Archive for the 'Movie Queue' Category

December 31, 2011 | Movie Queue,The 4-1-1 on Me

Here are the movies I saw during the year 2011:

BURLESQUE – This movie came out last year, but I didn’t see it until this year. Cher looked great, and I really liked the song “Bound to You” that Christina Aguilera sang. And Cam Gigandet was H-O-T. Holy. Cow.

THE MECHANIC – I love me some Jason Statham

I AM NUMBER FOUR – Alex Pettyfer is hawt! And I liked all of his special abilities.

FROM PRADA TO NADA – kind of a cutesy version of CLUELESS.

BATTLE: LA Never a dull moment. The action never let up. And strangely enough, Ne-Yo isn’t that bad of actor.

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU – Interesting take on the topic of free will…and whether or not you’re really controlling yours.

BEASTLY – This didn’t get very good reviews. There were a few moments in there where the dialogue was kinda corny, but I liked it. Alex Pettyfer is SO HAWT.

SOURCE CODE – This one was interesting and the special effects were cool, too. Scott Bakula voiced Jake Gyllenhall’s father (but you never see him). I just happened to see his name in the credits. If you see this movie and then remember the show that Scott did, you’ll see the irony his small yet unseen part.

SUCKER PUNCH – I liked this one. A mixture of fantasy and reality.

RED RIDING HOOD – What’s ironic about this movie is that the actor who plays Bella’s father in the TWILIGHT series, portrayed a father figure in this movie, too. But he wasn’t exactly….normal. Shiloh Fernandez is a cutie. Loved the crookedness of his mouth, reminded me of Corey Haim.

THE WARRIOR’S WAY Love me some martial arts.

TANGLED OMG, I loved this cartoon. Zachary Levi is freakin’ awesome. It was like watching a cartoon version of CHUCK. LOL.

KUNG FU PANDA 2 Really liked the story and how they integrated Po’s adoption into it. Also pretty cool to “hear” Jean-Claude Van Damme. I really used to love his movies.

PROM The newcomer dude was pretty hot, even though I didn’t get a romantic vibe between him and the leading lady.

FAST FIVE Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and Paul Walker, all together in one movie. Serious eye candy, people!

THOR – OMG, Chris Hemsworth. Shirtless scene. Freeze frame. Wha–?

THE HANGOVER II Same guys, different story.

13 ASSASSINS Epic. Battle scene. Epic, I tell you!

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS: Liked seeing the history of Charles and Erik, the references to the other movies, and absolutely LOVED Hugh Jackman‘s cameo. Funny.

SUPER 8 – This reminded me of a more action-packed version of STAND BY ME. Really liked it and the soundtrack sounded awesome.

Technorati Tags: BURLESQUE, Cher, Christina Aguilera, Cam Gigandet, THE MECHANIC, Jason Statham, I AM NUMBER FOUR, Alex Pettyfer, FROM PRADA TO NADA, CLUELESS, BATTLE: LA, Ne-Y, THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU, BEASTLY, Alex Pettyfer, SOURCE CODE, SUCKER PUNCH, RED RIDING HOOD, Shiloh Fernandez, Corey Haim, THE WARRIOR’S WAY, TANGLED, Zachary Levi, KUNG FU PANDA 2, Jean-Claude Van Damme, PROM, FAST FIVE, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker, THOR, Chris Hemsworth, THE HANGOVER II, 13 ASSASSINS, Hugh Jackman, SUPER 8

December 31, 2010 | Life in General,Movie Queue,The 4-1-1 on Me

Here are the movies I saw during the year 2010:

DAYBREAKERS – interesting take on the whole vampire thing.

NINE – Fergie. Wow. And Daniel Day-Lewis wasn’t too bad, either.

LEAP YEAR – I heart Amy Adams. I always get her and Isla Fisher mixed up.

BOOK OF ELI – So, did you think Denzel was blind throughout the whole movie or that God let him “see” until his journey was over?

DISTRICT 13: ULTIMATUM – The stunts and the fighting are pretty awesome. It also introduces the sport known as parkour

PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF – I so want to be a demi-goddess.

THE WOLFMAN – Anthony Hopkins always makes for a good bad guy.

ONG BAK 2 – The fight scenes in this movie are siiiiiiiick. Tony Jaa is f***kin’ amazing.

VALENTINE’S DAY – Liked the interconnectivity of the characters, but thought Taylor Swift sucked.

GREEN ZONE – Matt Damon makes a very good action star, but I was kind of expecting more.

CLASH OF THE TITANS – Blood of Hades = Kracken’s and gigantic scorpions. Sweet!

THE LAST SONG – Miley Cyrus didn’t do too bad. And her love interest was quite the hottie.

KICK-ASS – Great movie. Funny how an 11-yr-old girl–and her father–were doing all the ass kicking.

THE LOSERS – Chris Evans is H-O-T!

THE BACK-UP PLAN – Really good to see Alex O’Loughlin in a leading man role. Loved him in MOONLIGHT.

IRON MAN 2 – The film melting was the highlight of my experience

LETTERS TO JULIET - Once again I was reminded why I need to visit Italy

ROBIN HOOD – *blowing raspberry*

PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME- Jake Gyllenhaal looked pretty hot.

SEX AND THE CITY 2 – I could’ve done without hearing Liza Minelli’s version of “Single Ladies.” I liked the outfits (but SJP has man hands!) and Abudabi is a beautiful country that I’d never visit.

JUST WRIGHT – Common is actually a very good-lookin’ guy. And Paula Patton is so pretty!

THE A-TEAM – Bradley Cooper has got the bluest eyes!

THE KILLERS – Ashton Kutcher makes a good action hero.

JONAH HEX – I like the last name. This movie was shades of THE CROW. I still miss you, Brandon.

KNIGHT AND DAY – Low-key version of his MISSION IMPOSSIBLE movies.

THE BOUNTY HUNTER – Gerard Butler. RRRRRR! I love how his accent comes through.

THE LAST AIRBENDER – The kid was cute. And I like the idea of kids having the ability to manipulate the four elements.

TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE – Still Team Jacob

DESPICABLE ME – “It’s so fluffy!

SALT – Angelina Jolie does really well when she’s kickin’ people asses. She should stick to these types of movies.

INCEPTION – You know a movie is good when you’re talking about it afterwards. So, what was your take of the ending–real or dreaming?

THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE

CHARLIE ST. CLOUD – sad, but good. And wow, David Franco looks just like his older brother, James.

THE EXPENDABLES – Everyone looked so old. Except for Jason.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD – I so want to be part of a band called Sex Ba-Bomb.

THE AMERICAN – quiet, intense, film. Not a lot of dialogue on George Clooney‘s part. And wow, he actually looksp retty good for his age.

MACHETE – Danny Trejo has been in 189 films. This is his first lead role. Wasn’t too bad.

EASY A – It’s amazing how one little rumor can get totally out of hand. Also, I would love to have a father like Stanley Tucci and a teacher like Thomas Hayden Church.

LET ME IN – We saw the original version (Swedish w/ subtitles) and liked it the best. Although it was fun comparing scenes.

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT – Josh Duhamel. Abs. That’s all I remember seeing. Oh, and he’s great with kids.

MAO’S LAST DANCER – Beautiful, beautiful movie. Go see this if you’re a fan of dance movies, specifically ballet.

RED – OMG, I so love Mary-Louise Parker. She was funny as hell in this movie. And Bruce Willis looked great, too.

DUE DATE – Spitting in the dog’s face? Unacceptable, Mr. Robert Downey, Jr. Masturbating dog? Totally unnecessary. Didn’t need to see that.

FASTER - Wow, is Billy Bob Thornton lookin’ old! But Dwayne Johnson sure looked good! Even though he didn’t say much. He let that cannon of a handgun do all the talkin’. LOL

MEGAMIND – Yes, I actually got Babendude to see this with me. Not as funny as DESPICABLE ME, but there were funny parts.

THE WARRIOR’S WAY – The way this movie was made was interesting. Babendude and I are big martial arts fans, so we’ll see just about anything.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER – Love Ben Barnes and his dark eyes. Watching this series makes me want to read the books all over again. And I SO want to see Aslan’s country, beyond the massive, magical waves.

TRON: LEGACY – Those motorcycles were so cool. And I liked how they were able to make Jeff Bridges look young. Very cool.

UNSTOPPABLE – Never a dull moment.

TANGLED – I heart Zachary Levi. This was just like watching CHUCK. But the animated version, of course.

What about you? Did you see any of these? Which ones did you see that weren’t on the list?

Technorati Tags: DAYBREAKERS, NINE, Fergie, Daniel Day-Lewis, LEAP YEAR, Amy Adams, Isla Fisher, BOOK OF ELI, DISTRICT 13: ULTIMATUM, parkour, PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF, THE WOLFMAN, Anthony Hopkins, ONG BAK 2, Tony Jaa, VALENTINE’S DAY, Taylor Swift, GREEN ZONE, Matt Damon, CLASH OF THE TITANS, THE LAST SONG, Miley Cyrus, KICK-ASS, THE LOSERS, Chris Evans, THE BACK-UP PLAN, Alex O’Loughlin, MOONLIGHT, IRON MAN 2, LETTERS TO JULIET, ROBIN HOOD, PRINCE OF PERSIA: SANDS OF TIME, Jake Gyllenhaal, SEX AND THE CITY 2, Single Ladies, JUST WRIGHT, Common, Paula Patton, THE A-TEAM, Bradley Cooper, THE KILLERS, Ashton Kutcher, JONAH HEX, THE CROW, KNIGHT AND DAY, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, THE BOUNTY HUNTER, Gerard Butler, THE LAST AIRBENDER, TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE, DESPICABLE ME, SALT, Angelina Jolie, INCEPTION, THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE, CHARLIE ST. CLOUD, David Franco, THE EXPENDABLES, THE AMERICAN, George Clooney, MACHETE, Danny Trejo, EASY A, Stanley Tucci, Thomas Hayden Church, LET ME IN, LIFE AS WE KNOW IT, Josh Duhamel, MAO’S LAST DANCER, RED, Mary-Louise Parker, Bruce Willis, DUE DATE, Robert Downey, Jr, FASTER, Billy Bob Thornton, Dwayne Johnson, MEGAMIND, THE WARRIOR’S WAY, CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER, Ben Barnes, TRON: LEGACY, Jeff Bridges, UNSTOPPABLE, TANGLED, Zachary Levi, CHUCK

October 17, 2010 | Life in General,Movie Queue,Random Thoughts

I was reminded last night of why I love reading romance books.

I was watching SOMEWHERE IN TIME with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour and was totally blown away by their first kiss. If you’re not familiar with the 1980 movie, here’s the blurb:

A Chicago playwright uses self-hypnosis to find the actress whose vintage portrait hangs in a grand hotel.

Fast forward to about 3:28 – when they’re right outside her hotel room door–and you’ll see what I mean.

I have no idea why there’s no sound, but that’s no problem, I can tell you what she’s saying. Because as you can see, his lips don’t do anything at all but touch hers during this scene.

“What do you want to talk about?” she asks breathlessly.

Then:

“No,” she says breathlessly. Maybe even a little halfheartedly. Because, really, who in their right mind would say no to a kiss from Christopher Reeve.

And then:

“I can’t believe this is really happening,” she whispers.

And here’s the kicker: no tongues were involved. It was a really passionate, no-tongue kiss….but it still made me squirm a little bit because it was so beautifully done! That whole scene, from the moment he closes the door to when he kisses her, was just abso-freakin-lutely perfect.

He didn’t talk at all, just let her know without words what he really wanted to do and gave her plenty of time to refuse him. Even though it was just a movie, it seemed like Chris and Jane were really in love. Every time he clapped eyes on her, it was with deep adoration and this all-consuming love. At one point during the movie, after they “get together”, she says, “I want to be your everything” and he responds “You are.”

*wistful sigh* It might sound cheesy, because you know a man and a woman wouldn’t say that in this day and age, but GAWD it was so romantic. In an old-fashioned way.

Stuff like that just doesn’t happen in real life. I love it when the man cups the woman’s face. I love reading a line like that in a novel. That is such a turn-on to me and it’s not even an intentional sexual move! And wow, wasn’t Christopher drop dead gorgeous back then?! And Jane was so beautiful. Still is. They made such a great couple and had fabulous chemistry. Amazing. I loved it.

If you get a chance, rent this movie.

And it reminded me why I love reading romance books. And why I love reading about the tender, tentative, getting-to-know-you-please-don’t-slap-me-or-knee-me-in-the-balls type of kisses that lead up to the I-want-to-devour-you-whole kisses.

Ironically, there was a SUPERMAN marathon after that, #’s 1-3. Day-um, that man was foin. I think it was the dark hair/blue eyes combo that did it for me. I only watched the first one because it was already getting late. The funny I noticed when watching both movies: he spoke to Jane the same way he spoke to Margot Kidder as Clark Kent, the sort of shy-unsure-I-don’t-know-how-to-talk-to-girls tone of voice.

Really, it was just a fab night of “me” time: bed snuggling and movie-watching.

Technorati Tags: SOMEWHERE IN TIME, Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, SUPERMAN, Margot Kidder, Clark Kent

June 30, 2010 | Adv Children's Lit,Life in General,Movie Queue,Reading is FUNdamental,Road Trip Wednesday

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival”, where YA Highway‘s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it in on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

Topic #35: What was your favorite book for the month of June?

A Boy Named Shel by Lisa Rogak

For my ACL course this semester, we have to read an autobiography about a children’s author. The assignment itself isn’t due until July 25th, but I wanted to get a head start so I chose to read about Shel Silverstein. Where the Sidewalk Ends is one of my favorite children’s books and it was given to me by my parents when I was young; I still have it. I actually just finished the autobiography today and am just….blown away. Even though he was most famous for his children’s books, he was first and foremost, a cartoonist (he was a longtime contributor to Playboy). He was also an accomplished singer (although he didn’t have the right voice for it), songwriter (he wrote “A Boy Named Sue” which was first sung by Johnny Cash), playwright (The Lady or The Tiger Show), and screenwriter (collaborated with director David Mamet on the movie THINGS CHANGE in 1998 starring Don Ameche and Joe Montegna). He never married, but fathered two children (his daughter died when she was 11 of a brain aneuerysm).

Last week, I was telling my best friend about all the stuff I’d learned about him so far and she said, “It sounds like you’re having a love affair with this author.” I laugh about it now because she was so right. This man was the ultimate creative being. He dabbled in every creative medium across the board and was very successful at all of them. Shel was a hardcore life observer and everything—and everyone—he came into contact with was inspiration for his work. He would get so in the zone with his creativity that if he wasn’t near a piece of paper to record his ideas, he would find whatever he could at that point in time: his arms, his hands, his clothes, a tablecloth, etc. He’d lived such a full, rich life by the time he passed away of a massive heart attack in May 1999 (he was born in 1930), I was a tad jealous.

He’s the male version of SARK, who’s one of my favorite authors. She has such a presence about her, a positive aura, that every time I left her company, I felt uplifted.

I think I would’ve felt the same had I ever met him.

He was just an amazing, amazing person, who touched so many lives—readers and friends alike. After reading this, I wanted to go out and buy more books that he wrote. As a writer, I liked this quote the best:

“You should never explain the philosophy behind anything you do, it’s not important. If your work is weak and needs to be explained, it isn’t clear enough.”

Technorati Tags: Road Trip Wednesday, YA Highway, A Boy Named Shel, Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Playboy, A Boy Named Sue, Johnny Cash, The Lady or The Tiger Show, David Mamet, THINGS CHANGE, Don Ameche, Joe Montegna, SARK

June 10, 2010 | "Whoa whoa I gotta go...back to schoooool...again",3rd Semester,A Whole Latte Trouble,Book Two,Creative Writing II,Life in General,Mentors,Movie Queue,Prescott College,School Daze,Summer 2010,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

It’s the second week of school and I got feedback from my mentor regarding the first 100 pages of Book 2 earlier this week.

The story lacks focus. You say your main plot is about the investigation into this fellow yet from what I can nearly 100 pages in, Draven has does very little to show the reader that she is this awesome, kick-ass informant. We see much more of her at school or with her friends just talking about “stuff” that is arguably sub-plot and fails to move the main plot along.

I see very little tension at all in the book. I assume as a reader that a book which focuses on a sleuth will have elements of tension, danger not only from the investigation itself but from Draven’s cover being blown. I also assume that in her role, she will make enemies. So, that also adds to the danger/tension. But I see none here. In fact, she is just hanging out like nothing is going on at all.

So, that is the plot, sub-plot and story-telling side.

There are some issues with redundancy and consistency. I’ve highlighted them in some cases and made comments on others.

There are cases when I feel the dialogue is forced. Some pages of dialogue go on for too long and fail to move the story to the next level.

Also it is hard in some places to know who’s talking in your dialogue exchanges. Watch for it.

Consider your pop-culture references and how they might date you as an author and how a reader may take that reference. There are many. While they may be funny to you, your readers are teens today.

Consider your use of stereo-typical representation of Hispanic youth. “Chica, Chiquita, etc.” Just make sure that you are 100% comfortable with these references and they are genuine.

There’s a scene in CLUELESS where Brittany Murphy’s character said something hurtful to Alicia Silverstone and Alicia responded with, “That’s way harsh, TY.” That line was running through my head after reading this. LOL.

But I have to remember that it’s a first draft. The novel, not the feedback.

It’s not going to be good the first time. Nor is it going to be good the second, third, or fourth time.

It’s a story that I completed some time last year and then promptly put away because I didn’t want to look at it anymore. It was a hard write. Then I pulled it out—I don’t remember when—and started editing it. I got midway through Chapter 8 before putting it away to start Book 3 (NaNoWriMo 2009 Fail).

I wish this was the only class I was taking this summer, because I won’t be as focused on the process as I normally would be. The revisions won’t be as good as I want them to be, or should be. Yeah, I know it was my bright idea to create a book revision college course, but even though my concentration is going to be pulled in three different directions, I still expect this to be a learning experience I can carry through to future books.

Technorati Tags: CLUELESS, Brittany Murphy, Alicia Silverstone