Julie & Julia

My mom and I decided to order this movie on pay-per-view yesterday. An okay movie for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I don't have too much to say about this movie. Meryl Streep did a good job and I loved Stanley Tucci in it -- I love most of his characters. Amy Adams did a nice job, but overall the movie was a bit slow. It seemed longer than it was, and there was nothing particularly exciting or memorable about the movie.

Overall, I'm glad I didn't spend the money to see this movie in theaters and I won't be spending the money to buy it on DVD. Once was plenty, and now I just wish I took more time to cook on occasion.

Golden Globe nominations. Tis the season of awards shows. =)

THE 67TH ANNUAL GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS NOMINATIONS

HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION
2010 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009

NOMINATIONS PRESS RELEASE

1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. AVATAR
   Lightstorm Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox
2. THE HURT LOCKER
   Voltage Pictures; Summit Entertainment
3. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS Went into this movie unsure, but did enjoy it a lot.
   The Weinstein Company/Universal Pictures; The Weinstein Company /Universal Pictures
4. PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
   A Lee Daniels Entertainment / Smokewood Entertainment Group Production;
   Lionsgate
5. UP IN THE AIR Want to see this!!
   Paramount Pictures; Paramount Pictures

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. EMILY BLUNT
   THE YOUNG VICTORIA
2. SANDRA BULLOCK It's about time, Sandra!
   THE BLIND SIDE
3. HELEN MIRREN
   THE LAST STATION
4. CAREY MULLIGAN
   AN EDUCATION
5. GABOUREY SIDIBE
   PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. JEFF BRIDGES
   CRAZY HEART
2. GEORGE CLOONEY Want to see this!!
   UP IN THE AIR
3. COLIN FIRTH Never heard of this one. But I'm up for watching anything with Colin Firth!
   A SINGLE MAN
4. MORGAN FREEMAN
   INVICTUS
5. TOBEY MAGUIRE Want to see this!!
   BROTHERS

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER Want to see this!!
   Watermark Pictures; Fox Searchlight Pictures
2. THE HANGOVER
   Warner Bros. Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures
3. IT’S COMPLICATED
   Relativity Media, Scott Rudin Productions; Universal Pictures
4. JULIE & JULIA
   Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing
5. NINE Still not sure what this movie is actually about... looks promising though.
   The Weinstein Company/Relativity Media/Lucamar Productions/Marc Platt Productions; The Weinstein Company

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR
MUSICAL

1. SANDRA BULLOCK Again? Amazing! I LOVED this movie. Laughed the whole way through.
   THE PROPOSAL
2. MARION COTILLARD
   NINE
3. JULIA ROBERTS
   DUPLICITY
4. MERYL STREEP
   IT’S COMPLICATED
5. MERYL STREEP
   JULIE & JULIA

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY
OR MUSICAL

1. MATT DAMON
   THE INFORMANT!
2. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
   NINE
3. ROBERT DOWNEY JR
   SHERLOCK HOLMES
4. JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT Want to see this!!
   (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
5. MICHAEL STUHLBARG
   A SERIOUS MAN

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

1. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS Want to see this!!
   Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation; Sony Pictures Releasing
2. CORALINE
   Laika, Inc.; Focus Features
3. FANTASTIC MR. FOX
   American Empirical Picture; Twentieth Century Fox
4. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
   Walt Disney Pictures/Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
5. UP
   Walt Disney Pictures/PIXAR Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. BAARIA (ITALY)
   Medusa Film; Summit Entertainment
2. BROKEN EMBRACES (SPAIN)
   El Deseo SA; Sony Pictures Classics
3. THE MAID (CHILE)
   (LA NANA)
   Forastero; Elephant Eye Films
4. A PROPHET (UN PROPHETE) (FRANCE)
   Chic Films; Sony Pictures Classics
5. THE WHITE RIBBON (GERMANY)
   (DAS WEISSE BAND – EINE DEUTSCHE KINDERGESCHICHTE)
   Wega Films; Sony Pictures Classics

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
MOTION PICTURE

1. PENÉLOPE CRUZ
   NINE
2. VERA FARMIGA Want to see this!!
   UP IN THE AIR
3. ANNA KENDRICK Want to see this!! And I have to admit, seeing her in the previews is the first thing that peaked my interest. Oh, Twilight.
   UP IN THE AIR
4. MO’NIQUE
   PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
5. JULIANNE MOORE
   A SINGLE MAN

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
MOTION PICTURE

1. MATT DAMON
   INVICTUS
2. WOODY HARRELSON
   THE MESSENGER
3. CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER
   THE LAST STATION
4. STANLEY TUCCI Want to see this!! Want to see this!! Want to see this!!
   THE LOVELY BONES
5. CHRISTOPH WALTZ
   INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

1. KATHRYN BIGELOW
   THE HURT LOCKER
2. JAMES CAMERON
   AVATAR
3. CLINT EASTWOOD
   INVICTUS
4. JASON REITMAN Want to see this!!
   UP IN THE AIR
5. QUENTIN TARANTINO Never been a fan of Quentin Tarantino until this movie. Still don't like the other ones though.
   INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

1. NEILL BLOMKAMP, TERRI TATCHELL
   DISTRICT 9
2. MARK BOAL
   THE HURT LOCKER
3. NANCY MEYERS
   IT'S COMPLICATED
4. JASON REITMAN, SHELDON TURNER
   UP IN THE AIR
5. QUENTIN TARANTINO
   INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

1. MICHAEL GIACCHINO
   UP
2. MARVIN HAMLISCH
   THE INFORMANT!
3. JAMES HORNER
   AVATAR
4. ABEL KORZENIOWSKI
   A SINGLE MAN
5. KAREN O, CARTER BURWELL
   WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

1. “CINEMA ITALIANO” — NINE
   Music & Lyrics by: Maury Yeston
2. “I WANT TO COME HOME” — EVERYBODY'S FINE
   Music & Lyrics by: Paul McCartney
3. “I SEE YOU” — AVATAR
   Music by: James Horner, Simon Franglen
   Lyrics by: James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell
4. “THE WEARY KIND (THEME FROM CRAZY HEART)” — CRAZY HEART
   Music & Lyrics by: Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett
5. “WINTER” — BROTHERS
   Music by: U2
   Lyrics by: Bono

15. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. BIG LOVE (HBO)
   Anima Sola Productions and Playtone in association with HBO Entertainment
2. DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
   Showtime Presents, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company, Clyde Phillips Productions
3. HOUSE (FOX)
   Universal Media Studios in association with Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions and Bad Hat Harry
4. MAD MEN (AMC)
   AMC
5. TRUE BLOOD (HBO) This one gets my vote.
   Your Face Goes Here Entertainment in association with HBO Entertainment

16. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
DRAMA

1. GLENN CLOSE
   DAMAGES
2. JANUARY JONES
   MAD MEN
3. JULIANNA MARGULIES Love this show, but....
   THE GOOD WIFE
4. ANNA PAQUIN Anna Paquin also does an awesome job. It's a tie for me.
   TRUE BLOOD
5. KYRA SEDGWICK
   THE CLOSER

17. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. SIMON BAKER
   THE MENTALIST
2. MICHAEL C. HALL
   DEXTER
3. JON HAMM
   MAD MEN
4. HUGH LAURIE
   HOUSE
5. BILL PAXTON
   BIG LOVE

18. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. 30 ROCK (NBC)
   Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little Stranger Inc.
2. ENTOURAGE (HBO)
   Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment
3. GLEE (FOX)
   Twentieth Century Fox Television
4. MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
   Twentieth Century Fox Television
5. THE OFFICE (NBC)
   Universal Media Studios, Deedle Dee Productions, Reveille LLC

19. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. TONI COLLETTE
   UNITED STATES OF TARA
2. COURTENEY COX Cougar Town -- awesome show. You should watch it.
   COUGAR TOWN
3. EDIE FALCO
   NURSE JACKIE
4. TINA FEY
   30 ROCK
5. LEA MICHELE
   GLEE

20. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. ALEC BALDWIN
   30 ROCK
2. STEVE CARELL
   THE OFFICE
3. DAVID DUCHOVNY
   CALIFORNICATION
4. THOMAS JANE Love this show, and he does an amazing job!
   HUNG
5. MATTHEW MORRISON
   GLEE

21. BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. GEORGIA O'KEEFFE (LIFETIME TELEVISION)
   Sony Pictures Television
2. GREY GARDENS (HBO)
   Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films
3. INTO THE STORM (HBO)
   Scott Free and Rainmark Films Production in association with the BBC and HBO Films
4. LITTLE DORRIT (PBS)
   Masterpiece/BBC Co-production
5. TAKING CHANCE (HBO)
   Motion Picture Corporation of America and Civil Dawn Pictures in association with HBO Films

22. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. JOAN ALLEN I haven't seen any of these, not really into the mini-series thing, but Joan Allen is deserving in general. Great actress.
   GEORGIA O'KEEFFE
2. DREW BARRYMORE
   GREY GARDENS
3. JESSICA LANGE
   GREY GARDENS
4. ANNA PAQUIN
   THE COURAGEOUS HEART OF IRENA SENDLER
5. SIGOURNEY WEAVER
   PRAYERS FOR BOBBY

23. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. KEVIN BACON
   TAKING CHANCE
2. KENNETH BRANAGH
   WALLANDER: ONE STEP BEHIND
3. CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
   ENDGAME
4. BRENDAN GLEESON
   INTO THE STORM
5. JEREMY IRONS
   GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

24. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. JANE ADAMS Yesss!!
   HUNG
2. ROSE BYRNE
   DAMAGES
3. JANE LYNCH
   GLEE
4. JANET McTEER
   INTO THE STORM
5. CHLOË SEVIGNY
   BIG LOVE

25. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES,
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. MICHAEL EMERSON
   LOST
2. NEIL PATRICK HARRIS
   HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
3. WILLIAM HURT
   DAMAGES
4. JOHN LITHGOW
   DEXTER
5. JEREMY PIVEN
   ENTOURAGE

January 17th, 8 pm. This is where I'll be!

kind of amusing. win an oscar for abs!

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

The Blind Side

I thoroughly enjoy movies and TV shows that have a strong focus on sports. Not such a fan of watching sports live, but seeing small clips of exciting games on the big screen is exciting to me. For example, that's one reason I loved 'One Tree Hill' was for the basketball scenes -- which isn't as much of a focus anymore but I still love it. Same goes for 'Friday Night Lights'. Awesome show, and some of my favorite scenes are the sports scenes.

This interest in productions about sports peaked my interest in 'The Blind Side'. I'm also a fan of Sandra Bullock, and was also puzzled by why they made her hair blonde for this movie. I guess she pulled it off, but I also hope she never goes blonde again. It's very very strange. Tim McGraw should also keep his hat on more often. He looks so different, in a kind of weird way, without it.

I didn't know anything about the actual, true story going into this movie. I just thought it looked like a good, heartfelt movie -- a type that we rarely see these days. The box office has really turned into a money hungry industry with little appreciation for a certain realism that connects with the audience. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my $100+ million dollar budget summer blockbusters just as much as the next guy, but sometimes a deviation from that is more than welcome.

I also enjoy reading up on people's and critic's expectations for the movie. Most of the time I disregard what the critics say, but no matter what they say I'll see it for myself and formulate my own opinion about it. One big hype about this movie was that it's Sandra Bullock's best movie, even Oscar worthy. I will admit that it is a deviation from her typical romantic comedy, and I do think she did an amazing job with this role, but I'm not sure about Oscar worthy. Even though the story was compelling and the acting was better than I expected, the movie itself does not jump out at me as Oscar worthy.

This movie did have some serious sentiment to it, however. I almost cried -- twice. That means a lot coming from me. If you don't know me you'll just have to trust me. It was also nice that they included pictures of the real family at the end. I don't follow football and I have no idea who this guy really is, so it was nice to put non-celebrity faces with these characters. It would be very refreshing to see more of this type of movie. I'm growing tired of sequels and remakes -- they're remaking 'The Karate Kid' and there's eventually going to be a sequel for 'Hancock' -- two movies which, in my opinion, really don't deserve any more attention. However, I am stoked for 'Eclipse' and 'Iron Man 2' this summer.

Back to the point, 'The Blind Side' is a movie worth seeing. If you're a normal person, unlike me, you might need a tissue. It's refreshing and it's real, and definitely worth a movie ticket and two hours of your time. It's not the type of movie I would want to watch multiple times, so I probably won't be buying it on DVD, but it's definitely a good one-timer.

And props to the kid who played S.J. -- he was awesome.

New Moon

Went and saw 'New Moon' this morning. I loved it, and now I can't wait for 'Eclipse' to come out.

They did a better job this time of including important scenes from the book. Although two scenes they did leave out which I think they should have kept are the birthday cake during the birthday scene (which is just weird since it was in the preview) and the scene where Bella rips the stereo out of her truck. Edward finding that in the beginning of 'Eclipse' is important.

Besides that, thank goodness for having a real budget! Everything looked so much better. There was actual color in this movie, haha. And the makeup was better, and the CGI wolves looked amazing. Kristen Stewart's acting was far better, and Taylor Lautner did an amazing job. The Bella/Jacob scenes were more heart wrenching than the Bella/Edward scenes. I still don't know who I really root for more, even though I already know how everything plays out from the books. Let's go Team Switzerland, lol.

The movie did go pretty fast though. I did not feel like I was in that theater for two hours. And now I want to go back, too bad movies are so expensive!

My least favorite scene: When the Volturi read Alice's mind and it shows Edward and Bella after her change. It was cheesy -- look at the pretty boy frolicking through the woods.

My favorite scene: When Bella, Jacob, and Mike go to the movies together. I loved that scene when I saw it, and was thinking there had to be another scene later in the movie I liked more, but that one tops it. I have no idea why. Just captured how truly awkward that scene was supposed to be for Bella.

And as far as those few so close to kissing but not quite scenes... ugh! I knew from the books they don't kiss in 'New Moon', but I kind of wish they just strayed from the book for that part and went for it. Jacob is amazing, and I feel so bad for him. Although I can understand where Bella is coming from with the whole not being able to give up Edward thing.

Now if 'Eclipse' would come out sooner! Fast forward to June, please!

#3 all-time weekend opening! http://www.popeater.com/2009/11/22/new-moon-box-office/

The Ruins

What generally happens with me at the end of the night is that I end up flipping through channels and finding something to fall asleep to. Last night, when I got to the HBO channels, I stumbled upon something new to me. Two couples sitting on a dark beach, and one of the girls was Jena Malone. I thought, "Well, Jena Malone isn't exactly the romantic comedy type, so this must be a horror movie." And yes, I looked it up and it was the "gory" horror movie The Ruins, but I must say it was not in the least bit horrifying.

Generally, again, when I look up descriptions of movies or TV episodes on a TV guide, it's never the most accurate information. In this case, I would definitely say that gory was not an accurate description. Sure there were a couple parts with some blood, some pretty fake looking blood, but I would not consider it gory. Nor a horror movie really.

Let's watch two young couples take a vacation to Mexico and go to some ancient ruins where nobody has ever returned from. Over and over one of the guys proclaims that someone will find them, "American tourists don't just disappear without anyone noticing" after all -- yet obviously many have at this place. Watch out for the vines that will cultivate in your wounds and take you in once you're dead. Vines? Really?

One lesson this movie did teach me, however, is to always carry a bottle of tequila with you. You know, just in case you stumble upon some ancient ruins, fall down a shaft and break your back, get infected wounds on your legs and your friends have to amputate your legs. The tequila will be good for the pain and to sterilize the hunting knife. But after going through all that trouble, fight over trivial things and leave the paralyzed guy right by the vines and not notice when they choke him to death. Good job.

There are really only two reasons why I watched this whole movie. 1) Jena Malone -- she is one of my favorite actresses. She's not mainstream or the greatest actress in the world, but there's something about her that I enjoy. Maybe it's just the movies she has been in, aside from The Ruins. For example, Life As A House (which used to be my all time favorite movie) and Donnie Darko. 2) Once you start watching a "horror" movie, you have to see who lives. It is likely that the movie will be horrible thanks to low budges, small time actors, and a general lack of an intensely frightening plot. After the amputee was gone, I knew someone else was going soon. One of the girls went crazy, sliced a guys hand and outright stabbed her boyfriend. After that the guy with the sliced hand and Jena Malone were the only ones with any hope left. They staged a getaway, the guy was the casualty, and Jena Malone ran her ass off to get away from the crazy indigenous people with guns and arrows. Then, of course, fade out -- fade in to another couple of guys going to the ruins looking to have some fun.

Why do all horror movies have such predictable endings? I would say that my favorite horror movie is Thir13een Ghosts. I also enjoy House on Haunted Hill occasionally. And as for the only horror movie that seriously freaked me out, just because it was so fucked up, House of 1,000 Corpses. Thanks for that one, Rob Zombie. And, for the finale, best death in a horror movie: House of Wax -- Paris Hilton.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I am generally not a huge fan of comedies. For a few, however, I give them a second chance and they end up growing on me. This definitely holds true for "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." The first time I saw this movie I was not impressed, but now it is one of my favorite go-to movies. It's frequently on HBO, and every time it is on I end up watching it and stay up to watch the whole thing no matter how many times I've seen it already.

I have no idea where Jason Segel came from -- his popularity seemed to come out of nowhere after his supporting role in "Knocked Up." He wrote and starred in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," revealing his true depth as a comedic frontrunner.

While I am not an avid fan of Kristen Bell or Russell Brand, I do love Mila Kunis and am very glad she is making her way from the television world to movies. She and Jason Segel have the perfect chemistry for this movie -- real enough and awkward enough to fit in with the plot and style of the film. Segel effectively uses very blunt and somewhat unexpected comedic strategies, and not wasting any time doing so as seen in the three full frontal shots in the first few minutes of the movie.

Overall "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" lightly tugs at all emotions, but most importantly keeps the viewer laughing throughout, and sometimes just saying "What the hell?" but in a very enjoyable way. It's worth a watch.

rotten tomatoes : worst of the worst

I'm currently looking through rottentomatoes.com "Worst of the Worst," the 100 worst reviewed movies of the past decade. Until number 64, I had not seen any of these supposedly horrible movies, and that I'm kind of glad about. As far as the ones I have seen...

64. Corky Romano (2001) - I have had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing this movie, but I don't remember it all that well. I was only 13 when it came out, so I'm sure I found it mildly amusing at the time. Do I plan on seeing it again to figure out what my opinion would be now? No. If I really have the urge to watch Chris Kattan play a stupidly funny roll, I'd go for 'A Night at the Roxbury'.

63. Yours, Mine, and Ours (2005) - I am a fan of Dennis Quaid, but could care less about Rene Russo. I could also care less about this movie. It had its predictably funny points, but I'm biased because I grew up loving the original 'Yours, Mine, and Ours' with Lucille Ball, and let's face it, nothing comes close to Lucille Ball.

61. Good Luck Chuck (2007) - The only reason I have seen this movie was because I was bored and it happened to be on HBO one night. I'm not much of a Dane Cook fan, or Jessica Alba. My life would be the same if I hadn't seen this movie.

60. The Perfect Man (2005) - Another case of boredom. That's about it.

56. Because I Said So (2007) - Okay, so maybe this movie didn't get good reviews, but I can't deny a chick flick every once in a while. I'm also a sucker for Mandy Moore movies. No matter what anyone says, I think she's pretty awesome as an actress and a singer, especially since she's come into her own.

40. Down to You (2000) - For some reason I still have the rare urge to watch this movie. And every time I actually do, I remember how strange it is. Freddie Prinze, Jr. kind of disappeared from the world of acting, and that might not be such a horrible thing. Sorry, but I'm just not sure he could pull off a non-chick flick / non-teen movie.

2. One Missed Call (2008) - I love horror movies, however, most horror movies suck. This one falls in the crappy horror movie category. I generally never see horror movies in theaters cause odds are it's a waste of money. Good thing I caught this one on HBO, not such a good thing that I wasted over an hour of my time.

So, out of the 100 worst reviewed movies of the past decade, according to rottentomatoes.com, I've only seen 7 of them. I must say, I'm pretty proud of that number. Makes me a little more confident about my movie choices.

Check out the full list if you want: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/worst_of_the_worst/

this is my blog about movies.

If you know me at all, you know that I love movies. I love watching movies, buying movies, seeing movies at the theater even though it's expensive, and I have a lot of opinions about movies. I'm not a writer or a journalist or a critic, I'm just a movie lover that wants to share her thoughts about movies. My plan is to write about/review a movie whenever I watch one, whether it be a new movie or a movie I've seen a million times. Enjoy.