ALMOST FAMOUS

January 31, 2010:

When I first saw this several years ago, I was blown away. I loved it. It spoke to me. I don't know why, I have never connected with the music scene like some people do and movies about the journey into a musical awakening never appeal to me. But I loved this movie.

And it was still good. This time wasn't as magical as the first, but I liked William's friendship with Phillip Seymore Hoffman's character and how he stands up for himself. He doesn't really let himself get sucked into Stillwater's culture even though he is a big fan. He stays true to himself. don't like that Penny Lane goes to Morocco without William though. Not cool.

...so that is 5 movies for the month of January. At this rate, I will have only seen 60 by the end of December. That gets me through the letter "F." This may take several years. Bear with me.

ALEX & EMMA

January 24, 2010:

The first time I saw this movie was on my birthday, the day that it came out. It had been panned by the critics... like horribly panned. But I still loved it! Still do in fact. It blends modern day with period (1930s) pretty well and the story is a very clever concept. I don't even like Kate Hudson that much, but she is funny and real in this movie. Same for Luke Wilson (although I have always liked him).

ALADDIN

January 24, 2010:

Make way... for Prince Ali! One of my favorite Disney movies with some of my favorite Disney songs.

Again, it had been awhile since I had seen this one too, possibly 10 years! Made me think about when a few friends and I did a dance to "Friend Like Me" for a talent show in elementary school. I thought Aladdin was a very cool guy back then and the Genie hilarious. Still mostly true.

ABOUT SCHIMDT

January 23, 2010:

Took me awhile to watch the next movie on the list. Probably because About Schmidt is a very quiet movie with only dialogue and long, quiet moments to go on. It's still a very good movie though. Lots of humor and learning in it. Although Jack Nicholson's Walter Schmidt really doesn't learn much at the end of the movie. He still doesn't believe his daughter will be happy with the man she has just married... he has only learned not to show his displeasure so plainly to her.

Highly recommend this one. I'm glad I got to revisit it. It had been awhile.

ABOUT A BOY

January 3, 2010:

Ironically enough, the movie to begin this project is not one that has been neglected by me. I have seen About a Boy many times and it is one of my favorite movies. I will admit though, it has been awhile since I've seen it. Probably one to two years at least, maybe more.

I'm not sure what to write about it. I like Hugh Grant (Will) in it. I like his relationship with Nicholas Hoult (Marcus) and the way it is perceived by different characters in the movie. I like how he helps Marcus, who in turn helps Will. I like the music (Badly Drawn Boy). I like Rachel Weisz (Rachel). I hate the scene where Fiona barfs. I like when Marcus tells Ellie to "shake [her] ass" while learning about rap music. Just an all around good film. Still one of my favorites.

My Movies... A to Z

I've decided to watch all the movies that I own in order, from A to Z, which isn't too hard since that is the way they are organized on my DVD tower. I will try to accomplish this in the year 2010, but I'm pretty sure I'm already behind and we're only a month in.

What got me thinking about this idea was that I love movies and collect movies, but I don't seem to watch the ones that I have all that much. Hopefully this will get me to revisit some old favorites that have been forgotten. Perhaps it will also help me see which need to make a trip to ebay...

So without further ado... the first film please...

Boiling!

Some things that really get my blood boiling (gross):

1. Loud trucks, buses, etc. They drown out every noise except their own grrrrrrrrrinding.

2. PEOPLE WHO WRITE IN ALL CAPS. Seriously people, it's been 10+ years since computers became standard and we still do not notice that we are writing in ALL CAPS? I especially hate (and do not understand) the people that use ALL CAPS when filling out the online form for my job. Why do you need CAPS LOCK when filling out your name and creating a password and describing your video???

3. Being stuck behind a large vehicle on the freeway. There is nothing more annoying than not being able to see when you are in stop & go traffic. Except maybe that truck next to you, trying to get in gear.

4. The people at the grocery store who laugh and say, "Trying to save the environment?" when I produce my own bag. Yes, I am. And so is your store... see that rack of reuseable bags right there?


More to come later, if I think of anymore.