash (47%)
63. Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels (1998) – good if a little overrated (71%)
64. Clerks II (2006) – absolutely fucking diabolical (62%, seriously what the fuck?)
65. Baby’s Day Out (1994) – horrific (23%)
66. Home Alone 2 (1992) – decent (17% – that seems harsh!)
67. Liar Liar (1997) – pretty bad (84%)
68. Babe (1995) – Jesus wept (98%)
69. The Simpsons Movie (2007) – unfunny crap from a show that is a pale shadow of what it used to be (90%)
70. Mr Nanny (1993) – a holocaust of a film (7%)
71. The Thing (1980) – really tense, really good (80%)
72. Blair Witch Project (1999) – doing something different doesn’t make it good (85%)
73. Run Lola Run (1999) – see above (92%)
74. The Santa Clause (1994) – crap (Dawn: “What’s the film with Tim Allen dressed as Santa Claus?”) (79%)
75. Silence of the Lambs (1990) – they really should have just stopped at this one, a fine film (96%)
76. Matilda (1996) – another crap Dahl adaptation (89%)
77. A Bridge too Far (1977) – the quintessential war movie (67%)
78. Rocky V (1990) – laughable (21%)
79. The Sting (1973) – really good (91%)
80. The Sword in the Stone (1963) – good (73%)
81. The Witches (1990) – crap (100%, what the fuck?)
82. Starship Troopers (1997) – entertaining trash (60%)
83. Love Actually(2003)  – hated it (63%)
84. White men can’t jump (1992) – I liked it despite itself (78%)
85. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1999)– a pointless sequel (48%)
86. A Bug’s Life (1998) – meh (91%)
87. Hollow man (2000)– hollow is an appropriate adjective (but I like Bacon’s character) (27%)
88. Jaws (1975) – good but overrated (100%)
89. Jerry Maguire (1996)– oh Christ (84%)
90. Dawn of the Dead (1978)– awesome (95%)
91. Drop Dead Fred (1991)– mindless crap (still haunted by my little sister’s repeat viewing of this monstrosity) (9%)
92. Braveheart (1995) – good (it’s a movie, not a history lesson) (76%)
93. Saw II (2005) – crap (35%)
94. Mouse Hunt (1997)– hated it (really wanted the mouse to die) (44%)
95. The Mummy (1999)– didn’t like it (54%)
96. George of the Jungle (1997)– crap (53%)
97. Leon (1994) – ludicrous garbage (74%)
98. Death becomes her (1993)– had its moments (56%)
99. Meet Joe Black (1998) – meh (49%)
100. Dog Soldiers (2002) – entertaining (79%)
101. Cool Hand Luke (1967) – the best film ever (100%)

mein Weihnachtsfilm seit 2003
:

Love Actually   Tatsächlich … Liebe
Darsteller: Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightly, Heike Makatsch, Bill Nighy, Martine McCutcheon
Musik: Craig Armstrong
Kamera: Michael Coulter
Drehbuch: Richard Curtis
Regie: Richard Curtis
Love Actually ist mein Weihnachtsfilm. Er hat für mich eben alle Zutaten für die Top 1. Verschiedene Erzählstränge, hübsche Mukke, gut geschnitten, keine Sekunde langweilig und wenn man ihn gesehen hat, dann muss man alle was umarmen. Der Film macht einfach Freude. Der Regisseur Richard Curtis hat auch das Drehbuch geschrieben und das ist ihm fein gelungen. Nichts stört, alles sitzt . Er ist wirklich nicht schmalzig, denn er zeigt auch die Einsamkeit und das ruhig und einfach nur schön.

Pink Sherbert Photography

In these moments.. Moments of pure bliss from the (figurative) hands of another person.. In these moments we begin to doubt.. We question the purity and simplicity of the sparkling chemistry.. We dig too deep to understand the rate of speed our liking is traveling.. We search for any modicum of negativity that proves that these flutters in our stomach are nothing more than the leftover moths of loves past..

We believe that this.. Thing.. We’ve come across is “too good to be true”.. The magnetism is a sign of trouble rather than a sign to forge ahead, even if carefully so.. We read into every questionable action but disregard the simple cues that he really is “into” us.. We focus on the minute nicks in the new possible union that would surely shred this thing into unrecognizable pieces.. We take the time to wonder.. Why? Why am I so deserving of something like this.. So simple, easy.. carefree even?

In these moments of doubt.. We must remind ourselves that no thing is guaranteed.. But even so, we must discover all that life and love have to offer..

Last night.. I decided to seize the moments.. Allow each second of time to exist on its own accord knowing that I could not predict the future or change the past.. Knowing that so far.. So good.. Everything I have seen has led me to believe that forging ahead.. carefully and as carefree as possible will not be a one-way deal.. I have picked apart everything that I possibly could up until this point.. But logic made no sense in his presence..

Only emotions were allowed.. Emotions whether good or bad.. Allow us to open ourselves up to living boldly.. Logic forces us to “think it through”.. Today I said the hell with logic.. I decided to allow myself to live in the moment as long as I can..

If the moment only lasts a day.. I will have to be okay with that.. And if somehow.. The moment lasts longer.. I pray I’ll be blessed to revel in it.. Somewhere in those moments I will find happiness and laughter.. Perhaps I will find love.. But only time could tell you that.. Above all.. I hope to release negative thinking from my being and understand what it means to “carpe diem”..

I cannot deny that a strong force exists that draws us to each other.. So I won’t try.. I will just allow myself to live inside each moment totally.. I won’t focus on what may go wrong.. And I won’t worry about what may become of this.. I will only focus on the here and now..

I make this promise to myself and this mysterious creation of man.. To seek each moment in and of itself for as long as I am allowed and revel in it for as long as I possibly can..

Xoxo,

m. lauren..
carpe the moment

i know, without a doubt, that any man who can serenade me with this song will win me over whole heartedly. i mean…god. listen to that voice. and i don’t know. there’s just something about it..infectious. i had the good fortune of seeing him in concert at the orpheum this fall. live, acoustic, unscripted, surrounded by (sexually) excited middle aged women, high on life (and green times)…undeniably one of the most memorable experiences i’ve had to date.

looking back on everything that has happened as of late, i know that my experiences, for the most part, would be considered memorable. i’ve lived and i haven’t regretted anything i’ve done. problem is though, i feel as though things are just happening to me and i’m not really in control of it. sure i’ll look back on something and think wow that was really fucking great but when i’m there, in the here and now, unless something is really unbelievable..it’s almost as if i’m not capable of feeling it. and well…all of my experiences are kind of like that. i mean, every once in a while i’ll have that moment of clarity where everything in that moment i can FEEL with all of my being and it’s absolutely mind blowing and all consuming. but those moments are far and few between and also..they’re not necessarily note worthy.

eg. i was sitting on the bus one day this summer. the sun was shining. a good song came on shuffle and i had that moment. amazing.

alright no. i suppose i’m not being quite fair. every awesome concert i’ve been to has come with a moment like that and well..maybe i just need a soundtrack to my life. seems like the only time i realize this is a “moment” is when there’s a song commemorating said moment.

it’s clearly much too late for me to be still up and writing because i’m no longer making sense. that, or i just re-watched my one cherished holiday chick flick and i’m feeling particularly sentimental, cheery (contradicting all prior entries), and lovely. i also want to move to england and have peppermint hot chocolate with colin firth but i guess we can’t always have our way.

Love can be a many splendored thing
Can’t deny the joy it brings
A dozen roses, diamond rings
Dreams for sale and fairy tales
It’ll make you hear a symphony
And you just want the world to see
But like a drug that makes you blind,
It’ll fool ya every time

The trouble with love is
It can tear you up inside
Make your heart believe a lie
It’s stronger than your pride
The trouble with love is
It doesn’t care how fast you fall
And you can’t refuse the call
See, you got no say at all

Now I was once a fool, it’s true
I played the game by all the rules
But now my world’s a deeper blue
I’m sadder, but I’m wiser too
I swore I’d never love again
I swore my heart would never mend
Said love wasn’t worth the pain
But then I hear it call my name

(The trouble with) The trouble with love is
It can tear you up inside
Make your heart believe a lie
It’s stronger than your pride
The trouble with love is
It doesn’t care how fast you fall
And you can’t refuse the call
See, you got no say at all

Every time I turn around
I think I’ve got it all figured out
My heart keeps callin’ and I keep on fallin’
Over and over again
The sad story always ends the same
Me standin’ in the pourin’ rain
It seems no matter what I do
It tears my heart in two

(The trouble with love is) The trouble with love, yeah
(It can tear you up inside) It can tear you up inside
(Make your heart believe a lie) Make your heart believe a lie
It’s stronger than your pride

(The trouble with love is)
It’s in your heart
It’s in your soul (doesn’t care how fast you fall)
You won’t get no control
(and you can’t refuse the call)
See, you got no say at all

(The trouble with love is) Oh, yeah
(It can tear you up inside)
(Make your heart believe a lie)

Suck on that, Pirates Of The Carribean!!!!!

In 1966, a group of rogue British DJs set up a radio station on a tiny boat in the North Sea to broadcast generation-defining — and banned — music to millions. The crew includes boss Quentin (Bill Nighy), the Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Gavin (Rhys Ifans) and Dave (Nick Frost). But eager to sink the party is persnickety Sir Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh).

Now this was released in Britain a long time ago entitled The Boat That Rocks. I know they bummed down that film from 135 minutes to now a 115 minutes, and to be truly honest I was glad to know this.

The one thing I liked first about this film going in was that it was directed by Richard Curtis, who did British classics Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually both are great comedies, and this one is a nice add to his resume. He makes sure that all the strong points within this film are brought up and resolved by the end, and make sure every little person on board gets enough face-time.

The film also does have many moments that are genuinely funny, just not hilarious as I would be expecting from a grade-A crew and cast like this. Too many jokes are played out to where they are funny, and then just out of nowhere become annoying. There are also too many jokes about lesbians, since there is a lesbian on board.

Also, I feel like this film could’ve been a lot more daring and raunchier with it’s material. I don’t know if this is weird or not but I was just expecting since this is a film about rock, I would expect a lot more rock stuff to be happening, but hey that’s just me.

The film has a great ensemble cast with some of the best British and notably one of the best American acts in it’s film, but it doesn’t quite capitalize on that. The cast is funny and the chemistry is good between them, but I felt like some of the screen time could have been given to more people like Seymour Hoffman and Nighy. They didn’t quite get a huge chance to show off their comedy, and at times are rarely seen.

The soundtrack to this film is what is the best part of this film. In some cases I would say but the soundtrack forget the movie, but for this I’m saying do both. The soundtrack is electrifying and what really keeps this film entertaining. Some cool elements to this film is that many of the songs actually do fit in with the scenes that are going on, so it did create a good and powerful mood for that one scene.

Consensus: Pirate Radio may be a little uneven at points and at times disappointing, but it has some good funny moments with an exciting soundtrack which makes this film exciting throughout.

7.5/10=Rentall!!!!

Ok.. I couldn’t do just 5… it was friggin’ impossible!! I couldn’t leave one off without feeling bad…. Though there are 11 I can think of, properly favourite, so one was kicked. Who? I won’t say, cos I still feel bad…

(Literally ALL the eye of the tigers have embedding disabled… so looks like you’ll have to go to yt anyways… evil.. but I supplied the HD one above, so its easy to find lol.

Now, the only one I put in order is Tennant, cos he is my all time favourite, and that will NEVER change. Unless a taller awesome scottish guy comes along. Who’s a more accessable age lol. The rest are in no particular order.

From Tooth and Claw from series 2 of new Who.

1. David Tennant, 6′1″, 38, doesn’t look it… :swoon:

Because the man is pure brilliance. The voice, the body, the hair. Everything about him is AWESOME, but not completely perfect, ya know what I mean… he’s not…. conventionally conventional. There are flaws, but they just add to his character lol. I could listen to that voice saying anything… for hours… he’s just too lovely. And looks awesome in anything. ANYTHING.  Some say he looks elfen, delicate features or whatnot, which could mean I like pretty boys. So untrue. He does fit the pattern of innappropriately aged men lol. Though… he’s the one who started it… I was 15… he was 34. Casanova. All to blame hahahaha. He fits into the ‘tall, dark and handsome’ archetype though. TDH for short.

From High Fidelity, 2000

• John Cusack, 6′3″, 43

Not only is he a brilliant actor, a joy to watch, he’s cute too. Not too cute, but cute. And lovely. And so funny. Serendipity is possibly my favourite Cusack flick. Though High Fidelity comes damn close. Then Grosse Point Blank and Being John Malkovich and Con Air. Theres more… but not now lol. He fits with the older man type. TDH.

My favourite photo of Misha to date. Though its hard to pick lol.

• Misha Collins, 6′0½”(exact same height as me…cutting it close lol), 35

He’s just… he’s yummy. First noticed when portraying Castiel in Supernatural in season 4. Just… so…awesome… so adorable as the ignorant/innocent… character. (Can’t say too much….spoilers n whatnot, my friend might read this.) But I tracked down the majority of his other stuff, and he’s just as yummy. Yummy with slightly naff hair and hick-accents and even russian, thought russian I’m not against lol. Can’t wait to meet him at the convention later this month, 2 weeks away! :woooooooooooooooooo!!!! I get to have a picture with him! Eeeeeeeeeeeee! (I’ve let the fangirl out. If you couldn’t tell. lol.) He fits into TDH too, but with gorgeous blue eyes instead of gorgeous brown. I don’t know quite what I’ll do when I meet him….. eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Currently my favourite photo of Jensen I thinks....

• Jensen Ackles, 6′1″, 31, getting younger slowly lol.

All because of Supernatural. After I gave in and watched Supernatural late last year, I had to make a choice between Jared Padalecki, aka Sam, or Jensen Ackles, aka Dean. As you can see, I went for Dean, sure he’s 3 inches shorter than Sam, but Dean is… Dean…. just….Dean…slightly morally questionable and more bad boy than his younger brother, but not too bad boy, that’d be boring lol. You’d understand if you watched Supernatural and are either a girl or gay lol. Jensen wins over Jared, but the team of the two of them are soooooo cute. He’s of the TDH variety, but with slightly lighter coloured hair lol. He’s a bit younger than the majority of the list too haha. Only 11 years older. He’s engaged to his long term girlfriend Daneel Harris. I’ve only seen her playing total bitches in tv shows or movies, I dunno what she’s like in real life, she’s gotta be nice though, cos Jensen is weirdly shy sometimes apparantly lol. Unless he’s the bitch and she’s the butch LOL. That’d be hilarious if true.

The first image of JJ that made me take notice lol. Also the pic that prompted me to watch Fringe lol.

• Joshua Jackson, 6′2″, 31, CANADIAN!

JJ combines 3 of my favourite things. Tall, Canada and JJ Abrams. He’s in Fringe. Awesome new series from JJ Abrams. I notice lots of J’s in my list lol. More to come too. He fits TDH too. In a slightly pudgy faced way. But he’s awesome in all the stuff I’ve seen him in, in a cute, droll, sarcastic way. I started watching Dawson’s Creek because of this guy! Thats like… the lowest I’ve sunk to watch favourite actors… and I’m becoming strangely addicted… DAMN ME…. damn the fluffiness…. damn JJ being in it….

JDM. The Comedian to most guys out there, Denny to me.

• Jeffrey Dean Morgan,6′2″, 43

Another older guy. This time I’m blaming Grey’s Anatomy. JDM was Denny Duquette. My favourite guy in the show. Grey’s fans will know of him. Most of you lot won’t lol, some will I’m sure, cos Grey’s Anatomy will be a guilty pleasure, like Dean has ‘Dr Sexy MD’ in Supernatura lol. (A clever combo of House MD and McDreamy from Grey’s.) JDM is….pure sex. The voice is gorgeous. And the eyes…. there used to be a fansite called JDMSchool, but it went away… I don’t know why, but all I know is the creators of the site were far too scary, refered to him always as Daddy for his role in Supernatural as John Winchester, Dean+Sam’s daddy. Also, JDM is the sole reason I finally decided to watch Supernatural. Theres a clear path from one actor to another lol. He again, is TDH.

RDJ in an awesome car advert.

• Robert Downey Jr, 44, 5′ 8½”

Shortest of my whole list. First noted while watching Iron Man. Who didn’t? Seriously? The mans hot stuff. Not long after I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang by order of one of my friends. But its when I came to uni the fangirling really took off. I bonded with two other girls over RDJ, to begin with lol. We had movie nights, I managed to procure a large amount of his filmography which we watched one by one lol. Charlie Bartletts one of my favourites. He makes up for his lack of height in awesomeness. I watched season 4 of Ally McBeal, got addicted, watched season 5, then started from 1 lol. Got the boxset for christmas. Fits the DH part, but not tall. Tall for some girls I’m sure, but not me lol. I should also mention, RDJ is the reason for the JDM phase, which lead to the Ackles, which lead to Misha. lol. A trail. What did I say?

From Love Actually, a movie I dont actually like lol.

• Colin Firth, 6′ 1½”, 49

I can’t remember why I was watching Love Actually… but I do remember Colin Firth’s pretty face staring at me on the DVD case. So I’m blaming that. He may be a archetype for the posh british kinda guy, but least he’s not like Hugh Grant, bumbly british guy… bah…. Firth is…. yummy. He’s the oldest of my list, unless I start counting the semi-fangirlisms lol. He’s just… I dunno… I saw Pride n Predjudice when I was like 5-6, so it can’t be the Mr Darcy thing… He’s got a lovely voice to boot. I went on a Colin-kick a few months ago, got like 6 movies with him lol. Not all good ones. Last Legion is… bad…. very very naff… but he’s in it… so it makes up for it lol. I think late 30’s, early 40’s is optimum Firth age in movies lol. And yes, he’s very TDH. No blondes yet I hope you notice lol. Not sure why that is…

He's riding a unicorn fercryin' out loud! Worship the man!!!!

• Neil Patrick Harris, 6′1″, 36, didn’t know lol… was still thinking he was 34 lol.

Now, this guy… less mancandy, more pure win. He’s Barney! Barney Stinson is the pinocle of awesome. The pinocle of Legendary. And he’s not bad to look at lol. I prefer Ted though. (Josh Radnor) Both who I saw in How I met your mother. Later night fluffy comedy. Loved it. And Ted’s just so cute. But NPH has to be on this list cos he’s pure win. He’s in Starship Troopers! In Harold and Kumar go to White Castle(or Get the Munchies here in the UK lol)! And, he is Dr Horrible. He’s epic. I refuse to watch Dougie Houser though, would scare me and scar me lol. First blonde of the list lol.

So smexy.

• Nathan Fillion, 6′ 1½”, 38 Same age as Tennant.

Nathan Fillion. Capt Mal. Capt Hammer. And, most recently, Richard ‘Rick’ Castle in Castle lol. He’s tall. He’s Canadian. He’s got brown hair. And he’s got that crooked hot thing going on. Slightly rough around the edges rather, same as RDJ and JDM has I spose lol. Definately TDH. And Canadian! :woop: Not as good as Scottish, but better than Irish lol. First noted in Serenity. Then watched Firefly. I know, shoulda been the other way round, but if I didnt see the movie on ITV4 I probably never would have seen it at all lol. Love that movie.

So… what do these guys say about my taste in men? lol. Well, men over boys definately. 30 is a great age for guys. So’s 40, but when you’re not even 20 (yet, December) its not really feasable lol. I do prefer dark over blonde… but its not exactly important lol.

And do you see any Zac Efron-likes in this list? NO! Thats cos I have decent taste lol. Lowest I’ve sunk is Chad Michael Murray in One Tree Hill. (I didn’t mean to…. :sob:) And my youngest mancandy is Steven Strait. The perfect Jacob. He’s 23 I think. And tall enough. 6′2″ Mmmmm…… and yeah, 23, just IMDB’d him to double check lol.

And, because I just gotta, a few more pics I wanted to use, but didn’t. MANSPAM!!!!!!!!!

Ahhhh the lols.

Cas and Dean. The winningest couple in Supernatural lol. Destiel ftw!!!!

Kinda reminds me of Liev Schreiber in this pic... which aint a bad thing if ya know what I mean. LOL

A pic with Anna Torv from Fringe.

Even with a blue mohawk and eyeliner, you still would. Don't deny it. He wears a kilt in the movie too. It's soooo good lol.

One of my favourite episodes, because he does his real accent, and shivers go up spines.

Even in a bowtie. And I hate bowties.

Dean on the Impala. Doesn’t get much hotter.

End of his epic Eye of the Tiger lip sync. I mean epic. Its so good. And he's so cute when he's smiley like that.

Doesnt happen enough in Supernatural. Dean smiling like that I mean lol.

From a pilot of a series called 'Reinventing the Wheelers', which I really wanna see.

I think lol’s are deserved here. Specially if you watch it over and over….which you shouldn’t lol… I must stop now…. ok now…. NOW!!!

So, I caught a free screening of Pirate Radio last night (today is its opening day in the states). I don’t want to dishearten Richard Curtis fans who treasure Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually (neither of which I’ve seen), but he dropped a big bloody bollock with this movie (known as The Boat That Rocked in the UK).

How can that be, you ask? It’s about a British pirate radio station during the mid-1960s. Its soundtrack boasts choice cuts from the British Invasion. And it’s got a charming cast. How can a movie be bad when it has Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Nighy and Nick Frost and Rhys Ifans and Rhys Darby and cast members from The IT Crowd, along with cameos from Emma Thompson and January Jones? Kenneth Branagh even goes all campy villain on us as the station’s bureaucratic nemesis (see also Wild Wild West, a terrible movie where he chews some scenery as the bad guy). That sounds great on paper. Even if it’s saddled with boomer era clichés about free love and rock music changing the world, it’s gotta be fun, right? Who doesn’t want to run a pirate radio station on a boat with these folks?

There’s so much wrong with this hack job of a movie. There’s a lot left unexplained. How did this ragtag group get a boat? Why is rock music illegal to broadcast in 1960s Great Britain? How are these radio personalities so famous? There’s also lots of truncated plot points and weird tonal shifts and nonsensical character motivations which I don’t think would have been aided by the original cut’s three-hour running time. The protagonist is a bloke named Carl (played by Tom Sturridge) who may or may not have been put on the boat by his mother to meet his dad, but I’m too bored to care. And that’s saying something, as his dad is played by Ralph Brown, who was Danny the Dealer in Withnail and I.

I’d also mention that it’s kinda disheartening to see Hoffman — who plays a crusty American deejay named the Count — spout rockist catchphrases like “a whop bam boo” and “young men and young women will always dream dreams and put those dreams into song” with stealy-eyed import. But it’s also kinda amazing. A lesser actor couldn’t pull it off. But Hoffman makes Count’s turn of phrase sound like some kind of rock deejay John McClane. Oh, and he almost drowns when the boat sinks. Except he doesn’t and emerges victoriously (and ridiculously) from the North Sea. Such is the power of rock. 

But I think you know what my big problem is. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the roles for women and girls are marginal and insultingly one-dimensional. While I think there may have been an effort to keep their presence ornmanental so as to make a commentary on the era’s regressive attitude toward gender and sexual politics, I think the movie exacerbates the problem rather than rectify it.

There are groovy birds (re: prostitutes, groupies, and moms) who board the ship to “service” the talent, sometimes pretending to love one crew member to get closer to another and wounding their pride. Awesome. 

There’s one woman in the crew — a lesbian named Felicity (played by Katherine Parkinson) who basically serves as the ship’s put-upon housewife. She does get a girlfriend, but this is given for too obvious, peripheral treatment to seem as real progress.

There are no musicians, except for women like Dusty Springfield, Skeeter Davis, and Sandy Shaw who function as playlist selections.

There are also huddles of simpering female fans who listen attentively to the radio — students, flight attendants, secretaries, cleaning ladies, mothers, wives, single women, waitresses, and shopgirls. None of them speak, though many giggle. They also lack names. Oh, correction. Kenneth Branaugh’s secretary Miss C (played by Sinead Matthews) sort of gets one.

Anyway, this sucks, and a likeable cast can’t salvage its suckitude. So I suggest instead of seeing this movie that you watch Jane Campion’s A Girl’s Own Story instead. Here’s a scene. Wish I could post the whole thing.

Made in 1984 and available on the Criterion Collection edition of Campion’s debut feature, Sweetie, this short focuses on a group of Australian schoolgirls who came of age during Beatlemania. It showcases the complex relationships girls have with their fandom, along with their homosocial friendships and burgeoning sexuality. It’s pretty awesome, and actually suggests what it may have been like to be a teenaged girl during rock’s golden era. Pirate Radio couldn’t be bothered.

by The Great White Gypsy

The Box – Written and Directed by Richard Kelly
The premise of this film sounds like a bad teenage horror story. A strange man gives a box to a couple having money problems. They will get money every time they push the button, but every time, someone they don’t know will die. Though it’s riding on Cameron Diaz’s acting skills (um…), if anyone can make it cool, writer/director Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales) will have no problem.
Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella, James Rebhorn
November 6

Endgame – Directed by Pete Travis, Written by Paula Milne
Another slow, patient South African political film? Meh. I mean, I really like Hurt and Ejiofor, but Pete Travis directed Vantage Point, which sucked asshole. I really, really want it to be good, I’m just scared it’s going to be really, really bad.
William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Johnny Lee Miller, Mark Strong, Derek Jacobi
November 6

The Men Who Stare at Goats – Directed by Grant Heslov, Written by Peter Straughan
Actor Grant Heslov hasn’t done much directing. Same goes for Peter Straughan and writing. But if you look at this cast, you really can’t go wrong in a story about Telekenisis/Psychic programs in the army. Hell yes.
George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Robert Patrick, Stephen Root
November 6

Precious – Directed by Lee Daniels, Written by Geoffrey Fletcher
I hate the fact that the full title of this film is “Precious: Based on a novel by Sapphire”. I also hate the fact that Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey are “presenting” this one. However, cliché and cheesy as it most likely is, I seriously almost cried watching the preview. This has the potential for two hours of raw emotion that leaves you speechless. Or two hours of horrible acting and bullshit storyline. I’ll wait for cable.
Gabourey Sidibe, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz
November 6

The Fantastic Mr. Fox – Written and Directed by Wes Anderson
I hate, I hate, I hate Wes Anderson. However, there are always a couple elements of his films that impress me, and his attempts at stop motion animation intrigue me. Will I like it? Probably not. Will I see it? Of course.
George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Michael Gambon
November 13

Pirate Radio – Written and Directed by Richard Curtis
When I saw the preview for this, I thought, “Hey, that looks exactly like that movie advertised last year called “The Boat that Rocked”. Wait… I have no idea why this film took so long to release, or why they changed the title, but after waiting so long, I’ve built it up to possible “Almost Famous” level in my head. I really hope I’m not disappointed.  About a boatful of radio DJ’s who broadcast banned music over British airwaves in the ‘60’s. Curtis directed Love Actually.
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Emma Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, Nick Frost
November 13

The Messenger – Written and Directed by Oren Moverman
Foster and Harrelson play a very overlooked part of the military in this new drama about the officers who deliver the horrible news to KIA soldiers’ families. Foster starts to care too much…you see where this is going. Moverman’s first film, looks good.
Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone
November 13

2012 – Directed by Roland Emmerich, Written by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser
When I want to see an action packed explosion film with weak story, I’ll catch the new Michael Bay flick. When I want to see a really entertaining film with great special effects that will leave me dumber for having watched it, I’ll go see a Roland Emmerich film (Independence Day, Stargate, Godzilla, 10,000 BC). If you don’t know what this film is about, you should probably look into it, cause we’re kinda running out of time, dude…
John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Danny Glover, Oliver Platt
November 13

That Evening Sun – Written and Directed by Scot Teems
I think Clint Eastwood had a scheduling conflict playing a grumpy old man in Gran Turino, so Holbrook stepped in. This is a perfect example of a cookie-cutter Midwest drama starring a senior citizen afraid of change that might not be very good, but will definitely get nominated for at least 2 Oscars. Don’t get me wrong, Hal is great, but the story has the potential to be full of holes.
Hal Holbrook, Ray McKinnon, Mia Wasikowska, Carrie Preston
November 13

Uncertainty – Written and Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel
At the risk of sounding like a douchebag, I am very uncertain about this movie. Part romantic comedy, part drama, part action thriller? So confused. McGehee and Siegel have written and directed three other films together, and I’ve never heard of any of them. But Gordon-Levitt hasn’t let me down so far, and Thirlby and Collins are sexy. I’ll flip a coin.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lynn Collins, Olivia Thirlby
November 13

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans – Directed by Werner Herzog, Written by William M. Finkelstein
Controverial old-school director Werner Herzog (Encounters at the End of the World, Grizzly Man) is remaking the 1992 drama (starring Harvey Keitel) about a gambling/drug addict cop, and he’s setting it in post-Katrina New Orleans. They say it’s Cage’s best performance since Leaving Las Vegas (not really hard), and Kilmer’s presence is reassuring. Looking forward to it.
Nicholas Cage, Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes, Michael Shannon, Fairuza Balk, Xzibit, Shawn Hatosy
November 20

Chi Bi (Red Cliff) – Directed by John Woo, Written by John Woo and Khan Chan
This is an epic film in the style of Hero and House of Flying Daggers. John Woo started out with some good films (A Better Tomorrow, Killer, Hard Boiled), he even had some good American movies (Hard Target, Face/Off), though there were bullshit ones too (Windtalkers, Paycheck). However, his dramas, like Last Hurrah for Chivalry, have gone largerly unnoticed by American audiences. And, of course, it’s been out in China for two years, and we’re just getting it now. Tarantino needs to step his game up.
Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Wei Zhao
November 20

Fix – Directed by Tao Ruspoli, Written by Charles Castaldi and Paul Duran
Documentary filmmaker Ruspoli blends styles in this fictional documentary about a convicted drug dealer and his friends, who are attempting to raise enough money to put him in rehab before 8pm so he can avoid jail time. I can already tell that Andrews’ over-the-top personality is going to steal the show, and Wilde is kinda cute. When’s it coming to Netflix?
Olivia Wilde, Tao Ruspoli, Dedee Pfeiffer, Shawn Andrews
November 20

The Missing Person – Written and Directed by Noah Buschel
Modern noir about a private detective (Shannon in a lead role…nice) searching for a missing person after 9/11. Elements of drama and comedy make it appear a little disjointed, but Shannon and Ryan are solid. Kinda surprised it didn’t go straight to DVD, but whatever.
Michael Shannon, Amy Ryan, Frank Wood
November 20

Me and Orson Welles – Directed by Richard Linklater, Written by Holly Gent Palmo
I can’t see Efron’s name on anything without thinking Highschool Musical, which makes me want to punch everyone under the age of 17 in the eye. However, this film is a little more dramatic, a lot less musical, and Christian McKay looks like the best Orson Welles since D’onofrio in Ed Wood. And if that still doesn’t convince you to see this period film about Welles directing stage plays, I have three words for you: Richard motherfucking Linklater (Scanner Darkly, Waking Life, Dazed and Confused). There you go.
Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay, Ben Chaplin
November 25

Ninja Assassin – Directed by James McTeigue, Written by Matthew Sand and J. Michael Straczynski
The directors of The Matrix are producing this balls-to-the-wall violence-fest about…are you ready? A Ninja Assassin. Crazy right? Just think blades, bullets, blood, and nonstop special effects. I can’t freaking wait.
Sung Kang
November 25

The Road – Directed by John Hillcoat, Written by Joe Penhall
I must admit, I didn’t care for Cormac McCarthy’s award winning novel. The fact that writer and director are inexperienced worries me. Whether the acting, cinematography and effects can save it or not, the story makes me think no one will like this no matter what.
Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce, Garret Dillahunt
November 25

KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN

Metropia – Directed by Tarik Saleh, Written by Fredrik Edin
Anything with Vincent Gallo attatched generally gets my attention (Buffalo 66 was fucking weird). In this animated social commentary, Gallo’s character goes nuts when he starts hearing voices in the expansive underground tunnels Europe was forced to build after gas prices went too high. The animation looks pretty damn cool, so we’ll see.
Vincent Gallo, Udo Kier, Juliette Lewis, Stellan Skarsgard, Alexander Skarsgard
November 6 (Sweden)

Harry Brown – Directed by Daniel Barber, Written by Gary Young
Michael Caine hasn’t really been a badass since Get Carter, but this one may change that. Granted, it’s another cranky old man pissed off at street hooligans, but they did kill his friend…and he is ex-military. Comes out in the UK this month, possible limited releases in US.
Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, Iain Glen
November 11 (UK)

Los abrazos rotos (Broken Embraces) – Written and Directed by Pedro Almodovar
Almodovar is huge in Spain, and the last time he teamed with Cruz was Volver, which was damn good. This film is about a writer/director telling a young man the story of why he changed his name after an accident took the life of his true love 14 years prior. Limited release this month, but expect it to be everywhere in time for the Oscars.
Penelope Cruz, Lluis Homar
November 20 (Limited)

Mammoth – Written and Directed by Lukas Moodysson
Husband and wife with a “perfect” life are put to the test when he takes a business trip to Thailand and decides to let loose a little. It looks very similar to parts of Babel, but more focused. Bernal and Williams have grown on me the last couple years, and Moodysson has done good work in Sweden.
Michelle Williams, Gael Garcia Bernal
November 20 (Limited)

Friday night we met up with Coral at ASDA, buying some food and drinks before heading back to our casa, where we made the food and drank the drinks. This was happening while Love Actually was showing on the big screen in our living room (A big black box of a telly, where the screen is too small for our sky channels). I absolutely love Love Actually, it’s such a lovely movie. Really gets the Christmas spirit going, it’s only bloody 6 weeks left of this semester!! This blog won’t be about stress tho, as you so nicely can read about that on Ida’s blog. After too much pasta, a bottle of cider and the movie ending, just as cutely as always, the superstars came out to play as we turned on the Singstar.

Saturday started with a walk into town with Ida, where we went to the tanning studio, we’re getting back to our snow-white beings, so we had to take action. Then I had a hairdressers appointment, my roots had to be dealt with and that now. After a good couple of hours, loads of head massaging (Mmmmmm) and with roots matching the rest of my hair, I was done and £70 poorer. I then had a nice shower (This being back home if you wondered) and got all dolled up looking presentable for when my boyfriend would come. And when he did, I kissed him. You see, Saturday the 7th of November was me and Stevens 1 month anniversary, so he was staying over at mines. We first watched the Wolves game on my Mac, while getting awesome sound effects from outside (We live close to the stadium, it’s easy to hear when a match is on). ASDA up next, where we bought some food and drinks. This resembling last night right, only add more drinks to the basket. We watched a bit of X Factor while cooking, Steven who so doesn’t care about X Factor at all, got very into it, shouting at the TV, especially when John and Edward was on. And I quote “THAT’S NOT SINGING, IT’S BLOODY TALKING AND GAAH!” It was fun. When the food was ready and X Factor done, we put on twilight, and my dear boyfriend actually seemed to enjoy the film. I got more and more giggly, after all I did have not one, but TWO bottles of Kopparberg. After the film we went upstairs to my room to let’s say, call it a night.

Sunday me and Steven watched Whose Line Is It Anyway (If you haven’t seen it, check it out! This one is brilliant Clicky) on my Mac, still sat on my bed, laughing our butts off. His dad picked us up, and we went over to his place where we played some xbox, boxing. I did rather good I reckon, didn’t win, but hey, I did okay! Then we had a lovely Sunday tea, his mum starting to learn the right amount of food to put on my plate now, and I actually managed to eat up. She found it very funny showing me some baby pictures of Steven, he was soooooooo cute! Some things never change. Me and Steven then played some Wii sport, Steven doing very well in Bowling, me doing slightly better. First game; Steven 177 points, me 178. And I’m the one with least practice! He turned on the Baseball instead, cause I sucked the last time we played that, but who managed to get a home run? Yes, I won that game as well. As a slight cheering up, Steven realised his top score on bowling was 179, which means I hadn’t beat him, so then it was okay to play bowling again. Me winning that round as well… With 184 points. Thank god he’s not as bad a looser as I am, he swallowed his pride and kissed me and said “Well done”. He will now be home playing and practicing his bowling everyday haha.

I really should get out of bed and over to the library now, loads of uniwork to be done, I hope I can concentrate on it!