YES

Is it weird that I'd like to trade places with a 9-month old cat named Choupette?

Dissecting SIFF 2011 - Part 1

I'm really late with these posts. By like almost 2 weeks. In fact, I had every intention of posting same-day reviews of each film that I saw during the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), but obviously I was too lazy for that.

This year I saw 21 movies during the 3 week long festival. And unlike previous years, I didn't have to cram these viewings into weekends where I force myself to see 4 movies in one day. Because I was out on FMLA recovering from surgery, I had a lot of free time on my hands. And sitting in a movie theater was easy to do and didn't require a lot of exertion that would bust my stitches open.
Anyway, this was an interesting SIFF for me because I didn't see many films from Spain. I usually end up seeing at least 4 Spanish films (I guess I like them?) but this year I only saw two. In fact, this was the first SIFF where I ended up seeing more American films than foreign films. A definite first. And I saw a lot of comedies which I usually avoid at SIFF.
Here's the first rundown of what I saw this year. I'm throwing it out randomly but also sort of in viewing date order.

First, I'll lump together the documentaries that I saw, all produced from the United States:

Page One: Documentarian Andrew Rossi set up his cameras for one year inside the New York Times’ newsroom, with unprecedented access and insight into the paper’s operations. The doc show not only how new media is impacting the Times, but also how the paper reports on its own industry’s demise is a frank way. Everyone in the theater with me LOVED this film but I kind of didn't feeel that it was that great. Maybe I was just in a bad mood.

The Interrupters: From the guy that did Hoop Dreams, this doc told the story of inner city and gang violence in Chicago; focusing on three kids who are trying to make a difference. I won't lie, I cried like a baby in parts of this. Really well done, but you have to be in a certain mood to enjoy it I think.

Being Elmo: I saw this documentary on the last day of the festival, at the last minute, literally deciding to go 10 minutes before the show started because I happen to be driving by the theater it was showing in on my way home from dinner. I had purposely avoided the other showings that the film had had because I really really really hate Elmo. But you know what? I'm sort of in love with Kevin Clash, Elmo's famed "Muppeteer". The movie is an in-depth portrait of Clash and how he came to be one of  the most famous puppeteers of all time. Charming.

• High Road U.S. - Matt Walsh is one of my favorite comedians. And I really wish he had acted in this film that he acted and directed. I really enjoyed the story and a lot of the performances, but there were part of it where it was really obvious that the dialogue was entirely improvised. Someone like Rob Riggle or Ed Helms is going to kill it, but other actors made some of the scenes really drag. Newcomer Zach Woods was kind of awesome as the 16 yr old kid that is one of the centers of the film.
• Womb Germany - Oh boy. This movie was so messed up. I mean it was well crafted; but such a mind-fuck. Starring an entirely British cast, including Eva Green (Casino Royale) and Matt Smith (Dr. Who), if there was any SIFF film this year that I definitely would NOT see again it would be this one. Again, it was well acted and beautifully shot, but boy is the story creepy.
• Crying Out Canada (Quebec) - This was the first of two films I saw at SIFF out of Quebec, and dang, it's right what they say about the Quebecquois being radically different from the rest of Canada. This is a film about MEN, and men's EMOTIONS, and it is dark. So dark. It's about 3 generations of men who are struggling with various problems, including the protagonist Jo (dad, the middle generation) who is newly widowed and not handling it well, resulting in him committing a series of petty crimes that his adult son and his father try and cover up for him. I really liked the performances of the actors that played the son (Patrick Hivon) and the grampa (Jean Lapointe) and elements of the story are good, but I just couldn't get past how bleak everything was; and I think it was supposed to be a comedy?
• Beginners U.S. - This was probably the most high profile of the movies I saw this year at SIFF. And this is one of the first to have a major distributor and already be out in theaters. See this film if/when it comes to your town. I loved it. It stars Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer as a father (Hal) and son (Oliver) dealing with death, illness, and love. The story is told through two intertwining stories: in the present day, Oliver meets Anna, an alluring French actress who captivates him and gives him a way to heal from the recent and devastating loss of  father, which has happened soon after losing his mother to cancer. As Oliver grows closer to Anna, he is still hung up on the deep emotions that erupted when, at age 75, shortly after the death of his wife, Oliver’s dad Hal came out of the closet. The second story we see in flashback as Hal, disregarding his advanced years and a diagnosis of terminal cancer, gleefully embraces his senior bon vivant lifestyle; hitting the clubs, buying a new wardrobe, and, dating a man half his age. Throughout the film, these two narratives subtly illuminate each other, as Oliver strives to learn from his father’s profound lessons on hope, courage, and love. Did I forget to mention that there's also an adorable dog in the movie? A couple of other things - Christopher Plummer is still just as charming and great looking at age 82 as he's ever been. I didn't think it was possible for Goran Visnjic to be unattractive, but he is in this film as Hal's boyfriend. Also, coincidentally Visnjic and Plummer are both going to be in the upcoming US version of The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo which I'm very excited about. Finally, Ewan McGregor and director Mike Mills were at the SIFF screening of Beginners that I went to. McGregor is hot in person y'all.
• Natural Selection U.S. - This was a funny and entertaining movie, even if it didn't resonate with me that much or surprise me in any way. It stars comedian Rachael Harris as a Linda, a Christian housewife who is struggling to get pregnant who after her husband suffers a stroke, finds out about a secret adult son that her husband fathered. He asks her to track down his this son, a mullet-haired, drug-addled, escape convict named Raymond. The movie turns into a wacky road movie as Linda and Raymond travel back to grant Abe’s final wish. They form a bizarre relationship that changes them both dramatically. Natural Selection took the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at this year’s SXSW. And Matt O'Leary as Raymond was kind of a revelation.
• Jucy Australia -  Oh god, I loved this movie. Director Louise Alton tells a warm-hearted story set in Brisbane about BFFs Jackie and Lucy, (played by newcomers Cindy Nelson and Francesca Gasteen, real-life best friends who created the characters together), aka Jucy. The friendship is chronicled set against a story about them auditioning and putting on a production of Jane Eyre with their local community theater. You guys, this movie is like "AbFab" meets "Muriel's Wedding" for the new millenium. So charming and relatable and fun. I really hope it gets a wide distribution because everyone should get a chance to see it.

A replacement for my Roomba?

 I LOVE these new vacuums from Electrolux! The problem? They were only made as one-offs to be part of a promotional campaign and environmental protection awareness program. The exteriors are made from recycled bits of plastic and trash found on various world beaches, spanning from the Indian Ocean to Hawaii.

Sigh...I was really hoping to find one under my Christmas tree this year.

Hey, where's my multi-million dollar contract?!

I have hair exactly like Troy Polamalu from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The difference between me and Troy? (besides the fact that I'm an almost 40 year old woman who's not athletic and he's a marginally talented defensive safety for one of the best teams in the NFL )

He just insured his luscious unmanageably frizzy locks for a million dollars after signing an endorsement deal with Head and Shoulders shampoo. Sigh...I wish Troy would focus on tackling fools instead of his hair follicles so that my beloved Steelers could win another Super Bowl ring.

I don't know how much of this I really blame on Troy. It's Lloyd's of London who's insuring his hair, and they're no strangers to insuring famous people's body parts (Tina Turner's legs, J.Lo's butt, Celine's vocal chords) just for publicity.

Shameless famewhores is what they are, but then again here I am talking about them so I guess the joke's on me.

But seriously Troy - can you hook a sister up with some free hair product?

August musings

I totally forgot to watch the premier of Showtime's The Big C with Laura Linney, so I'll have to catch it later this week and give my review then (when it's completely irrelevant).

Although I exclaimed my joy about this on Twitter and Facebook - I am ecstatic that Lauren is the Season 7 champion on So You Think You Can Dance. Although I said I didn't care who won of the three finalists, my little LoFro was always my fave. I'm super excited to see all of these kids on tour when they come here in November.

True Blood is getting so good this season, and so very weird. Except for the character annihilation that they've done to my beloved Calvin Norris, I am still loving the changes that Ball and the other writers are making to the stories from the book for their small screen adaptations. I can't wait to see how this season winds down/up.

Finally, I'll leave you with this picture to ponder and wonder about for the rest of the week:

Just WHAT is going on here? Jane Fonda and Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford out on the town? With Jane's little sad bichon (clearly drugged) in her arm, while a gin and tonic's in her other hand? Are the two of them working on a movie/play/TV thing together? Are they lovers? Omigawd! I have so many questions...

The power of Journey can make ANYTHING happen

When I first saw this picture this morning, my eyes bulged right out of my head.










What ON EARTH was going on that created a situation where Lady Gaga, dressed as Miss Havisham from Great Expectations, was happily smiling with, and in the arms of one Bruce Springsteen?!

Evidently this picture was snapped after they'd just finished a star-studded rendition of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing".

Proof once again that no matter how played-out, and karaoked (I know that's not a word) to death a song is, it's still a f*cking Journey song, and Journey songs RULE THE EFFIN' EARTH, and make you insanely happy when you sing them, because Steve Perry and Neal Schon were AWESOME, so even "edgy" performance artist dance divas like Lady Gaga and jaded old "rockers" like Springsteen and Elton John will gladly get together and belt out a tune that's been covered ONE MILLION TIMES by everybody from 5th grade classrooms to Glee cast members to Sting at a benefit for the rainforests.

Seriously, I think Journey songs could bring world peace.

AMC's "Prisoner" remake

Okay, I'm an intelligent and fairly cultured person, but I have to admit, the 2009 remake of the 60s tv series The Prisoner is kind of tough for me to wrap my head around.

Ian McKellen kicks ass as per usual. And the writing seems top notch. But seriously I've watched 4 hours of the mini-series and I'm not any less confused than I was at the beginning.

The Patrick McGoohan original tv show wasn't this confusing was it?

Jamie Campbell Bower, and Jim Caviezel sure are pretty though.

"I want candy!"

This morning while I was cashing in $10 worth of Oregon state lottery tickets at a Pantry Pride convenience store, I looked down at the candy racks in front of me at the counter and was met with the full-on complete roster of the Hershey Company's "Good & Plenty" family. The box that caught my eye was one I'd never seen before - Good & Fiery. I was intrigued enough to plunk down $1.18 of my lottery winnings on a box.

"Good & Fiery" is described as a "sweet & spicy chewy candy." There were four flavors in the box - lemon, orange, apple, and cinnamon. The inclusion of fruit flavors struck me as really weird. The cinnamon pieces are, like the box promises, both sweet and spicy. They pack more heat than a Hot Tamale but they're small enough that I wasn't overwhelmed by the spiciness. The other flavors? I can't decide if I love them or feel like I'm eating potpourri. The apple "plenties" are a slightly lighter, brighter red color than the cinnamon ones and they sort of taste like apple cider. The lemon and orange ones taste like citrus and cinnamon. Which is fine for a tea but I don't know if I dig it in candy form. I usually love any citrus candy but I'm on the fence about these. I kind of wish the whole box was just the apple though.

I would recommend "Good & Fiery" if you see a box in the store, especially if you're a Hot Tamale fan.